Linkage Wednesday, re: Tom Waits, DCFC, The National, etc.

FOA Linkage Wednesday returns! Get excited, 'cause here we go....

First, I have have have to point you towards this NPR piece: Tom Waits Interviews Tom Waits

It begins with this utterly fantastic introduction (by Tom Waits about Tom Waits):
"I must admit, before meeting Tom, I had heard so many rumors and so much gossip that I was afraid. Frankly, his gambling debts, his animal magnetism, coupled with his disregard for the feelings of others... His elaborate gun collection, his mad shopping sprees, the face lifts, the ski trips, the drug busts and the hundreds of rooms in his home. The tax shelters, the public urination...I was nervous to meet the real man himself. Baggage and all. But I found him to be gentle, intelligent, open, bright, helpful, humorous, brave, audacious, loquacious, clean, and reverent. A Boy Scout, really (and a giant of a man). Join me now for a rare glimpse into the heart of Tom Waits. Remove your shoes and no smoking, please."


I also particularly enjoyed this question and answer:
"Q: What's hard for you?
A: Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane. Math is hard. Reading a map. Following orders. Carpentry. Electronics. Plumbing. Remembering things correctly. Straight lines. Sheet rock. Finding a safety pin. Patience with others. Ordering in Chinese. Stereo instructions in German."

Oh, and this one :
"Q: What is a gentleman?
A: A man who can play the accordion, but doesn't."
What's he mean by that?! I like the accordion...

There's also a lot of really self-indulgent discussion about record collections, his ears and squid. Recommended reading, for sure.

Next up, we've got this post from the very talented Nikki. She points us toward this Stereogum thing, in which Chris Walla from Death Cab for Cutie summarizes his feelings on Gossip Girl and one of his band's songs appearing on it the previous evening. Sheer brilliance.

Excerpt:
"I keep hearing about this Gossip Girl. There's this one picture of her with her and her hot friends, spread out like margarine all over a Lincoln Town Car. Are they going to dinner? What's on the stereo while they drive? Is it our band? What world could I possibly be living in?"

The post is part of yesterday's "all Death Cab all the time," feature at Stereogum. The regular bloggers relinquished control and let members of DCFC do all the content all day. Risky? Yeah. Hilarious? Also yeah. Other good ones to read are:
New Hold Steady - Sequestered In Memphis by Chris Walla
The Roger Walters Quandary Or, Will The Last One Leaving Battersea Please Turn Out The Lights? by Ben Gibbard

Having dealt with blogging and online news posting extensively myself, I think it's great the way their content's still tailored to the usual Stereogum formatting...


Caren at Paste has created indie e-cards. For serious. They're incredible.


Grumpy Pitchfork says this about The National's A Skin, A Night and The Virginia EP. Incidentally, I disagree wholeheartedly with almost every sentence in this review. Mr. Klein misses the point entirely. Anyone who finds A Skin, A Night underwhelming and unnecessary is un-fascinated with songwriting and most likely has no soul. But I don't have any feelings about it.

In contrast, here's how I feel about The National.