Metavoice: Voice Described Using Taste
David Bianculli hosts Fresh Air on NPR where he talks about Tom Waits's recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The excerpt includes commentary on Tom Waits's voice.
Excerpt from Tom Waits: A Raspy Voice Heads To The Hall Of Fame on Fresh Air hosted by NPR. The original interview aired on May 21, 2002.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Tom Waits, NPR, Interview, Raspy Voice, Voice Analysis
David Bianculli: Critic Daniel Durchholz described his voice as sounding, and I quote, "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." Tom Waits is one of the true eccentrics of pop music. The people he sings about are usually outlaws, drunks, hobos, and losers. The darkness of his lyrics is accentuated by the rumble and rasp of his voice; a voice that sounded old even when he was young.