Great news today about everyone’s favorite troubadour of one-eyed dwarves, Tom Waits: he’s apparently in a schoolhouse in Mississippi recording his new album. Well-aware as he must be of his status as a walking set of arcane yet familiar tropes, he describes the new songs as being about “politics, rats, war, hangings, dancing, automobiles, pirates, farms, the carnival and sinning. Mama, liquor, trains and death. In other words, the same ol’ dirty business!” I really will work on that Tom Waits Madlibs idea one of these days.