Audience Participation Friday
I know Karol is sooo freaking out right now.
Heh.
OK, I’ll put her out of her beloved statewide misery.
Who is the greatest songwriter of all time: Paul Simon or Billy Joel.
And yes, those are the only choices. And no, I don’t know who John Lennon is.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:53 am
Ace of Base
May 11th, 2007 at 2:29 am
Ya, soooo freaking out. Between those two choices, I’ll go with Billy Joel. But seriously, neither in a big way.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Billy Joel. (But really, it’s Elton John.)
May 11th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Why would a Senator from Illinois be considered a great songwriter?
May 11th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Billy all the way…. as long as he’s sober. Nah, it don’t matter.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:34 am
According to Jack Newfield Billy Joel is the best songwriter of the 20th century.
No joke.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Paul Simon. Billy Joel was interesting when I was an early teenager but rings fake to me now. All sentimentality and ersatz emotion.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Billy
May 12th, 2007 at 2:51 am
Wow, just Paul Simon and Billy Joel? I gotta go with Paul on this one, for the same reasons quoted by Chugarte. Billy’s stuff doesn’t stand up too well over time and Paul’s lyrics were always infinitely better. Still, being a Long Island boy, Billy has a hometown sentimental vote, not to mention name dropping all sorts of places I visited when I was a teenager (Cold Spring Harbor, anyone?).
But the sad truth is that Paul McCartney is the best melodicist of the century. This is Sad (with a Capitol S) because you’re dismissing him outright. John Lennon was more experimental, and sometimes brilliant, but Paul was way more dependable with a good melody and song structure. Plus, he wrote tons of throwaway tunes for other bands that became classics in their own right (Badfinger’s ‘Come and Get It’, for example).
May 12th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Paul. (either one)
but really Elvis (the other one).
May 13th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Paul Simon.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:07 am
how many ways to leave your lover did billy joel come up with?
exactly!
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:53 am
Paul Simon Paul Simon Paul Simon. And I know I’m late.