#tom waits

ONLY NOISEReal(istic) Love

ONLY NOISE explores music fandom with poignant personal essays that examine the ways we’re shaped by our chosen soundtrack. This week, Erin Lyndal Martin shares a selection of songs that jar her out of a sardonic mindset when it comes to romance. There’s nothing wrong with sugary love songs. But I...

Erin Lyndal Martin

ONLY NOISEOne More Cup of Coffee

I’ve stopped counting the number of times “coffee” is mentioned in Patti Smith’s M Train. The short answer is: a lot; coffee is the lifeblood coursing through the entire book. Coffee is the daily elixir of Smith’s life, and she finds great poetry in every sip – from hand-selected, highland grown...

Madison Bloom

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ONLY NOISEBack In The New York Groove

It was native New Yorker Lou Reed who sang, “Give me your hungry, your tired, your poor/I'll piss on 'em/that's what the Statue of Bigotry says” in “Dirty Blvd.” The wry piece of poetry was one of many city-centric tracks to grace Reed’s New York LP from 1989. While Reed’s lyrics sound hateful...

Madison Bloom

ONLY NOISEWaiting on Waits

This is the closest I will ever get to Tom Waits. I’m sitting at the bar of my dad’s bistro, listening to a live performance by The Bleeding Romeos… a Tom Waits cover band. Much to Mr. Waits’ presumed chagrin, I do not sip from a flask of cheap whiskey, but a glass of red wine. And no – it is not...

Madison Bloom

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ONLY NOISELeave The Party

Think about the last party you threw. Think about the beer bought and balloons inflated. Remember the quiche you labored over, only to realize no one wants to eat quiche at a party. Now consider the playlist you made. Don’t deny it – we all know you spent three lunch breaks compiling a shindig...

Madison Bloom

ONLY NOISETeenage

“Teenage, teenage/I want a car, I want a girl.” It’s 10am, and the 1979 hit “Teenage” by L.A. punks The Weirdos rotates maliciously in my head. I meant to wake up hours ago, but the weighty fuzz of last night’s beer kept me tucked in. “Teenage, teenage/Don’t wanna work, don’t wanna go to school.” I...

Madison Bloom

ONLY NOISELove From Afar

It is funny, and also frustrating that though all of the humanity has felt the sensation of long distance longing for another person, only a select few of us can distill that longing into an art form.

Madison Bloom

ONLY NOISEConey Island, Baby

Where else in the country does summer = hot garbage? Better yet: hot garbage juice, which I’m sure we have all stepped in, wearing sandals.

Madison Bloom

ONLY NOISEA Love Letter To KEXP

Waits has since become my favorite artist of all time, completely altering my perception of what makes music great, and what makes art worthwhile. I think it’s safe to say that that night changed my life forever, and it was of course all because of the good people at 90.3 FM.

Madison Bloom

ONLY NOISELove Songs (Without All That Baggage)

I speak from personal experience when I say that dating a socially inept log who, literally cannot “get with my friends,” is nothing short of excruciating.

Madison Bloom

ONLY NOISEPop Of The Tops: Extended Remix

With Father's Day around the corner, Madison Bloom revisits her dad's record collection.

Madison Bloom