A couple of you knew this one! Tom Waits!
I was a fan of Tom Waits before I fully knew who he was - all I knew was that his character Renfield stood out even among all the freaks and monsters in "Bram Stoker's Dracula." Later, I discovered his oddball, lilting, gravelly musical sound quite by accident, while searching for Peter Murphy music and finding their duet, "Christmas Sucks." At a time when Linkin Park and Boy Bands ruled the airwaves, Waits's "Cemetery Polka," "Barcarolle," "Singapore," and "Jockey Full Of Bourbon" refreshed and inspired a kid who felt out of touch with her peers.
As for style, Waits is pretty much the Original Hipster - or what today's hipsters wish they could be. He's got a slept-in, almost demented look about him, yet it's fairly restrained. No gigantic mountain man beard worn with flip flops and gold lame... Waits's look is more a man out of time and out of options. Retro, wrinkled, and largely shot in black and white, contorted into some slinky pose that makes you wonder if his insides are okay (which they aren't, of course; except this insides in question are just his beat up heart and soul). ;)
**********
It looks like I'm up sh*t creek again, since I'm tired and totally reaching for today's riddles. I'm a real Dracula lately - anywhere I lay my head, I'm on the downtown train to slumberland. But don't worry too much; we all know you're innocent when you dream. Plus, I know karate and voodoo, too. And if I stay awake all day, there's a warm beer and chocolate Jesus waiting for me at home.
(P.S. I'm terrible at these moody black/white photos!!)
