Like Billy Joel, but in good taste

193! Start with those Gregorian chants, son.

Haha sorry, 1930. Also - perhaps I overstated my dislike of Billy Joel. I actually quite like him - what I'm after is something she hasn't heard and would probably like. I dunno - Steely Dan?

Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (try, "The Underdog").

Nick Drake. Not really like Billy Joel, I just feel that someone who only liked classical and Billy Joel might like him.

Billy Joel is in good taste. I suggest you make a mix CD of Glass Houses and Side 2 of The Nylon Curtain.

Do you know who some of her favorite classical composers are?

Tom Waits.

Especially Closing Time, for the Billy Joel fan.

The solo-piano Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1.

Elton John is the correct answer here, and the album is "Captain Fantastic".

steely dan - fire in the hole

John Kongos! Esoteric, yet approachable, and perfect for a Billy Joel/Elton John fan. The album to get is called Kongos.

Do you know who some of her favorite classical composers are?

-- Clay

Good question, no, I don't really. I am guessing she's not averse to the usual suspects - Bach, Hayden, Mozart, perhaps some of Beethoven's less challenging stuff, Benjamin Britten...

Some good suggestions btw, I think Randy Newman is bang on the money for sure.

Good thing you weren't her boss when you gave her the Barry White album - that's an invitation to a sexual harrassment lawsuit!

Paul McCartney and Elton John are both acceptable substitutes, I'd say. (I think Billy Joel's just fine, too.)

Some slightly more sophisticated soft rock might also work out fine: 10cc, Supertramp, ELO.

"like billy joel, but in good taste" = some kind of hellacious logical fallacy

in other news, I just read somewhere that David Johansen has "composed" an orchestral tone poem

John Cale, Paris 1919 - you can hear that he's studied composition

some Jimmy Webb maybe too

Randy Newman is totally perfect! Maybe I only think that because I've been on a big Newman kick latley. Maybe some trad pop stuff like Gershwin or Cole Porter, too?

How clueless is she with pop? Would she have the big Beatles and Stones albums? I love the Gershwin/Porter suggestion.

Not totally sure what defines good taste here but
Carole King - Tapestry
early Rod Stewart, like Every Picture Tells a Story
Kate Bush, even?
a Bowie hits collection??
Queen - A Night at the Opera

I'm guessing voices like Newman's or Waits' might turn her off.

A Motown compilation?

(x-post) COMPLETELY clueless with pop (even though she's younger than me - a young fogey). McCartney is a good suggestion, therefore. As is Gershwin and Cole Porter. And Carole King. In fact, you are spoiling me with some great ideas. Please remember to nominate the appropriate album too.

ps I've already apologised for dissing Billy Joel, please don't berate me no more.

I'm also thinking Bill Withers, but maybe that's just too refined for her taste.

The Beatles, right?

I recommend getting her a Merzbox

Honestly, just make her a mix cd of songs you really really like, whether they're "classical"-ish, Billy Joel-ish or not. And ask her which she likes best.

I'm going to go for Randy Newman, if I can find it. Thanks Eazy!

Merzbox totally seconded

Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (try, "The Underdog").
-- Daniel, Esq., Friday, October 26, 2007 10:08 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Link

fantastic album, but you've gotta think she'd turn that shit off by "The Ghost of You Lingers" -- that track, and the whole album's sequencing, just isn't built for a classical music fan.

Read the entire thread

Best suggestions: Nick Drake, Tom Waits Closing Time, John Cale Paris 1919
Worst: Merzbox

"Only The Good Die Young" is pretty fantastic.

Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (try, "The Underdog").

-- Daniel, Esq., Friday, October 26, 2007 11:08 PM (9 months ago) Bookmark Link

this song does sound a lot like billy joel

I could name ten Billy Joel songs off of the top of my head that pretty fantastic.

"Rosalinda's Eyes"
"Zanzibar"
"Don't Ask Me Why"
"Close to the Borderline"
"Stiletto"
"Vienna"
"A Room of Our Own"
"She's Just In Time"
"My Life"
"A Matter of Trust"

"Rosalinda's Eyes" goddamn rulz

and "Only The Good Die Young" is pretty fantastic.

I consider the Dresden Dolls to be a goth Billy Joel.

I always assumed I was the only person who liked "Rosalinda's Eyes". Good to know I'm not alone. In general I find the knee-jerk hatred of Billy Joel kind of silly. But love of Billy Joel is requisite for those who grow up on Long Island so I really can't be unbiased.

I was gonna pop off with a zing about how the bad taste is part of what's good about Billy Joel, but it's not really bad taste, is it? Dude is just a Long Island wise-/hardass, right?

How different from Billy Joel would Queens-born Johnny Ramone be seen without Joey and Dee Dee to more than offset his conservatism?

Not saying BJ is a conservative, but the New York-area defensive toughness.

A+ on buying Barry White for your boss

Paul Simon is the more tasteful of the New Yorkers. Randy plays piano, but he's no everyman and his rock 'n roll is more of a modern ragtime.

what did col end up getting his boss, and did she like it?

A lot of classical music lovers respect Paul Simon a lot, so Paul Simon may be a good call.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/RSPOD/RS486~Billy-Joel-Rolling-Stone-no-486-November-1986-Posters.jpg

^^^available as a poster