20 March 2007

A Jesuit Likes Tom Waits

Well now, this is interesting. Times Online has an article about a Catholic priest, Father Antonio Spadero, writing in a Jesuit journal that Tom Waits represents "the marginalised and misunderstood," and that rock music "has great expressive power which reaches peoples’ souls." Tom Waits's beliefs aren't public as far as I know--which makes the statement just that much more surprising--though he gets into God territory every now and then, such as in Road to Peace or God's Away on Business.

If I were a Catholic, I'd be very sad at how surprising a statement like that is--regardless of how self-evident it sounds to the rest of the world. Can we have this guy for pope next? A world with fewer public figures saying stupid things would be so nice. . .

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4 comments:

bigshoulders said...

Hi,
longtime Waits fan here.
some more nuggets of faith can be found in his collaboration with Gavin Bryars' "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet". He gets apocalyptic on Bone Machine with "Earth Died Screaming" and "Dirt in the Ground." "Lord, I Been Changed" could be a nod to being born-again while "Down There By the Train" is a great gospel spiritual... just to name a few more songs.

I'm somewhat curious to know if Tom is a Christian or not. Could be the influence of his wife and long-time music collaborator, Kathleen Brennan. Be that as it may, his songs certainly have a note of authenticity, but I'll take it at face value.

cheers,
b.s.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, may all your wishes come true!

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, may all your wishes come true!

Anonymous said...

It`s really nice article. Thank u a lot