New theory: Jack operates a small ferry service - with the option to ride "high" up in the crow's nest for an extra fee - whose stops include a small, rocky outcropping much beloved by the main character. Unfortunately, the last boat out is at 7 PM, so there's really no option to do much in the city if you want to make it.
― yellow is the color of some raisins (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 10 August 2017 18:07 (seven years ago) link
I like the album art.
― pplains, Thursday, 10 August 2017 18:31 (seven years ago) link
captain jack to me occurs over time
he's IN the one horse town ie home/suburbsso he GOES to the village but all the while throughout the song he is still living at home (mum makes yr bed etc)
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 10 August 2017 18:38 (seven years ago) link
i assume "the great suburban showdown" is the same narrator as "captain jack" a few years down the line. and now he's a boring, cynical asshole with a shitty office job in san diego who thinks he's seen the world. also, he owns a moog. i'd much rather hear the song from mom and dad's point of view. junior's just kind of boring me to death here.
I like the way that the lyric "We'll all sit around in the kitchen chairs / With the TV on and the neighbors there" kind of tumbles out
i do like that line.
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 10 August 2017 19:01 (seven years ago) link
the most interesting angle, and the most Joel-ish, would have been to make an earnest case *for* Long Island suburban life and family - stick it to all those cooler-than-thou Los Angeles snobs with their Pleasant Valley Sundays and Paved Paradises!
we are the long island preservation societygod save the northern state, easthampton and anxiety
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 10 August 2017 19:06 (seven years ago) link
Anyone get a Jackson Browne vibe from this song?
― Badmotorfinger Debate Club (MFB), Thursday, 10 August 2017 21:23 (seven years ago) link
ew no
but then I don't like him so my brain doesn't really even go there
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 10 August 2017 21:39 (seven years ago) link
jackson browne is a good call on this one.
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 10 August 2017 21:46 (seven years ago) link
I don't know if the Moog is the best instrument for the ends he wants to achieve
we'll be hearing more of that. i think it was a new toy and he wanted to use it every chance he got.
sing us a song yr the moog man
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 10 August 2017 21:53 (seven years ago) link
suburban showdown really needed a "Scenes from an Italian restaurant" style break in the middle where the tempo speeds up and they all have a big argument or something and then switch back to humdrum suburbia
that would've been cool
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 10 August 2017 21:55 (seven years ago) link
yeah totally!
― yellow is the color of some raisins (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 10 August 2017 21:57 (seven years ago) link
Jackson Browne was a better melodist and storyteller, even at this stage.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:11 (seven years ago) link
go peddle yr JB love on the Eagles thread buddy
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:39 (seven years ago) link
Alfred otm
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:47 (seven years ago) link
"like"
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:47 (seven years ago) link
and I'm not remotely a fan
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:48 (seven years ago) link
"Somebody's Baby" >>> entire BJ catalog imo
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:48 (seven years ago) link
Browne and Joel have their respective gaucheries, so they cancel each other out.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:52 (seven years ago) link
except that jackson browne is creepy & gross & i hate him
he looks like a serial killer who goes around playing a guitar luring women
The Nice Guy Killer
bleh
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:54 (seven years ago) link
the intersection of the jackson and billy venn diagram is "lawyers in love," which should have been on one of billy's '80s albums.
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 10 August 2017 22:59 (seven years ago) link
so.... the difference w Billy Joel is he plays piano?
xp
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 10 August 2017 23:00 (seven years ago) link
Joel comes off plenty creepy and gross, as we'll soon see.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 August 2017 23:00 (seven years ago) link
Browne plays piano too!
billy plays guitar too! (more or less)
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 10 August 2017 23:01 (seven years ago) link
GODDAMMIT WHY DO I HAVE TO EVEN DEFEND BILLY JOEL AGAINST MOTHERFUCKING JACKSON BROWNE IN A THREAD THAT ISNT EVEN ABOUT JACKSON BROWNE IN THE FIRST PLACE
you are all wrong and you should all shut up imo
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 10 August 2017 23:16 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKrd0lv_p1c
Root Beer Rag is the first of two instrumentals on the record, and perhaps reflects the enthusiasm for ragtime following the massive success of The Sting the previous year. Somehow, Columbia managed not to make it the b-side to "The Entertainer," which surely could have snagged a few unsuspecting Joplin fans, but in an odd twist it would be used as the b-side for several 52nd Street singles in different markets. Meanwhile, per Wiki, it saw plenty of use as TV theme and incidental music, including as the opening to the very first, local-to-Chicago Siskel & Ebert program. It's also been covered a few times, including an a capella rendition by the German Wise Guys.
Joel remains fond of the song; here it is live in 1978 (there's the Moog next to him!) and 2013. Finally: "Root Beer Rag" was also the name of a Billy Joel newsletter (now defunct) published in the late 1970s to late 1980s.
― yellow is the color of some raisins (Doctor Casino), Friday, 11 August 2017 15:17 (seven years ago) link
By the way, since the album cover came up, here's that entry from Pop Spots, a charming site previously invoked with regard to the original Piano Man bar location.
― yellow is the color of some raisins (Doctor Casino), Friday, 11 August 2017 15:19 (seven years ago) link
And, from that link, this great ad which I missed when introducing the album:
http://www.popspotsnyc.com/streetlife_serenade/Steetlife_Ad_1_800.jpg
― yellow is the color of some raisins (Doctor Casino), Friday, 11 August 2017 15:22 (seven years ago) link
Um, cute?
― the general theme of STUFF (cryptosicko), Friday, 11 August 2017 15:42 (seven years ago) link
nightmarish
― Οὖτις, Friday, 11 August 2017 15:55 (seven years ago) link
a city full of Billy Joel's talking about Billy Joel, that's some malkovich malkovich malkovich shit
original concept for Longest Time video iirc
― constitutional crises they fly at u face (will), Friday, 11 August 2017 15:58 (seven years ago) link
lol that'd be amazing. each new vocal part, another advent-calendar window pops open or another target-practice cut-out springs up from the ground, hey it's billy!
― yellow is the color of some raisins (Doctor Casino), Friday, 11 August 2017 16:09 (seven years ago) link
"root beer rag" makes me ridiculously happy.
― fact checking cuz, Friday, 11 August 2017 18:32 (seven years ago) link
tbh I'm kinda looking forward to getting to the video-era cuz BJ videos are ridiculous
― Οὖτις, Friday, 11 August 2017 18:35 (seven years ago) link
Tip: do not google "BJ videos."
― Tone-Locrian (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 11 August 2017 18:49 (seven years ago) link
unless, y'know...
― Οὖτις, Friday, 11 August 2017 18:50 (seven years ago) link
"Root Beer Rag" was also the name of a Billy Joel newsletter (now defunct) published in the late 1970s to late 1980s.
A proud former subscriber, right here.
Was about to make some lame joke about using this on Zen Arcade instead of Mondays Will Never Be the Same, but held back for once. Then I open up DC's link and see that the Streetlife cover was from San Pedro! Take that, Huskers!
― pplains, Friday, 11 August 2017 19:30 (seven years ago) link
So, any ragtime heads on this board? The most I can say about this song is it sounds nice on the record and it's probably real fun to play. The instrumentals on this album are usually cited as evidence of how dry Billy's well was, but I think this one at least is fun.
― yellow is the color of some raisins (Doctor Casino), Saturday, 12 August 2017 00:29 (seven years ago) link
...oh well! Moving on!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP4HygPI9lA
Roberta closes out side one of Streetlife Serenade. This is one of several "woman's name" songs in Joel's quiver around this time; "Rosalinda" and "Josephine," heard on the Sigma Sound performance, were never recorded for an album. An "I'm in love with a stripper" tale, it seems in some ways like the most "Billy Joel" song we've heard so far.
― yellow is the color of some raisins (Doctor Casino), Saturday, 12 August 2017 16:10 (seven years ago) link
This seems like the kind of offbeat sentiment that Billy could really get into, but the song never really builds up any steam.
― the general theme of STUFF (cryptosicko), Saturday, 12 August 2017 21:22 (seven years ago) link
Root Beer Rag is fun, def makes me nostalgic for commercials of my childhood
Roberta is good, best non ragtime song so far
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 13 August 2017 00:19 (seven years ago) link
(on this album)
Yeah Roberta's really good and *very* Billy as Dr C rightly points out.
Piano sounds really beautiful on this - I don't know much about pianos so I'm not really sure why it sounds better than other piano songs he's played. Maybe it's just the way he's playing? It is a mystery. But I like it.
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 13 August 2017 00:46 (seven years ago) link
I'm following this thread with interest, my first agonizing "which record do I but with my allowance" choice was between Glass Houses and The Cars' debut. I'm still glad I went with The Cars, but it's interesting to see how much more of a soft spot I have for Joel's schtick than I do with (to pick another ILM "listening thread") The Eagles. Joel is putting down his friends/lovers, singing "I don't care what you say anymore," extolling the virtues of early death, and riding his motorcycle through the rain. The Eagles are telling a desperado to "come to his senses," getting lost in hotels, and warning about the dangers of a fast life. I know which worldview I prefer in my pop songs!
― sleeve, Sunday, 13 August 2017 01:42 (seven years ago) link
but = buy
― sleeve, Sunday, 13 August 2017 01:43 (seven years ago) link
agree
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 13 August 2017 01:48 (seven years ago) link
i think "roberta" may be the first great billy joel song, his first perfect marriage of lyric, melody and performance. love love love this one. the sad sack looking for love at the strip club (or the escort ads, or wherever) could be just another way for billy to express his self-loathing and/or woman-loathing and/or all-around bitterness, but that's not what he does here. "roberta" is sympathetic to both the narrator and the object of his affection, and there's a newfound ease in the vocal performance that sells both ends of that. a lot of what we've heard so far is a singer who hasn't quite grown into his voice yet, or who's trying a little too hard. here, finally, he's just singing. and it's a really sweet melody, which the "i'm in a bad way" bridge takes up a notch. A-plus.
― fact checking cuz, Sunday, 13 August 2017 04:44 (seven years ago) link
it's quite possible he stole the intro to "roberta" from this 1971 neil diamond classic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhEaHcQgyLs
― fact checking cuz, Sunday, 13 August 2017 04:46 (seven years ago) link