From McSweeney’s John Moe, A Note Placed in the Pay Envelope of Billy Joel:
Billy, that kind of thing is why people kept yelling at you all night. “Sing us a song, piano man! Sing us a song tonight!” they shouted. But instead of doing so, you simply shouted their words back to them and added a line about how you were making them feel all right. Which you weren’t. You were making them mad. People aren’t just in the mood for a melody, they’re in the mood for a legitimate composition.
Previous BJ-related McSweeney’s goodness: What I Would Be Thinking About If I Were Billy Joel Driving Toward a Holiday Party Where I Knew There Was Going to Be a Piano by Michael Ian Black, and The Lyrics to the Billy Joel Song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” If They Were Written by a Muskrat by David Litt.
More of John Moe’s Pop-Song Correspondences.
Billy Joel – Piano Man
Perhaps the most literal video ever made? Notice “Billy’s Tip Jar.” Not the most subtle guy in the world, old Bill, is he?
The muskrat one is one of my faves. Here’s another (not Joel-related):
It has come to pass an extended era from the time when I swayed and revolved.