It's just not memorable. It sounds like a faithfully programmed remix of Randy Newman samples. Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic'' - has the advantage of having his own minority culture to call on. Though not exactly Third World, soul, rhythm and blues and urban music help to earn him the benefit of the doubt. Ditto for ''Supernatural'' by Santana, with its Latin origins.
Swing makes up for so much.
And listening to Tom Waits's ''Mule Variations'' is like running into a storyteller at a party who tells the same story he told you at the last party. It's a good story, he tells it well, and his lowdown, sandpaper texture is hypnotizing. The last thing you want to do is tell him to stop.