Voodoo, too.
Goin' out West has become a consistent theme in my talks about the move to San Francisco. It's been among my favorite Tom Waits songs ever since I first heard his music, partly for its intensity, its absurdity, but mostly for the character Waits creates in the song's narrator.

Like most music, you tend to cling to the first rendition you hear. Whether this is a remake of an older song, or one band's earlier album over the later, more popular ones. In my case, I first heard Goin' out West in the version Waits performed on the Arsenio Hall Show, with a slightly different pace, heavier guitar, slightly-off rhythm and subtle changes in intonation. That is, as subtle as anything Tom Waits ever does can be. I've always preferred this performance.






There's some money out there; they're giving it away.