08-12-2016, 14:42
You are both right. It's better than most rap - but it's still a crap song.
If the lyrics are actually supposed to be sending some kind of message, then I don't know what it is. He just seems to name-check every single element of US culture from the 1950s onward. Is it good? Is it bad? Are we supposed to get angry about it? Are we supposed to celebrate it? Billy Joel doesn't say. That's what makes the song a rather pointless gimmick.
"The Message", by Grandmaster Flash, was a much better message song.
Billy Joel has written far better songs, both musically and lyrically, than this. Even some better "message" songs. Allentown, for example.
If the lyrics are actually supposed to be sending some kind of message, then I don't know what it is. He just seems to name-check every single element of US culture from the 1950s onward. Is it good? Is it bad? Are we supposed to get angry about it? Are we supposed to celebrate it? Billy Joel doesn't say. That's what makes the song a rather pointless gimmick.
"The Message", by Grandmaster Flash, was a much better message song.
Billy Joel has written far better songs, both musically and lyrically, than this. Even some better "message" songs. Allentown, for example.