Great Billy Joel profile in the New Yorker

I would have liked to have heard his opinion of Warren Zevon's piano skills.

 

They'd have him on every talk show, NPR, etc. They'd be selling to a huge audience--probably those ages 65-35--that don't normally buy music, but could be motivated for a new Joel album. The chances he'd have a top 10 single are very low, but if they marketed this right AND the album was truly good, they wouldn't need one.

 

It doesn't seem to make economic sense for any of these older artists to make the effort to write, record, and promote new music that probably will sell fewer copies than the number of fans who attend a live show and pay 10x (at least) the cost of the record for a ticket (most of whom don't want to hear any new songs). I suspect we will see fewer artists bother to do so.

 

"...John Barry, the composer who’d written the James Bond theme.''

I wonder how long it will take Monty Norman to sue the New Yorker.

 

I wish she kept going.

 

Right. But do you have less respect for her because she didn't? (as you implied in the first of your posts I responded to)

 

It could be done. 15 shows were recorded in clubs and arenas, and the sound checks were also recorded. I'd like to have one from an arena gig, and one from a club gig. And some stuff from the sound checks. I'd also like to see an expanded dvd of the 1982 "Live From Long Island".

 

Did anyone realize that the long-canceled Billy Joel autobiography is actually being released - as a biography completed by his co-writer - this Tuesday? I heard nothing about this, but happened to see it in a Pause and Play update. Are they sneaking this out, or have I been asleep???

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0804140197...=211189&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=0804140197

 

I just had the same experience ... saw the P&P link and thought "Surely it can't be that one ..." Did I miss something in the New Yorker profile? I just thought it referred to the scrapped project. I remember being bummed at the last-minute cancellation back then. Very nice surprise.

 

I love Billy's music, but he comes off quite a bit douchey. The choppers, mansions, 33 year old girlfriends, Sting birthday parties, when he feels like it, he'll play the Garden for a quick million and chopper home...come on man. I went to one the shows this summer, and while fun, it wasn't anything transcendent. He didn't even use his true band.

 

Jealous?

They guy has the right to do as he pleases. I wish I could meet him and chat about his archives. yeah, it would be a bit self-serving, but there are some vintage things that could be released which would please the long-time fans.

 

Of course it wasn't, it was a Billy Joel show after all.

I'd love to live his life for one day though.

 

No one is telling him how to live, but come on. Hard working musicians don't want to read this drivel (they prob wouldn't be reading the New Yorker anyway lol).

 

He has the typical conundrum for a rock star his age...he is bored to death with his hits, and even embarrassed about some (Piano Man, Just The Way You Are), but is way too lazy to go on a tour of smaller halls and play what he wants.....so he goes through the motions playing his hits so that he can stay rich and famous enough to land 33-year old women.

 

That's a lot of ink spilt on someone who's almost entirely uninteresting.

 

It's too bad he stopped making new music. Although... then again... his last few albums weren't very good imo. They all had a couple decent songs on them but there was quite a bit of garbage too. It would be nice to hear one more album from him though. And not some Long Island Concept Album... yikes.

But 'artist' Billy Joel is gone. Now it's just 'entertainer' Billy Joel. And he seems like a rich uncle who likes to have a good time on vacations, etc. rather than somebody who could bother trying to put some effort in. It's too bad. Regardless of what the critics thought of him, the stuff especially up to Nylon Curtain was really well-written and performed.

 

Maybe he could cover John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" on his next, comeback album.

 

Agreed. Scenes From an Italian Restaurant still might be my favorite Billy song. A song that was and still is so true. Angry Young Man also a big favorite. Of course, not from The Stranger. Two great concert staples.

 

he does come off as pretty coarse, apart from the classical piano stylings. I got the feeling the writer was actually leaving out some of the more embarrassing blue jokes, etc.

 

Clarification from Joel's FB account:
"We want to clarify the speculation in the recent media about the Fred Schruers book, “Billy Joel-The Definitive Biography.” This book is not Billy Joel’s autobiography or his memoir that was canceled in 2011. Parts of the book were taken from material the author collected from numerous sources, including interviews with Billy Joel in 2007-2009."

 

Good article. It's hard to criticize someone in Joel's current position, making a million bucks a month, working one day a month, if he's accepted that this is what he and his career have turned into. There's nothing inherently wrong with being fat 'n happy. But if he's not interested in writing new songs then he might want to avoid complaining about having to play the same ol' tunes (once a month for a million bucks). And more power to him if he's able to keep dating 30-something women and all, but his seems like kind of a hollow existence these days. I'll always like his pre Uptown Girl music. Songs in the Attic and The Stranger are still played regularly in my home.

 

Those who have followed Billy Joel over the years know that, despite the tremendous success, accolades, and respect he receives, he is basically an unhappy man. It's difficult for others to understand this, not being in his shoes, but it is the case.

 

Well, I wish he'd take 2 months "off" from his normal schedule and make a bunch of piano demos of all of these bits and pieces the article talks about!

 

Yup...Nothing new under the sun...Money and success do not buy happiness. Richard Corey is as relevant as ever.

 

I don't begrudge him his success either. He earned his fortune making people happy.