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Posted

I completely forgot about that  :lol:

As did I. And Swamp, how could I forget.

 

qwk, you missed our Sabres history parody of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"???!!!

PA probably created the thread for that purpose. He just did it in a more subtle way so he wouldn't get caught.

You're onto me. Swedes... a handsome and suspicious people.

I'll be second soon! Ghost revealed Hoss's voice, but I missed it.

I missed that somehow. Hoss has samples of his broadcast work on YouTube. I recall watching some of them. He's good.

 

There's also the comedian who posted one of his gigs. He doesn't post much and I can't think of his handle off the top of my head.

Posted

As did I. And Swamp, how could I forget.

 

qwk, you missed our Sabres history parody of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"???!!!

 

You're onto me. Swedes... a handsome and suspicious people.

 

I missed that somehow. Hoss has samples of his broadcast work on YouTube. I recall watching some of them. He's good.

 

There's also the comedian who posted one of his gigs. He doesn't post much and I can't think of his handle off the top of my head.

Greg Kash?
Posted

I liked the lyrics.  I hate that song though, probably the worst thing Billy Joel ever did.  I can see why it was picked for this though.

 

If you're a Billy Joel fan youtube the Howard Stern Billy Joel town hall interview, there's some fantastic backstories for so many of his songs. Billy really isn't a big fan of We Didn't Start The Fire himself, but feels compelled to play it live since it was such a hit.

 

In fact all the Stern musician interviews where they sit in and play songs are great, you really get great insight into the song writing process for so many classic songs.  Off the top of my head in the last few years he's had Metallica, John Fogerty, Foo Fighters, James Taylor, David Crosby, Paul McCartney,  Billy Corgan,  Neil Young, Roger Daltrey, Roger Waters, Chris Cornell, AC/DC, heck I even enjoyed the Lady GaGa interview and performance.

Posted

I liked the lyrics.  I hate that song though, probably the worst thing Billy Joel ever did.  I can see why it was picked for this though.

 

Divorcing Christie Brinkley has to be far worse than any song.

Posted

Divorcing Christie Brinkley has to be far worse than any song.

 

From that Stern interview I learned that Uptown Girl was inspired by a time when he was surrounded at his piano by Christie Brinkley, Elle McPherson (who he also dated) and Whitney Houston. He was with BOTH Christie and Elle..that's all time legend material right there.

Posted

I liked the lyrics.  I hate that song though, probably the worst thing Billy Joel ever did.  I can see why it was picked for this though.

Well, he thinks of himself as a songwriter first and that had to be a beast to write. He has a few historical-based songs (Leningrad, Allentown and Goodnight, Saigon come to mind) and he probably just had an itch to do something like this. I'm sure he regrets it every time he has to sing it.

Posted

Divorcing Christie Brinkley has to be far worse than any song.

 

I meant artistically, you dufus.

From that Stern interview I learned that Uptown Girl was inspired by a time when he was surrounded at his piano by Christie Brinkley, Elle McPherson (who he also dated) and Whitney Houston. He was with BOTH Christie and Elle..that's all time legend material right there.

 

Maybe his story on Stern was different, but from people who were cited in the song, Piano man was written while Billy Joel was gigging in Albany (Troy, specifically) at the Hendrick Hudson Hotel after divorcing his first wife.  I knew several of the characters in the song.  I worked with "John at the Bar" at a bar called Holmes and Watson's, and "Paul" was a regular there.  If you've seen the video for the song, John at the Bar is a very obese individual.  The John I worked with weighed about 600 lb.

Well, he thinks of himself as a songwriter first and that had to be a beast to write. He has a few historical-based songs (Leningrad, Allentown and Goodnight, Saigon come to mind) and he probably just had an itch to do something like this. I'm sure he regrets it every time he has to sing it.

 

Allentown and Goodnight Saigon are two of my favorites from what I think of as his later period.  I fell in love with his early stuff (Turnstiles is my favorite album of his) but my sense was he got more and more "pop" as time went on.  We Didn't Start the Fire was when that trend came to a head.

Posted

Maybe his story on Stern was different, but from people who were cited in the song, Piano man was written while Billy Joel was gigging in Albany (Troy, specifically) at the Hendrick Hudson Hotel after divorcing his first wife.  I knew several of the characters in the song.  I worked with "John at the Bar" at a bar called Holmes and Watson's, and "Paul" was a regular there.  If you've seen the video for the song, John at the Bar is a very obese individual.  The John I worked with weighed about 600 lb.

Interesting. It's probably like the old "Washington slept here" story. Of course Billy has said it was written during his time in LA. Then again a lot of his stories seem apocryphal.

 

Thank you for not putting a comma in Goodnight Saigon. What was I thinking? Now I've lost all my Billy Joel cred with you. I also love Turnstiles. A great thematic album that weaves a story. Is that even a thing anymore?

Posted

Interesting. It's probably like the old "Washington slept here" story. Of course Billy has said it was written during his time in LA. Then again a lot of his stories seem apocryphal.

 

Apocryphal indeed.  I also took the story I heard with a grain of salt, but when I saw the video and John at the Bar matched the description of the John I worked with, I tended to believe that story.  It could be that the "official" story of being set in L.A. may be shorthand and the song is an amalgamation of characters from both the left and right coasts.

 

Thank you for not putting a comma in Goodnight Saigon. What was I thinking? Now I've lost all my Billy Joel cred with you. I also love Turnstiles. A great thematic album that weaves a story. Is that even a thing anymore?

 

It is, but it's increasingly rare.  Online music distribution has gotten us back to buying individual songs instead of whole albums, which is a pity, imo. 

 

For a long time I had a cassette tape that I played all the time.  Side 1 had Turnstiles on it; Side 2 was Springsteen's Born to Run.  I saw those two albums as very complementary, telling stories about the fringes of NYC- the genteel Long Island side and the gritty New Jersey side.

 

Another album by Billy Joel that's kind of a sleeper is 52nd Street.  The theme of that album is night life in all its various forms.  That album was just released when I saw him in concert many moons ago.  I didn't like it much originally, but as time has gone on and I've gained life experience it seems to resonate more.  I hate the song by Sinatra "New York, New York" and I think "Big Shot" is a counterpoint to that song, exposing how boorish boastful New Yorkers can be.

Posted
Another album by Billy Joel that's kind of a sleeper is 52nd Street.  The theme of that album is night life in all its various forms.  That album was just released when I saw him in concert many moons ago.  I didn't like it much originally, but as time has gone on and I've gained life experience it seems to resonate more.  I hate the song by Sinatra "New York, New York" and I think "Big Shot" is a counterpoint to that song, exposing how boorish boastful New Yorkers can be.

I didn't know Rosalinda in Rosalinda's Eyes was his mom until she died. Beautiful song. His songs are fun to psychoanalyze. A longtime debate is whether he's also writing about his mom in Laura.

Posted

Well if we ever get together for drinks we have something to talk about besides the Sabres, eh?

Yup. Think John would get us our drinks for free?

Posted (edited)

Hank .. Thank you for your service, you beefy bastard.

 

I dig the corn rows.

 

Edit: I confused Hank with Hoss, pre-edit

Edited by N'eo
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