TOM WAITS FOR EVERY MAN

By Del Tigre


First things first: you're welcome. No no, please, sit down. Oh, no really, no, thank you. Thank you. Anyway, as I was saying, Big Time is a great concert film--one that, for some bizarre reason, has never been released on DVD. But thanks to the magical tubes of the internet, we don't have to fuck around with that stone age technology anymore. We have two supremely modern choices: one, torrent this bitch, or two, watch it on YouTube. I recommend the latter, since apparently the torrent is a shitty VHS rip. Also, with YouTube, the gratification is instant. Observe:



You want to watch the rest right now? Check out the playlist I made for you!

One of the best things about watching this movie is seeing Tom Waits' bestial performances couched in extremely gaudy 80s production design. The end result looks like a nightmare version of an MTV soundstage, with pianos and confetti and checkerboards and umbrellas and fire. Tom Waits is in character as Frank for much of the film, dressed in a white suit jacket, sunglasses, and a sleazy little mustache. Frank also enjoys smoking cigarettes out of a long holder and grinning satanically. What can I say, it really works.

The movie draws from the album (and play) "Frank's Wild Years." I consider that album to be high in the running for best Tom Waits album ever, maybe edged out by Rain Dogs or Swordfishtrombones. Now we could debate this question all night, but fortunately, thanks to me, we don't have to! Big Time features songs from all three of these seminal albums. Check out this track listing--it even features several songs that aren't on the album version:

Frank's Wild Years
Shore Leave
Way Down In The Hole (fuck yeah!)
Hang On St. Christopher
Telephone Call From Istanbul
Cold Cold Ground
Straight To The Top
Strange Weather (double fuck yeah!)
Gun Street Girl
9th and Hennepin
Clap Hands
Time
Rain Dogs
Train Song
Sixteen Shells From A Thirty Ought Six
I'll Take New York
More Than Rain
Johnsburg, Illinois
Innocent When You Dream (triple fuck yeah!)
Big Black Mariah

Now if that isn't a kick ass set list, I don't know what is. Let's face it--if you fast forward through any part this movie, it pretty much means you don't like music. That's real talk, kids. Get used to it.

Oh and in case you missed it above, here's the link again. If I were you, I'd watch this shit TWICE.