# Does Billy Joel have a bad song that exists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417 "2011-09-06T18:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/21 "2011-09-06T20:31:24Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > With a skilled but conventional songwriter like Joel, the problem is more boring songs than “bad” songs. The only full album I’ve got by the man is **Glass Houses** , and the last 3 songs on the album are comparatively weak. I’ve probably listened to them 10-15 times in the past 15 years and they haven’t stuck in my mind at all. > > I just listened to right now for test purposes. > _C’etat Toi (You were the one)_– meh. > _Close To the Borderline_ – meh. > _Through the Long Night_ – It’s the album closer and has a touch more hook than the other two, but still meh. > > As for the rest of the album, I’m very fond on _All for Lenya_, _Sleeping With the Television On_, and _Sometimes a Fantasy_. (All of which rock somewhat…) > > And the just okay stuff: _It’s Still Rock n’ Roll to Me_, _Don’t Ask Me Why_, _I Don’t Want To Be Alone Anymore_. - Glass Houses\* has my favorite non _Greatest Hits_. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/22 "2011-09-06T20:31:28Z")
Something about “Uptown Girl” just sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Actually, that’s not true – fingernails on a chalkboard don’t really bother me. Most of his other greatest hits are all right in my book. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/23 "2011-09-06T20:37:19Z")
I celebrate his entire musical catalog… NOT… Only the good die young Uptown girl are o.k. everything else…feh! Don’t flame me; I didn’t start the thread fire whatever… You mad, bro? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/24 "2011-09-06T21:00:10Z")
Well, I only have the ‘Essentials’ in my music collection, and there’s quite a few tracks that I have a 6/12 rating for, but nothing lower. Including “Leave a tender moment alone.” So I’ll agree with the ‘not really bad, but boring’ assessment. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/25 "2011-09-06T21:23:11Z")
I like Billy Joel, but “Uptown Girl” is an awful song, sung horribly. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/26 "2011-09-06T21:31:53Z")
I dislike the whole “Storm Front” album. Every song feels like it’s trying too hard, is missing the infectious barroom finger-snapping vibe of previous works, and lands with a clumsy plop. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/27 "2011-09-06T21:44:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I’m puzzled by the OP - is it possible that Billy Joel had bad songs that no longer exist because they were teleported into another dimension? I think it’s possible to have a bad song that doesn’t exist. Occasionally you’ll hear an artist say something like, “I think I’ve still got a few good songs/books/films in me.” The notion is that although the songs/books/films don’t presently exist, the artist still “has” them in some sense. We usually encounter this concept as part of a positive outlook (good songs to come) but there’s no reason for it not to be even MORE applicable in the negative. (“Yeah, I think I still have thousands of songs in me, but unfortunately they all suck.”) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/28 "2011-09-06T22:33:47Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > (“Yeah, I think I still have thousands of songs in me, but unfortunately they all suck.”) “Better send me money, or I’ll record them and let people download them for free.” :eek: Sounds like a business model. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/29 "2011-09-06T22:42:52Z")
I’ve never been able to develop any fondness for _Say Goodbye to Hollywood_, because he oversings so much in that song that I find it too distracting to actually listen to the song. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/30 "2011-09-06T22:55:24Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I’m puzzled by the OP - is it possible that Billy Joel had bad songs that no longer exist because they were teleported into another dimension? Heh, actually the topic has gone in the direction I was hoping for: Namely people listing the Billy Joel songs they hate/can’t stand/think horrible. I suppose I could have just asked, plainly “What Billy Joel songs are the worst, in your opinion?”, but I figured with the topic title this one has, it’d get more replies just out of people wanting to voice their different opinion to the pre-set one already made. ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/31 "2011-09-06T23:06:35Z")
I truly hate Uptown Girl, but this is largely because I used to open the doors to a pub and a guy used to come in and put it on the juke box 10 times in a row - every night. I have a lot of respect for his craft, (Billy Joel - not the guy in the pub) but Just The Way You Are is a far better constructed song than anything else he’s done IMNSHO. MiM ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/32 "2011-09-06T23:43:01Z")
“It’s Still Rock n’ Roll to Me”: lounge lizard thinks he can sound like a punk rocker, fails miserably. Song just kind of plods along lifelessly, no discernable guitars. I cringe every time I am forced to hear this somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/33 "2011-09-07T00:09:07Z")
I find the Brenda and Eddie part of “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” painful to listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Oogly\_Woogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee7513/32.png) [@Oogly\_Woogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oogly_Woogly)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/34 "2011-09-07T00:21:42Z")
When I was younger, the guys hated all Billy Joel songs. Except for Piano Man. That one they liked. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/35 "2011-09-07T00:25:26Z")
I generally like Billy Joel’s work, though “She’s Always a Woman” is one of his weaker songs. The **Piano Man** album is a great one. And Billy Joel is one of the five best lyricists in rock. I did see one critic who said the problem with Joel is that he’s really a Broadway type of songwriter and forty years ago he’d be doing Broadway shows. I can see that – he’s got the similar ability with song hooks and lyrics that the best Broadway composers have. It’s too bad he’s only been represented by **Movin’ Out** , with Twyla Tharpe’s absolutely horrendous choreography and nothing much going for it storywise. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/36 "2011-09-07T00:26:53Z")
> [@Made\_in\_Macau](#): > > I truly hate Uptown Girl, but this is largely because I used to open the doors to a pub and a guy used to come in and put it on the juke box 10 times in a row - every night. Hee, hee. You sound like Wilson from “House.”. In the episode in which House’s father died, the storyline had House and Wilson meet because some guy in a bar kept playing “Leave A Tender Moment Alone” until Wilson flipped out and threw a bottle at a bar mirror and was arrested. House paid Wilson’s bail. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/37 "2011-09-07T01:50:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > And Billy Joel is one of the five best lyricists in rock. I had to rub my eyes with my fists and re-read this sentence to confirm that it said what I thought it said. It did. mmm, …wondering if Davy is _still_ in the navy ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/38 "2011-09-07T02:13:52Z")
Lol, I agree, that line from Piano Man is truly wretched! Also: “and the piano it sounds like a carnival…and the microphone smells like a beer.” It doesn’t just smell like beer, it smells like A beer. I like _Big Shot,_ though. That one does have some clever lyrics. _The Stranger_ isn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/39 "2011-09-07T02:16:37Z")
I’ve noticed that, for the most part, his best stuff is the stuff that WASN’T played on the radio. I love just about his entire catalog. If I _had_ to pick a worst song, though, I think I’d go with “Uptown Girl.” Don’t misunderstand me; I love Billy Joel. But that song just kind of epitomizes the worst of the 80’s for me. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417/40 "2011-09-07T02:54:05Z")
I’m a fan, but came in here to nominate two tunes I haven’t seen mentioned yet – _Get It Right The First Time_ (he didn’t) and _Everybody Has A Dream_ (mine is that you had passed on recording that ditty, Bill). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-billy-joel-have-a-bad-song-that-exists/595417.md?page=3)