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INTRODUCTION
Warning: This Intro is going to be a goot amount of yakking, but it is important to me. I want to acknowledge some folks & explain my thought-process in concocting this BOTB's Battle Of The Booze installment. However, if you are Patience-Impaired ("In your patience possess ye your souls"), skip reading this section and scroll down to where it says "START BATTLE".
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INTRODUCTION
Warning: This Intro is going to be a goot amount of yakking, but it is important to me. I want to acknowledge some folks & explain my thought-process in concocting this BOTB's Battle Of The Booze installment. However, if you are Patience-Impaired ("In your patience possess ye your souls"), skip reading this section and scroll down to where it says "START BATTLE".
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Mention the word "cinematography" and the first three films that pop into my mind are 'Koyaanisqatsi', 'The Black Stallion', and 'One From The Heart'.
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I first saw 'One From The Heart' (movie trailer here) in an L.A. movie theatre when it was released in 1982. I was with Marty Brumer, one of the very, very best friends I've ever had. Marty was a professional actor who was killed by a car thief in 1989 (here).
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Marty so loved the music in 'One From The Heart' that he bought the soundtrack on LP. I can't say with absolute certainty that 'Broken Bicycles' (here) was Marty's all-time favorite song, but it was unquestionably the song he was most often singing to himself.
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As much as I loved 'One From The Heart' the first time I saw it, it wasn't until a few years later that I embraced the Tom Waits musical soundtrack the way Marty had:
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For a short dog time in 1984 I was unemployed and decided I would make my living by betting on the horse races at Hollywood Park. (Ha! That "job" didn't last very long!) Mornings, I would drive to the race track and place that day's bets. Then I'd meet my dear pal Pooh and we'd go to Azteca Mexican Restaurant in Venice for a 99-Cent Club meeting. (Margaritas were just 99 cents until Noon.)
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After the 99-Cent Club meeting adjourned for the day, Pooh and I would go to his place (the house at Pooh corner) to drink beer and listen to music. It was then & there that Pooh thoroughly indoctrinated me into the music of Tom Waits via the album 'Small Change'. (The other album I most remember us listening to during that time in 1984 was Randy Newman's 'Trouble In Paradise'. We nearly played the grooves off those two LPs.) Before long, I owned all of the pre-'83 Tom Waits albums, including the soundtrack for 'One From The Heart', which I fell in love with! Finally, I understood Marty's fascination with those songs and, today, that is my second favorite movie soundtrack album of all time.
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START BATTLE
Although it is one of the most notorious movie bombs in Hollywood history, Francis Ford Coppola's 'One From The Heart' has always been on my Top 25 favorite movies list. Coppola wrote: "My son Gian-Carlo brought me a Tom Waits record ...it was 'Foreign Affairs', and it had this beautiful duet called 'I Never Talk To Strangers' with Bette Midler singing the female part, and I thought, wow, that's a concept! I can have the male voice and the female voice and they can be involved in dialog, working out issues in song, sort of paralleling the male and female protagonists in the story".
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This Battle Of The Booze contest features the Tom Waits song with Bette Midler that inspired Frances Ford Coppola to make the movie 'One From The Heart'. The challenger is an actual song from the movie soundtrack which has Tom Waits singing a duet with Crystal Gayle. Both duets happen to mention booze - or, as some of us call it, "evidence":
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"Bartender, I'd like a Manhattan, please."
~ 'I Never Talk To Strangers'
(Psst! A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey. And the line "You must be reading my mail" is one I have used countless times!)
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"I'll be living on chicken and wine after we're through, with someone I pick up after you."
~ 'Picking Up After You'
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I Never Talk To Strangers
Tom Waits & Bette Midler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uctxOZEusuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uctxOZEusuI
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Picking Up After You
Tom Waits & Crystal Gayle
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Please vote for your duet of preference in the comment section, and then please visit the other participants and also vote on their Battles.
* See the BOTBer links over there --->
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I intend to return with my own vote and the final tally on or about May 8th of this year.
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~ STMcC
Hey there Stephen!
ReplyDeleteI'm going out on a limb here and gonna say that one needs to have a drink or three to enjoy/appreciate the sound of Tom Waits.
Bette really didnt improve his sound much. in fact I worried that I may start grinding my teeth because it was feeling a lot like nails on a chalkboard.
Crystal did her job and boosted the song to the best of her ability. Her vocals were much more pleasing to my ears.
After listening to both songs, I wanted to hit the local liquor store and drown myself in drink. Thank goodness, it's the middle of the night, and I live in the middle of nowhere and no liquor stores are open right now. I'll have to substitute with the ice cream that I have on hand,
Give my vote to Tom and Jerry.... err I mean, Tom and Crystal. And you, sir, owe me a pint of ice cream! Ha!
~MMQE
MMQE ~
DeleteThere is no question whatsoever that the sound of Tom Waits (like Bob Dylan) is an acquired taste. In fact, I nearly always differentiate between the pre-'83 Tom Waits and the post-'82 Tom Waits.
At a certain point, he began to deliberately over-exaggerate that growl in his voice. It became very much a "put-on", and although I still really dig some of those "fake-voice" songs, I like only a very small handful of his recordings that came after his 'One From The Heart' soundtrack. I don't own a single post-'82 Tom Waits album.
~ D-FensDogG
I always enjoy hearing more about your friends from the old days. Marty is the friend that carved the tiny initials in the window at Disneyland, correct? The one I sneaked into the courtyard to get a photo of it?
ReplyDeleteAs for the battle: let's just say that the pesky musical divide exists and rears it's ugly head from time to time.
This battle features three singers, two of which I dislike at a rather strong level and one singer that I consider to be "better than a poke in the eye with a flaming, salt-encrusted stick."
That is the version that gets the vote. The song itself is nice, lovely, clever and well written. A vote "for" Crystal Gayle.
Sixgun McItchyfinger
6-GUN McITCHY-SCRATCHY ~
Delete>>... "Marty is the friend that carved the tiny initials in the window at Disneyland, correct? The one I sneaked into the courtyard to get a photo of it?"
Well, not quite. *I* am the person who scratched those initials into the window. And the initials were
[Link> KRA,
which stand for Kelly Ray Anderson. He was the second friend of mine who committed suicide (in 1986).
Other than that, however, you've got it right.
[;^)}
>>... This battle features three singers, two of which I dislike at a rather strong level...
No surprise. I knew in advance that you would not particularly like this Battle. In fact, I predicted beforehand, and in writing, that this would not be one of my more popular BOTB installments. But I really liked the concept of it (two duets, same male singer; one song that inspired a movie, and one song actually FROM the movie), so I decided to run with it.
I really, truly appreciate you participating, even in match-ups that don't thrill you.
Incidentally, there are *MANY* Tom Waits songs that I like a whole lot more than either of the two I've presented in this contest. The next time I use Waits in this BOTB's BOTB series, it will be what I consider an authentic E-Ticket example of Tom's best stuffs. (And I think you may actually like that one.)
~ D-FensDogG
UHP! I'm an idiot!
DeleteNow I remember. You have had TOO many friends suffer unfortunate ends.
Six
Yes, indeed.
DeleteAnd I worry about the fact that I seem to be the common denominator.
~ D-FensDogG
ADDENDUM:
DeleteMr. Sixgun ~
While sitting here drinking my morning coffee and listening to Michael Franks (Morning Music With Joe, Part 2) it dawned on me that my response above had the potential to be misconstrued.
My "Yes, indeed" was in reply to your statement that I "have had TOO many friends suffer unfortunate ends". It was NOT a reply to your "UHP! I'm an idiot!" remark.
I want to take this opportunity to add that committing suicide is NEVER the right answer! Having had two friends do this, I know only too well what it does to friends left behind; all of the "WHAT IFs" and regrets, and wishes that this, that, or the other thing had occurred.
To kill oneself is an awful thing to do to people who care about the individual. If it weren't for the Spiritual wisdom that God has blessed me with, I would have never gotten over the suicides of Ty and Kelly.
Ty visited me in a dream shortly after his death. So I know that he was OK. And all of my studies throughout the following decades has proven to me that God is more understanding than we can even imagine and is not sending the soul of every person who commits suicide to a hellish place.
Nevertheless, it is ALWAYS the wrong thing to do; it is even more hurtful to the friends and family members who have to live on after it. AND it is also something that the soul will need to deal with later. In other words, it's creating negative karma, and karma is a Divine law that polices itself perfectly.
OK, I'm done with this morning's sermon. As you were, sir.
~ D-FensDogG
Your schedule described for 1984 sounds like mine in the early seventies except I was doing different things in a different place. Come to think of it, I wasn't doing much of anything like you said you did except for listening to music. We didn't have any racetrack where I was in Tennessee and there weren't any Mexican restaurants other than a couple in Knoxville and I didn't hang out there too much other than go to the university classes. We did listen to a lot of music though.
ReplyDeleteBetween these choices given I'm going to have to go with the second. It's smoother, mellower and I like Crystal Gayle a whole lot more than Bette Midler.
Lee
LEE ~
DeleteAnother aspect of this match-up that I find interesting is that in the first duet, the guy is trying to pickup a woman in a bar; and in the second duet, he's talking about what he'll do when he dumps this woman and picks-up another woman somewhere.
It's a sort of BEFORE and AFTER picture illustrated in song.
~ D-FensDogG
Such a tragic story about your friend Marty! I'm not familiar with the movie 'One From The Heart', but was always a fan of Teri Garr, so I'll check it out. Trying to make a living betting on horses is for sure a losing proposition! 😆 A Margarita for 99 cents? What a deal!
ReplyDeleteAs for Tom Waits, I'd say he's an acquired taste and one that I haven't acquired. Sorry! That said, I enjoyed his duet with Crystal Gayle better than with Bette Midler. Crystal made his vocals more palatable. Please give my vote to 'Picking Up After You'.
I consumed copious amounts of Manhattan cocktails (made with CANADIAN whiskey) in my younger years, and still enjoy one now and then. In fact, I had one the other night. Cheers! 🥃
DEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~
Delete>>... Such a tragic story about your friend Marty!
Yes, absolutely. I attended the trial of the car thief / murderer, to make sure that the defense attorney didn't pull any "stunt" and that some ridiculous loophole wasn't applied which would have allowed the guy to go free (or nearly so). If justice was not served, I intended to find the guy and administer justice myself. (Today, he is still in prison, where he belongs.)
Everything I knew about betting on horse races, I learned from my Pa. And he actually knew what he was doing. Unfortunately, though, in 1984, I was playing too much (the 99-Cent Club; then drinking beer & listening to Tom Waits and Randy Newman) to really concentrate on the Racing Forms like I should have been doing. If I hadn't been drinking like that, and if I'd been taking the "math" in the Racing Forms more seriously, I probably could have lasted an extra month before I had to quit my Hollywood Park "job". ;^D
>>... "I consumed copious amounts of Manhattan cocktails... in my younger years, and still enjoy one now and then."
In the comment section of my recent Tiny Tim BOTB installment, I wrote the following to me ol' pal, Pooh:
>>... "Do you think I have any Tom Waits songs lined up to be used in future BOTB's BATTLE OF THE BOOZE contests? Yer dern betcha I has! In fact, I'll get one posted here pert-dern soon, just because thou hast inspired me."
So, FUN FACT: Thinking about using Tom Waits soon in BOTB's BOTB, and remembering how, in an Email, you had recently mentioned drinking Manhattans, THAT is how I arrived at THIS very Battle! I thought: Tom Waits against... who?
And then I remembered that his duet with Bette Midler started with her asking a bartender for a Manhattan. And that is the true story of how we got [Link> HERE!
~ Stephen-Boy
I had a hunch you were referring to that email. Glad it was helpful! ☺
DeleteDEBBIE ~
DeleteYes, your tastes largely inspired two of my more recent Battles. A) Your taste in music (Eric Burdon) and B) your taste in hooch (Manhattans). Thanks for the sparks o' influence!
~ D'DogG
I think Crystal Gayle is just the ticket for 'Good old Tom'. "After you.." gets my vote.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten what a lovely voice Crystal has.
dIEDRE ~
DeleteTruth be told, because the duet between Tom Waits & Bette Midler was the inspiration for the movie 'One From The Heart', Coppola & Waits originally wanted Midler to do the female singing on the movie soundtrack album.
However, because Midler wasn't available at that time, they settled on Crystal Gayle as a replacement. And I'm really glad they did, because her sweet voice is ideally juxtaposed against Tom's gravelly croaking.
That may sound like a backhanded compliment to the movie's soundtrack but, as I wrote in this post, it really is my second favorite movie soundtrack of all time! I may even like the soundtrack better than the movie itself (although I love both).
~ D-FensDogG
2 oz. rye, 1 oz. sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angoustura bitters, 1 maraschino cherry. Mom and her husband loved their Manhattans...
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, I'm voting for Crystal Gayle.
SIR JOHN ~
DeleteWait! Are you sure that recipe for a Manhattan is correct? I thought it was:
1/4 ounce absinthe
2 ounces Massenez Poire Williams
3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
3/4 ounce rich simple syrup
1 egg white
Garnish: fresh grated nutmeg
Garnish: 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
No wonder I've never liked Manhattans; I've been making them all wrong! (But at least I was getting the "bitters" part right. ;^D)
~ D-FensDogG
VOTE = TW with Bette Midler
ReplyDeleteI Never Talk To Strangers!
Tough, tough battle, dude. Both of these tracks are now on more than one of my Spotify playlists, thank you very much, indeed.
I am not even sure how I chose to go with the Strangers song over the Picking Up song. At all. I just kind of flipped a virtual coin in my noggin, and it came with Bette's voluptuosity on it.
That is my story, and alas and oh well if y'all don't like it, eh?
~Ed.
Señor Eduardo ~
DeleteWell, I'm pleased as spiked punch that someone finally came along who really liked this match-up and enjoyed both recordings.
I was actually anticipating a negative reaction to this BOTB installment, but I did it anyways, because that's the guys I am.
In fact, the day before this blog bit was posted, I wrote the following in an Email to my friend MMQE:
I've got my new BOTB's Battle Of The Booze installment all written up and scheduled to post tomorrow. I really like the concept that is the foundation of this next Battle, but I have a feeling it is not going to be a very popular installment. It will include the "singing" of Tom Waits in both songs, and Tom Waits, like Bob Dylan, is pretty much a love him or hate him entertainer. And based on the almost non-existence of Waits in the history of BOTB, I don't think he's popular in our circle. If everyone hates on this match-up, I may just have to break out a bottle to drown my sorrow in. Wouldn't that be an unfortunate thing? (I think I'll go buy the bottle today, just so I'm already prepared, like a good Boy Scout.)
But at least YOU enjoyed this contest, Ed.
If you're not already well aware of Tom's recordings, I have a strong recommendation for ya: Although I got introduced to the songwriting of Waits through the album 'Small Change' and the soundtrack to 'One From The Heart', I would really point to the album 'The Heart Of Saturday Night' as the best place to begin. That was his second LP, released in 1974, and it's still my favorite. I wouldn't describe it as an "overly uplifting" collection, but there are songs on it that, lyrically, just leave me awed, stunned, and even envious. Mang, that dude could WRITE!
>>... "voluptuosity"
That's one of my all-time favorite osities!
~ D-FensDogG
Of course I heard of the movie but have yet to see it. Some great Westerns have fantastic cinematography. I like Tom Waits and his Satchmo impression with Bette won me over so they got my vote.
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteThanks so much for stopping by and lending a hand to Tom & Bette. (They needs all the helps they can get here.)
The 'Western' is my favorite movie genre and, yes, there is some really good cinematography in some of them. I think I'd put 'Once Upon A Time In The West' as king of the hill, top of the heap. I love how in 'Back To The Future III' they mimicked that outstanding crane shot that took us over the roof of the train depot. Great stuffs!
~ D-FensDogG
Great battle and great movie! I came into this expecting to hate the Bette Midler song, because I'm not a Bette Midler fan of any kind - her music, her movies, her face, her as a person. With that said, the song was pretty good, and I actually could tolerate her. Unfortunately, tolerating isn't enough to beat "Picking Up After You." I love the horn in that one, and the emotion, and Tom and Crystal complement each other better in that one.
ReplyDeleteLet's add to the blowout. Another bote for Tom y Crystal.
Hermano Cerveza Boy Bryan Guardaespaldas Betty ~
DeleteHey, hey, hey! Someone else who dug what was goin' down hereabouts. Glad I could present it for your consideration.
And I'm also glad that you mentioned the "horn", because it opens up a way for me to say this:
That fantastic trumpet playing came from the legendary lips of Jack Sheldon. Who he?
[Link> Jack Sheldon
Some time in or around 1990 (best guess), the Countess and I got to see Sheldon in a small club located inside the Four Queens casino in downtown Las Vegas. So, so-oooo old school cool. Anyone who didn't get to see Sheldon live don't know Jack! He played in several of the songs on the 'One From The Heart' soundtrack and added so much class and blue to the atmosphere.
Julio, thanks for your continued support of BOTB.
~ D-FensDogG
Gee, am I ever glad that I did a double check. I clean skipped over you yesterday somehow. I suppose I had too much going on. Anywho, I didn't know either of the songs. I definitely liked one more than the other. My vote goes to "Picking Up After You". Have a bandtastic week, Stephen!
ReplyDeleteCAThy! It's That YOU!
DeleteThanks for double-checking and making your way over here. I may not be the hostess with the most-est, but 'Ding Dongs' can definitely be found in this rugged landscape. (I have no idea what any of that means.)
This match-up is quite a blowout in the making, but someone had to post it. And if not me, who? If not now, when?
I think I'll make up for this Battle next time by using Lawrence Welk's 'Bubbles In The Wine' versus Don Ho's 'Tiny Bubbles'.
(And I have no idea what *that* means, either!)
~ D-FensDogG
Al Bondigas here. I really liked both songs, but, I can't stand that fake gravelly voice that Tom Waits puts on, and I absolutely cannot stand Bette Midler personally. Therefore, you could assume that Waits/Gayle would win hands down, but believe it or not, I'm makin' a rulin' fer Waits/Midler because I really dig that song. Both were excellent but, the rulin' goes to Tom Waits and the hag. That's it!! That's muh rulin'!!
ReplyDeleteJUDGEY ~
DeleteHoot Gibson!! I sure as helck did NOT see that coming. Perhaps The Amazing Sixwell did, but surely I did not! (Sorry about calling you Shirley.)
On Tom's first two albums (the second is my all-time favorite) he was singing with his natural voice. It had that gravelly baritone which sounded good to me. Kind of like a White Satchmo. Starting with his third album 'Nighthawks At The Diner' (a live in-studio recording) one could tell that he was laying the gravel on thicker than natural. All the subsequent albums had the "fake" voice on them. Except that on the soundtrack for 'One From The Heart' he definitely toned it down quite a bit. Probably because it was a movie soundtrack that was supposed to appeal to the masses, and not just that small Tom Waits clique.
So many of Tom's songs are so great that I dig them despite the artificial voice. But that second collection - 'The Heart Of Saturday Night' - has not only some of his best songwriting, but also features his "real" gravelly voice, that I find easy to listen to, and even like. So, that second LP (Now available on compact disc and streaming sources wherever great music is played!) was the best of both Waits worlds.
Thanks for the rulin', Judgey!
~ D'DogG
And Stephen... Sorry for missing your last Battle. I recall sharing Tom Waits with you along with sharing perhaps a few too many Mickey's as well making the memories distant and a bit fogged and malty, like most of the early 80's. I like both songs but my vote goes with Tom and Bette, just a better song overall to my suspect ears. And not just because Al Bondigas chose it, you see I have my own mind now if that is okay with you.
ReplyDeleteJW with a bad liver and a broken heart,
Pooooooooh!
...AND, POOH, THAT'S NOT ALL!...
DeleteI figured your ears would be itching right about now, unless your antenna had gone bad.
I gotta admit that had it not been for those post-99 Cent Club beer & music sessions, I might never have discovered the music of Tom Waits. Yes, I had already seen the movie 'One From The Heart', but it wasn't until you got me into 'Small Change' that I started listening to other Waits albums, including the movie soundtrack. So... thank you for straightening out my music life!
>>... a few too many Mickey's
Too many Mickey's? Is that really a thing?!
(I only buy Playboy for the articles, and I only buy Mickey's for the bottle cap puzzles.)
>>... you see I have my own mind now if that is okay with you.
Why, the NERVE O' YOU! To even think you could possibly have a mind of your own without checking with me FIRST, to see if contemplating such a possibility was even acceptable is unacceptable! You owe not just me, but the entire class, a full apology.
>>... JW with a bad liver and a broken heart
I'll meet you at the bottom of a bottle of bargain Scotch. I got me a bottle and a dream.
Thanks for bringing some SoCo for this BOTB punch bowl, McBruhthuh!
~ D-FensDogG
DogGtor of Alcohology &
King of Inebriation Nation