Nighthawks at the Diner

After the bad Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie ended and the subsequent bad Chinese action movie finished, I was reclined in my seat travelling on the darkened bus southbound in Peru, not feeling very sleepy. The type of situation that random on an iPod is perfect for. After a few songs, one of the tracks from Tom Waits' "Nighthawks at the Diner" came on, and I knew I had found the music to fit my mood.

I don't often listen to this album, but it's one of the handful that I haven't erased any tracks from. I can count on one hand the number of albums I've given that honour to.

I remember when I first heard the album. I walked into a record store without much of a purpose other than killing time. I saw the album cover, with Tom Waits sitting in the window of a diner, on a listening stand. I put the headphones on and in the first 30 seconds I was hooked. The sound immediately put me in a smoke-filled room, people sitting around small tables, some talking, some drinking. The music starts, a mixture of jazz and blues - an upright bass, piano, saxophone, drums. Tom Waits' voice comes through like a bar singer in a detective film-noir. His stories are a depressed Garrison Keillor, with tales of the down and out, diners with bad food, Warm Beer and Cold Women, and the fantastic closing storytelling of Big Joe and Phantom 309. His delivery is sometimes spoken, sometimes singing, possibly tipsy.

When travelling around, I'm always stuck when people ask about traditions where I come from. The US doesn't have much in the way of history or traditions compared to other countries. But it has innumerable different types of pop culture. As far as I'm concerned, "Nighthawks at the Diner" captures one piece of Americana perfectly. It's not for everyone. A lot of people I've shown it to just don't take to it. Maybe because it's not catchy pop music, but more like a moody audiobook with jazz backup. I like listening to it start-to-finish.