Posted on 01/24/2009 9:21:17 PM PST by SeekAndFind
This may seem an odd moment to bring up the subject of Billy Joel. But the recent death of the painter Andrew Wyeth revived a long-standing debate over whether his art is respectable or merely sentimental schlock. (Say it: good or bad?) It got me to thinking about the question of value in art and whether there are any absolute standards for judging it. It indicates the question is still alive, not relegated to irrelevance by relativism.
And then I picked up The Art Instinct, a new book by Denis Dutton, the curator of the Arts & Letters Daily Web site. The book strives valiantly to find a basis for judging the value of art from the perspective of evolutionary psychology; in it, Dutton argues that a certain kind of artistic talent offered a competitive advantage in the Darwinian struggle for survival.
Which brings me to Billy Joelthe Andrew Wyeth of contemporary pop musicand the continuing irritation I feel whenever I hear his tunes, whether in the original or in the multitude of elevator-Muzak versions. It is a kind of mystery: Why does his music make my skin crawl in a way that other bad music doesn't? Why is it that so many of us feel it is possible to say Billy Joel iswelljust bad, a blight upon pop music, a plague upon the airwaves more contagious than West Nile virus, a dire threat to the peacefulness of any given elevator ride, not rock 'n' roll but schlock 'n' roll?
I'm reluctant to pick on Billy Joel. He's been subject to withering contempt from hipster types for so long that it no longer seems worth the time. Still, the mystery persists: How can he be so bad and yet so popular for so long? He's still there.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Yeah, I think it was more on her.
i hate that song! it may have something to do with the video... my favorite Billy Joel song is Innocent Man... and i do like to sing Piano Man...
AHHHHHHH! You've put it in my brain! Make it stop make it stop for the love of god make it stoooooooooop......*sob*
We built this city on roooooooock and rooooooll!
File this under the ancient Confucius (sp) warning "Be careful what you wish for....you just might get it."
That ancient wisdom is priceless for a reason. It's true.
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son, can you play me a melody?
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes"
La la la de de da
La la de de da da da
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me"
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
Oh la la la de de da
La la de de da da da
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking with Davy who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinking alone
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
Oh la la la de de da
La la de de da da da
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree,
It's been three long years, if you still want me...
Does that help?
I know what you mean about songs getting stuck in your head. I mean, I've been through the desert on a horse with no name, and the legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee, but she'll still knock three times on the ceiling if she wants me.
Now, the Police really blow. Take any song of theirs, and it has just the constant repeating of one phrase throughout the song.
I can’t musically trash Springsteen in an across the board manner.
Certain songs of his (over the years) have been exceptional.
But his choice of politics? Yes, I can trash that any day!
LOL. My folks were coming into DFW Airport on a flight from London back in the day. A friend and I had gone to pick them up. As it happened we stopped to wait near a young woman who was waiting for someone on the flight too. We were talking about one thing and another as we watched my folks making their way to get their luggage, and one of us asked whom she was there to get. Her whole demeanor changed. She turned and walked away without another word. We were a bit surprised.
We met with my folks and asked about the flight as we were making our way to the parking lot. Mother began immediately telling about some little dwarf of a man who was obnoxiously drunk, and made an absolute a$$ of himself on the flight. When we came outside and made our way to the vehicle I noticed the young woman, with whom we had been talking, walking toward a pink Mercedes. At about the same time I saw Paul Williams walking toward the car as well. My mother said, “There is that little drunkard.” My friend and I laughed for days, because the woman may have thought that we were rabid fans, and that was why she had walked away so abruptly.
> Not when you have Tiny Tim and whoever that fat guy is who sings Beautiful Girls.
(Grin) Tiny Tim... I had gone nearly three decades without thinking of Tiny Tim... and now I’ve got an earworm of “Tip-toe Thru The Tulips” that is going to take another three decades to get rid of! Arrrrgh!
> Love Billy Joel. Im not reading past this, though, because these threads always annoy me.
I enjoy Billy Joel, too — particularly the pieces where he sits behind a piano and plays. He’s a great pianist for someone who used to box...
This is the only Springsteen song I can think of that I really liked. There may be more, but can't think of them now.
Why is Slate.com such a putrid rotting lump? Is it the writers? Is it their pretentious insignificance? Who cares!
Billy Joel is entertainment, Slate.com is emetic.
> Beyonce most definately - have you seen her latest contribution to absolute bland - something about putting a ring on it. Terrible song and the worst choreography you will ever see - mind numbingly stoopid!
(Grin!) and to make things worse, Beyonce had been mooted as possibly the next Wonder Woman. I put my foot down right there and said “No Way! No way in Texas is she Wonder Woman.” Lynda Carter she ain’t!
Politically, Jackson Browne is lobotomized. But I can’t totally write off a good share of his early music, especially songs like “The Pretender”.
John Cougar’s early stuff (btween 1980 and 1984) was pretty good. Then he, like many artists, became overly impressed with himself. He did a song back in ‘81 called “This Time” that remains one of my favorites. I think you can listen to the song on youtube.
I’ve seen Billy live, and it was a hell of a show. I’ve got his entire catalog and am a big fan.
There is some weird Tiny Tim stuff on YouTube. Him doing “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and “Stairway to Heaven.” The funniest one (or most offensive, depending on your point of view) is “Santa Claus Has Got the AIDS This Year.”
Yep, they’re worse than Springsteen for sure.
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, Allentown, and Goodnight Saigon are all good. Other than that it is just pop.
Ummhh - we’re not talking J.S. Bach, or even Charlie Parker here - it’s pop music, and whether BJ is appreciably better or worse than the rest is largely a matter of personal taste, and not much a matter of musical or lyrical quality.
This clown from Slate sounds like one of those jokers I knew in college who always made sure everyone knew how much more sophisticated he was then everyone else because he’d just discovered Herman Hesse or some such thing.
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