In a stroke of genius, Tom Waits interviewed himself for the UK’s Independent. Topics include the things you would and wouldn’t expect from Waits; Route 66 and coffee, film, irony, Times Square, Marcel Marceau, literary and musical influences, and the definition of a gentlemen. Some gems:
Q: What’s wrong with the world?
A: We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance and wealth with happiness. Leona Helmsley’s dog made $12m last year… and Dean McLaine, a farmer in Ohio, made $30,000. It’s just a gigantic version of the madness that grows in every one of our brains. We are monkeys with money and guns.
Q: Do you have words to live by?
A: The director Jim Jarmusch once told me, “Fast, Cheap, and Good… pick two. If it’s fast and cheap, it won’t be good. If it’s cheap and good, it won’t be fast. If it’s fast and good, it won’t be cheap.” Fast, cheap and good… pick two words to live by.
For those in the south, good luck getting tickets to his upcoming tour dates.
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