“That piano song by the piano lady”

Ten years ago I was chatting with friends about really bad songs, and one friend of mine said “you know what is the worst song of all time? That piano song, by the piano lady.” We immediately knew what song she was talking about.

I’m curious, what song does this description inspire a bad remembrance of, in you?

not worst but "piano song/piano lady" sounds like Sarah McLachlan "In The Arms Of An Angel" to me

Pearl's a Singer?

I mean, there are no wrong answers

(“I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz is a wrong answer)

The first thing that came to mind was New York State of Mind, although I don’t hate it

Sorry I mean Alcia Keys - New York, the piano version.

first guess would be "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones (tho it's not a song I hate)

P unfair to Angela Hewitt's Well-Tempered Clavier

see now if this was "That piano song by the piano guy" I would know exactly what it was, but I'm lost here

#Idontevenlistentopopmusic

Adele, "Someone Like You"?

That was my actual answer. I was just about to type it!

My parents were very into that album, as well as Mumford & Sons :/

I think of seeing Joanna Newsom playing "Soft as Chalk" on late-night TV, but I loved that.

makes me think of "a thousand miles" by vanessa carlton but that's good

nothing bad comes to mind

norah jones was my first thought as well. my other thought was “if i didn’t have you” by alicia keys.

i don’t hate either, mind

what about that “new soul” song, that one sucks

Maybe the Dresden Dolls or something. Though I can't actually remember specific songs or the extent of their not-so-greatness. The more I think about this the more 'piano ladies' seem like a excellent thing, on balance.

anything by Tori Amos (ducks the hail of FPs)

Theme song to All in the Family though it’s obviously a banger

Don't come for Blossom Dearie

lol sleeve

"piano song by the piano lady" makes me think of "I Feel The Earth Move" but that one is excellent, it can't possibly be that

oh wait i think i know what it is: "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton?

ah sorry i didn't see that ufo already guessed that

Yeah it feels like it would be "A Thousand Miles" given the prominence of the piano in the video clip. Great song!

if this is about Mrs Mills I strongly disagree

http://www.mrsmills.org/images/mrs_mills_albums-08.jpg

I feel like "piano lady" effectively narrows the field to Vanessa and Tori.

It would be strange to describe any of Adele, Alicia, Norah or Sarah as "piano ladies" - and anyone else you might conceivably describe in those terms (Aretha Franklin? Carole King? Laura Nyro? Roberta Flack? Joni Mitchell? Kate Bush? Fiona Apple?) suffer from the same basic issue - either only intermittently "piano ladies", or at the least it would be odd to refer to them as such and expect anyone to know who you meant.

Then Tori loses out to Vanessa because it would be odd for someone to refer to anything by her as "that piano song" - you either know none of them or you know several of them. Maybe "Cornflake Girl"?

Having now viewed the VC promo clip I can certainly see why "lady playing a piano" might be the most salient feature in a fading memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmy9CTn6xMs

every song i can think of for this rules. currently: chantal kreviazuk, “surrounded” (though idk if anyone would identify her as a piano lady)

also, almost any regina spektor song but “better” is in my head

Chantal Kreviazuk is a fantastic pianist

Ftr it was Vanessa’s song to which my friend referred

Insofar as that genre of freezer aisle music goes I think Colbie is the nadir. I am ambivalent toward the piano song by the piano lady (and I generally adore piano songs by piano ladies)

piano song by non-piano lady:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ahzLGK_VY

Just deliberately listened to A Thousand Miles for the first time in a couple of decades. it's still basically a classic tune but the late 90s bizarre vocal affectations and the late 90s brick wall mastering are major issues, 5.5/10 will check it out again in 2043.

Thought you all were talking about "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri instead of the Vanessa Carlton song. I can't remember if "A Thousand Years" actually is a piano song but in my head it has strong "piano song by piano lady" energy

i guess here’s as good a place as any to acknowledge that the best vanessa carlton song is “white houses” and it should’ve been a much bigger hit

i believe this board also knows i stan for the most recent three vc records, she slid into her art pop period with unexpected grace

Depends on your generation, I guess. This might be the first 'piano lady' song that comes to mind for some people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O465enGz03w

yeah but that is all-time great, not all-time worst. otherwise this thread would be like wall to wall Sinnerman

Well, I'd rank 'Mouldy Old Dough' as all-time great too, but a lot of people at the time really hated it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-_ZDrypec

more piano ladies from that same mouldy old period:

Lynsey de Paul • Sugar Me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkvAAvOp464

Chi Coltrane • Go Like Elijah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Wj2jOpIm0

this video made me appreciate 'A Thousand Miles' for the first time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeSdSrCKp-8

I was thinking "A Thousand Miles," but thought about it a little more and concluded the song in question must surely be "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles

Ooh that’s a good suggestion actually. Though I guess Sara is the Girls 5eva lady now.

Brad is right about “White Houses” which is amazing.

For me it conjures "Piano in the Dark" by Brenda Russell although I don't hate that song (don't love it either but it's what came to mind)

My real guess for what that person was talking about is Vanessa Carlton bc that song is so annoying

ruth b "lost boy"? i think she has other songs and isn't exclusively a piano lady tho

what about that “new soul” song, that one sucks

― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili)

Yeah, that was the first place that my mind went with this topic.

Ftr it was Vanessa’s song to which my friend referred

― flamboyant goon tie included, Thursday, June 30, 2022 8:52 AM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Are there female persons associated with the piano who aren't regarded as "ladies"?

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41W9B1GA9AL._AC_.jpg

https://keyassets-p2.timeincuk.net/wp/prod/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/rexfeatures_741245ky-630x408.jpg

Sara Bareilles is mint gtf

piano songs by piano men are way worse (cf. five for fighting, the fray)

I couldn't remember the name of that song (A Thousand Miles) or who it was by, but I started hearing the tune in my head as soon as I read the words “That piano song by the piano lady” before even clicking through to the thread, which is a kind of tribute to Vanessa Carlton more than 20 years on I guess.

see now if this was "That piano song by the piano guy" I would know exactly what it was, but I'm lost here

the song that this brings to mind is even older though, immediatley thought of The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby

taxonomy of piano ladies, piano guys, piano men etc

https://www.chicagotribune.com/resizer/11B7rHWBZvL6fGF5bZkx6tQpd-s=/1200x782/top/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/2P4KP3KPQFF67GZON3VG3VYISI.jpg

if you search 'piano dude' on google you get a lot of videos of guys playing stuff on those public pianos they sometimes have in stations or shopping centres or whatever.

Alternative to the Piano Lady - the Piano Gal

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81-GbabomkL._SS500_.jpg

I Ain't No Piano Lady would be a good name for an album by a female honky-tonk pianist

That album cover practically screams "ragtime."

That's no piano lady, that's my piano wife

women of (ama)piano

accompanying Spotify playlist

It made me think of 'Promise Me' by Beverley Craven. I might be misremembering/exaggerating but now all I can hear is the massive intakes of breath she does right through the song.

That Was No Piano Lady...

good horrible album title

piano songs by piano men are way worse (cf. five for fighting, the fray)

― aegis philbin (crüt), Thursday, June 30, 2022 1:19 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

"piano man" is nuclear-grade garbage

^^one of my most hated songs of all time

Worst piano song is "The Ship Song" by Nick Cave though.

Diamanda Galás, piano demon

so long as it wasn't "Piano in the Dark."