Iggy Pop brought Tom Waits out of hiding on the latest episode of his BBC Radio program, The Confidential Show. Over the course of two hours, the two gravelly-voiced rockers shared stories and took turns spinning records by the likes of Alex Chilton, Captain Beefheart, Jerry Lee Lewis, and C.W. Stoneking.
Other more contemporary song selections included Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss,” Beastie Boys’ “So What’cha Want” and Frank Ocean’s cover of “Moon River,” all of which were chosen by Waits.
Lil Mama’s 2007 single “Lip Glass” “became a favorite of mine recently,” Waits explained. After the song concluded, Waits and Pop humorously recited the chorus themselves.
In introducing Beastie Boys, Waits remarked, “Every time I hear them, they get me off my perch.” As for Frank Ocean’s cover of “Moon River,” Waits said, “It’s a very usual cover and I love what he did with it. It’s sometimes difficult to keep a song that old alive and I really love the arrangement and his voice.”
Elsewhere during the episode, Waits marveled at “how many songs there are about the rain,” and recounted the time he hitch-hiked and was picked up by the songwriter eden ahbez. Both men also shared their favorite memories of the writer William S. Burroughs, and Iggy played the Gilligan’s Island theme song.
Waits and Pop’s conversation immediately brought to mind Statler and Waldorff from the Muppets, two gruff characters humorously stepping over each other, and their stories and anecdotes were absolutely fascinating — especially considering that, outside of acting, Watts rarely speaks in public these days.
Do yourself a favor and listen to the full episode on BBC’s website.
Waits and Iggy Pop previously co-starred in the memorable 1993 short Coffee and Cigarettes: Somewhere in California, which was later included in Jim Jarmusch’s 2003 feature film Coffee and Cigarettes.