Anti artist Tom Waits has announced a rare tour through the South and Midwest, hitting some cities he hasn't visited since the mid-to-late '70s.

Waits explained the "motivation" for the tour:

We need to go to Tennessee to pick up some fireworks, and someone owes me money in Kentucky.

His most recent live date in London sold out in 30 minutes, with over 150,000 ticket requests received within the first hour. Waits' three previous North American concerts (two in Vancouver, BC and one in Seattle) were also snapped up in record time.

In other news, Paste magazine has just issued its collector's edition citing the "100 Best Living Songwriters," with Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan (longtime co-writer, co-producer and wife) clocking in at #4. According to Paste, "In literature, only a handful of writers have pulled off the near impossible. In music, it happens on every Tom Waits recording."