Say Goodbye To POLLywood - Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II, THE POLL

:(

what's wrong with "Friends"? Is it the theme song?

I think its their haircuts iirc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRb92CDLlq0

3. "A Matter of Trust"

oh hey, had completely forgotten about that one. on second thought, don't destroy everything after the nylon curtain, just most of it. great fucking song. the phrase "some love is just a lie of the mind" gets stuck in my head big time.

if the poll had included the other greatest hits I'd include "A Matter of Trust" (is that really Joel on guitar? The Bridge credits don't say so) and, er, Garth Brooks doing "Shameless."

Matter Of Trust is pretty good

2. "An Innocent Man"

this is just ghastly though. starts out nice enough, but dives off a cliff before a minute's up.

"An Innocent Man" is basically a good Joe Jackson ballad.

vegemite grrrl OTM re New York State Of Mind. the whole Stranger album *totally* captured the place for me before i ever went there.
i'm sure if you actually *lived* there you'd hate it or whatever like me with Joy Division.

uh-onnnne
twoooooo
ah onnnnetwooothreeeeefaw

Most of these are good. Could have replaced those (then) recent singles with "An Innocent Man" though.

Innocent Man chart single I don't remember at all: "Leave A Tender Moment Alone"

(And my sister owned the cassette)

I always forget that An Innocent Man was as much a part of the post-Thriller zeitgeist: five (!) singles, saturation play on radio and MTV, etc.

That one has the great Toots Thielman on harmonica. Xp

one thing that strikes me is BJ is he's like a cynical, judgemental McCartney. He writes a lot of good storytelling songs but he often writes from the viewpoint of a judgemental 'other' witnessing the bad behaviours/failed lives of other people.Bit of an ivory tower thing, idk.

I could be full of shit, it just occured to me this afternoon.

"Everybody Besides Me Started The Fire"

that whole Stormfront period was just uggggghhh so gross.

At least we don't have to googleproof it here.

If anything this thread has mostly convinced me that I probably should own the An Innocent Man album.

one thing that strikes me is BJ is he's like a cynical, judgemental McCartney. He writes a lot of good storytelling songs but he often writes from the viewpoint of a judgemental 'other' witnessing the bad behaviours/failed lives of other people.Bit of an ivory tower thing, idk.

Someone wrote a long and brutal takedown of Billy Joel based largely around this idea. I think it was semi-recently linked and discussed somewhere around here. It's certainly true of certain Billy Joel songs: "Big Shot", "Movin' Out", "Captain Jack", "Angry Young Man", "Piano Man", etc. But it's never been his whole artistic POV, even in his most cynical years. And I don't think he's any more condescending or bitter than say, Mick Jagger, Elvis Costello or Mark E. Smith (lol ringer).

Also, wish I'd seen Hillary announcing her run for senate as "you just stay at home and masturbate" echoed behind her.

xpost yeah I probably should have switched often for sometimes/occasionally...he writes some really wonderful sincere stuff too

I always wrestle with that becuase I love the phrasing and hooks of Captain Jack, but the tone of it kinda irritates me sometimes.

i liked Leningrad when it came out. sorry there it is.

remember when everyone had a song about Russia

hey I liked We Didn't Start The Fire when it came out - but now I'm old I can pretend I didn't know what I was doing, lol

I really love the timing changes in Moving Out, and HEART-ATTACK-ACKACKACK

WEEELL I'M OOON THE DOWNEASTER "ALEXA"

Attila still fills me with sheer glee

Innocent Man chart single I don't remember at all: "Leave A Tender Moment Alone"

yesterday at easter dinner with my in-laws the phrase "a tender moment alone" jokingly came into the conversation for some reason. We then had to go online to figure out where we picked it up from. Nobody remembered it was a Billy Joel song.

the context was something like "you'd like a tender moment alone with that ham, wouldn't you?"

ugh I forgot the synth helicopter on Goodnight Saigon, kinda ruins it

decided that I'm going to let my sister pick her favorite song and I'll vote for that one. Saves me the heartache, lol

well your MOTHER said that ALL THAT I could GIVE YA was a REPuTAtion

tbh I'll probably vote for "Pressure" which is the best of his synth pop stuff

Ses. Am. E. Street.
What. Does. It. Meeeean?

PRESSHHARRR

I suppose soon that somebody is going to sample the synth sequence from that song for a hit single.

The video looks for the most part like some Peter Gabriel thing, but then there are odd bizarre moments, particularly when the camera focuses on BJ's face.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyv905Q2omU

got the feeling he always fancied himself as an actor from his videos

The "homoerotic" images in the "Allentown" video reportedly amused him.

xxp In many ways it's like many early 80's Elton John videos, big budget, few ideas, and the focal point is a not particularly rock star looking figure.

<i>I always forget that An Innocent Man was as much a part of the post-Thriller zeitgeist: five (!) singles...

― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn).

Six, actually. And to a different comment way upthread, releasing "Volumes 1 and 2" of a GH as part of the same package wasn't without precedent when this comp came out - check the subtitle of Donna Summer's <i>On the Radio</i> back in 1979.

My sister's ruling is in: I voted Uptown Girl. Most gleeful, funnest to singalong to, best encapsulates our childhood Lego-playing :D

got the feeling he always fancied himself as an actor from his videos

He's no Dennis DeYoung, that's for sure

hahah

omg YES vegemite thank you for starting this! i can't let myself start reading this thread yet cause i'll want to reply to everything but i am stoked

:D

a friend of mine, who lived abroad, had to show up a week early to his freshman year of university. to pass the time avoid needing a place to stay, he signed up for PROJECT WILD, a hippie-wilderness-bonding thing that the school sponsored.

part of the program involved going 'solo' for 24 hours, but my friend made the mistake of choosing a tree or whatever too near a guy who spent most of the 24 hours repeatedly playing the main riff -- the only one he knew -- of 'piano man' on a harmonica.

there was a lot of scarring

oh fuck that would ruin you for life

what's wrong with "Friends"? Is it the theme song?
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, April 9, 2012 4:43 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I think its their haircuts iirc
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl)

Too cool to diss "Friends"? OK, then!