It’s easier for stuff to get lost in the shuffle here. In America’s defense, being the musical capital of the world means a slightly higher influx of music. 1992’s Bone Machine, for instance, charted at 176 in America where it charted overseas, its lowest peak was 42. With exception to The Heart of Saturday Night, Small Change, and Foreign Affairs, every album leading up to Mule Variations did at least twice as well abroad as it did at home. Still, a brief glance at his discography reveals a shocking disparity in success of his previous works. His tireless work ethic and eleven previous records afforded him studio personnel like Charlie Musselwhite, John Hammond, and Les Claypool the album was nominated for two Grammys and won one and for whatever critical ballyhooing is worth, Mule Variations had it in kind. Billboard 200 at #30, and was certified gold in America and Canada. Though the record did better in Europe and Scandinavia, it peaked on the U.S. And in 1999 when Mule Variations was released, Waits had little to complain about. The slinky, trashy, ZZ Top-meets-Beefheart track falls more toward the cheeky side of cynicism than the bitter. There’s no accounting for taste, especially not according to Tom Waits. with a distinctly American sound Jimi Hendrix took a similar career path years after British Explosion bands had the opposite luck. It’s happened to plenty of musicians - Kings of Leon were famously grumpy about their lack of stateside success despite packing arenas in the U.K. No, “Big in Japan” is the idea that a Western celebrity finds fame in places other than (and excluding) their home countries. But contrary to popular belief, the words were never meant to allude to the heat being packed by one’s genitalia. Probably on the front of a neon t-shirt at a beachside bodega frequented by millennials of Italian descent.
You’ve probably heard the somewhat crude phrase “Big in Japan” before.
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