TOM WAITS: THE EPITAPH YEARS

My friend and former colleague Greg Wacks and I occasionally host public chats on Spreecast, the very cool and forward thinking company that he co-founded. Tomorrow we're discussing the more recent works of the great Tom Waits.   Last time we chatted, Greg mentioned that he doesn't really keep up with Tom Waits' more recent works, which floored me.  To me, if there's any artist in their 50s and up who has never embarrassed themselves or their audience, it's Tom Waits.  If there's any artist who still deserves your attention and respect after decades of service, it's Tom Waits.

In fact, his most recent era -- by my definition, the albums he's done for Epitaph Records' Anti- label - is my favorite era. That's probably sacrilegious to many longtime fans.

But I got into Tom via his classic collaboration with Primus -- "Tommy The Cat." The first new album he did after that era was his Anti- debut, 1999's Mule Variations. I know that Tom is an acquired taste, but I got into that album pretty quickly.  I'll say it's my favorite of Tom's albums.  The sounds are weird, but the songs are classic. I think Primus prepared me for Tom. Mule Variations has a lot of great tunes: "Big In Japan" kicks the album off, and actually features Primus backing him. I think the album has everything you'd want from Tom: weird, clang-y blues stomps like "Cold Water." Some of his really, really weird stuff like "Eyeball Kid" ("he was born without a body, not even a brow!"). And it has two of his loveliest ballads, "Hold On" and "Picture In A Frame" (the latter was covered by Willie Nelson).  I remember this album really blowing me away.

In 2002, he released two albums on the same day: Blood Money and Alice.  Each of them was attached to a different play.  Honestly, I didn't love either album, but I did really dig "Table Top Joe" (from Alice) and "Misery Is The River Of The World" (from Blood Money).

2004's Real Gone was almost as good as Mule Variations, and just as weird (if not weirder). That album has a bit of a hip-hop influence, but it didn't pander.  It's just that it had a looped, sampled sound, and there was turntable scratching going on.  It contains one of my favorite Tom songs, "Hoist That Rag."

In 2006, he put out Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards, a three CD set of songs that hadn't come out on prior albums.  "Brawlers" were the more rocking/blues songs, "Bawlers" were the ballads and "Bastards" were his weirder stuff.  One of the "Bawlers," "Long Way Home" (which he initially gave to Norah Jones) is one of his finest moments.

His next release was Glitter and Doom Live, a great concert album. Disc 1 was songs, disc 2 were the stories that Tom told from the stage.  Who else could even put out a disc of non-musical stuff and make it interesting?

And finally, last year's Bad As Me, my third favorite album of the year. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to make a case to Greg about the greatness of Tom's recent material... and hopefully I can turn some other people on to Tom also. 

BEST OF 2011 - #3 - TOM WAITS "BAD AS ME"

I recently wrote about Tom Waits' latest, Bad As Me. I was knocked out by the album when I first heard it, and I still feel the same way. It's unbelievable.  I read one review of the album in Uncut, where the reviewer wrote that it's the first album where he kind of combines all of his personas.  The guy also said it was like he recorded a greatest hits album, except that it was all new songs.  I like that. If you're a long time reader of No Expiration, you know that I love the idea of artists with decades under their belts doing vital, important work. Tom Waits is the perfect example of that. But I'm not digging the album because I want to, it's because I have no choice. It really is a stellar album. I mean, I wanted to like Lour Reed and Metallica's Lulu, but there's only so much you can force yourself!

I love the more "rock" songs on the album, like "Chicago" and "Satisfied."  But the ballads are just beautiful.  "Last Leaf" and "New Year's Eve" could have been on his earliest albums and held up to such classics as "Ol' 55" and "Jersey Girl."

There's lots of great people on the album: Keith Richards, Flea, Les Claypool and David Hildago of Los Lobos, but they are all performing in service to the man. They all know it's an honor to be there, even Keith.

I've never seen Tom Waits perform.  He's one of the only living artists who I haven't seen in concert yet (along with Los Lobos).  I'd love to see him in 2012, hopefully it will happen!

TOM WAITS - "BAD AS ME"

Tom Waits is amazing. And so is his latest album, Bad As Me. I'm a big fan of Tom's most recent records, the ones he's done since signing to Epitaph Records' Anti- label. My favorite Waits album is 1999's Mule Variations.  That's pretty much when I got into him.  I was kind of prompted to check out his music because of his association with one of my favorite bands, Primus (he does guest vocals on "Tommy The Cat"). From Mule Variations, I went back and investigated his Elektra and Island years. Wow, what a body of work.  He kind of gets weirder as he gets older, which is the opposite of most artists. But his songs always pack a punch.

Anyway, Bad As Me is just classic. It seems to touch on all the different phases of his career.  The opening track, "Chicago," fits in with his music from the past decade or so, it sounds like it could have been on Mule Variations. "Hell Broke Luce" reminds me of his most bizarre era, the early '90s when he did Bone Machine and The Black Rider. But some of the ballads, like "New Year's Eve" has that boozy, last-call sound from his earliest records.  But despite the stylistic diversity, the album still feels like it has a real continuity, it has a real flow to it.

There are so many great songs here: I love "Chicago" and "New Year's Eve."  "Talking At The Same Time" is awesome, Tom sings in that otherworldly falsetto.  You never know what year it is when you hear a Tom Waits song, but when he sings, "Well, the dog is in the kitchen/and the war drags on/The trees wait by the freeway/all the money is gone," well, what feels more 2011 than that?

My two favorite moments come toward the end of the album.  I love "Satisfied," which is kind of a 60-something's answer to "Satisfaction." When he sings, "Now Mr. Jagger, Mr. Richards, I will scratch where I've been itching," it's cool, punk rock and defiant. Upping the cool ante, though, is the fact that Keith Richards is playing guitar on the song. (Les Claypool from Primus is playing bass on the track: how many artists could get members of those bands on one album, much less one song?). The next song is my other favorite, and it also features Mr. Richards. "Last Leaf" holds up with any of his ballads, "Ol' 55," "Jersey Girl," whatever you want to name.  Keith is the perfect foil for Tom on this song and this album.  In fact, I'm thinking that if Mr. Jagger doesn't get a Stones tour together, Keith should join Tom's touring band.

TONIGHT ON FUSE - THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY

Tonight Fuse will broadcast an edited version of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Neil Diamond and Leon Russell were all inducted at this year's ceremony. There were some great speeches and performances, from what I heard, so check it out!

For those of you on Twitter - on Monday night during the actual ceremony, it seemed that people were Tweeting using the hashtag #rockhall2011.  But I think tonight during the broadcast, the hashtag is #fuserockhall.

Hopefully, there will be some people using #rockhall2012, debating who they think should get in next year!

FIVE COOL THINGS ABOUT THE TOM WAITS/NEIL YOUNG JAM

I got this watermarked photo of Tom Waits and Neil Young from last night's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony from Getty Images, the photo was taken by Michael Loccisano, and I was led to the photo from the always-great Neil Young blog Thrasher's Wheat.

So you know that I'm a huge Neil Young fan. If pressed, I  might say he's my favorite artist ever. But I didn't think he would be the right guy to give a speech about Tom Waits last night. My one and only choice would have been Les Claypool of Primus. And it seems to have turned out pretty well, the excerpts of Neil's speech that I read seemed cool, and Neil and Tom jammed on "Get Behind The Mule."  Here's five cool things about that.

1. Tom's set included not just "Get Behind The Mule," but "House Where Nobody Lives" (both from my favorite Waits album, 1999's Mule Variations), "Make It Rain" (from his last full length, 2004's Real Gone) and the title track of 1985's Rain Dogs. It would have been easy as hell for Tom to do "Ol' 55" and "Jersey Girl," and everyone would have felt good about it (including Fuse, who will air an edited version of the show Sunday night). Instead, three of the four songs are from his last few albums on Epitaph.  These songs may not be what got him voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they are compelling reasons for why he was voted in.

2. Neil has already recorded a version of "Get Behind The Mule." Neil played lead guitar on Booker T. Jones' 2009 Potato Hole (also on Epitaph) album, which featured a cover of this song. The backing band on that album was The Drive-By Truckers, who had written a song about Young, "Ronnie and Neil" from their 2002 classic, Southern Rock Opera. That song was about Neil and the late Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant. What did Neil think of the song? The Truckers never met him: Neil recorded his leads on his own.

3. Neil pretty much ripped off the song for "Get Behind The Wheel" for his 2009 album Fork In The Road.

4. Tom could have easily performed with Paul Schaffer's house band, but instead bought guitarist Mark Ribot and multi-instrumentalist David Hildago of Los Lobos with him. These guys (and Neil) capture the vibe of his songs way more than Schaffer's band would (with all due respect).

5. For Pete's sake, it's Neil Young and Tom Waits jamming together!

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: THIS YEAR'S ROCK HALL INDUCTEES

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET, I can be heard on SiriusXM OutQ's The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick, talking about music. Tomorrow, I'll be talking about this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.  The induction ceremony is Monday, but it will air on Fuse Sunday, March 20 at 9 pm.

This year's inductees include Alice Cooper, one of the most influential artists in hard rock, metal, punk and glam. Alice will be inducted by Rob Zombie, who is a good choice (alternatively, I would have thought Lady Gaga would have made a weird bit of sense, but she would have taken attention away from the entire ceremony). Last year, I listed Alice (and that's the Alice Cooper Band, not just the singer) as one of the artists who should be inducted this year, and I'm glad it happened. See my beginner's guide to Alice here, and stay tuned for a guest post from an Alice fan... well, he's not just a "fan," his entire life was changed by Alice Cooper.

Tom Waits, who brings the essential element of "weird" to rock and roll. He is sort of a "left-field" pick, but no more so than Leonard Cohen or The Velvet Underground or Frank Zappa.  Like Alice, Tom Waits is someone I really hoped would get in this year. Neil Young is going to do the speech about Tom. You know I'm a huge Neil fan, but that honor should have gone to Primus, in my opinion. See my beginner's guide here, and stay tuned for a testimonial from a friend of mine.

Dr. John, representing New Orleans, and rocking piano players.  Beginner's guide and testimonial coming up. John Legend is doing the honors: I am a fan of John's, and I'm sure he'll do a great speech.  I would have gone for one of his peers, like Bonnie Raitt or Jimmie Vaughan.

Darlene Love, one of the great unsung singers!  I know Little Steven campaigned for her, but Bette Midler is doing the honors.  I'm sure that will be a phenomenal speech! See my very simple beginner's guide here, and get ready for a short, sweet, rock star guest post about Darlene.

Neil Diamond, who I have said I don't think belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Songwriters Hall of Fame?  No question. I just don't see him as rock and roll. I have written about the guy and given him credit, so there's no hate there. Paul Simon handles that speech.  My friend, musician/filmmaker/media executive Benjamin Wagner, will be writing a guest post on what makes Neil great.

And finally, Leon Russell, who is getting the Award for Recording Excellence (which replaces the Sideman category). Obviously, Elton John is speaking about him (by the way, Elton guest hosts Saturday Night Live April 2, and is the musical guest along with Leon).

 Next week on Larry's show, I'll discuss who I think deserves to be inducted in 2012.

TOM WAITS - A BEGINNERS GUIDE

I'm glad that Tom Waits is being inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend. I've often said that "weird" is an important part of rock and roll, and who brings the weird more than Tom Waits?  Last year, I said that I thought that he should be inducted in the class of '11 (I said the same for Alice Cooper).

I was kind of late to get into Tom Waits.  I always knew about him, and definitely respected him, but I think it was his association with Primus that really got me interested (he did vocals on one of their classics, "Tommy The Cat").  I remember reading that Les Claypool said that Tom Waits had an open invitation to join Primus whenever he wanted. A couple of years later, Primus backed Tom on his "Big In Japan" from Mule Variations, his debut for Epitaph's Anti- Records label.  That was the first time I bought a Tom Waits album when it came out, and it is still my favorite. I'm not the biggest expert on him, but I can help you if you're just looking to get into his music.

It's a little too easy to divide his career into three phases, one for each record label. But they are three different eras for sure, and also, the labels don't play nicely with each other  - so there's no career spanning best-of or box set. So you have to delve into each era of his career separately.

He started out on Elektra's Asylum Records, as a sort of boozy vaudeville crooner influenced by ragtime jazz, the blues and a bit of country. Almost no rock and roll influence at all, he seemed like he fell out of a time machine from a few decades in the past. My favorite albums from this era are his debut, 1973's Closing Time (which has "Ol' 55," one of his few hits) and the followup, 1974's The Heart Of Saturday Night. But if you're looking for a great overview of this era, go for Used Songs 1973-1980.

In his early phase, he was weird.  But in the 1980s, when he moved to Island Reocrds and married Kathleen Brennan, still his wife and main collaborator, he got truly bizarre. She turned him on to Captain Beefheart, apparently. The albums during this era take a while to "grow" on you, but you are rewarded for putting in the time to get to know them.  I recently listened to his music from this era and was blown away by 1983's Swordfishtrombones, 1985's Rain Dogs and 1987's Frank's Wild Years.  After that, he got really really really weird with 1992's Bone Machine, which I really like. 1993's The Black Rider, a writing collaboration with William S. Burroughs and Robert Wilson, has its moments, but I'm not as big of a fan of that one.

That was his last album for quite a while, until he emerged on a new label, Anti- Records, which was an imprint of the punk rock label Epitaph. The label started in 1999, and Tom Waits' Mule Variations was one of their first releases, and he remains on Anti- to this day. As I mentioned, it is probably my favorite Tom Waits album. I love the aforementioned "Big In Japan," as well as "Get Behind The Mule" (recently covered by Booker T. accompanied by The Drive-By Truckers and Neil Young) and "Picture In a Frame" (covered by Willie Nelson) and "Hold On." But the whole album is great. I also love his most recent original album, 2004's Real Gone. Surprisingly, there aren't any compilations from Tom's Anti- years yet, although they did release Orphans, a 3 CD set of rarities and outtakes.

The Onion's A.V. Club recently wrote a piece asking "How Long Does It Take To 'Get' An Album?" in relation to the new Radiohead album, King Of Limbs. I'm not sure how long it takes people to "get" a Tom Waits album, although I do know that Waits isn't for everybody. But I do know that, for those who take the time, it's worth the while.

ALICE COOPER, TOM WAITS, DR JOHN AND DARLENE LOVE - CONGRATS

Well, congrats to the next class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees:   Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Dr. John and Darlene Love. And Neil Diamond.

I'm glad that Alice Cooper is finally being inducted, and it is the band and not just the man who are being included. It was one of the greatest bands of the early '70s: the late Glen Buxton on guitar, Michael Bruce also on guitar, Dennis Dunaway on bass and Neal Smith on drums.

Alice (the band) doesn't get enough credit because Alice (the man) kind of "sold out" early on, in the '70s, when it wasn't cool to do so. He did Hollywood Squares, The Muppet Show, etc. and more recently has shilled on commercials for office supply chains. But facts are facts, the original Alice Cooper (the band) influenced everyone. Not just heavy metal and glam rock, and yes, their silly bastard son hair metal. But also punk rock: The Sex Pistols, The New York Dolls and The Ramones, to name a few. Alice (the man) never felt the need to follow the orthodox rules of rock and roll, he also loved show business and decided not to sweat it. Listen to 1971's Love It To Death and Killer, 1972's School's Out and 1973's Billion Dollar Babies, all with the original band, they're amazing. Even Alice's first "solo" album, 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare, is great. I like some songs since then, and I won't front like I don't love the hair metal-ish "Poison" from 1989's Trash. And his recent anthem "Keeping Halloween Alive" is awesome. Alice Cooper would have been my #1 choice on my ballot if I were a voter.

Tom Waits is one of the only artists who has gotten weirder as he has gotten older, instead of the other way around. I've said this before, but I think that "weird" is an important part of rock and roll, and Tom Waits brings the "weird" like no one else. Of course there have always been a lot of artists who try and get by on "weird." But the thing about Tom Waits is, he has an incredible catalog of great songs. Artists from Rod Stewart to Sarah McLachlan to Bruce Springsteen recognizes this and has covered his amazing songs. Trends? If he's even aware of any, you wouldn't know it. Although he occasionally works with younger artists (notably kindred spirits Primus, on their classic collab "Tommy The Cat"), he's not really looking for what's hip. He seemed old even when he was young, and only seems to occasionally intersect with rock music. But he is sort of a big part of "alternative rock" in my mind. Not "alternative" in the marketing sense of course. But as an artist who rocks, but is going in a different direction than everyone else. Tom surely would have been on my ballot. A lot of people who love Tom, their favorite album is something from the '70s or '80s. Mine is 1999's Mule Variations. If I were a voter, I would have absolutely voted for Waits, and I would have done it long ago.

New Orleans is always cited as a big influence on early rock and roll, but other than Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint, I don't think there are many New Orleans artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But the good doctor isn't getting in as a token for the proud city. Don't believe it? Start with his debut, Gris-Gris, it is bad ass. He is combining more traditional R&B with psychedelic rock, kind of like a New Orleans version of what so many other rock acts were doing. Younger fans may recognize the song "I Walk On Guilded Splinters," which was sampled by Beck on "Loser." Another great one to check out is 1972's Dr. John's Gumbo, which has one of his more famous songs, "Iko Iko" (like most of the album, it is a cover). The album is a great introduction to New Orleans music, and I imagine that it did, in fact, introduce lots of people to these songs, just like Eric Clapton introduced people to the blues. He still makes great albums: 2008's The City That Care Forgot and this year's Tribal both are rockin'. If I were a voter, I would definitely have thought about voting for Dr. John.

Darlene Love, well that's an interesting one. You hear her a lot these days, because in December you hear lots of Christmas songs, and she sang one of the best ones ever: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (later covered by U2). She was an important part of Phil Spector's "wall of sound," singing on "Da Doo Ron Ron Ron," "He's A Rebel" and "Today I Met The Boy I"m Gonna Marry." Artists love her: she's sang backing vocals for Elvis, Cher and U2. Some people know her best for her acting: she played Danny Glover's wife in all four Lethal Weapon movies. Little Steven loves her, and I'm pretty sure he campaigned for her this time around. Well, good for him and good for her. Artists like her who were around at the beginning don't need to have a huge catalog, but when the songs they did count as much as Darlene's did, I guess that makes them Hall of Fame caliber. I look forward to Little Steven's speech about her!

Neil Diamond? I won't put the guy down, and I don't contest that he belongs in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I just don't think he's rock and roll.  I'm sure Robbie Robertson campaigned for this, and while I really admire Robbie, I don't usually agree with his taste.  Yes, Neil plays guitar and is backed by bass, drums and etc. But for my money, LL Cool J and The Beastie Boys are way more rock and roll, and they should have been voted in. Well, maybe next year.  The Red Hot Chili Peppers should get in next year also, so maybe it will be a rocking ceremony.

ALICE, LL, B-BOYS AND WAITS ON THE ROCK HALL BALLOT

Well, it's that time again!  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the artists that are on the ballot this year, and they include:


Alice Cooper - and judging by the photo at the Hall's website, they are referring to Alice Cooper the group, not just the frontman. That includes guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith. Rightfully so: the music wasn't as good once the original band split up. But the stuff that the original band did was incredible and influenced not just hard rock and metal, but punk and glam. Alice happily "sold out" years ago, and did so before everyone else was OK with being in commercials and on TV shows, but that has caused people to take him less seriously (in my opinion). But the band's early music is just incredible.

LL Cool J, one of the first artists on Def Jam, and he's still there today. I don't know if he is still considered relevant, but he was relevant longer than anyone else in the genre. And if you get him mad at you, you don't want him taking to the mix tape circut, he maybe be a Hollywood actor these days, but he will hand you your head. Obviously I'm not one of those people who think "rap isn't music" or "hip-hop shouldn't be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." To me, LL is more rock and roll than lots of inductees.

The Beastie Boys is one of my favorite groups of all time, although they can be jerks. But they definitely deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Their evolution has been amazing - from hardcore punks to Run-D.M.C. type hip-hop to a new kind of hip-hop on Paul's Boutique to playing hard rock and instrumental funk. And even their evolution from punky brats to semi-responsbile activists who retain a sense of humor... there's never been anyone like them, and they have at least four classic albums.

I've said this before, but Tom Waits is weird and "weird" belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I would have voted him in way before Leonard Cohen.

Also on the ballot: Dr. John, The J. Geils Band and Darlene Love, who I have no objection to. Bon Jovi, Neil Diamond and Donovan who I do have objections to. And also Chic, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex and Chuck Willis. I would argue that the ballot should include KISS, The MC5, The New York Dolls, Motorhead, Warren Zevon, Emmylou Harris, Rush and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

MOJO TURNS 200, TOM WAITS EDITS

I'm a bit behind on this, but you should look for the latest issue of Mojo, it's the 200th issue, and to celebrate, they let Tom Waits edit. And why not? Tom interviews Hank Williams III in the issue, and Joe Henry interviews Harry Belafonte. There's also lots of historical features from the magazine's history, including stories on the making of Nirvana's In Utero (the magazine's first "album of the month") and Radiohead 's OK Computer. My favorite was the story behind Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind, where many of the players on the album (but not Dylan, nor producer Daniel Lanois) give the behind-the-scenes story of the album. It seemed like Dylan didn't like Lanois' ideas, and neither did most of the musicians, but the tension between Bob and Lanois led to a classic album (as it did years earlier when they did Oh Mercy together).

Anyway, as always, a great read.

"HEY, BOB, IT'S TOM!"

Even if I wasn't a SIRIUS XM employee, I'd be a huge fan of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour show.  It is awesome. There's so much to love about it. But one of the highlights is when Tom Waits calls in. The man can talk about any topic imaginable.  I loved when he talked about Jewish curses. The great great blog Aquarium Drunkard has posted a bunch of Tom's calls for you to check out. And trust me, check out Dylan's radio show, it is one of the best listening experiences you will ever have.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: *MY* PICKS FOR THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME 2011

Last week, I said that I would be going on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SIRIUS|XM OutQ on Friday instead of Wednesday.  That was the plan until I ended up on the disabled list and missing a few days of work.  Rest assured, I'll be talking about Jimi Hendrix on the show soon enough.

But this week, I'll probably be talking about this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. And also who *I* would vote for in 2011, if I were a voter. On one hand, I feel that with the long awaited induction of The Stooges, they can shut the door on the hall for a few years. On the other hand, there are lots of deserving artists, and here are a few who I would vote for. Please call in at 1-866-305-6887, or tweet @ Larry with your opinions! Below would be my ballot, with the expensive career retro, budget priced best of, and my favorite album by the artist.

First up is KISS. It's really easy to hate on them because of their crass commerciality and their marketing machine (although no one complains about Jay-Z's clothing line, sneakers, nightclubs, etc.). And because of the way Gene Simmons comes off in interviews. But I've said it before, I'll say it again: If you gave Gene and Paul Stanely a buck for every kid who bought a guitar or a drumset because of KISS, they'd double their earnings. Maybe the artists later decided that they didn't like KISS. But it was KISS that got them to start playing. That's influence.
If you have big $: Check out the The Box Set, released in 2001, which pretty much covers their entire career minus last year's surprisingly good Sonic Boom.
The best of: 2002's Greatest KISS, two discs that go through most of the non-makeup years. If you want to stick with makeup era, go with 2005's Gold (also two CDs) .
My favorite album: their self titled debut from 1974. They really had something to prove, and sounded really unified. My second choice would be 1975's Alive!

Actually, I'm not sure Public Enemy will be eligible next year: their debut album, Yo, Bum Rush The Show, came out in January of 1987, but I think a lead single may have come out in '86, which I think would make them eligible. But if anyone deserves to get in early, it's Public Enemy, and yes I know a lot of people don't think hip-hop groups should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To me, Public Enemy is rock and roll played on different instruments. They are punk and they are metal and they are blues and they are rock and roll. In the late '80s and early '90s, everyone was influenced by them, or scared of them, or both. And by the way, they still make great records, but since those records often criticize today's hip-hop culture, hip-hop writes them off as old and out of touch. Sorry, you don't get off that easy.
There's no P.E. box set, nor a career-spanning best of, but a good compilation is 2005's Power To The People and The Beats: The Best Of Public Enemy. It covers their Def Jam years.
My favorite P.E. record? 1988's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. It's one of the best records of all time. But 1990's Fear of A Black Planet is amazing also, and so is Apocolypse '91: The Enemy Strikes Black, but by then hip-hop was already moving on to the next thing.

Alice Cooper. And by "Alice Cooper," I mean Alice Cooper on vocals, guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway on bass and drummer Neal Smith. When they started, it was a band, and it was a great band. People don't take Alice seriously for some of the same reasons they don't take KISS seriously: he started out as a scary badass, and later got more commerical and cartoon-like. He was on Hollywood Squares, The Muppets, and played golf. He embraced showbiz. He was scary, but fun-scary. Still, he influenced all of the early punk bands (especially The Sex Pistols and The Ramones) but also lots of heavy metal artists and rock and rollers as well.
If you have big $: get the 1999 4 CD box set The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper.
The Best-of: go for 2001's 2 CD set Mascara and Monsters: The Best Of Alice Cooper.
Best album: tough one, I like 1973's Billion Dollar Babies, but also 1971's Love It To Death, 1971's Killer, 1972's School's Out and the 1975 "solo" album Welcome To My Nightmare.

I've been talking about Bill Withers a bit lately, I just think he is so... maybe not "underrated" but definitely under appreciated. If you only know his big hit singles, trust me on this one. Dude has got lots of great songs, and is a great song interpreter as well. I think if he was on Motown or Stax he would have gotten more props. He's one of the great soul/R&B singers of all time. Trust me.
There's no Bill box set that I know of, but never mind that, we all need to check out the documentary Still Bill The Movie. But for a best-of, go with 1994's Lean On Me: The Best Of Bill Withers.
My favorite album would be his debut, 1971's Just As I Am, followed by the follow-up, 1972's Still Bill. Also 1973's Live At Carnegie Hall.

Tom Waits is weird, and "weird" is important to rock and roll. Not everyone is weird, and not everyone has to be. But when someone can combine "weird" with great songwriting, it's a wondeful thing. Combine that with a great presentation and a unique voice? Well, that's Tom Waits. I was late to get into Waits, and I still don't "get" all of it, but his stuff blows me away. He's the only artist I can think of who keeps getting weirder.
Tom Waits doesn't have a box set, but if you have big $, pick up 2001's Used Songs, which covers his early era on Elektra, 1998's Beautiful Maladies and which covers his middle era on Island. There's no real compilation for his latest, and really great, period on Anti-, the imprint of punk rock label Epitaph Records.
My favorite album however, is his Epitaph debut, 1999's Mule Variations. I know most people choose older albums, but that's the one that really hooked me on him. The fact that he did such an incredible album a quarter century into his career blew me away.

The New York Dolls, I was a latecomer to them as well. I sort of got into them via frontman David Johansen's SIRIUS radio show, The Mansion Of Fun. The Dolls influenced Guns N Roses and they influenced The Smiths. Come on! I like their recent reunion albums. But all you really need to have is their 1973 self-titled debut album.

Of course, there are so many other bands who I think should get in: The Cure, The Beastie Boys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Warren Zevon, Emmylou Harris, LL Cool J, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Peter Tosh, Motorhead and The MC5 to name a few. But as of this moment, the above are the artists I would vote for if I could vote tomorrow.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ PART 1: LAST MINUTE GIFTS!

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ on the show The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick to talk about music. It is usually a half hour deal, but tomorrow I will be there for an hour. The original plan was to talk about last minute gifts for Hanukkah and Christmas. But since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced their induction class for 2010 this morning, I'm going to be talking about that tomorrow as well. But first, on to the last minute gift ideas. One box set and a bunch of live albums - I find this kind of thing to be a great gift. Of course, I would think that!

A few weeks ago when I talked about box sets, I hadn't yet gotten a copy of Elvis Presley's Elvis 75 - Good Rockin' Tonight. I am not a huge Elvis fan actually (my first impression of him was during his "fat" era I think, and later on by Public Enemy's lyric "Elvis was a hero to most, he never meant shit to me"). But you simply cannot deny his influence on modern music and aside from that, he has some great songs. I would argue that most of his recorded output wasn't really that great, but the stuff that is great (mainly what he recorded for Sun Records) is earth-shattering. Again, I'm not a huge fan, but you really can't deny it. This 4 CD box set covers his entire career. If you are getting a gift for an Elvis beginner and want to spend a little bit, this is a great gift. A cheaper alternative is the single CD Elv1s 30 #1 Hits. I have that - I even thought that was a bit long for me. I would actually prefer Elvis At Sun. One gem I do love on this box set, though, is his cover of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is A Long Time," recorded in 1966.

Moving from one Elvis to another: Elvis Costello's Live At The El Mocambo is a pretty great live album. Recorded in 1978 between his first two albums, My Aim Is True and This Year's Model, it shows Elvis and The Attractions as a hungry, up-and-coming band with something to prove (by the way, this isn't the same set as the one that is included in the Deluxe Edition of My Aim Is True). No Expiration readers know how much I love to see great artists - like Elvis Costello - make amazing art decades into thier careers. That said, there's nothing like hearing an artist when they are the hot new thing. That's what you get here. The sound quality is a bit bootleggy - lots of loud audience sounds, but it almost feels like you are there. Kind of for hardcore fans, but it is really great stuff.

Next is Neil Young's Dreamin' Man, which I've been looking forward to. Recorded in 1992 on a solo acoustic tour, he was playing the songs for Harvest Moon (released later that year) for the first time. I went to one of the NY shows, and was blown away. This is kind of more for hard-core Neil fans, but it really is a lovely album.

Tom Waits' Glitter and Doom is a live album also, documenting his latest tour. It mainly features stuff from the past decade, with some dives into past decades as well. It's two discs: one is songs, the other is stories that he tells between songs. I don't know if that would work for anyone but Tom Waits! Kind of only for hardcore fans.

Paul McCartney's Good Evening New York City documents his concerts this summer at CitiField, which replace Shea Stadium. Paul has released a ton of live albums over the past twenty years, but they are all fun. This one spans his career, from The Beatles to his latest project as The Fireman. The coolest part of the album is probably his live version of The Beatles' "A Day In The Life," which he'd never performed before (as it was mainly a John Lennon composition). This is not just for hard core fans, but if you have a limited budget, I'd say any of The Beatles remasters is probably a better gift.

Finally, The Rolling Stones' Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out deluxe edition, a re-release of the 1969 live album, which comes with a DVD, bonus tracks not on the original album, and the opening sets from Ike & Tina Turner and B.B. King. I've written about this one before.

Also, Beyonce and Kylie Minogue have new live albums, I don't have them, but Larry may bring them in.

TRENT REZNOR AND JOSH GROBAN ON THE SAME ALBUM?

Strange but true: Neil Young has (quietly) just released the fourth volume of songs from The Bridge School benefit series that he has been hosting for two decades. The Bridge School is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities through the use of augmentative & alternative means of communication and assistive technology applications and through the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative life-long educational strategies. Every year, Neil Young hosts an acoustic concert with a diverse lineup to help raise funds for the school. Over the past few years, he's been releasing iTunes collections of songs from the concerts. Volume 4 which just came out, includes two solo tracks by Trent Renzor (versions of Nine Inch Nails' "Fragile" and "Hurt"). It also includes one of John Mellencamp's greatest songs, "Jackie Brown," Norah Jones' cover of Wilco's "Jesus, Etc." and two tracks by Tom Waits with The Kronos Quartet. Oh, and Josh Groban. A duet with Neil on "Harvest Moon" (oddly, it's Neil's only appearance on this volume). Some great music and a great cause. Here is a link to the complete tracklist.

TOM WAITS HAS A TWITTER FEED

Tom Waits is on Twitter. Follow him here. That is all.

BEST OF '09: N.A.S.A.'s SPIRIT OF APOLLO

I don't know what's up with the cover of N.A.S.A.'s Spirit Of Apollo album, or what they are trying to say. But don't let the Klan clown trick you, this is a very one-world album. The guest list includes: David Byrne, Chali 2na (formerly of Jurassic 5), Chuck D, Method Man, The RZA, John Frusciante of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, KRS-One, Karen O of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ol' Dirty Bastard (the album has been in the works for a long time), Tom Waits, Kool Keith, Kanye West, Santigold, Lykke Li, George Clinton, M.I.A., Del The Funkee Homosapien, Ghostface Killah and the late DJ AM. N.A.S.A. features DJ Zegon and Squeak E. Clean (aka Sam Speigel aka Spike Jonze's brother, which explains some of the guest list). It is a great, fun album that not enough people know about it. Check it out, have a great time, thank me later. It's hard to explain.

Other Best of '09 albums: Bob Dylan's Together Through Life , The Cocktail Slippers' Saint Valentine's Day Massacre , Rancid's Let The Dominoes Fall, Willie Nelson & Asleep At The Wheel's Willie & The Wheel

TOM WAITS TO RELEASE GLITTER AND DOOM LIVE

If there's one artist I'd like to see in concert who I haven't seen yet, it is Tom Waits. He rarely tours and when he does, he charges a lot of money and it is still hard to get a ticket. So, for now, I'll have to deal by getting his upcoming live album, Glitter and Doom Live, recorded on his most recent tour. It leans heavily on his albums on Anti- Records (basically the last decade) but also goes back into his catalog. The second disc features lots of the stories he tells in between songs. Another reason to win the lottery. There's a lot of cool stuff coming out in the next few months.

BECK.COM: WHERE IT'S AT!

So many artists use their website as a perfunctory

marketing tool. Beck is actually making pretty creative use of Beck.com, though. I already told you about his "Record Club," where he and his friends cover an entire album in a day (some of his versions of songs from The Velvet Underground & Nico are already posted to the site), but he's also adding his DJ sets and also a feature called "Irrelevant Topics," where he interviews another artist. When he does this for a magazine, there's usually an editor to mediate and keep them away from "irrelevant topics," but that won't be the case at beck.com! The first artist he is interviewing is Tom Waits. Should be interesting!

RECORD STORE DAY '09

Record Store Day is coming again! It's a cool day to celebrate record stores -- so many of us have gotten so much enjoyment from hanging out in record stores (particularly indie ones) and it's good to support them. This site has a list of artists who are doing indie store exclusive releases in honor of the holiday. It doesn't say what the releases will have, only what artists are doing exclusives. Bruce Springsteen is doing a 7" single (nice touch after the Walmart best-of debacle), Bob Dylan is doing a 7", Tom Waits and Lucinda Williams are doing a split 7" and Elvis Costello and Jenny Lewis are also doing a split 7".

TOM WAITS SAYS: "PEHDTSCKJMBA"

What is "pehdtsckjmba," you ask? It's the buzz word for this summer's big tours, according to Tom Waits. Yeah, right.

Check out his website - he posted a video from his "press conference" announcing his summer tour. Pretty funny stuff. But it's a bummer that he isn't doing any NY dates . He is one artist that I've always hoped to see live, and so far, I've never had the chance.

I know a lot of fans like his '70s or '80s stuff best. My favorite album by him, though, is 1999's Mule Variations. I don't know if he'd even do any songs from that one. Still, even if he doesn't play the songs you want to hear, I'm sure a Tom Waits concert would never get boring.