June 12, 2005

• JFK! Blown away! What else do I have to say! My god... what a terrible, terrible song...
• worst-artist-ever
• Really? Worst artist ever? Bit of hyperbole there? Actually, I've liked a lot of Joel's music. He was always a story teller. and his stories were not "she loves me" kind of stuff. What's so bad about that?
• This just in: Ostensibly American blogger Learns Something About British Political History. God belss the Intarwebs!
• BTW, I find that objections to the content of rock songs often reveal the complainer's ignorance of the concept of narrative voice. Discuss.
• (disclaimer -I'm a Billy Joel fan) calling Joel the "worst artist ever" is a bit absurd with as much crap as is put out in the name of music. I believe, Argh, that art is a bit more subjective than that... I'll accept the statement that for YOU Joel is the artist you like the least. Unless, of course, you're God....
• I haven't heard any other Joel I like, but I like this song ALOT.
• Calling Billy Joel the worst.artist.evah. surely makes John Denver fans rest easy, though I am certain that there have been worse. I think the combination of widespread fame and songs of mawkish sentiment are what led to the charge. Joel can laugh his way to the bank at the charge. And he can rest easy that his foray (recently) into classical composition is now worse than the execrable works of Sir Paul M. Stick to the day job, boys. Calling jb an American is slightly misplaced, though I belive North American is accurate. On behalf of the USA, if jb wants to be called American, it's ok with me. Also, since jb's area of study is history, I doubt that the ignorance of Profumo/Keeler was on jb's part.
• uh, that should say "no" worse. But it could be "now" worse. I have never been able to make it all the way through the classical works of Joel or McCartney. bleah!
• I'm sure this is exactly what Douglas Adams had in mind when he came up with the idea of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Brings to mind the bit in the book where Ford Prefect's lengthy entry on earth is edited down to 'mostly harmless' I always felt this song owed rather a debt to R.E.M.'s End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) But was considerably less subtle. And that Bob Dylan song who's name I forget ...
• There was another website I recall that had a buncha links. Back in high school, "Begin, Reagan, Palestine" confused the hell out of me -- the historic Begin/Sadat agreement was brokered by the Carter administration. Also, watching "Forrest Gump" is not a good way to review for a US history exam. And also, "Downeaster Alexa" is a much better song.
• I have often thought of Billy Joel's music as cabaret that's okay for straight men to like (not that there's anything wrong with that). But not in a million years did I imagine that there was a single soul that actually liked "We Didn't Start the Fire". I don't think anyone should be criticized for liking it, necessarily, it's just unimaginable to me that anyone would.
• But not in a million years did I imagine that there was a single soul that actually liked "We Didn't Start the Fire". Yeah, I always figured those Top Ten lists were faked, too.
• I would speculate that liking or not liking "We Didn't Start the Fire" is at least partially a matter of age. I was born in '48 (hold the gasps, please!) and can relate to the song.... we grew up with that "list". A couple of more Joel songs that shouldn't be dismissed... (and, I agree with pianistic that "Downeaster Alexa" is a good song)...are: New York State of Mind Baby Grand (with Ray Charles) Leningrad Light as the Breeze
• Hurray! I'm the single soul! *does a single soul-dance to "We didn't start the fire"* It's about time I earn some recognition for my achievement.
• "The Longest Time" is perfect for what it is -- a tender doo-wop. And the one band I was ever in had a great time ripping up "You May Be Right." Other than that, meh.
• Actually, I'm Canadian, and I didn't know about this scandal. Ironically, I study British history. But my area of study does end at about 1820 - were this about Queen Caroline, I would be much more ashamed at not knowing it. But I picked it because it was one of the stranger lines - there were many, many more things in there that I didn't understand, but they were mostly just names. But I didn't know, for instance, that Brooklyn didn't have a winning team until just before LA evilly stole them. I like the song. I really like Piano Man, too.
• HB: Light as the Breeze is Leonard Cohen's, but Joel's version sounds great to these ears.
• FT... thanks for that info... I wasn't aware that was a Cohen song.. gonna have to search that one out!
• (bursts out singing helplessly) And the piano it SOUNDS like a CARNIVAL! Y'know, there was an interview on TV a few years back where BJ talked about how much he can't stand the song. Also reminds me of this thread from last month.
• dickdotcom -- the Dylan song of which you speak is probably Subterranean Homesick Blues. I like Billy Joel. I thought he was brilliant when I was younger, an opiniion I no longer hold. The problem with him that I have is probably in line with what many people'd problem with him is: he was too revered by our peers. And that is not his fault. We don't claim that every popular act is the worst artist ever. Why not Buckner & Garcia? Easy. No one likes Buckner and Garcia. People who attack Billy Joel are really attacking his fans for giving his music more weight than they think it deserves. I like Joel fine, but if you try to put him anywhere near my heroes (Dylan, Costello, Prince, Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Ani DiFranco, Suzanne Vega), then I will take a crap on your forehead.
• Certainly you have some crap to spare! :-)
• Sorry, sorry, sorry- that was a deliberate goad; I couldn't help myself. *stands in corner*
• JB: get hold of the film "Scandal", which treats the Profumo affair. It was huge in its day, but would be considered mediocre by today's standards of British politician sex.
• Bernockle - it was indeed Subterranean Homesick Blues ... Thank You *heads off for listen* Today's British Politician Sex? would that be John Major and Edwina Currie or David Blunkett and whoever it was he did or didn't father a baby with?
• I could also tell you all about Henry Fox, his elopement and conflict of interest in debating the 1753 Marriage Act against elopements. But that wasn't that scandalous, and I got it all from a BBC movie to start with :)
• *Cough* Ha, he looks like Richard D. James...
• *puts bread in the jar* Man, what are you doing here?
• I haven't heard any other Joel I like, but I like this song ALOT. I feel the same way. Maybe it has something do with this one not being a piano-based song. If you haven't already seen it, you might like the song's video by Ye Li. It's been updated with some new features since the last time I watched it, and even though my memories of the official video aired on tv are vague, I think I like Li's version better. I heard the song's last line as "color wars" instead of "cola wars." Oops.
• Interesting. Well I guess there are quite a few people that like this song. Learnt something new today. It's just I always thought that this tune had one of the most insidiously evil choruses in pop music history, the kind that you just can't get out of your head, and not in a good way; in a really bad tv commercial jingle kind of way. In the limited circles in which I run, this song has always been something of a cultural touchstone. A tune that when mentioned by name, everyone kind of groans, and rolls their eyes, and thinks (or says), "you dick, now I'm going to start thinking about singing the chorus in my head, which will lead to actually singing it in my head and I won't be able to get it out of my head unless I drink about a gallon of booze jab myself in the ear with a screwdriver." I had alwasy considered this a really, really crappy bubblegum pop song, despite the fact that its litany style lyrics are admittedly somewhat interesting/clever/amusing. But not enough to redeem its God-awful cloying catchiness (similar to the other disposable gimmicky pop tunes of that era, like "Ice Ice Baby" or "Don't Worry be Happy"). I am very surprised to learn here that the song's appeal actually has endured with some folks.
• Well, psmealey, sorry to fall so far beneath your artistic standards, and really sorry to hear that you are troubled by earworms, but bear in mind, It's a Small World After All! Heh.
• Well, the best thing about this post for me is that some random link in there reminded me that it's 2005 and I still can't buy a decently-priced good Ian Dury CD online, which makes me cranky again, so I'm going to go outside and work in my garden. So, thanxsses.
• I still can't buy a decently-priced good Ian Dury CD online, Guess this largely depends on what you consider "decently-priced" and what you consider "good," but GEMM should give you something to choose from.
• I still can't buy a decently-priced good Ian Dury CD online, Guess this largely depends on what you consider "decently-priced" and what you consider "good," but GEMM should give you something to choose from.
• Seems to me that people who really dislike the song are focused on the chorus, while people who like the song are focused on the rest. If I thought the chorus was a major player in the song, I'd probably dislike the song. But I view the chorus as filler. It's just there to break up the song into smaller, more digestable parts.
• Later on today, some wiseass is going to post the historical events that prompted Britny Fox's "Girls School." ...cuz mah baybee BROKE all the rulez!
• *gets "I Don't Like Mondays" lodged in head*
• Catchy, poor political science. You DID start the fire. Many times.
• I wouldn't call him the Worst Artist Ever, but I'm still quite comfortable calling Billy Joel the Assassin of Rock and Roll.
• I'd like to point out that I've actually explained the Profumo Affair to jb several times over the years. She never listens to a word I say!
• There's a reason he's (in my mind) the worst artist ever. In the summertime kids get a vacation from school. It's playtime. It's fun. It's summer. When I was a kid, I had to go work with my stepfather as a carpenter. We built garages as a subcontractor for Danley Garages. Every morning was the same routine. Get up before dawn, go to Dunkin Donuts and drive to the job. Right when we'd get there he'd plug in this big old crappy boombox and tune it to an AM radio station. (WLS?). The boombox had a broken antenna so the station never came in clearly. That didn't matter to my step father. He'd just turn up the volume as loud as it would go. The result was the worst sounding clusterfuck you've ever heard in your life. That whole summer Bily Joel was in heavy rotation. Every other song blaring out of that static ridded hell box was a Billy Joel song. (The program director must have gotten a huge check from his label). I got to know ever song on a personal level. To this day, when I hear the first few notes of a Billy Joel song, I get a feeling like I'm going to barf. That is why Billy Joel is, to me, the worst artist ever. Truth is subjectivity