Circus - Real Gone [324]

As EE Cummings said… 'damn everything but the circus'… although Dominic, Martin and Sam question whether this Circus deserves praise or damnation itself. We compare to other sections of Waits's work, as well as other real and fictional songs, plus the value of talking to strangers on night-buses.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Circus, Real Gone (remastered), Tom Waits (2004/2017)

Circus, Real Gone (original), Tom Waits (2004)

Moon Over Dog Street, single, Sour Sweet Tooth / Keith Sanders (2012)

Moanin Low, single, Billie Holiday (1937)

Livery Stable Blues, single B-side, Original Dixieland Jass Band (1917)

Thousand Bing Bangs, Devout Catalyst, Ken Nordine & Tom Waits (1991)

Circus, Stories for Ways and Means, Ken Nordine (2017)

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Dead and Lovely - Real Gone [323]

Dominic is back with Sam and Martin, thinking about both the beauty and exploitation-of-beauty that this song contains, and considering how it compares with the traditions of murder ballads. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Dead and Lovely, Real Gone (remastered), Tom Waits (2004/2017)

Dead and Lovely, Real Gone (original), Tom Waits (2004)

Long Black Veil, single, Jenny Owen Youngs (2017)

Long Black Veil, single, Lefty Frizzell (1959)

Long Black Veil, Music From Big Pink, The Band (1968)

The Long Black Veil, The Long Black Veil, The Chieftains / Mick Jagger (1995)

The Long Black Veil, Orange Blossom Special, Johnny Cash (1965)

The Suspicious Death Of Carol Wayne, Facts Verse, via YouTube (2021)

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Metropolitan Glide - Real Gone [322]

Musician and theatre-maker Dominic Conway gets his dancing shoes on with Sam and Martin for a conversation about the sonic feel of this track, the lack of lyrical focus in this album, and workout instructionals of the early 2000s.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Metropolitan Glide, Real Gone (remastered), Tom Waits (2004/2017)

Metropolitan Glide, Real Gone (original), Tom Waits (2004)

Cha Cha Slide, Cha Cha Slide, DJ Casper (1998/2004)

Lean Back, True Story, Terror Squad (2004)

Cha Cha Slide, SNL sketch via YouTube (2019)

The Cha Cha Slide: How One Uncle Changed Weddings Forever, Every Little Thing podcast (2018)

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