Piano Man

Dear James,

Here's two new discoveries:
1, Type "Old Grey Whistle Test" into youtube and admire the goodies it showers upon you;
2, Billy Joel with a moustache. Any chance we can do an occasional series of performers we don't usually associate with moustaches who at some stage had a moustache? I'm sure you can find one of Phil Collins at the very least. I looked for one of Elton John, but came home empty-upperlipped.

You're a musician James - is it harder to play a harmonica and a piano, or a harmonica and a guitar? I'm tempted to phrase the question as "Is it easier to do a Billy Joel tribute act, or a Bob Dylan tribute act?" In which case, I think I've answered my own question. Speaking of tribute acts, we saw the Will Ferrell film Stepbrothers the other day which includes a lengthy Billy Joel joke. It's not tremendously funny, but then neither is the film, so in context it's tremendously funny. Not a patch on Blades of Glory, of course, but then what is?

Other Billy Joel songs off the Piano Man album I found are Travelin Prayer, possibly the silliest song to ever start an album (and that's coming from a Queen fan), and a wonderfully overfast rendition of Ain't No Crime, one of my favourite Joel songs, if only because he says it's OK to go out and get drunk. In 1973.



Those seeking further Joel-based entertainment might like to check out his 1982 nightschool. I'm going to watch it now, but only because I've already read this superb bilingual blog about life in Buenos Aires. Our 95 readers (!) would be well advised to head there first. There's photos and stuff.

Philosophy

Dear James,

I could write a whole blog on Ben Folds and his Five. The song you posted below is from last September's album, Way To Normal. I downloaded it, listened to it once and never returned to it until you posted You Don't Know Me. It's a grower, it has its moments, but the thing is this:

When you've written a song like Philosophy, where do you go from there? Well, Steven's Last Night in Town and Narcolepsy, clearly, and even Ben's first two proper albums had half a dozen songs each of the standard we'd come to love. And it's saddening how one of my two hereos (Jerry Seinfeld being the other) has lowered his game to this radio-friendly- if it wasn't Ben Folds I wouldn't give it the time of day- mush, but I think we can accord him the same status as Queen and Billy Joel who smashed our musical illusions by making a load of great albums and then a load of guff. That's age for you.

I was going to post more videos then, but I've just discovered there was a Ben Folds Five reunion gig in Chapel Hill on 18 September last year. Josephine Funseeker's birthday! I'm going to watch that instead. Why don't you watch it too? This is huge.

Well it's now 4.15am and I just watched that and it brought forward all kinds of emotions, from the trumpet at 2:22 in Don't Change Your Plans and onwards and before that. What a band. Sometimes you get two friends together and they become a couple and they thank you, but it doesn't compare to my thanks to you and Áine for getting me into this band. Thank you and good night, good night, sweet baby. The world has more for you.

Dear Daniel,

Well crikey, you're welcome. I wasn't aware that Reinhold Messner had become something of a lost classic in the US or that Robert Sledge had become overweight or that Darren Jessie had a solo career. To be honest, I didn't realise ten years had passed. Bloody hell.

In record-straightening news: I was a fan of Billy Joel aged 7, with a nostalgic relapse aged 11 - 13. It don't makes him my Queen, he's my ironic nostaligic childhood joke-act reference, or "inchjar". No musical illusions were smashed by that man, he doesn't deserve that much attention. I think REM were to me what Queen were to you. But anyway, I see your point...

Dear James,

Darren Jessee now sings in Hotel Lights. At first listen, I'm tempted to say it sounds like non-descript, lily-livered Americana. You might like it, you like Elliott Smith.

(Remember) Walking in the Sand

Dear James,

Peach of a song for you here from the Shangri-Las, following the theme of the previous post and showing the world where Amy Winehouse got Back to Black for. But it's not just Amy who copied it: Sir Paul McCartney ripped off the verse, put it in the middle eighth of Free As A Bird and claimed John Lennon had written it. And can you guess which American hard-rock band covered it? It almost sounds like they wrote it.

I just checked my Revolution in the Head and Iain MacDonald pointed out that Shangri-La thing many moons ago. And I thought I was great. However, MacDonald makes no mention of Brian Epstein faking his own death, killing Paul McCartney and inhabiting his body and feeding on the blood of Michael Jackson, so I've still got some original ideas.

Mary Weiss was 15 when she sang lead on this song. I like how they had nothing to do with Phil Spector, even though they sound like they should, and how they're a lot darker than other girl groups of the 60s, as seen in Past, Present and Future, which is just this side of unsettling. This is a cover, I couldn't find the original.

Billy Joel played piano on the original demo to (Remember), which was seven minutes long. That's so Billy. It probably featured a Dixieland jazz section and lengthy saxophone solos. I don't know whether that drummer you like featured.

Dear Daniel,

Crikey. I was reading your text and watching the video and thinking to myself how attractive the singer of the Shangri-las was. Just then, you revealed me to be a dirty old peadophile. Thanks a bunch. Nice tune, though.

Prelude / Angry Young Man

Dear James,

I spent yesterday afternoon listening to Billy Joel's Turnstiles album and smoking pot in the sunshine. If there's a better way to spend a Saturday, I've yet to find it. This live performance has much to recommend it: The way it takes a heavy-metalesque two minuutes before the lyrics start; Billy Joel's nonchalance, playing the piano one-handed while chatting with the crowd (if you read his lips, he's saying "look at this: one-handed! Do you want to meet me later?");

Once again, as in the Van Halen video, what's with the huge drumkit? It's not as if Billy Joel bothers to get a 150-key piano. I can understand that if you have eight tom toms you can do a couple of fills in the songs (there's a completely pointless one at 3:57), but is that really cost-effective? I'd invest my money in drumsticks. You can never have too many drumsticks.

How often to you see rock stars wearing suits like that these days? Was he trying to do an updated version of The Beatles' thing? Or had he come straight from a board meeting and not had time to change? And why does a fan hand him a pizza at the end of the song? Oh, hang on, it's a frisbee.

Dear Daniel,

As you know, I was a huge fan of Billy Joel at the age of 7 when An Innocent Man came out. At the time, as far as music was concerned, I liked only him and the Beatles so I may have made the suit-link without realising it. Naturally, I know all the answers to your questions. I also still know the name of the drummer. I know where and on which album sleeve you are able to find a picture of him wearing a watch around his ankle. Dammit, I even know the name of the saxophonist who is performing backing vocals. Compare this, for example, with the fact that I cannot remember any of the history I was taught at school. This is not an exaggeration. I can't even remember being taught history although I can remember the teachers who apparently did it, so there must have been at least some attempt on their part. I would probably be a better person if I knew more about the Peasant's Revolt and less about bloody Doug Stegmeyer.

This song is also on the live album Kohyept, and I hadn't thought seriously about that record for over 20 years until this summer, when I realised on a street in Irkutsk that it is supposed to be pronounced "concert".

Hallelujah

Dear James,

There was an uproar on one of the blog pages of The Guardian about an X Factor contestant covering Hallelujah. Or they did a Leonard Cohen day on X Factor. Or something. Anyway, everyone was very tetchy about the king of grumpiness being bastardised in such a callous and commercial way. Then there was an argument about Jeff Buckley's version being better. Then someone said it had 14 verses. Then someone said Jeff Buckley was a whining girl. The thread of the original argument was lost shortly after.

I don't think it's such a bad thing that X Factor warblers do Hallelujah. As you can see from this appearance on a Japanese chat show, Leonard Cohen isn't that arsed either. I think the thrust of the argument on the Guardian blog was down to the old chestnut of people wanting to protect the secret songs that are special to them and unknown to the masses. If you're mum starts buying Leonard Cohen compilations to go alongside her James Blunt and that David chap who did very well a few years ago, you have to leave Lenny behind and find some other musical curmudgeon. And that means getting into Nick Cave.

Why is that we stop listening to stuff we like when everyone else starts liking it? Are we snobs? Are we music Nazis? Does the music get devalued? Would you still be listening to Oasis if no one else had bought Definitely Maybe? And how come this doesn´t apply to older bands like The Beatles and Billy Joel? Eh?