Billy...Bad? Say it ain't so....

Ron Rosenbaum, of Slate, rails into one of my favorite all-time musicians, calling him one of the worst ever to succeed in the industry. He (Rosenbaum) pinpoints Billy Joel's phony contempt for various people as the dominating element. While I agree that many Joel tunes are contemptuous, I find it's their utter showtune-ness that creates the love/hate relationship listeners have with the music. Or maybe just Joel's clumsiness...

But what is this "phoniness"? Sure, Billy Joel has scorned people for driving Cadillacs ("Anthony's Song") despite probably owning an expensive car, but so what? He isn't the first hypocrite to walk the planet...Love ya', Bill....