The 500 - #416 - Mule Variations - Tom Waits

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 416

Album Title: Mule Variations
Artist: Tom Waits
Genre: Experimental Rock
Recorded: Prairie Sun Recording Studios, Cotati, California
Released: April, 1999
My age at release: 33
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very Little
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: House Where Nobody Lives

Mule Variations by Tom Waits 

In my blog post from March I discussed a 1978 record by Devo. In the post, I recalled my Sunday evenings in the late 70s and early 80s listening to the The Doctor Demento Radio Show. 

Here is what I said:

Dr Demento..."was appointment listening. It combined my two great loves: music and comedy. Each week, Dr. Demento (aka Barry Hansen) would spin an eclectic mix of novelty songs ranging from humorously peculiar to the hauntingly bizarre. It was where I first heard... 

• "Weird" Al Yankovic and his first parody hit "My Bologna" (which lampooned The Knack's My Sharona), 
• What's He Building in There? by Tom Waits
• Constantinople by The Four Lads,  
• and all the exquisite weirdness of Barnes & Barnes with songs like Fishheads or Something's in the Bag

As it turns out...the second example I gave was untrue. 

What's He Building in There? was released by Tom Waits on this album, Mule Variations, in 1999. I could not possibly have heard it in the time-frame I suggested. 

I'm not even close. I was off by nearly two decades.

Did I misremember this? 

I still don't think so and I say that with confidence, despite clear evidence to the contrary. I distinctly remember hearing that Tom Waits' song on the radio in the 80s. Furthermore, I can recall quoting lines from it with my high-school chum Paul.

Perhaps this is an example of False Memory -- a psychological phenomenon where an individual recalls something differently than the way in which it happened, or maybe I am the first to identify a new example of The Mandela Effect.

The Mandela Effect  is a psycho-social condition that transpires when a large group of people believe an event has occurred when there is abundant evidence it did not. It was named by Fiona Broome who, in 2010, shared her strong recollections of the death of Anti-Apartheid activist Nelson Mandela while he was imprisoned in the 1980s. Broome recalled news stories and even a speech delivered by his widow, Winnie. 

However, as you likely know, none of that is true. Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and became the President of South Africa. He did not die until 2013, when he was 95 years old.

Nelson Mandela (1997)

Even though Broome's recollection never occurred, her experience was not an isolated case. Her story gathered a following from many people who experienced the same false reality. As a result, the Mandela Effect was named. For some who are part of this collective, there is a belief that they once lived in a parallel reality (one in which Mandela died in prison). However, now, due to some unfelt schism in the time-space continuum, they exist in our reality. A reality in which Mandela became President and died at 95.

I am not part of that collective and, normally, I would dismiss it as delusional hooey. However, there is another weird example that I personally experienced.  I was convinced that the popular children's book series "The Berenstein Bears" was spelled that way, with an "e". The "truth" is that it was named after the creators, Jan and Mike Berenstain, with an "a". Thus, they are The Berenstain Bears. They always have been -- despite everything my memory was telling me.

A book cover for one of many in the Berenstain library

I am not alone. In 2015, this phenomenon was, as a Globe & Mail Article put it, "a feverish discussion." Many came forward with the same recollection. I talked to numerous friends and found people in both the Berenstein and the Berenstain camps. 

Which brings us back to where I started. I could not have possibly have heard the Tom Waits' song What's He Building in There? twenty years before he released it on this album, Mule Variations. 

The question is, am I experiencing a false memory or is this an example of the Mandela Effect? In an attempt to verify my Mandela Hypothesis, I contacted my high school pal Paul. Would he remember it as I had? 

Sadly, he did not. So, it seems it was a false memory.

I suppose it is fitting that a Waits' song would choose to fragment itself in my memory timeline. Waits has always been an enigma to me. He is a musician, songwriter, composer and actor best known for his gravelly voice and his poetic focus on the darkness and beauty found in the underbelly of society. On The 500 Podcast episode dedicated to this album, actor Chris Sullivan summed him up as follows:

"Tom Waits is a romantic idea...I mean, every actor wants to be a musician but I always wanted to be Tom Waits. I realize that would require a huge amount of self-destructive behaviour, but you can't just "dress-up" like Tom Waits. He is entirely singular". 

Waits has two more records on The 500 list, so I will share more about him in the future. For now, much like the frustrated speaker in the Waits' song that started this confusion, I'll look to my flawed and time-fragmented brain and wonder..."What's He Building in There?"