Bad as Me (song)

Last updated
"Bad as Me"
Bad as Me.jpg
Single by Tom Waits
from the album Bad as Me
ReleasedAugust 23, 2011 (2011-08-23)
RecordedFebruary – July 2011
Genre Experimental rock
Length3:10
Label ANTI-
Songwriter(s) Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan
Producer(s) Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan
Tom Waits singles chronology
"Lie to Me"
(2006)
"Bad as Me"
(2011)
"Back in the Crowd"
(2011)

"Bad as Me" is a song by American rock musician Tom Waits, written collectively by Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan. Written and recorded during the sessions for his studio album of the same name, the song was released as Waits' seventeenth single on August 23, 2011 and was the first new studio material by Waits in seven years, since Real Gone in 2004. [1]

Contents

Release

Following an announcement by Waits on his official web site on August 16, 2011 [2] stating that he "will set the record straight," the artwork, track listing, song length and an audio clip of "Bad as Me" were released on Amazon [3] and musicME. [4] According to Waits, in a YouTube video announcing the release of Bad as Me, the leak of information "spoiled the surprise" of his announcement as the single was "going to go out everywhere, into the blood stream." [5] The previous June, Waits posted a picture of a chalkboard, with the lyrics to the song's chorus, on his official web site and social media pages. [6] The song is also the eighth track on Bad as Me that was released on October 24, 2011.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Bad as Me" received critical acclaim. Michael Cragg of The Guardian referred to the track as "as raw and unnerving as ever with this clattering, bluesy comeback track" and noted how there "[is] something deeply sinister about the chorus of 'You're the same kind of bad as me', creating an almost suffocating atmosphere." [7] Stereogum also described the song as "a characteristically unhinged caterwaul," [8] and SFWeekly further commented that the song was "pure, melodramatic Waits, with a dragging blues beat, stabbing, reverb-dipped guitars, and a horn section that plays accomplice to the gritty unfoldings [...] making the whole thing feel like the perfect soundtrack to some dusty bar full of misfits and killers in a Robert Rodriguez film." [9] Over a week after its release, "Bad as Me" was added to Rolling Stone's Editors' Picks and was referred to as "a gloriously ramshackle thing, with pop's greatest living vaudevillian pushing his drunkard's bleat over a honking baritone sax and a clattering oompah beat" and called the lyrics "total nonsense, and pure genius." [10]

Chart performance

Chart (2011)Peak
position
UK Indie (OCC) [11] 36

Track listing

Digital download [12]
  1. "Bad as Me" - 3:10

Cover versions

Tom Jones performs the song on Spirit in the Room, an album of cover versions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Waits</span> American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1949)

Thomas Alan Waits is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the folk scene during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected the influence of such diverse genres as rock, Delta blues, opera, vaudeville, cabaret, funk, hip hop and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. Per The Wall Street Journal, Waits “has composed a body of work that’s at least comparable to any songwriter’s in pop today. A keen, sensitive and sympathetic chronicler of the adrift and downtrodden, Mr. Waits creates three-dimensional characters who, even in their confusion and despair, are capable of insight and startling points of view. Their stories are accompanied by music that’s unlike any other in pop history.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Strokes</span> American indie rock band

The Strokes are an American rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. They were a leading group of the early-2000s post-punk revival and garage rock revival movements.

<i>Rain Dogs</i> 1985 studio album by Tom Waits

Rain Dogs is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in September 1985 on Island Records. A loose concept album about "the urban dispossessed" of New York City, Rain Dogs is generally considered the middle album of a trilogy that includes Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years.

<i>The Black Rider</i> (album) 1993 studio album by Tom Waits

The Black Rider is the twelfth studio album by Tom Waits, released in 1993 on Island Records, featuring studio versions of songs Waits wrote for the play The Black Rider, directed by Robert Wilson and co-written by William S. Burroughs. The play is based on the German folktale Der Freischütz by Johann August Apel, which had previously been made into an opera by Carl Maria von Weber. It is about a clerk who makes a Faustian bargain for magic bullets, with tragic results. The play premiered on March 31, 1990, at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Germany. Its world English-language premiere occurred in 1998 at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. Per the Los Angeles Times, "It’s most easily described as a Faustian musical-tragicomedy."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloc Party</span> English indie rock band

Bloc Party are an English rock band that was formed in London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack. They are joined in the band's current iteration by Louise Bartle and bassist Harry Deacon. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LCD Soundsystem</span> American indie rock band

LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy, Nancy Whang, Pat Mahoney (drums), Tyler Pope, Al Doyle, Matt Thornley, and Korey Richey. They have been signed to DFA since their inception, and also signed to Columbia Records in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Beasts</span> English indie rock band

Wild Beasts were an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in Kendal. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to Domino Records. They have released five acclaimed albums, Limbo, Panto in 2008, Two Dancers in 2009, Smother in 2011, Present Tense in 2014 and Boy King in 2016. Two Dancers was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha (Hole song)</span> 2010 song by Hole

"Samantha" is a song by the American alternative rock band Hole. It is the fifth track on the band's fourth studio album, Nobody's Daughter, released on Mercury Records on April 23, 2010. Written by vocalist Courtney Love, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and music producer Linda Perry, "Samantha" was originally planned as the album's lead single. "Skinny Little Bitch" was later released as the album's lead single on March 12, 2010, and "Samantha" did not receive a single release reputedly due to the controversy over its composition.

<i>Treats</i> (album) 2010 studio album by Sleigh Bells

Treats is the debut studio album by American noise pop duo Sleigh Bells, consisting of vocalist Alexis Krauss and producer/guitarist Derek Miller. It was released on May 24, 2010 by Mom+Pop and N.E.E.T. Recordings. The release was preceded by the April single "Tell 'Em" and featured the group's most popular track, the Funkadelic-sampling "Rill Rill".

Jai Paul is a British songwriter, record producer and recording artist. His early demo "BTSTU" led to his online discovery and a subsequent recording contract with XL Recordings. Together with its follow-up "Jasmine", these songs have been regarded as influential on underground as well as mainstream pop music in the 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Words That Maketh Murder</span> 2011 single by PJ Harvey

"The Words That Maketh Murder" is a song by English musician PJ Harvey. It is the fourth track and lead single from her eighth studio album, Let England Shake, and was released on 6 February 2011 on Island Records. Dealing with diplomacy, the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and world wars, "The Words That Maketh Murder" was produced by Flood, John Parish, Mick Harvey and PJ Harvey. It was Harvey's first single since 2008's "The Devil" and uses similar dynamics of song-writing to its predecessor, including folk influence and instrumentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supercollider / The Butcher</span> 2011 single by Radiohead

"Supercollider" and "The Butcher" are songs by the English rock band Radiohead, released as a double A-side in April 2011 for Record Store Day and June in North America. Radiohead worked on both songs during the sessions for their eighth album, The King of Limbs (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WU LYF</span> English heavy pop band

WU LYF were a band from Manchester, England that originally became known for creating a mystery about themselves by declining requests for interviews and not releasing much information to the press. The band described their music as "heavy pop".

<i>Bad as Me</i> 2011 studio album by Tom Waits

Bad as Me is the seventeenth and most recent studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released on October 21, 2011, by Anti- Records. The album is known to have been recorded as early as February 2011 and was officially announced for release on August 23, 2011, on Waits' official web site and various social media networks. On the same day, the title track, "Bad as Me", was released as the album's first single on iTunes.

<i>Matangi</i> (album) 2013 studio album by M.I.A.

Matangi is the fourth studio album by British rapper and singer M.I.A. It was released on 1 November 2013 on her own label, N.E.E.T. Recordings, an imprint of Interscope Records. M.I.A.'s longtime collaborator Switch primarily handled Matangi's production; Hit-Boy, Doc McKinney, Danja, Surkin, and The Partysquad provided additional contributions. The album was recorded in various locations around the world and featured uncredited input from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Its title is a variant of M.I.A.'s real first name and references the Hindu goddess Matangi. The lyrics feature themes related to Hinduism, including reincarnation and karma, and the music blends Western and Eastern styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Back in the Crowd</span> 2011 single by Tom Waits

"Back in the Crowd" is a song by American rock musician Tom Waits. It is the second single and seventh track from Waits' seventeenth studio album, Bad as Me. Written and produced by Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan, the song was released on September 27, 2011 as a digital download via iTunes and Spotify.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder Clatter</span> 2013 single by Wild Cub

"Thunder Clatter" is a song by Nashville-based indie rock quintet Wild Cub. The song was released as the lead single from the band's debut album Youth on January 14, 2013, but did not chart until it featured in a Bose advertising campaign later that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fryars</span> English musician

Benjamin Garrett, better known by his stage name Fryars, is an English art pop musician from London.

<i>Love You to Death</i> (album) 2016 studio album by Tegan and Sara

Love You to Death is the eighth studio album by Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara, released on June 3, 2016, on Neil Young's label Vapor Records through Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Greg Kurstin, it is the follow-up to the duo's 2013 release Heartthrob, also produced in part by Kurstin. "Boyfriend" was released as the album's lead single on April 8, 2016. The same day, "U-Turn" was also released as a promotional single.

"Futile Devices" is a song by American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens. Originally a track from Stevens' sixth studio album, The Age of Adz, remixes of the song were released in 2012 and 2017, respectively. It was also featured in the 2017 film Call Me by Your Name.

References

  1. "Tom Waits to release first new material in seven years | News | NME.COM". NME . August 17, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  2. "Tom Waits | News | Tom Sets the Record Straight". TomWaits.com. August 16, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  3. "Amazon.com: Bad As Me (single): Tom Waits: MP3 Downloads". Amazon . August 16, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  4. "Tom Waits: Bad as Me (single) - écoute gratuite et téléchargement". musicME. August 16, 2011. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  5. ""Tom Waits 'Bad as Me' album release confronts problems with Internet privacy (Video) - BlogPost - The Washington Post". The Washington Post . August 23, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  6. "Tom Waits's Photos - Wall Photos". Facebook . June 9, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  7. Michael Cragg (August 23, 2011). "New music: Tom Waits - Bad As Me | Music | The Guardian". The Guardian . Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  8. "Tom Waits - "Bad As Me" - Stereogum". Stereogum . August 23, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  9. Ian S. Port (August 23, 2011). "Tom Waits Announces Bad As Me, His First New Album in Seven Years -- But You Won't Get to Hear it For Free Today - San Francisco Music - All Shook Down". SFWeekly . Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  10. Jody Rosen (September 3, 2011). "Tom Waits, 'Bad As Me' | Rolling Stone Music | Editors' Picks Blog | New Albums And Songs". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  11. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  12. "Bad As Me - Single by Tom Waits - Download Bad As Me - Single on iTunes". iTunes Store . August 23, 2011. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.