It's a bit hard to pin down just what Tom Waits does.  He once said of his own music  "My wife says I have two kinds of songs: grand weepers and grim reapers."  but there is a lot more than that going on.  Part beat poet, part derelict, part student (and reporter of) man's foibles and often tormented and sadder side, Waits has a half dozen movie credits (many in Frances Ford Coppola films) and more than 20 albums to show for his long twisted road to understanding humanity and getting by as an unemployed gas station attendant.

Whatever he is, or isn't, he is very entertaining and often much, much more. 

Enjoy.