NPR radio interview

The NPR radio show Morning Edition aired an interview with Tom Waits about his role as the devil in Terry Gilliam's movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus on December 28. You can listen to it on line or download it here (mp3 - 3,3MB).

"I worked mainly on being relaxed. Because if the Devil isn't relaxed, none of us are relaxed."

'Quite possibly' a new Tom Waits album in 2010

According to the LA Times, Tom Waits might release a new studio album somewhere next year.

“You're never sure how long it will take. You write two songs and you put them in a room together and they have offspring.”

Last chance

Just a quick reminder: the December giveaway closes tomorrow night.

Globe and Mail interview

The Globe and Mail has an interview with Tom Waits about his role as the devil in The imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

I think of myself as a director of movies for the ears

Glitter and Doom deal on Amazon

ANTI celebrates the holidays with special deals on Amazon.com. Glitter and Doom is on sale for $6.99 $4.99 on Friday (December 18) from 9am - 12pm (PST).

American Routes and NPR

This week's episode of radio show American Routes features Dave Brubeck and Tom Waits. And it's available online (hour 1 - hour 2).

Radio station NPR is interviewing Tom Waits this month about Dr. Parnassus as well as his career in general. The show will most likely air the week after Christmas on Morning Edition. More details later on.

Glitter & Doom Live reviews

Some reviews of the Glitter & Doom Live record. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

English:

• Paste Magazine: Music’s cookie-monster contrarian gets his Peter Pan on
• BBC: That he is a copper-bottomed, titanium-plated genius is undeniable
• The Guardian / The Observer
• Times Online
• Boston Globe
• Pitchfork
• The Phoenix
• News.Scotsman
• Creative Loafing
• Snob's Music
• Crawdaddy!
• The Daily Record
• Drowned in Sound
• The Sydney Morning Herald
• Halifax / The Coast
• Guelph Mercury
• Syracuse New Times
• The Ledger

Dutch:

• De Volkskrant: Een lompe Tom Waits

Parnassus dvd

Amazon.co.uk has the release date of The Imaginarium of doctor Parnassus set at 29 March, 2010. Amazon.com has no date yet.

Amigos Fantasmas win Dutch cover competition

First prize in the cover competition organised by Shouting Boots, a show on Dutch radio station Radio6, went to Amigos Fantasmas for their version of I don't wanna grow up. Listen to the song and the complete radio show at the Shouting Boots website.

Orphans limited edition vinyl box reviews

There don't seem to be that much actual reviews around, they're mostly announcements, but nevertheless:

• Pitchfork
• Glide magazine
• Consequence of Sound
• Exclaim

Special edition of Musik & Mythos illlustrations

The illustrations Jurgen Verfaillie and Gabriela Linares made for Musik and Mythos, the German translation of Wild Years: The Music and Myth of Tom Waits by Jay S. Jacobs are now available separately.

They are printed on 350 gr. sheets of Hahnemühe Museum Etching paper (300mm x 240mm) and are fitted into ahandcrafted, wooden box along with a copy of the book and a postcard set of the illustrations.

The number of boxes is limited to 10 and each of them will receive an individual finish that goes in line with the work of the man, making them one of a kind. What the finish will be is a surprise. So you'll only know if you get one.

A box will cost 150 euro a box (excl. shipment). 'Any price below that would be an insult to the illustrators, especially after substracting the manufacturing costs' the people at Stagecraft Entertainment explain the price.

In addition to the 10 boxes, they are also offering three prints of each of the 12 motives individually at 15 euro a piece (excl. shipment) from Monday, December 14th onwards.
The boxes are allocated on a first come, first served basis. If you're interested please contact Tommi Brem at tommi@stagecraftentertainment.com.

If you like the drawings, be sure to check the blog the next few days for another giveaway.

Dutch cover competition

Remember the cover competition organised by Dutch radio show Shouting Boots? Well, you can now listen to the entries online and leave your comment on the show's website.

Entries close today, so if you want to send in your Tom Waits cover (at shoutingboots@gmail.com), hurry up.

The actual show will be aired this Saturday (21-24hrs, local time).

Tom Waits Library temporarily closed

As many of you have undoubtedly noticed, the Tom Waits Library has been off line for some time. Fear not: allegedly, the Librarian is doing fine and - if all goes well - the Library should be open for business somewhere in January. No fines will be imposed for overdue books.

Orphans box available now

Record company ANTI announces via Tom Waits' Facebook page and via Twitter the limited edition Orphans box is available now. Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk seem to have a few copies in stock, the UK/EU shop of KingsRoadMerch still labels it as "in stock soon". The US KingsRoadMerch shop has no further details.

UPDATE (Dec. 11): Looks like you can actually order a copy through the KingsRoadMerch shop now.

New layout

You might have noticed The Eyeball Kid looks a little bit different. Feel free to share your thoughts on the new layout or suggest further improvements in the comments.

Yearbook

On Ebay now: the 1968 Hilltop High School (Chula Vista, Ca.) yearbook from 1968, the year Tom Waits graduated.

Tom Waits as a hobbit?

Unconfirmed, but way too nice not to mention it: according to Aintitcool.com, Tom Waits is rumoured to be offered a part in director Peter Jackson's big-screen version of J.R.R.'s Tolkien's classic novel The Hobbit.

UPDATE (Dec. 8th): In a statement to Paste, Waits’ publicist said, “No one has contacted him about this role.”

Happy 60th birthday

On December 7, 1949, Thomas Alan Waits was born to Jesse Frank Waits and Alma Johnson McMurray.

Waits on Coverville

Today Tomorrow (Dec. 3rd), the Coverville podcast is supposed to feature Tom Waits covers in honor of his 60th birthday on December 7th. I can't find the online link, but you should be able to get it on iTunes.