Great to hear Tom Waits is appreciated within the halls of Dudeism; for me, he is the howling, grunting, yelling (and crooning), foot-stomping, moon-swiping Bard of the Americas. I have no, freakin' doubts in putting him up for a Bardship, brethren.
There are many others, too, of course and they may have been mentioned already in the Music section ( that's a lot of reading) but another Dude I would like to buzz up, man, is Johnathan Richman (with or without the Modern Lovers). "Rock n Roll With The Modern Lovers" was the first vinyl album I ever handed over cash for. It has been with me (in varying media) for many years, guys. His is the simple, innocent sound that can rekindle the thrill of the roll even in the most jaded souls. Maybe it's because his songs are considered childish (at worst) or mere novelties (at best) by the major industry players that he isn't given more airtime or coverage. Maybe I am romanticizing the whole thing . . maybe, I don't know, Dudes; all I do know is that his sound works for me. Here's a link (random): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r5NkEkaXHQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r5NkEkaXHQ)
Anyway, that's my two to start with - what about you guys, who would you put up for 'Bardship'?
I hereby nominate Charles Bukowski, if it's all right with you dudes.
Jon Goodwin, the Dudes real life buddy. Just saw him play, he is way cool and very funny. http://www.babyrecords.com/GoodwinPage.html
Yeah, the Bukowski nomination is okay with me, yeaux and thanks to revgms for the heads-up on Jon Goodwin but now I can't get those 'Lime Green Speedos' outta my mind, man :)