Posted on 05/09/2017 1:12:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
What does the typical Billy Joel fan look like? Its a serious question. We can, I think to at least a small degree of accuracy, guess what the typical Sex Pistols fan looked like back in their heyday, or the typical Spice Girls fan in theirs. But, what about Billy Joel? His music is so nondescript, so family-restaurant friendly, so bland, so cheesy, that its lack of concrete identity aside from its popularity and its blandness makes it difficult to imagine just who buys his albums, just who packs the sold out arenas.
Lets think about it this way perhaps Billy Joel is the suburbs of music. The term ugly is so often misapplied to the suburbs (some, at least). I say misapplied, because the suburbs, as Ive lived them, are not positively ugly, like, say, Jean Dubuffets Art Brut, but rather they have a sort of negative ugliness, which is to say, they lack any qualities whatsoever. The ugliness of the suburbs is in reality nothing more than the banality, the boringness of the suburbs. As opposed to brutalism, which can often be ugly, but in a positive, fascinating sense, if the suburbs are oppressive, it is only because there is nothing to latch on to, nothing interesting. This seems to me the best description, by way of analogy, of Billy Joels music negatively terrible. This, again, does not bring us any closer to visualizing the typical Billy Joel superfan, but it at least lets us theorize about why we cant.
In any event, the occasion for these thoughts is, of course, Joels birthday. The man seems, like the suburbs, timeless hes still around, still making music, still selling out shows. Long after were gone cockroaches, Joel, office buildings, and, probably, (I shudder at the thought) The Eagles. But my hatred for Joels music doesnt run as deep as some. Despite his eternal dullness, he does have some okay songs. No, if you want some real, wonderful, joyous vitriol, look no further than Ron Rosenbaums 2009 article for Slate, The Worst Pop Singer Ever. Rosenbaum is the author of books like Explaining Hitler and How the End Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III, so when he writes about Joels music, well, he knows what hes talking about. The article is one of those perennial internet gems, the epitome of evergreen content so long as Joel is around (forever), this article will be necessary. But enough from me Happy birthday Billy, and heres Rosenbaum.
Read more:
Particularly, Goodnight Saigon ...
This topic reminds me of how wayyyyy over rated I’ve always felt that Elton John is, but much more than that, how much I dislike Phil Collin’s mid-to-late 80s phase. It’s like nails on on a chalkboard to me.
No ... I think I've read quite enough from this arrogant idiot.
He rides and has built many custom Moto Guzzis.
Including the ones pictured below -
But I just may be the lunatic you're looking for ...
NY State of Mind — one of the most melodic, beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. Ranks close to my all-time favorite. I was very surprised to learn that it was composed by Billy Joel — I’d heard it years before by the Mark-Almond Band and loved it then.
Never heard him sing anything that I liked.
NY State of Mind — one of the most melodic, beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. Ranks close to my all-time favorite. I was very surprised to learn that it was composed by Billy Joel — I’d heard it years before by the Mark-Almond Band and loved it then.
The description “Family Restaurant Friendly” made me laugh.
For someone who ‘can’t stand!’ Billy’s music, the author has spent a great deal of time listening and analyzing it.
Yes, there is going to be a certain amount of blandness, if that style is what made you famous.
This goes way, way back with Billy.
I think he wrote “My Life”, the theme song for Bosom Buddies, Tom Hanks first TV show. For many musicians, that’s as good as it ever gets. Can you imagine? You have written and performed a theme song for a popular TV show, with royalites floating into your bank account for years afterward! Jackpot!! Right?
I’ve always liked the storytelling of ‘The Piano Man”. It was sort of like a Gordon Lightfoot ballad, but told with a sense of humor and a wink in the eye, something Gordon was never known for.
At one time Billy Joel was considered “new wave”.
RE:”Bruce Springsteen is up there in awfulness as well.”
Yep
It’s still rock and roll to me.
my thoughts as well.
To each his own. And that includes music.
He’s not terrible. I don’t care for most of his Music (l will never forgive him for “Just the way you are”). As far as a songwriter goes he is actually pretty good, l just don’t like most of his songs but they tend to be well written and structured.
A buffoon politically and a lousy, untalented musician.
Garbage article. While I don’t usually like “urban” music, Billy Joel has enough “grit” and he is a story teller.
Mmmmmm
A Calvin
Billy Joel and the Eagles.
They both are getting a bad wrap.
Since When did “hard” ever automatically mean good music?
I had the unfortunate experience of seeing him in San Diego nearly 30 years ago...in his heyday.
A Navy buddy got stood up by his girlfriend and offered me the ticket.
I still tell him, to this day, that he owes ME the face value of the ticket ($11) because it sucked sooo bad. Clearly the worst live performance I’ve ever seen outside Motley Crue.
If you ever get a chance to watch the documentary "Last Play at Shea", do so. The final public event before old Shea Stadium was torn down was a Billy Joel concert. The well-crafted film tells a great story of the early history of New York City, Shea Stadium and the Mets, and Joel.
You have to endure Alec Baldwin as the narrator, but he does a good job without snarkiness.
😊
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