Piano Man

I was pleasantly surprised by the Billy Joel concert last night at MSG. It turned out he's doing a retrospective of his career, from the 70s on. Say what you will about the guy, but he's written some damn good songs that will be around forever. And there are very few singers who can go for more than two hours and every single song he performed was a hit, or at least a radio hit, or at least damn catchy.

He writes a mean melody that just stays with you (Piano Man anyone, or Scenes From an Italian Restaurant), but people forget his lyrics are really, really good. Ok, we're not talking Dylan, or even Lennon/McCartney at their peak, but something like We Didn't Start the Fire is such a clever song, and fun to see if you can explain all the references he makes in it.

Captain Jack – to my dark, cynical soul – has always been one of my favorite songs. Talk about your existential despair.

Between listening to that song (another great melody) and seeing the Munch show at MOMA last weekend, I'm nicely depressed. But that's such a great New York state of mind to be in.

Captain Jack

Saturday night and you're still hangin' around
Tired of livin' in your one-horse town
Like to find a little hole in the ground
For a while

So you go to the village in your tie-dye jeans
And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens
It's just like some pornographic magazine
And you smile

Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push and you'll be smilin'

Your sister's gone out. She's on a date
You just sit at home and masturbate
The phone is gonna ring soon but you just can't wait
For that call

So you stand on the corner in your New English clothes
And you look so polished from your hair down to your toes
But still your finger's gonna pick your nose
After all

Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push and you'll be smilin'

So you decide to take a holiday
You got your tape deck and your brand new Chevrolet
Ah, there ain't no place to go anyway
What for?
So you got everything, ah, but nothing's cool
They just found your father in the swimming pool
And you guess you won't be going back to school
Anymore.

Captain Jack can get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'

So you play your albums, and you smoke your pot
and you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot
Oh but still you're aching for the things you haven't got
What went wrong?

And if you can't understand why your world is so dead,
why you've got to keep in style and feed your head
Well you're 21 and still your mother makes your bed,
And that's too long

Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'
Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack could make you die tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'