tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9126042325422293178.post1575565991642317557..comments2023-06-27T05:11:33.993-07:00Comments on 20,000 Songs: SONGS #149-150: Sleepin' With The Television On, All For LeynaJeff Symondshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870926325441551004noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9126042325422293178.post-17304634299219349092011-05-10T00:07:09.955-07:002011-05-10T00:07:09.955-07:00Ha! Pre-suck Billy Joel. Outstanding. I remembe...Ha! Pre-suck Billy Joel. Outstanding. I remember doing those tunes well! I can still sing those harmony parts, sort of. Did we do a Springsteen song too?Jeff Symondshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15870926325441551004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9126042325422293178.post-48631343118863595372011-05-09T19:29:14.008-07:002011-05-09T19:29:14.008-07:00In the fall of my sophomore year (although it may ...In the fall of my sophomore year (although it may have been the previous spring), I got it into my head to perform at the Lunt Cafe, solo acoustic. I had a vast array of singer-songwriter material to perform, and I remember carefully crafting two sets.<br /><br />Of course, I was nervous that no one would show if it was just me, so I asked my old friend Jeff to open for me. (I would have begged if he hadn't said, Yeah, sure! right away.) I even picked out four or five songs for us to sing together, as a clever segue from his set to my own. (I can almost name them all, Jeff. Brilliant Mistake by Elvis Costello; Mayor of Simpleton by XTC; In a Big Country by Big Country... I do remember that I stuck you with all the hard harmony parts.)<br /><br />I mention all of this because I'm pretty sure that I opened my second set with Sleeping with the Television On. In my defense, the major seventh chords are really fun to play on guitar, and my 18-year-old self might have picked "I really wish I was less of a thinking man/And more a fool who's not afraid of rejection" as his personal rallying cry.<br /><br />And Jeff's absolutely right: the melody is incredibly catchy and fun to sing.<br /><br />I'm still not as careful a listener to lyrics as Jeff is, so a lot of Joel's megalomania has gone unnoticed by me. But mostly when I think of Billy Joel, I think of a comment that Freedy Johnston made once when I saw him cover Rocket Man live: "And now for some pre-suck Elton John." For better or for worse, Glass Houses is pre-suck Billy Joel for me.Andrew Clevengernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9126042325422293178.post-8789595892151458652011-05-04T20:20:37.280-07:002011-05-04T20:20:37.280-07:00Great hooks, weak looks - I doubt he would have ma...Great hooks, weak looks - I doubt he would have made it today.<br /><br />Great post! <br /><br />IndyaIKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16858768503484909535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9126042325422293178.post-63887371665336121322011-05-04T05:20:09.550-07:002011-05-04T05:20:09.550-07:00This is an all timer my friend! I knew that I did...This is an all timer my friend! I knew that I didn't much care for the bulk of Billy Joel's music, but this gives me a whole neo-feminist reason to do so, which I suppose is better than simply saying "I hate keyboards and schmaltz" and leaving it at that. Also, that video of Billy going crazy is AWESOME. Even in a business packed with megalomaniacs that is an impressive display. "Let me do my show!" he screams, while that bizarre 80s dude with the keyboard shaped like a guitar cavorts in front of his rage. So good.<br /><br />With my basic agreement noted, two quibbles and a comment. I can't believe you posted a critique of Billy Joel without noting the worst lyrics in the history of all of english language music: "JFK blown away, WHAT MORE DO I HAVE TO SAY!" You also managed to avoid this awesome Joel quote on whether his music was "soft rock" or not. Joel responded that he called soft rock, "soft cock" and that he didn't have a soft cock and he didn't play soft rock. Stay classy Bill. Still holding out hope that they'll use some version of this quote, Viagra and late-vintage Billy Joel singing the song "Always a Woman" in an ad.<br /><br />My only comment is that you give short shrift to a much more likable strain of Billy Joel Music: the angry rebel/life is sad songs. Good examples include: Moving Out, Vienna, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant and yes, My Life and You May Be Right. Piano Man is also a cheesy, but relatively harmless, "Life is Sad" song. In my opinion, the only half decent Joel record is the Stranger, and that's because it focuses more on those themes. I obviously offer no defense for the rest of the catalogue, let alone Storm Front and am happy to see you take it on.Benbarton1https://www.blogger.com/profile/06167737587892657199noreply@blogger.com