{"id":824,"date":"2012-11-06T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2012-11-06T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/?p=824"},"modified":"2012-11-06T01:52:08","modified_gmt":"2012-11-06T05:52:08","slug":"mth-v-billy-joel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/06\/mth-v-billy-joel\/","title":{"rendered":"MTH-V: Billy Joel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, hello there. I mention that this weekly series has been going on for a year in my last post, then I drop off for a month. Oh well. October proved to be far busier than I could’ve anticipated for a variety of reasons. Working and playing kept me quite busy, but most of my time and resources have been focused on purchasing a house with my wife. Hence today’s selections from Billy Joel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I should say right off the bat that in the ongoing Billy Joel vs. Elton John<\/a> debate, I fully side with my man Reggie<\/a>. I’ve seen both and listen to both, but Joel doesn’t hold a candle to John — that’s a whole separate discussion\/entry. In short, Billy Joel had a few good albums and has largely been retired from songwriting for two decades, whereas Elton’s had a few good decades and continues to release new material. (Read my praise of 2010’s\u00a0The Union<\/em> here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, 1977’s\u00a0The Stranger<\/a><\/em> is an essential part of my album collection. I bought it blindly about four years ago, thinking I should give one of Joel’s studio albums a shot. And boy do I remain thankful – it was on repeat for the first few months and continues to be in regular rotation. (I have yet to find another Joel album as enjoyable.)\u00a0The Stranger\u00a0<\/em>proved pivotal for a mid-20s me transitioning to a new stage in life, and I find myself returning to it (more than usual) now that my wife and I are preparing to move into our house.<\/p>\n

First up is a 1978 performance of the album’s opening track “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song).” It’s from BBC2’s\u00a0The Old Grey Whistle Test<\/em><\/a>.
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