Random Tune for Tuesday 6/24/14

How can June possibly be ending so quickly ... June, the month of Billy Joel, as per my decree, as per finding the satellite radio station dedicated to him and listening to it whenever I'm in the car these last few weeks.

But alas, June is ending (the next tune for Tuesday will be July 1) and so is this series (for now, anyway) ... and I want to end it on a high note ... with something upbeat ... featuring a "syncopated melodic line and regularly accented accompaniment" (thanks interwebs, for defining ragtime so succinctly) ... something that could be the song of the summer (whether 1974 or 2014).

And so, until we meet again Billy Joel, let's close out the month with *this* tune playing in the background!

NOT AN ODDLY FLAVORED LADY BY-PRODUCT DESPITE HOW IT SOUNDS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKrd0lv_p1c

Random Tune for Tuesday 6/17/14

It's week 3 of Billy Joel month!

[As a reminder, it's Billy Joel month in the first place only because I said so after listening to the dedicated satellite radio station of his for five non stop hours coming back from the concert in Jacksonville last month.]

I can partially blame the post-graduate education I got that has rewired my brain to be able to argue both sides (or, based on the amount of debt I carry, maybe that should be "credit" instead of blame) ... and I can partially thank a well honed curiosity ... and I can understand that part of it is a developed anti-authoritarian streak that tends not to accept things at face value or "just because" ... and a good bit of this attitude is just from getting older and having kept my eyes wide open throughout the decades I've been living ...

But whatever it is, this tune "Shades of Grey" from *late* Billy Joel that I consider a reprise of the *early* Billy Joel "Angry Young Man" does strike a chord ... "the more I find out the less that I know" and ... as political season tends to be non-stop, "the only people I fear are those who never have doubts" ... preach it brother Billy!

BA BA BADUWA BA BA BADUWA BA BA BADUWA TAA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CopYqp0HZkY

Random Tune for Tuesday 6/10/14

And ... week 2 of Billy Joel month!

Why, might you ask?  Well, kind of just because I said so.

[And also because I found the all-Billy-Joel satellite radio station on a recent trip, and listening to it filled my noggin with all kinds of memories.]

Including this tune, the anthem of my youth.  As a late bloomer with a fierce independent streak, I had a decade after high school where I went non stop taking in all kinds of experiences, crazy ambitious for a juvenile, always in a hurry, doing so much in the few hours in a day, pushing life to the borderline, so ahead of myself that I forgot what I needed -- all the lyrical phrases in the song were on point.

But I can distinctly remember blasting this song on the car radio, often late at night/early in the morning as that's when I liked to travel back then, letting the words of Billy Joel remind me that I could afford to lose a day or two.  That I could dial it back ... that I could make decisions with an eye toward my long term happiness and not just about the moment ... but that I also didn't have to constantly be executing on a five year plan (so communist of me, anyway, no?) ...

And the ultimate epiphany ... that I could get what I truly wanted or I could just get old.  I chose going after what I wanted.  And I couldn't be more pleased in the decisions I've made ... that have led me every closer to my Vienna.  Yes, indeed, dream on but don't imagine they'll all come true ... when will you realize ... Vienna waits for you!

DON'T YOU KNOW THAT ONLY FOOLS ARE SATISFIED:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZdiXvDU4P0&feature=kp

Random Tune for Tuesday 6/3/14

It's Billy Joel month!

Why, you ask?

Because ... on that drive back from Jacksonville a few weeks ago, I stumbled on the Billy Joel satellite station and listened to it for the whole five hour drive home.

It goes without saying that it takes a prolific genius to be able to fill up that much air time with greatest hits and classics and rare gems. and other people covering his hits.  And, as someone who has a good bit of his creative output on cassette tape and CD ('cause I'm old school like that), I was tickled to hear some songs for the very first time.

For instance ... Roberta ... a tune that instantly spoke to me as it so perfectly captured that moment of looking longingly at the ... well .. let's say ... "person in the industry" ... performing in the same establishment ... but so far out of reach financially ... emotionally ... etc.  Boy does it take me back to the good old days (although the good ole days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it se-e-eems ... which, by the way, will NOT be one of the songs featured in the next three weeks).  Tough for me, tough for you indeed ...

I'D ASK YOU OVER BUT I CAN'T AFFORD YOU:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP4HygPI9lA