Thanks as always for these song commentaries! I played "Dog Door" in my Adult Ed Tom Waits class, and one student was a big Sparklehorse fan, so that was fun.
While I liked the attitude of the cover you presented, I think the Waits/Sparklehorse version is much more interesting. I wrote this about it: "the sinister bass line steers the song past the feedback and distortion, with Waits' falsetto as tour guide on this scary carnival ride."
And maybe I'm reaching here, but I thought there were several echoes in the lyrics to other Waits tunes. Obviously, there's the link to "Starving in the Belly of a Whale," but also lines reminiscent of "First Kiss" and "It's Over." But Waits pilfers his own catalogue quite a bit, so this isn't unusual.
Thanks as always for these song commentaries! I played "Dog Door" in my Adult Ed Tom Waits class, and one student was a big Sparklehorse fan, so that was fun.
While I liked the attitude of the cover you presented, I think the Waits/Sparklehorse version is much more interesting. I wrote this about it: "the sinister bass line steers the song past the feedback and distortion, with Waits' falsetto as tour guide on this scary carnival ride."
And maybe I'm reaching here, but I thought there were several echoes in the lyrics to other Waits tunes. Obviously, there's the link to "Starving in the Belly of a Whale," but also lines reminiscent of "First Kiss" and "It's Over." But Waits pilfers his own catalogue quite a bit, so this isn't unusual.
Interesting! Yes I see the lyrical echoes—though I wish those lyrics were easier to actually make out