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When I first heard “Clap Hands,” I hated it so much I resolved to never listen to Tom Waits again.
This was during my freshman year in college. I was a recently-minted Bob Dylan superfan, and Tom’s was a name that would pop up occasionally on the Dylan message boards. At one point, I was browsing some sort of shared college server where you could download music quickly. (The college had a T1 line! I don’t even really know what that is, but it was a big deal at the time.) Some other student had shared Rain Dogs on that server, so I downloaded it to my computer, and hit play.
I made it through “Singapore” okay. But when I got to track two, “Clap Hands,” I said – nope. Not for me. Frankly, I couldn’t believe this madcap xylophone music would be for anyone. I don’t know whether I even made it to Marc Ribot’s typically off-kilter guitar solo, but that certainly wouldn’t have helped. This son of a bitch was never coming back here no more.
Sure enough, I didn’t listen to Tom again for another year and a half. Deleted Rain Dogs from my computer and all but forgot he existed. Until late July, 2006. And if you’re wondering how I can be so specific, it’s because that’s when Dylan (there he is again) released the 13th episode of Theme Time Radio Hour, his XM Radio show.
That week’s theme was “Rich Man, Poor Man,” and DJ Dylan spun a bunch of tracks about money. “Do Re Mi” by Woody Guthrie. “The Welfare (Turns Its Back On You)” by Freddie King. “Brother Can You Spare A Dime” (a song we explored here) by Bing Crosby. And “On the Nickel” by Tom Waits.
That hooked me. His voice still sounds like [insert-your-Tom-Waits-cliché-here], but the music behind that voice is much more conventional. A big orchestra and a beautiful melody. We’ll get to it eventually.
That started my Tom Waits journey. The path gets murkier from there. At some point, I must have decided to give Rain Dogs another try. I made it past track two that time, clearly. I realized the error of my ways.
In 2017, The Telegraph ranked “Clap Hands” as Tom’s 15th best song ever. I wouldn’t put it that high myself, but I can’t object to anyone who would. It’s a classic. It just may not be the best initial entry point to the Waits catalog.
I reckon the most important thing about Clap Hands is that, even though Tom had turned a musical corner earlier with Swordfishtrombones, this was the first song to properly introduce listeners to the genius that is Marc Ribot, who had an enduring influence on this and several subsequent albums. As a young guitar player this song and his solo in it totally changed my life!
I first encountered Tom in my early childhood because my parents loved him. When I sat down and properly listened to him in college by listening to Rain Dogs, I realized songs like “Clap Hands” and even “Cemetery Polka” are almost nostalgic songs to me because they had been present in my childhood. I even remembered some of the words to them! Imagine that, a song like “Cemetery Polka” almost bringing you nostalgia.