This was such a great interview I thought it deserved it’s own page on Blogging Muses. With the release of Tom’s 3-disc monster titled, “Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards“, he let’s Pitchfork in on a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes of his songwriting process.

Some choice quotes I enjoyed:

On working with his wife and collaborator, Kathleen Brennan:

Sometimes we go in the car, just take the tape recorder and go on a long trip. Sometimes we just sit around the piano– if we have a deadline, it tightens up the perimeters of the whole thing. We work independently and we work together. If both of you know the same stuff, one of you is unnecessary. Hopefully we’re coming at it from different angles. But I don’t really know how it works. It’s one of those things where you can’t really take it apart.

On pushing the envelope:

If you’re still pushing the envelope and wanting to find out what this baby can do, or if you’re still trying to imitate things– most people start out by imitating. Slowly you develop your own voice. I like vocal word stuff. But I don’t always write with an instrument, I usually write a capella. It’s more like drawing in the air with your fingers. It’s closest to the choreography of a bee. You’re freer. You have no frets to constrict you, there are no frets on your voice, and that’s a good feeling. So for composing melody, it’s something you can do anywhere.

And I’ll just leave you to read for yourself how Tom Waits ends the interview. It made me laugh out loud. (Link)