Today is Tom Waits’ birthday. His atmospheric, strange, and memorable music has always been a fave of mine. Let’s put some quarters in the jukebox and have a listen, why not?
I find the tracking shots and black and white cinematography the perfect match for Waits’ theme for “Down By Law”:
Here’s the church hymn-like “Rat’s Theme” from the 1984 documentary “Streetwise”:
I also found an appropriately surrealistic compilation of his various movie appearances through the years. (By the way, check out his solid tango style at minute 1.51.):
And, lastly, I link to a truly charming letter he wrote to a young fan in 2006.