Unless you’ve been living under a rock or like sports or something, you’re doubtlessly aware of the NPR-ish fact that tortured troubadour Tom “True Love” Waits recently collaborated with the famed icons of New Orleans Jazz known as The Preservation Hall Jazz Band on a benefit album. You probably also know that the aforementioned album, an LP entitled Preservation, was originally inspired by an old 78 rpm recording of Danny Barker’s 1947 Mardi Gras Indian street chant “Tootie Ma Is a Big Fine Thing.” (You probably also know that this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics 2010 was awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov “for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene.” Thanks, NPR.)
Anyway, apparently Waits and the band couldn’t get that old Barker tune out of their heads, as Waits and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band have recently recorded their own take on it (b/w another Barker cover called “Corrine Died on the Battlefield.” That one’s probably sadder). And, in keeping with the vibe of the original, the two songs are going to be released on November 19 as… wait for it… a 78 rpm record on Preservation Hall Recordings! Hey, awesome.
Hey wait… wait, not awesome! You don’t have a record player that plays 78s! WTF! Well, not to worry, my friend, because Preservation Hall has got you covered. They are releasing a limited-edition 78 player just for the occasion. But if you’re itching to listen to this jazzy tune on your very own 78 player while you sit atop an old-timey bicycle and sip postum, you’d better act quickly: only 504 copies of the 78 and 100 players are going to be made, with all proceeds benefiting the Preservation Hall Junior Jazz & Heritage Brass Band. Hey, awesome.
• Tom Waits: http://www.tomwaits.com
•. Preservation Hall: http://www.preservationhall.com
[Photo: Jean-Baptiste Mondino]
