A clever strategic plan indeed. :-)

I agree that Tom Waits has a great sense of humour, so I can understand why he has his loyal fans. It hasn't clicked with me for some reason.

People have criticized Leonard Cohen's singing too. In fact, Cohen himself made fun of it one time, when awarded "best singer" of the year by the Canadian music industry. He indicated that he was flabbergasted by the unexpected honour, implying something rather like "Why me? I can barely sing at all." :-)