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General Category => Sports/Entertainment/MSM/Social Media => Topic started by: Machiavelli on May 09, 2017, 09:32:40 pm

Title: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Machiavelli on May 09, 2017, 09:32:40 pm
Jake Romm
The Forward
May 9, 2017

Quote
What does the typical Billy Joel fan look like? It’s a serious question. We can, I think to at least a small degree of accuracy, guess what the typical Sex Pistols fan looked like back in their heyday, or the typical Spice Girls fan in theirs. But, what about Billy Joel? His music is so nondescript, so family-restaurant friendly, so bland, so cheesy, that its lack of concrete identity aside from its popularity and its blandness makes it difficult to imagine just who buys his albums, just who packs the sold out arenas.
More (http://forward.com/culture/371449/billy-joel-is-68-today-and-his-music-is-still-terrible/)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 09, 2017, 09:54:07 pm
This steaming pile of shit seems to be written by someone who wasn't around when Billy was making music. I think we call those people brain dead Millennial.

Captain Jack and Only the Good the Good Die Young were on the cutting edge when they came out due to subject matter.

BTW Jake, it's better to have your music played in chain restaurants than to have your blog posts forgotten a half second after you post them.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 09, 2017, 10:00:13 pm
The Jewish Daily Forward?  Give me a break.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Machiavelli on May 09, 2017, 10:13:13 pm
The Jewish Daily Forward?  Give me a break.

Easy there, @Wingnut

Now known as simply, The Forward (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forward), the publication is considered by many to be liberal, if not leftist. It does not speak for all Jews.

Also, we have Jewish members here and my darling wife is a Jew.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EC on May 09, 2017, 10:23:56 pm
The hells the moron who wrote this on about?

Billy Joel's music is terrible - said of the man who wrote one of the best FU songs of all time.  **nononono*
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: truth_seeker on May 09, 2017, 10:26:12 pm
Billy Joel's music is fine. Light, entertaining.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 09, 2017, 10:30:46 pm

Also, we have Jewish members here and my darling wife is a Jew.

That's irrelevant. I don't give a shit who you're sleeping with, it's still a garbage website selling a genuinely vapid argument.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 09, 2017, 10:53:55 pm
Easy there, @Wingnut

Now known as simply, The Forward (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forward), the publication is considered by many to be liberal, if not leftist. It does not speak for all Jews.

Also, we have Jewish members here and my darling wife is a Jew.

That was their name for many years.  Just stating a fact.  Try not to make a mountain out on a moyle hill.  :laugh:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EC on May 09, 2017, 11:17:01 pm
That was their name for many years.  Just stating a fact.  Try not to make a mountain out on a moyle hill.  :laugh:

Dude .....

You missed a perfectly good pun there. Still, I too won't make a mountain out of a mohel.

Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 09, 2017, 11:35:11 pm
Dude .....

You missed a perfectly good pun there. Still, I too won't make a mountain out of a mohel.

Speel check failed me again.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Millee on May 09, 2017, 11:47:33 pm
This writer probably has "One Direction" posters over his bed.

Billy Joel was one of the best concerts I've ever been to and has more talent than this hack could ever dream of.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: skeeter on May 09, 2017, 11:54:05 pm
This writer probably has "One Direction" posters over his bed.

Billy Joel was one of the best concerts I've ever been to and has more talent then this hack could ever dream of.

The compulsion to claim the authority to declare who's music is good good and who's not worth listening to - to the point of insulting those who might disagree - should be a quality found only in high school age teenagers. I wonder how old Mr Romm is.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: geronl on May 10, 2017, 12:09:44 am
The compulsion to claim the authority to declare who's music is good good and who's not worth listening to - to the point of insulting those who might disagree - should be a quality found only in high school age teenagers. I wonder how old Mr Romm is.

Yep, the author doesn't know that everyone has different preferences in music. He doesn't seem to understand that his opinion isn't any more valuable or authoritative than anyone else's. I think someone who sold 150 million albums might actually have an audience.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EC on May 10, 2017, 12:13:48 am
Yep, the author doesn't know that everyone has different preferences in music. He doesn't seem to understand that his opinion isn't any more valuable or authoritative than anyone else's. I think someone who sold 150 million albums might actually have an audience.

Two words: Justin Beiber.

Or one word: Nickleback.

 :tongue2:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: jmyrlefuller on May 10, 2017, 12:20:36 am
The compulsion to claim the authority to declare who's music is good good and who's not worth listening to - to the point of insulting those who might disagree - should be a quality found only in high school age teenagers. I wonder how old Mr Romm is.
I feel like certain music critics, and this is particularly true, for example, of the kingmakers at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, seem to value "authenticity" (whatever that means) over actual musical ability. A bunch of punks whose ethos is "screw the system" is laudable art, while progressive rock virtuosos get panned as pretentious.

Ironically, these critics actually become what they claim to be against. The article Romm cites, Rosenbaum's, is a perfect example. He goes on for a full article, whining about how Billy Joel complains about phonies in his music but is wealthy and successful, and in the process he's basically doing what he accuses Joel of doing, complaining about a phony.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: geronl on May 10, 2017, 12:21:05 am
Two words: Justin Beiber.

Or one word: Nickleback.

 :tongue2:

 22222frying pan ****slapping :chairbang:

Joel has sold more than Springsteen,, Madonna and Michael Jackson hasn't he?
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EC on May 10, 2017, 12:22:35 am
Pretty sure he has.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Free Vulcan on May 10, 2017, 12:45:17 am
What a pompous d-bag. How you can trash Billy Joel when we have what we have in pop music today just ends all credibility right there. Saying Joel is too light and bland means throwing out about 3/4 of the pop music since the 40's, especially Italian stuff since that's where the influence is from.

Joel's music is wrapped in a velvet glove but it was creative and deep and powerful. Allentown is my favorite and one a masterpiece example of that. If you grew up in a blue collar factory town in the 70's and 80's and watched it die, you feel the pain that he sings about because you lived it. Most of his songs are like that, subtle as they are.

This d-bag will never get it because he probably grew up in some little picket fence suburb and not the Bronx or Jersey or anything near a factory of any kind. He can't relate so he trashes what he can't understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV2jvngnvqg

Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: skeeter on May 10, 2017, 01:59:35 am
Music is all about how it effects the listener. Since we're all different, obviously any particular song effects us all differently.

The only other measure of value is how many people have been positively affected by an artists work. Its pretty clear Joel, currently worth 180 million, has nothing to prove to anyone.

@jmyrlefuller
@geronl
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EC on May 10, 2017, 02:29:14 am
Its pretty clear Joel, currently worth 180 million, has nothing to prove to anyone.

@jmyrlefuller
@geronl

Not for his writing. Not for his playing. Not for his singing. He's proved himself in all those areas many times over.

Just wish he wouldn't try to dance. That's cringemaking to watch.  :tongue2:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 10, 2017, 02:32:03 am
Allentown is my favorite and one a masterpiece example of that. If you grew up in a blue collar factory town in the 70's and 80's and watched it die, you feel the pain that he sings about because you lived it.

I hate to burst your bubble, but those of us Living Here In Allentown never knew what the hell he was singing about.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Free Vulcan on May 10, 2017, 03:11:35 am
I hate to burst your bubble, but those of us Living Here In Allentown never knew what the hell he was singing about.

Not having been there I'll take your word for it, but he pretty much describes the Midwest Rust Belt during the 80's.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 10, 2017, 03:24:46 am
Not having been there I'll take your word for it, but he pretty much describes the Midwest Rust Belt during the 80's.

Then he should have named the song Cedar Rapids, but then it wouldn't be so catchy.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Smokin Joe on May 10, 2017, 03:32:59 am
Well, Jake Romm, go ahead with your own life and leave me alone.

I like his music, especially the earlier stuff.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 10, 2017, 03:34:47 am
Well, Jake Romm, go ahead with your own life and leave me alone.

LOL. Well played.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 10, 2017, 03:36:12 am
LOL. Well played.

Don't encourage him!    :laugh:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Smokin Joe on May 10, 2017, 03:43:21 am
Don't encourage him!    :laugh:
:tongue2:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 10, 2017, 03:44:04 am
Don't encourage him!    :laugh:

If I don't encourage him he won't flourish into another wise ass which this site desperately needs.

If I have to watch another thread degenerate into a fight over Bible Verses/ John Kasich/ Issues with the Power Grid,  I'm going to have to pull a Bob Owens.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Smokin Joe on May 10, 2017, 04:59:21 am
Hmmmmm.  :pondering: a fight over Bible Verses/ John Kasich/ Issues with the Power Grid...

THat almost sounds like a challenge, sorta like the perfect country song...
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 10, 2017, 05:15:27 am
Hmmmmm.  :pondering: a fight over Bible Verses/ John Kasich/ Issues with the Power Grid...

THat almost sounds like a challenge, sorta like the perfect country song...

You're right, but someone already made the stupidest country song ever....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKZqGJONH68
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Smokin Joe on May 10, 2017, 05:21:07 am
You're right, but someone already made the stupidest country song ever....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKZqGJONH68
Oh I dunno...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07_rnlBezQg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07_rnlBezQg)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: dfwgator on May 10, 2017, 05:49:08 am
Jake Romm
The Forward
May 9, 2017
More (http://forward.com/culture/371449/billy-joel-is-68-today-and-his-music-is-still-terrible/)

And there's always a place for the angry young man
With his fist in the air and his head in the sand
And he's never been able to learn from mistakes
So he can't understand why his heart always breaks
But his honor is pure and his courage as well
And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell
And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man

I suspect this describes the writer to a "T".
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 10, 2017, 05:50:16 am
Oh I dunno...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07_rnlBezQg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07_rnlBezQg)

Oh yes. That turd. I haven't heard that for years...... and I'm glad for that. I can't believe that got air play back in the 80's.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Smokin Joe on May 10, 2017, 05:55:36 am
Oh yes. That turd. I haven't heard that for years...... and I'm glad for that. I can't believe that got air play back in the 80's.
I think it was the record for the month around here...
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 10, 2017, 05:59:34 am
I think it was the record for the month around here...

I just looked it up. That "classic" was country music single of the year in 1983. Good grief.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 11, 2017, 03:16:23 am
Billy Joel's best song . . . in its best version . . .

Ronnie Spector & the E Street Band, "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9oDysH6g5M)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 11, 2017, 12:12:17 pm
Oh yes. That turd. I haven't heard that for years...... and I'm glad for that. I can't believe that got air play back in the 80's.

80's country was full full of craptastic songs like that.  It reminds me of what is happening today in country with all the Tractor rap auto tune shit that is passed off as country music.  Jason Aldean, Florida georgia line..
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Smokin Joe on May 11, 2017, 12:26:24 pm
80's country was full full of craptastic songs like that.  It reminds me of what is happening today in country with all the Tractor rap auto tune shit that is passed off as country music.  Jason Aldean, Florida georgia line..
I haven't paid much attention since the 'poop scoopin' boogie' came out, just because, well, that ain't country to me. If a couple of folks can't sit around and play it over beer with a guitar, banjo, and/or fiddle, it isn't the sort of music that would have been played in my wife's grandma's kitchen on a Saturday night when the family got together. I remember those days.

Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: rodamala on May 11, 2017, 12:46:10 pm
I just looked it up. That "classic" was country music single of the year in 1983. Good grief.

@Frank Cannon

I recall listening to Q100 and WZZO in the 80's when I was a kid... but I also listened to a country station, that I could swear was also out of the Lehigh Valley.  I think this was back before "Cat Country"...

Any idea what the circa 1982 country station was in the valley?
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Frank Cannon on May 11, 2017, 01:23:14 pm
@Frank Cannon

I recall listening to Q100 and WZZO in the 80's when I was a kid... but I also listened to a country station, that I could swear was also out of the Lehigh Valley.  I think this was back before "Cat Country"...

Any idea what the circa 1982 country station was in the valley?

The only country station we had was WSAN an AM station. I can't remember the frequency but the station is still there next to the Sears. I think it is Spanish now.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Silver Pines on May 11, 2017, 08:34:26 pm
@Machiavelli

I completely agree that everyone has different music tastes.  I happen to agree with the author, lol. 
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Machiavelli on May 11, 2017, 08:39:40 pm
@Machiavelli

I completely agree that everyone has different music tastes.  I happen to agree with the author, lol.

@CatherineofAragon

I have no opinion of Billy Joel. I'm a classical music fan.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Silver Pines on May 11, 2017, 09:12:18 pm
@CatherineofAragon

I have no opinion of Billy Joel. I'm a classical music fan.

@Machiavelli

Classical is lovely, but I know absolutely nothing about it.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 11, 2017, 09:15:24 pm
@Machiavelli

I completely agree that everyone has different music tastes.  I happen to agree with the author, lol.

Well, it's no big sin to stick your two cents in If you know when to leave it alone!
But you went over the line you couldn't see it was time to go home
No, no, no, no, no, no, you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth you had to be a big shot, didn't you!

Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: truth_seeker on May 11, 2017, 09:32:44 pm
@CatherineofAragon

I have no opinion of Billy Joel. I'm a classical music fan.
I like several styles of music, from folk, country, blues, rock, jazz, and even some classical.

Saw a good video recently with Celine Dion and Pavarotti. It was posted by a member of my inlaw's family, which has gifted musicians.

My BIL traveled with Celine and her husband years ago. 
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Silver Pines on May 11, 2017, 11:40:54 pm
Well, it's no big sin to stick your two cents in If you know when to leave it alone!
But you went over the line you couldn't see it was time to go home
No, no, no, no, no, no, you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth you had to be a big shot, didn't you!

@Wingnut

Who you telling to go home?   :silly:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Silver Pines on May 11, 2017, 11:46:33 pm
I like several styles of music, from folk, country, blues, rock, jazz, and even some classical.

Saw a good video recently with Celine Dion and Pavarotti. It was posted by a member of my inlaw's family, which has gifted musicians.

My BIL traveled with Celine and her husband years ago.

Really?  That's interesting. The woman has a voice, no doubt about that.

My husband likes just about every kind of music there is, except for opera.  He even likes some eighties and nineties rap, though not the hardcore kind.  My dad, a blue-collar railroad engineer, used to never miss an opera on PBS. 

I'm not quite as much of an equal opportunity fan.  I like rock, pop, some classical (though like I said I'm ignorant about it), and some of the New-Agey Enya type music. 

Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 12, 2017, 02:06:29 am
Blues, jazz, classic soul, classical and experimental music, reggae, some world and ethinc musics, vintage rock
and roll (when it really was rock and roll and not just a bunch of misogynistic, grooveless b.s.) for me.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: berdie on May 14, 2017, 06:16:32 am
Blues, jazz, classic soul, classical and experimental music, reggae, some world and ethinc musics, vintage rock
and roll (when it really was rock and roll and not just a bunch of misogynistic, grooveless b.s.) for me.

I am pretty much the same. I will add classic country. I'll listen to anything except rap or opera. (maybe if I spoke Italian I could learn to love opera, lol.)

Billy Joel is an excellent lyricist and has a great voice IMVHO. :laugh:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: geronl on May 14, 2017, 07:05:17 am
I am pretty much the same. I will add classic country. I'll listen to anything except rap or opera. (maybe if I spoke Italian I could learn to love opera, lol.)

Billy Joel is an excellent lyricist and has a great voice IMVHO. :laugh:

Like Phil Collins...  22222frying pan
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 14, 2017, 03:54:06 pm
I am pretty much the same. I will add classic country.
If you mean Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Willie Nelson before he woke up one day and realised he was
Willie Nelson, yes.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: berdie on May 14, 2017, 08:18:23 pm
Like Phil Collins...  22222frying pan

Hey now...don't be beating up on the Gerber Baby. :laugh:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: berdie on May 14, 2017, 08:23:44 pm
If you mean Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Willie Nelson before he woke up one day and realised he was
Willie Nelson, yes.

Yes to all the artists mentioned. I'll even go back a little further and add Hank Williams and forward a little bit and add artists from the '70s and early '80s. Before it became Pop Country. And really not all of that is bad...it just ain't country.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: jmyrlefuller on May 15, 2017, 12:38:41 am
Yes to all the artists mentioned. I'll even go back a little further and add Hank Williams and forward a little bit and add artists from the '70s and early '80s. Before it became Pop Country. And really not all of that is bad...it just ain't country.
Indeed. A lot of good music got the "country" label slapped on it in the 80s, even though it wasn't really.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: rodamala on May 15, 2017, 06:41:41 pm
The only country station we had was WSAN an AM station. I can't remember the frequency but the station is still there next to the Sears. I think it is Spanish now.

@Frank Cannon

That surely must have been the station that was on constant play in the dairy barn at the neighboring farm.  Back when I was a kid, I was told that the cows were calmer and milked easier with that station on compared to others.

Friggen 40 years ago...
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 15, 2017, 07:02:59 pm
Indeed. A lot of good music got the "country" label slapped on it in the 80s, even though it wasn't really.

Spot on. 70's and 80's.  Take Olivia Newton-John - "If You Love Me , Linda Ronstadt ( everyone of em),  Eddie Rabbitt - "I Love a Rainy Night", Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers - "Islands In the Stream", Dan Seals Bop, craptastic  everyone!
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: the_doc on May 15, 2017, 07:56:00 pm
@musiclady
@Jazzhead

Good music has always been a huge part of my life.  In fact, I like almost nothing better in this world than good classical music and good jazz.  However, I am so particular as to what I regard as really good classical music and really good jazz that I actually find a huge percentage of classical music and a huge percentage of jazz downright boring.  Much of what turns up on classical FM stations and jazz stations strikes me as either rather foppish classical stuff or musically trite jazz, neither of which warrant much broadcast time in my estimation.

For example, I think it is pretty sad that so many obscure classical composers get a lot of air time on college-based classic radio stations.  I sometimes want to confront the radio show host by saying "Hey, fellow, haven't you noticed there is a reason why these guys you are showcasing on your program are so obscure?"   

I don't hate their music;  I generally subscribe to Bill Evans's view that all real music has some merit even if we don't care for it.  On the other hand, I am truly saddened to realize that most people in our day have never even heard really good classical music or really good jazz.

Having said all of that, I would never call Billy Joel's music terrible.  Some folks like it;  I get that.  (Some folks also like Thomas Kinkade's paintings;  even that is okay, I guess.)  But I wish we all had the soul-stirring, exciting experiences of arguably (?) better music.  I recently introduced a Heavy Metal friend mine to top-flight jazz, and it blew him away.  He had never heard anything like it.  I also played for him some good classical music and it literally brought tears of joy to his eyes.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 15, 2017, 08:20:16 pm
Good music has always been a huge part of my life.  In fact, I like almost nothing better in this world than good classical music and good jazz.  However, I am so particular as to what I regard as really good classical music and really good jazz that I actually find a huge percentage of classical music and a huge percentage of jazz downright boring.  Much of what turns up on classical FM stations and jazz stations strikes me as either rather foppish classical stuff or musically trite jazz, neither of which warrant much broadcast time in my estimation.

You could have said that in a short phrase. ;) Elevator music or Music for anesthesia come to mind at once.

For example, I think it is pretty sad that so many obscure classical composers get a lot of air time on college-based classic radio stations.  I sometimes want to confront the radio show host by saying "Hey, fellow, haven't you noticed there is a reason why these guys you are showcasing on your program are so obscure?" 

There can be and often are jewels in obscurity. Sometimes even filmmakers unearth them or revive them. Had it not
been for a film I'd never have discovered this composer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CYO9vkAQbc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcC6B-i28YE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyO7c6U5dEw

I don't hate their music;  I generally subscribe to Bill Evans's view that all real music has some merit even if we don't care for it.  On the other hand, I am truly saddened to realize that most people in our day have never even heard really good classical music or really good jazz.

Having said all of that, I would never call Billy Joel's music terrible.  Some folks like it;  I get that.  (Some folks also like Thomas Kinkade's paintings;  even that is okay, I guess.)  But I wish we all had the soul-stirring, exciting experiences of arguably (?) better music.  I recently introduced a Heavy Metal friend mine to top-flight jazz, and it blew him away.  He had never heard anything like it.  I also played for him some good classical music and it literally brought tears of joy to his eyes.
I had a similar experience with a fellow blues player to whom I introduced some of the jazzmen who didn't forget the blues. He
was staggered that you could play the blues without gobs of overdriven, distorted hornets-on-amphetamines noise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJDUBzi_K0A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3X5J_wGHrw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuJKFQ-OqPo

(Fair disclosure: I'm a semi-professional blues guitarist leaning on the jazzier side of the blues who's also teaching himself
to play the vibraphone this summer.)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: the_doc on May 15, 2017, 08:42:20 pm
There can be and often are jewels in obscurity. Sometimes even filmmakers unearth them or revive them.
I fully agree.  But in all of my years of surfing through classical radio stations, I can count on one hand my discoveries of badly underrated classical composers.  Jazz stations do a bit better, in my opinion, in discovering talent that no one has ever heard of.  There are perhaps several musicological reasons for that.

Thanks for the youtube links.  I will check them out when I get a chance.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Idaho_Cowboy on May 15, 2017, 10:03:41 pm
@CatherineofAragon

I have no opinion of Billy Joel. I'm a classical music fan.
Have you heard his classical album?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasies_%26_Delusions

It's not bad if you like piano music.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EC on May 16, 2017, 11:37:17 am
Came across this this morning. Thought it were apropos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwWE2gTUmcw&feature=youtu.be

Edit - wrong bloody link.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 16, 2017, 01:28:53 pm
little better quality here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCMc8kJmdjc&ab_channel=KeifferGNR
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 16, 2017, 03:09:01 pm
His singing "New York State of Mind" after 9-11 was heart wrenching.

"We didn't Start the Fire" was significant.

LOVE "Movin' Out," "Just the Way You Are," "Piano Man" and "The Longest Time."

And I love that Billy Joel is just 3 months older than I am.  ^-^

Seriously, Billy Joel is loaded with talent.

I love a lot of genres.... Classical and Jazz in particular, and pop less so, but the idea that Billy Joel's music is "terrible" is infantile.

Saying you don't like it is one thing, but saying it's terrible is uneducated.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: the_doc on May 16, 2017, 03:54:41 pm

I love a lot of genres.... Classical and Jazz in particular, and pop less so, but the idea that Billy Joel's music is "terrible" is infantile.

Saying you don't like it is one thing, but saying it's terrible is uneducated.

I completely agree with you.  I actually do like "Just the Way You Are" and "Piano Man."  That's about my limit for Billy Joel, as it turns, perhaps because I don't spend much time listening to pop.  (I do like about three [?] Beatles tunes quite a lot, though--especially when performed by other vocalists [like Karen Carpenter singing "Ticket to Ride" or Judy Collins singing "In My Life."]   The rest are just okay for my tastes.  I'd rather listen to other stuff.)

Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Millee on May 16, 2017, 04:05:03 pm
His singing "New York State of Mind" after 9-11 was heart wrenching.

"We didn't Start the Fire" was significant.

LOVE "Movin' Out," "Just the Way You Are," "Piano Man" and "The Longest Time."

And I love that Billy Joel is just 3 months older than I am.  ^-^

Seriously, Billy Joel is loaded with talent.

I love a lot of genres.... Classical and Jazz in particular, and pop less so, but the idea that Billy Joel's music is "terrible" is infantile.

Saying you don't like it is one thing, but saying it's terrible is uneducated.

Billy Joel was one of the best concerts I ever went to.  Such talent. 

The writer of this piece can suck rocks.   0380000
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: LateForLunch on May 16, 2017, 04:06:01 pm
This is a very entertaining thread. Agree or disagree with the originator's opinion, it was a worthwhile thread. People got to vent and express themselves, which has value.

I once had a housemate named Tom Aldaerelli who was a roadie for Fleetwood Mac from New Jersey who just hated Billy Joel because he got into some run-ins with Joel while on tour. Tom said Joel made New Jersey look bad 'cause he was "not a real man". That guy eventually died, he was a stone Mafia-kid (Aldarelli Family is mobbed up in New Jersey like the Sopranos), heroin addict who weighed about 400 lbs when he died of a heart attack while Joel is still alive and well if a little lighter in his pocketbook from divorcing Christy Brinkley - OUCH!  But I guess being alive, Joel came out on top of that dispute with Tommy.

The side show of pop music is often as entertaining as the music. For instance, I noticed with extreme amusement recently that Paul Simon (whose music I tend to like a lot, if not his politics) got into a knock-out drag-out fight with his wife (that got them both arrested), then reconciled with her later calling their dispute a "spirited verbal disagreement". heh better put a steak on the disagreement, pal-o-mine! heh

Likewise, Simon also got my attention years ago when one of the band members of his South African-derived award winning band (Graceland) was arrested for murder and criminal fraud - killed someone, stole a bunch of money from some charity fund and got caught every which way.

Pop-stars are just people. Nothing more and nothing less. But of course, most leftist pop-stars are two-legged rats in their personal lives.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 16, 2017, 04:20:50 pm
I completely agree with you.  I actually do like "Just the Way You Are" and "Piano Man."  That's about my limit for Billy Joel, as it turns, perhaps because I don't spend much time listening to pop.  (I do like about three [?] Beatles tunes quite a lot, though--especially when performed by other vocalists [like Karen Carpenter singing "Ticket to Ride" or Judy Collins singing "In My Life."]   The rest are just okay for my tastes.  I'd rather listen to other stuff.)

I have an extremely wide taste when it comes to music, but when it comes to pop/rock, because of my adoration for/addiction to harmony, I tend to like harmonic groups like the Beach Boys, Temptations (not really in the same genre!), Peter, Paul and Mary, Bee Gees, and of course, the Carpenters.  Richard's ear for harmonic sound and his talent, along with Karen's cool and creamy rich voice, made them a favorite for me.

I also love great piano playing, which is why I'm drawn to Billy Joel and Carole King, as well as newer artists such as Regina Spektor.

As to your earlier comment about listening to Classical radio, keep in mind that the people who run those stations (NPR, Universities) are liberals.  I think that's why they tend to emphasize obscurity....... to show how educated they are, and how cool they are.  I notice that our Classical station likes to play South American music (probably in solidarity with immigration and Hispanics).

I completely agree that they should spend more time on the more significant composers, who have stood the test of time for a reason.  I also don't like that they almost completely ignore choral music and vocal music, probably because most of it historically is sacred.  I mean, you can't really play "Carmina Burana" incessantly, can you?  You gotta play a Mass now and again.  ^-^

Now that I no longer listen to Rush, I spend much more quality time with WOSU, and I like that!

@the_doc
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 16, 2017, 04:21:45 pm
Billy Joel was one of the best concerts I ever went to.  Such talent. 

The writer of this piece can suck rocks.   0380000

I'm sorry I never got to one........... especially when Billy and I were both young whippersnappers.  ^-^
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 16, 2017, 04:25:43 pm
If you mean Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Willie Nelson before he woke up one day and realised he was
Willie Nelson, yes.

With all the traveling we do, I have no idea what I'd do without Willie Nelson's "On the Road again" to sing...  ^-^
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 16, 2017, 04:28:32 pm
Likewise, [Paul] Simon also got my attention years ago when one of the band members of his South African-derived award winning band (Graceland) was arrested for murder and criminal fraud - killed someone, stole a bunch of money from some charity fund and got caught every which way.
One of the most haunting stories in the history of the blues is that of guitarist Pat Hare. Once a sideman for
Muddy Waters and James Cotton, Hare is credited with one of the earliest examples of distorted "power chords"
playing on Cotton's "Cotton Crop Blues" in 1954. The same year, Hare cut a single on his own, a cover of
Doctor Clayton's jealousy song "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby." Fast forward to 1963, when Hare---by then
mired in alcoholism---shot his girlfriend to death and shot the cop who came to investigate, this at a time
when Hare was one of Muddy's sidemen. Hare was sentenced to life in prison (during his prison years he
was said to have formed a band called Sounds Incarcerated) and died of cancer in prison in 1980.

Then there was Jim Gordon, remembered best as the drummer for Derek & the Dominos. (The unforgettable
coda to "Layla" was Gordon's composition, married to Eric Clapton's main song, though both fellow Domino
Bobby Whitlock and Graham Nash have argued that Gordon may have pinched the melody from his former
girl friend Rita Coolidge.) Gordon developed mental issues as the 1970s went on and they culminated in his
murdering his mother in a psychotic rage in 1983---only after his arrest (he would be sentenced to 16 years to life)
was he diagnosed as a full-out schizophrenic. His trial judge accepted the diagnosis but rejected any insanity
defense due to a change in California's law on the matter at that time.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Idaho_Cowboy on May 16, 2017, 04:29:11 pm
I have an extremely wide taste when it comes to music, but when it comes to pop/rock, because of my adoration for/addiction to harmony, I tend to like harmonic groups like the Beach Boys, Temptations (not really in the same genre!), Peter, Paul and Mary, Bee Gees, and of course, the Carpenters.  Richard's ear for harmonic sound and his talent, along with Karen's cool and creamy rich voice, made them a favorite for me.

I also love great piano playing, which is why I'm drawn to Billy Joel and Carole King, as well as newer artists such as Regina Spektor.

As to your earlier comment about listening to Classical radio, keep in mind that the people who run those stations (NPR, Universities) are liberals.  I think that's why they tend to emphasize obscurity....... to show how educated they are, and how cool they are.  I notice that our Classical station likes to play South American music (probably in solidarity with immigration and Hispanics).

I completely agree that they should spend more time on the more significant composers, who have stood the test of time for a reason.  I also don't like that they almost completely ignore choral music and vocal music, probably because most of it historically is sacred.  I mean, you can't really play "Carmina Burana" incessantly, can you?  You gotta play a Mass now and again.  ^-^

Now that I no longer listen to Rush, I spend much more quality time with WOSU, and I like that!

@the_doc
What's wrong with Rush?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tq-UsaRchI
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 16, 2017, 04:30:53 pm
With all the traveling we do, I have no idea what I'd do without Willie Nelson's "On the Road again" to sing...  ^-^
When I drive to southern California from Las Vegas to visit my son, I'm thankful for the kind of technology
that lets me just pop a 32GB flash drive into my car stereo, loaded up with assorted blues, jazz, and soul
albums. One of my absolute favourite albums for that four-hour drive is . . .

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q20HhdIOL.jpg)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 16, 2017, 04:32:57 pm
What's wrong with Rush?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tq-UsaRchI

LOL!

That beginning bass riff would have been much more fun if it had been in 7, and not 8.


But maybe that's just me.  :dx1:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 16, 2017, 04:34:28 pm
When I drive to southern California from Las Vegas to visit my son, I'm thankful for the kind of technology
that lets me just pop a 32GB flash drive into my car stereo, loaded up with assorted blues, jazz, and soul
albums. One of my absolute favourite albums for that four-hour drive is . . .

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q20HhdIOL.jpg)

Well, actually, I'm the one that does the singing, not Willie himself.....

But thanks for the link.  :beer:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 16, 2017, 04:36:12 pm
Well, actually, I'm the one that does the singing, not Willie himself.....

But thanks for the link.  :beer:
:silly: That was just the box cover image.

For the link, start here:

Muddy Waters, The Complete Aristocrat & Chess Singles, 1947-62, Vol. 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--9s3X_3Fes&list=PL35C9lvES-Uu4sENNZ5LcTxzVocOFL6Qb)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: LateForLunch on May 16, 2017, 04:51:06 pm
Well, actually, I'm the one that does the singing, not Willie himself.....

But thanks for the link.  :beer:

I hear ya! My next door neighbor used to roadie and one day he was hanging out with an A&R DJ from a local station that was going out of business. They engaged in some casual smoking and conversation during which time the DJ revealed to him a pile of recordings. He had "borrowed" the entire on-air playlist of every single  top40 song the station had played in 50 years. My friend made digital copies of all of them. He won't give me a copy because he promised the guy that he would only make one copy for himself and he has kept his word (he is from New Zealand and they are scrupulously sincere when they give their word). All told there are about 3 thousand songs in the library.
Whenever he has a party, he puts the drive in his sound system and it is an amazing journey for anyone who lived through those years and listened to the radio. It's a strange experience to hear dozens of songs you haven't heard in forty years. 
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 16, 2017, 05:00:53 pm
:silly: That was just the box cover image.

For the link, start here:

Muddy Waters, The Complete Aristocrat & Chess Singles, 1947-62, Vol. 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--9s3X_3Fes&list=PL35C9lvES-Uu4sENNZ5LcTxzVocOFL6Qb)

OK, thanks!  Seriously, I'll check it out when I get a moment.

We just got back from being "on the road again," so I've been kinda busy today.

This summer, we're doing the Lewis and Clark trail from St. Louis (St. Charles actually) west to Ft. Clatsop.  We just went to four sites east of the Mississippi on the way to our daughter's half marathon in St. Louis.

So I'll be singing Willie Nelson for about a month this summer!
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 16, 2017, 05:25:09 pm
So I'll be singing Willie Nelson for about a month this summer!
You're a better woman than I, Gunga Din.

As a singer, I'm a good guitar player. ;)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: the_doc on May 16, 2017, 06:17:02 pm
As to your earlier comment about listening to Classical radio, keep in mind that the people who run those stations (NPR, Universities) are liberals.  I think that's why they tend to emphasize obscurity....... to show how educated they are, and how cool they are.  I notice that our Classical station likes to play South American music (probably in solidarity with immigration and Hispanics).

I completely agree that they should spend more time on the more significant composers, who have stood the test of time for a reason.  I also don't like that they almost completely ignore choral music and vocal music, probably because most of it historically is sacred.  I mean, you can't really play "Carmina Burana" incessantly, can you?  You gotta play a Mass now and again.  ^-^


I agree with all of the above.  A lot of folks in our day have never heard much if any good choral music (beyond Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, perhaps).  Some of the best are the operatic chorales.  My favorites are the Pilgrim's Chorus from "Tannhauser" and the final chorales from "The Marriage of Figaro" and "The Pirates of Penzance."  I also love the rather weird modern choral piece that was used in the soundtrack of Hannibal.

I have also noticed that "Carmina Burana" gets a lot of air time.  I don't care for it very much, but I am always stunned by its irreverent Latin solo "In Trutina."  Even Barbra Streisand did a great job with that song on her Classical Barbra album--which is a very good album, by the way.

My overall interests are just as wide as yours, I think, but evidently not as deep in pop/rock.  I do like "Barbara Ann" (partly because it is comically slick in its rhythm and harmony) and "If I Had a Hammer" (even if it was inspired by Socialism).  I like all of the old (pre-crossover) Dylan stuff, but almost none of the later stuff except "Forever Young."  I also like almost everything Karen Carpenter ever sang because she was an uncanny vocalist.  Amazingly, a lot of teenagers I have talked to have never even heard of her because the rock stations never feature her.  That goes to show us that popular tastes can make people musically ignorant by simply shutting off exposure to better stuff.  That dumbs down a lot of folks. 

The Heavy Metal buddy that I mentioned in an earlier piece had never heard Chopin's First Ballade before I had him sit down and listen to a CD recorded by (then) 18-year-old pianist Helene Grimaud.   It knocked his socks off.  (As I intimated earlier, I am trying to improve his rather unsophisticated tastes--since even the classical and jazz stations are not proving to be much help.)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Gefn on May 17, 2017, 08:41:54 pm
For your enjoyment

[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: thackney on May 17, 2017, 09:10:30 pm
With all the traveling we do, I have no idea what I'd do without Willie Nelson's "On the Road again" to sing...  ^-^
On The Road Again’ was the theme song to the movie ‘Honeysuckle Rose‘ and it came about during a flight to Hollywood when the producer asked Willie Nelson if he would write a song for the movie.

About 45 minutes later, Nelson had written the entire song on an airline’s barf bag.

http://1280ksli.com/willie-nelson-writes-a-major-hit-song-on-a-barf-bag/
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Suppressed on May 17, 2017, 09:17:56 pm
For your enjoyment

LOL! Where did you find that?!

I really like that song, but I can't figure out whether I like the music or just memory associations from it coming out st a good time in my life.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Gefn on May 17, 2017, 09:22:47 pm
They had an alternate version

I can haz cheezeburger

[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Idaho_Cowboy on May 17, 2017, 09:22:47 pm
@Freya

[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Gefn on May 17, 2017, 09:24:32 pm
Sigh.

Stupid attachments
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Wingnut on May 17, 2017, 09:39:36 pm
(http://img.memesuper.com/7e2fd3abc938a1b2cf9b985a53b762b4_1000-images-about-billy-joel-on-pinterest-vienna-piano-man-and-piano-man-meme_720-538.jpeg)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 17, 2017, 10:21:32 pm
You're a better woman than I, Gunga Din.

As a singer, I'm a good guitar player. ;)

And the reverse is true for me.

As a guitar player, I am an AMAZING singer!  :beer:
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Gefn on May 17, 2017, 10:25:03 pm
@Freya

Love it! Thanks @Idaho_Cowboy
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: EasyAce on May 17, 2017, 11:18:06 pm
And the reverse is true for me.

As a guitar player, I am an AMAZING singer!  :beer:
@musiclady
(https://previews.123rf.com/images/stockfood/stockfood1409/stockfood140989357/32669660-Glasses-of-red-wine-being-clinked-together-Stock-Photo.jpg)
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: musiclady on May 17, 2017, 11:40:52 pm
Some time maybe I can show you all 6 chords (maybe 7?) that I can play.

Actually, the most complex song I can play on guitar is "Scotch and Soda."  ^-^

Piano's my instrument.  Not quite as good as Billy Joel is (back on topic!), but I do a fair job.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Suppressed on May 18, 2017, 01:13:58 am
I once had a housemate named Tom Aldaerelli who was a roadie for Fleetwood Mac from New Jersey who just hated Billy Joel because he got into some run-ins with Joel while on tour. Tom said Joel made New Jersey look bad 'cause he was "not a real man". That guy eventually died, he was a stone Mafia-kid (Aldarelli Family is mobbed up in New Jersey like the Sopranos), heroin addict who weighed about 400 lbs when he died of a heart attack while Joel is still alive and well if a little lighter in his pocketbook from divorcing Christy Brinkley - OUCH!  But I guess being alive, Joel came out on top of that dispute with Tommy.

@LateForLunch  Funny you should say that.  It's in line with what I heard...

I knew someone who went to high school with BJ (confirmed with a yearbook*) and didn't like him much.  He said he was a "weasel". 

His favorite memory was when Billy Joel was going around shooting people with a stapler and got thrown down a stairwell as a result.

*My recollection is that it was Long Island, though, not New Jersey.
Title: Re: Billy Joel Is 68 Today — And His Music Is Still Terrible
Post by: Suppressed on May 18, 2017, 01:26:37 am
As to your earlier comment about listening to Classical radio, keep in mind that the people who run those stations (NPR, Universities) are liberals.  I think that's why they tend to emphasize obscurity....... to show how educated they are, and how cool they are.  I notice that our Classical station likes to play South American music (probably in solidarity with immigration and Hispanics).

I completely agree that they should spend more time on the more significant composers, who have stood the test of time for a reason.  I also don't like that they almost completely ignore choral music and vocal music, probably because most of it historically is sacred.  I mean, you can't really play "Carmina Burana" incessantly, can you?  You gotta play a Mass now and again.  ^-^

Now that I no longer listen to Rush, I spend much more quality time with WOSU, and I like that!

@the_doc @musiclady @EasyAce

I enjoy listening to WBJC (http://www.wbjc.com/) out of Baltimore, via the Internet.  I've found their "less significant composers" to be good, though they play a lot of "significant" stuff.  In fact, I've bought several CDs recently (yes, I still like physical media) after hearing "obscure" plays on WBJC..and I have rarely bought in recent years.  Their archived playlists are at http://www.wbjc.com/category/playlists/

I use an Amazon Echo Dot device (tied to speakers) to access WBJC via TuneIn (free, automatic).  The Google Home device works, too.  It's nice to just come home and say, "Alexa, play WBJC" and have it come on.


Note, however, that I have very poor musical intelligence...perhaps a snob would say my taste is poor.