Morning Commute Soundtrack: Billy Joel

I have rarely been in a Billy Joel state of mind, having way long ago ditched the need for any of his songs or albums (not to mention the line “I’d rather laugh with the sinners / Than cry with the saints / The sinners are much more fun” being used as a hollow philosophy by friends of friends in high school, and let me tell you, that shit gets old real quick), but last night while trying to find something – anything – to get my TV off of Mad, I switched over to the Biography channel and discovered a Billy Joel special. I watched a few minutes of it and decided to give his music another try.

This morning, I listened to all of Storm Front, and was tempted to post ‘I Go To Extremes’ as my Morning Commute Soundtrack pick (which I played endlessly in the summer of 2002, for reasons I’m sure were legit at the time), until I realized that I now had Turnstiles and had been told by more than one person that ‘Summer, Highland Falls’ is Joel’s best song. So, just as I was pulling into the parking lot, I gave the song a spin and was delighted with its simplicity. It’s the kind of song I wish I had heard back in high school to remind me that Joel is quite a talented musician and songwriter. It might be 10 years too late, but better to discover him now than never.