Billy Joel - Page 4

Billy Joel Still Has A Bit Of The Angry Young Man Left In Him

noah | August 11, 2008 1:00 am
noah | August 11, 2008 1:00 am

Last week, the New Zealand newspaper the Sunday Star-Times ran an interview with Long Island songsmith Billy Joel that had a little bit of criticism mixed in with its boilerplate profile-quotes. Writer Grant Smithies said that while much of the Piano Man’s ’80s and ’90s output was “sentimental rubbish,” he had an affection for Joel’s earlier material and pugilistic persona an opinion that sounds familiar to this writer. (Although she would like to posit that “A Matter Of Trust” still owns.) But Joel wanted to know why, exactly, Smithies hadn’t shared these sentiments with him during the interview, since it would have at the very least opened up the floor for some lively quotes. After the jump, Joel asks why, exactly, Smithies had to be a big shot, and why he didn’t elect to open up his mouth while the two of them were on the phone:

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Paul McCartney Brings Shea Stadium Full Circle

noah | July 21, 2008 9:30 am
noah | July 21, 2008 9:30 am

After trotting out Tony Bennett, John Mellencamp, Don Henley, and John Mayer during what was supposed to be the last concert at Shea Stadium on Wednesday night, Billy Joel brought out perhaps the biggest gun in his cameo arsenal for Friday night’s final last show: Paul McCartney, who performed “I… More »


noah | July 18, 2008 4:30 am
noah | July 18, 2008 4:30 am

A little self-promotional note: I have a piece in Radar revisiting the back catalog of Billy Joel, an artist who, as you know, I have something of a “complicated” relationship with. (One that’s made even more complicated by its one-sided nature, of course.) More »



Billy Joel and Shea Stadium

noah | July 18, 2008 4:30 am
noah | July 18, 2008 4:30 am

A little self-promotional note: I have a piece in Radar revisiting the back catalog of Billy Joel, an artist who, as you know, I have something of a “complicated” relationship with. (One that’s made even more complicated by its one-sided nature, of course.) More »


Billy Joel Using His Soundcheck To Relive His Attila-Era Glory Days

noah | July 11, 2008 2:15 am
noah | July 11, 2008 2:15 am

“He turned a towel into a wig before launching into ‘Piano Man’ for his final encore and during his lengthy soundcheck, which drew fans from the nearby Hersheypark to listen throughout Thursday afternoon, he segued from ‘Captain Jack’ to Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man.’ More »


Sony Finds A Use For All Those Old Photos In The Basement

anthonyjmiccio | May 29, 2008 3:30 am
anthonyjmiccio | May 29, 2008 3:30 am

stranger.jpgSony has belatedly realized that Columbia Records’ photo archive could be used for more than just box set filler. The monolith, which is suffering from “hard times,” has founded Icon Collectibles, which is selling a 11″x12″ photo of Johnny Cash for $300. “His eyes shine with the light of deep secret knowledge and the gravitas of an artist who’s born to carry the truth in his music.” For that much money, they damn well better! Lovely one-to-two feet long photos of Billy Joel, Johnny Mathis, Muhammad Ali (who did a spoken-word album for Columbia — score, Sony!), Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Gould, Bob Dylan, and several others are also available to those with a grand to kill.

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Single Spinning Crackling Finns, Acidic Brooklynites, And Billy Joel (Sorta)

Jess Harvell | March 26, 2008 1:00 am
Jess Harvell | March 26, 2008 1:00 am

billy-joel-uptown-girl.jpgWhether they’re petroleum-based or digital downloads, singles remain pop’s most fascinating format. Twice a week in Single Spin, a singles-focused twist on Second Spin, we’ll take a look at a song, sound, scene, or star that we think deserves more than two lines and a Rapidshare link–whether it’s CMT country, underground dance, unfriendly noise, or anything else served up one tune at a time. Today we listen to a return to form from a Finnish dub-techno master, a goofy jam from a trio of sloppy New York indie kids, and faux-reggae scourge Sean Kingston warbling through the Billy Joel songbook. Yes, you read that right.

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noah | February 19, 2008 1:00 am
noah | February 19, 2008 1:00 am

As predicted in this space, Billy Joel has added a second “last show” at Shea Stadium after his first one sold out faster than you can say “you had to be a big shot, didn’t cha?” More »


Billy Joel’s Shea Stadium Ticketing Snafu May Make Him The New Hannah Montana

noah | February 18, 2008 9:30 am
noah | February 18, 2008 9:30 am

Billy Joel’s July concert at Shea Stadium–the final musical event at the crumbling concrete behemoth–sold out in one hour on Saturday morning, although the ticketing system used to handle the show’s ticket sales was apparently experiencing massive gridlock. (Shea’s overlords eschewed Ticketmaster for in-house site 507tixx.com, which is named after the Mets’ ticketing hotline.) As you might expect, the “secondary market” for these tickets is thriving, despite the tech snafus and speedy sellout; at present, there are 441 listings for tickets on the semi-legitimate scalping site StubHub, with the highest single-seat price $99,215. That total is up from the 209 sets of tickets on sale Thursday, when Mets season-ticket holders were allowed to buy tickets early.

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Billy Joel To Play Shea Stadium, Inspire Many “Yankees Suck” Chants

noah | February 7, 2008 9:45 am
noah | February 7, 2008 9:45 am

Those Billy Joel concerts at Shea Stadium, which is closing its ugly-ass doors after the Mets close out the 2008 season*? More »