Other Mixes By mahdishain
CD
|
Single Artist
MP3 Playlist
|
Theme
MP3 Playlist
|
Theme
In This Corner
| Artist | Song | |
| John Prine | Sweet Revenge | |
| Tom Waits | Eyeball Kid | |
| John Prine | Sam Stone | |
| Tom Waits | Swordfishtrombones | |
| John Prine | Souvenirs | |
| Tom Waits | Soldier's Things | |
| John Prine | The Great Compromise | |
| Tom Waits | Day After Tomorrow | |
| John Prine | Angel From Montgomery | |
| Tom Waits | Jersey Girl | |
| John Prine | Christmas In Prison | |
| Tom Waits | Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis | |
| John Prine | Jesus The Missing Years | |
| Tom Waits | Chocolate Jesus | |
| John Prine | In Spite Of Ourselves | |
| Tom Waits | I Never Talk To Strangers | |
| John Prine | Fish And Whistle | |
| Tom Waits | Fish And Bird | |
Comment:
In this corner, wearing the bruised orange trunks and an illegal smile, just back from a six month tour of paradise, John "Sweet Revenge" Prine.And in the opposite corner, sporting white trunks with blue valentines, a bad liver and a broken heart, fresh off a two-night engagement in the belly of a starving whale, Tom "The Eyeball Kid" Waits.
Toe to toe, song to song, chin to chin, nine rounds of intense competition between two evenly matched fighters.
John Prine, born 1946, has sixteen original albums since 1971, plus assorted live albums and compilations.
Tom Waits born 1949, has seventeen original albums since 1973, plus assorted live albums, movie soundtracks, and compilations.
Each fighter has won two Grammys.
For those of you who want to score at home, feel free to inject round by round comments as well as final scores as we try to crown an AotM heavyweight champion.
Feedback:
I said Hail Hail, the Eyeball kid
Hail Hail, the Eyeball kid
Hail Hail, the Eyeball kid
Aah, excellent, I was hoping that the comments on the Van Zandt/Dylan would indeed spawn a mix like this. I remain somewhat neutral in this particular battle, but I do hope that the judges will be fairer this time around ;)
KO for Waits and his new album is in my top three for the year.
Sorry, got stuck in my closet, among my overalls, but now that we are rolling
Take it back
take it back
oh no, you can't say that
all of my friends
are not dead or in jail
Take it back
take it back
oh no, you can't say that
all of my friends
are not dead or in jail
Prine's consistent vision over his career puts him on equal footing, and while not as seemingly prolific as Mr. Waits, he is ready for the slamdown.
Do your worst
"hey charlie i almost went crazy
after mario got busted
so i went back to omaha to
live with my folks
but everyone i used to know
was either dead or in prison
so i came back to minneapolis
this time i think i'm gonna stay"
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
cut the sweet songs-Sweet revenge? Sounds like someone's pinning their hopes on a rematch.
Meet my stare sucka, we'll see who blinks first.
You're bout to go down to a man with no body.
Meet my stare sucka, we'll see who blinks first.
You're bout to go down to a man with no body.
"Well he came home from the war
with a party in his head
and an idea for a fireworks display"
with a party in his head
and an idea for a fireworks display"
Jersey girl? Looks more like a Jersey cow!
I got kicked off Noah's Ark
I turn my cheek to unkind remarks
there was two of everything
but one of me
and when the rains came tumbling down
I held my breath and I stood my ground
and I watched that ship go sailing
out to sea.
I got kicked off Noah's Ark
I turn my cheek to unkind remarks
there was two of everything
but one of me
and when the rains came tumbling down
I held my breath and I stood my ground
and I watched that ship go sailing
out to sea.
Ow! Prine's sentimentality allows for cheap blows by the wirier and meaner Waits
All the snow has turned to water,
Christmas days have come and gone.
Broken toys and faded colors are all that's left to linger on.
I hate graveyards and old pawn shops,
For they always bring me tears.
I can't forgive the way they robbed me of my childhood souvenirs.
All the snow has turned to water,
Christmas days have come and gone.
Broken toys and faded colors are all that's left to linger on.
I hate graveyards and old pawn shops,
For they always bring me tears.
I can't forgive the way they robbed me of my childhood souvenirs.
that cut about my jersey girl hurt. you keep hitting like a Kylie Minogue song (you know, below the belt) you're gonna pay.
meaner than someone who got kicked off of noah's ark?
And Prine is staggering a bit now, Day After Tomorrow puts Prine on the mat for a 4 count when John's extended metaphor meanders aimlessly, and the Waits track which follows really goes for the jugular:
I knew a girl who was almost a lady
She had a way with all the men in her life
Every inch of her blossomed in beauty
And she was born on the fourth of July
Well she lived in an aluminum house trailer
And she worked in a juke box saloon
And she spent all the money I give her
Just to see the old man in the moon
I knew a girl who was almost a lady
She had a way with all the men in her life
Every inch of her blossomed in beauty
And she was born on the fourth of July
Well she lived in an aluminum house trailer
And she worked in a juke box saloon
And she spent all the money I give her
Just to see the old man in the moon
The Great Compromise? You'll be lucky to be a pretty good compromise when I'm through with you.
Speaking of compromise, why did you steal a line from you own song, Donald and Lydia, to finish The Great Compromise. Two albums into a career and you're stuck all ready?
Speaking of compromise, why did you steal a line from you own song, Donald and Lydia, to finish The Great Compromise. Two albums into a career and you're stuck all ready?
I close my eyes
Every night
And I dream that I can hold you
They fill us full of lies
Everyone buys
About what it means to be a soldier
I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel
About all the blood that's been spilled
Look out on the street
Get me back home
On the day after tomorrow
Every night
And I dream that I can hold you
They fill us full of lies
Everyone buys
About what it means to be a soldier
I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel
About all the blood that's been spilled
Look out on the street
Get me back home
On the day after tomorrow
Aw, man, that was a cheap shot at a song I didn't want on here anyway! ;-)
I fully cede that round (track 7-8) to Mr. Waits
Hey, but both are men enough to write as women:
I am an old woman named after my mother
My old man is another child that's grown old
If dreams were lightning thunder was desire
This old house would have burnt down a long time ago
And then Johnny's feeling a bit spry now, with the absolutely perfect picture of a loveless marriage, jab, jab back at you with this:
There's flies in the kitchen I can hear 'em there buzzing
And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today.
How the hell can a person go to work in the morning
And come home in the evening and have nothing to say.
I fully cede that round (track 7-8) to Mr. Waits
Hey, but both are men enough to write as women:
I am an old woman named after my mother
My old man is another child that's grown old
If dreams were lightning thunder was desire
This old house would have burnt down a long time ago
And then Johnny's feeling a bit spry now, with the absolutely perfect picture of a loveless marriage, jab, jab back at you with this:
There's flies in the kitchen I can hear 'em there buzzing
And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today.
How the hell can a person go to work in the morning
And come home in the evening and have nothing to say.
You gonna need a guardian angel and a pardon from the governor to survive past the day after tomorrow.
got no time for the corner boys, down in the street makin' all that noise,
don't want no whores on eighth avenue, cause tonight i'm gonna be with you.
cause tonight i'm gonna take that ride, across the river to the jersey side,
take my baby to the carnival, and i'll take you on all the rides
don't want no whores on eighth avenue, cause tonight i'm gonna be with you.
cause tonight i'm gonna take that ride, across the river to the jersey side,
take my baby to the carnival, and i'll take you on all the rides
Okay, Johnny's recovering from that blow, now trying to sweet-talk my way to a TKO with this one, sentimental and bitter and profound and simplistic at the same time, eh? I'm throwing this whole song at you and there ain't nuthin wrong with that!
It was Christmas in prison
And the food was real good
We had turkey and pistols
Carved out of wood
And I dream of her always
Even when I don't dream
Her names on my tongue
And her bloods in my stream.
Wait awhile eternity
Old mother natures got nothing on me
Come to me
Run to me
Come to me, now
We're rolling
My sweetheart
We're flowing
By God!
She reminds me of a chess game
With someone I admire
Or a picnic in the rain
After a prairie fire
Her heart is as big
As this whole goddamn jail
And she's sweeter than saccharine
At a drug store sale.
The search light in the big yard
Swings round with the gun
And spotlights the snowflakes
Like the dust in the sun
Its Christmas in prison
There'll be music tonight
Ill probably get homesick
I love you. goodnight.
It was Christmas in prison
And the food was real good
We had turkey and pistols
Carved out of wood
And I dream of her always
Even when I don't dream
Her names on my tongue
And her bloods in my stream.
Wait awhile eternity
Old mother natures got nothing on me
Come to me
Run to me
Come to me, now
We're rolling
My sweetheart
We're flowing
By God!
She reminds me of a chess game
With someone I admire
Or a picnic in the rain
After a prairie fire
Her heart is as big
As this whole goddamn jail
And she's sweeter than saccharine
At a drug store sale.
The search light in the big yard
Swings round with the gun
And spotlights the snowflakes
Like the dust in the sun
Its Christmas in prison
There'll be music tonight
Ill probably get homesick
I love you. goodnight.
Hey, I thought that was a Springsteen song!!! Smells like baby poop to me, the worst kind...
you thought wrong. but i have heard that sam stone was the best dylan song that bob didn't write so we may be even.
Yeah, and on that note, I'm missing one of my strongest blows here, since ol' Bill Monroe thought Prine had discovered "Paradise" somewhere in Appalachia (Hell of a songwriting compliment), but I digress...
i must admit i am a bit stunned everytime i hear the guitar intro to christmas in prison. but i can take a hit."and hey charlie i think about you
everytime i pass a fillin station
om account of all the grease
you used to wear in your hair
and i still have that record
of little anthony & the imperials
but someone stole my record player
now how do you like that?"
everytime i pass a fillin station
om account of all the grease
you used to wear in your hair
and i still have that record
of little anthony & the imperials
but someone stole my record player
now how do you like that?"
I think Prine is ready to finish strong with these last two. He can have Jesus popping bennies and singing Country & Western and yet still sum up the Messiah dilemma with the utmost respect:
He said whatcha gonna be when you grow up?
Jesus said god
Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew and all my wine is blood
They're gonna kill me mama. they don't like me bud.
He said whatcha gonna be when you grow up?
Jesus said god
Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew and all my wine is blood
They're gonna kill me mama. they don't like me bud.
And you thought that Christ was chocolate, but it was poop, baby poop the worst kind (hey, if Prine can steal from himself, I will too)
"Don't go to church on Sunday
Don't get on my knees to pray
Don't memorize the books of the Bible
I got my own special way
Bit I know Jesus loves me
Maybe just a little bit more
I fall on my knees every Sunday
At Zerelda Lee's candy store
Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus
Make me feel good inside
Got to be a chocolate Jesus
Keep me satisfied"
take that, jesus the missing teeth.
Don't get on my knees to pray
Don't memorize the books of the Bible
I got my own special way
Bit I know Jesus loves me
Maybe just a little bit more
I fall on my knees every Sunday
At Zerelda Lee's candy store
Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus
Make me feel good inside
Got to be a chocolate Jesus
Keep me satisfied"
take that, jesus the missing teeth.
I'm gonna spite your nose right off of your face!
I got more balls than a big brass monkey!
I got more balls than a big brass monkey!
He aint been laid in a month of Sundays...He drinks my beer like oxygen...Prine's ready to finish you off, Waits!
You better throw in the white towel now, it's tag team time and Bette's going go divine all over you and Iris.
"your life's a dimestore novel
this town is full of guys like you
and you're looking for someone to take the place of her
and you're bitter cause he left you
that's why you're drinkin in this bar
well only suckers fall in love
with perfect strangers"
this town is full of guys like you
and you're looking for someone to take the place of her
and you're bitter cause he left you
that's why you're drinkin in this bar
well only suckers fall in love
with perfect strangers"
And I'll throw my last punch, standing on my previously-stated conviction (in the People vs. Steve Earle) that Fish & Whistle is about a perfect song as there is:
I been thinking lately about the people I meet
The carwash on the corner and the hole in the street
The way my ankles hurt with shoes on my feet
And I'm wondering if I'm gonna see tomorrow.
Father forgive us for what we must do
You forgive us we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue
Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven.
I been thinking lately about the people I meet
The carwash on the corner and the hole in the street
The way my ankles hurt with shoes on my feet
And I'm wondering if I'm gonna see tomorrow.
Father forgive us for what we must do
You forgive us we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue
Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven.
"They bought a round for the sailor
And they heard his tale
Of a world that was so far away
And a song that we'd never heard
A song of a little bird
That fell in love with a whale
He said, 'You cannot live in the ocean'
And she said to him
'You never can live in the sky'
But the ocean is filled with tears
And the sea turns into a mirror
There's a whale in the moon when it's clear
And a bird on the tide
Please don't cry
Let me dry your eyes
So tell me that you will wait for me
Hold me in your arms
I promise we never will part
I'll never sail back to the time
But I'll always pretend you're mine
Though I know that we both must part
You can live in my heart"
And they heard his tale
Of a world that was so far away
And a song that we'd never heard
A song of a little bird
That fell in love with a whale
He said, 'You cannot live in the ocean'
And she said to him
'You never can live in the sky'
But the ocean is filled with tears
And the sea turns into a mirror
There's a whale in the moon when it's clear
And a bird on the tide
Please don't cry
Let me dry your eyes
So tell me that you will wait for me
Hold me in your arms
I promise we never will part
I'll never sail back to the time
But I'll always pretend you're mine
Though I know that we both must part
You can live in my heart"
Talk about sweet revenge! That sweet little cross-species love tale sounds like a Prine song!
Talk about sweet revenge! That sacharine little cross-species love tale sounds like a Prine song!
we will await the judges decision
John's gonna hit the showers, I'll check back in a little later.
WAITS.
excuse me boys, but I'd like to put 5 big ones on the Eyeball Kid.
Well I know nothing about Prine but love Tom so it's not much of a contest really...
Aw, come on, man, I think this fight was fixed ;-)
I do like a bit of controversy so I'm going for J.P. Pound for pound he's a heavier hitter, I own more Waits but I use the skip facility much more on Rain Dogs than say for instance Prines eponymous classic.
Could clearly go another eighteen rounds with these two. Cold Cold Ground Vs. Illegal Smile? TKO in the 27th, The Eyeball Kid.
John would like to thank you folks for your support...
as the eyeball kid's manager i wonder if the judges were watching the same fight as i was. i would score the fight 3-3-3. my fighter was coasting through this fight, overconfident and saving his best punches. i call it a draw and demand a rematch.
We're ready when you are, John's gonna hit you with a frying pan and have a wedding day in your funeralville, Waits
This battle is colder than a gut-shot bitch wolf dog with nine sucker pups pullin a number four trap up a hill in the dead of winter in the middle of a snow storm with a mouthful of porcupine quils! Waits in a split decision.
Love it. LOVE IT. I don't think I can put it better than Mark, incidentally. Like Barry I own more Waits but it's a really tough call....but I think we all know who threw the winning punch here...
Time for my annual cop-out. Yes indeed, musically -- everyone's a winner.
In terms of technique... how many have been covered by other artists? Adds an "accessibility" dimension. I'd trade for this mix, that's for sure...