Projection
Billy Joel is one of the top-selling artists of all time, so a lot of people must like him. I don't think much of his music, but I wouldn't go so far as Ron Rosembaum does in his all-out attack on Joel.
Rosenbaum thinks he's discovered why Joel is so bad: "I've identified the qualities in B.J.'s work that distinguish his badness from other kinds of badness: It exhibits unearned contempt."
I doubt that's the reason. In fact, I'd say Joel generally sympathizes with the characters he's singing about. This isn't the first time Rosenbaum has complained about smugness, though, so perhaps Rosenbaum is the self-satisfied one.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:08 AM
6 Comments:
Ron Rosenbaum is a big mouth who feels if he uses enough pretentious large words than the readers must think he knows what he is talking about. When Billy Joel wrote New York State of Mind he probably rode in few if ANY limousines!! Billy Joel writes from his heart and about his views on himself and other people and situations. Where is Ron Rosenjerks Greatest Hits album??
He is also an excellent piano player. Obviously Ron Rosendouche has something else brewing in his small over-opinionated mind that he is not sharing. Shut your uneducated mouth and do a better job learning about your subject before the diarrhea of the mouth and the constipation of the brain dictate your column!
The weird thing is he doesn't even say anything about the music.
My word verification is wingbabi.
I read this article and thought that LAGuy might agree with it for the reasons that it seems both hate Still Rock n Roll most of all of BJ's songs and also that LAGuy has never liked BJ music. So I was a little surprised to see LAGuy appear to defend BJ. I also thought it was odd as Anon above notes that Rosenbaum does not review the music so much as the lyrics. (and thought most artists would come up short when compared lyric to lyric with Dylan.) I am not a BJ fan but find myself occasionally having caught the earworm.
AAGuy
I'm defending him to the extent that Rosenbaum goes way overboard, and his main complaint doesn't even make that much sense.
By the way, my favorite Bill Joel song is "Uptown Girl."
I've always seen it as a sign of emotional maturity to be able to admit the appeal of bubblegum. Ron Rosenbaum has some growing up to do.
There's a long history of critics hating Billy Joel. Years ago when he appeared in New York, he ripped up a copy of the New York Times on stage.
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