Gushing With Excitement

Posted this to Facebook the night it happened, but forgot to upload here. Back on January 4, I watched the driver of an SUV do this in Oakland. That's her and her friend walking around the vehicle. Whoops.

Did Billy Joel Crash Into Ron Rosenbaum's House?

I'll be more charitable than the author of this piece and say this: Billy Joel's music isn't bad, it's just been presented in the wrong context. Hear me out.

He's always belonged in musical theater, with all its hammy, melodramatic, inoffensive goofiness. He could have been the heir to Andrew Lloyd Webber, and he'd probably have a healthier fan-to-hater ratio. Why did it take so long for Movin' Out to happen? He's right in his wheelhouse with that stuff (see video above).

In the pop/rock/Top 40 world, BJ's music always came across as somewhat out of place. Like I used to say, it isn't bad, it's just pop music for people who don't like pop music.

SIDE NOTE #1:
My guess is the author was also trying to be somewhat humorous about his hatred. Besides, he gets paid to stir the pot, so to speak.

SIDE NOTE #2: The title of the post refers to this (my favorite Billy Joel moment and headline).

Fear of Pop (Ben Folds ft. William Shatner) - "In Love" (Live on Conan, 1999)

A lost classic. "At puberty, I was sworn to secrecy by the International Brotherhood of Lying Fickle Males..."

Side note: I think the origins of Shatner's The Practice / Boston Legal character, Denny Crane, might be found in this song...

Signs You Probably Had A Great Life

#37: Your pic is on the ladies' room door at Liverpool Lil's in San Francisco, and you have your own bus depot in Queens.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Lucy" (1990)

This might just be one of the greatest songs of all time, whatever that means. If you only know Nick Cave's noisier work, the warmth and tenderness of this tune comes as a surprise. Anyway, great lyric and melody, heartfelt performance (probably somewhat MacGowan-inspired)...and stick around for the harmonica in the 2nd half. Trust me.

Home (Pt. 2)

Home (Pt. 1)