Careless Talk

Ah, we look so good to be back in your podcast feeds. This week we continue our journey after a brief hiatus (we're a bit like British television—we make it when we want to make it) and discuss Billy Joel's hit that sounds like it should accompany flying burger patties while lettuce, tomatoes and onion splash into a pool of water.

 

Buy the Songs:

You Look So Good To Me - iTunes
You Are So Beautiful To Me - Joe Cocker - iTunes
More Today Than Yesterday - Spiral Starecase - iTunes

References:

Bielen, Kenneth G. The words and music of Billy Joel. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger, 2011.

Turn around, turn around and we will comment on this song that we're pretty sure is just a knock off of "Hand Bags and Glad Rags." Also we hear from more listeners and discuss about Billy Joel's recent statement agaisnt white supremacy and anti-semitism.

 

Buy the Songs:

Turn Around - iTunes
Handbags and Gladrags - Big George Webley (The Office) - iTunes
Handbags and Gladrags - Rod Stewart - iTunes
Ring Worm - Van Morrison - iTunes
One Down - Ben Folds - iTunes

Album Cover - Rod Stewart - An Old Raincoat Wont Ever Let You Down

  

References:

Schruers, Fred. Billy Joel: the definitive biography. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2015.

Explore the passage of time with Billy Joel! This week Corinne defends the word "twee," and we have an in studio chat with singer/songwriter Allye Gaietto about Joni Mitchell, questionable mnemonic devices and why the piano is so damn fast.

Buy the songs:

Falling of the Rain (album version) - iTunes
Falling of the Rain (live version 1972) - iTunes
The Cricle Game - iTunes

Allye Gaietto - allyeg.com - allyeg.bandcamp.com
The Junk Food Junkies (a band she's in) - junk-food-junkies.bandcamp.com

Billy Joel Playing Falling of the Rain in 2015

Corinne's wall of cats

Billy Joel gets whiny... unless "she" isn't who we think "she" is. In this episode, Corinne digs into Billy Joel's family to find out. We also hear from our first caller, and analyze the harmonic twist and turns of an instrumental bridge in the worst key ever.

In this episode we briefly touch on the topics of depression and suicide. If you need someone to talk to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255. An international directory of similar services can be found here. 

 

Buy the songs:

Why Judy Why - iTunes
Yesterday - iTunes
For No One - iTunes

  

Text References:

Schruers, Fred. Billy Joel: the definitive biography. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2015.

Davis, Sheila. Successful lyric writing: a step-by-step course and workbook. Cincinnati, OH: Writers Digest, 1988.

This week on Careless Talk: white bodies, fake harmonicas, guitars—we must be comparing Billy Joel to Bob Dylan. We welcome songwriter, Dylan fan and native Minnesotan, Jonathon Hackett to examine track 3 from Cold Spring Harbor, “Everybody Loves You Now.”

Find our guest, Jonathon Hackett, on BandCamp - https://jonathonhackett.bandcamp.com

Buy the Songs:

Everybody Loves You Now - iTunes
Like a Rolling Stone - iTunes
Positively 4th Street - iTunes

  

References:

Schruers, Fred. Billy Joel: the definitive biography. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2015.

MacFarlane, Thomas. Experiencing Billy Joel: a listeners companion. Lanham ; Boulder ; New York ; London: Rowman et Littlefield, 2016.

Hey, it's the first good episode, and our first episode with a guest! Coincidence? Definitly not when you have a guest with a resume like Gary Rue (And also: http://www.newmusicarts.org/, and hey, I just really like this song of Gary's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGTezmDP_sM)

In this episode, musician and songwriting professor Gary Rue helps us explore the influence of The Beatles on Billy Joel—and pretty much anyone who picked up a musical instrument after February 9th, 1964.

Purchase the song: iTunes

For visual reference:

McCartney album back cover

Cold Spring Harbor cover

 

It's 1971, the President is definitly not Jimmy Carter and Billy Joel's first album, "Cold Spring Harbor" has dropped. If you thought it would take a while to get to a hit in this series, you're wrong—it's just not the recording you know.

 Purchase the song: iTunes 

 

 

Biographical Information - References:

Schruers, Fred. Billy Joel: the definitive biography. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2015.

Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Cold Spring Harbor - Billy Joel". Allmusic.

Not unlike Star Trek's original pilot, ours should probably be skipped. But, if you want to know why we're doing this podcast and which songs we'd sing on Billy Joel night of American Idol, this is the episode for you.

(But seriously, maybe you should start at episode two, and then come back to this one.)

Sometimes jokes go on too long, and sometimes they become a podcast. Join us on the journey through Billy Joel's entire catalog!