Good morning gents. I'm just kicking back listening to Pandora at work. Such a great site. Today's choice is "Stan Getz Radio". Awesome.

Re Billy Joel, I think the man has more than his share of pure songwriting and performing talent, but he's hopelessly devoid of the cult of cool. In that way, perhaps he would fit in well at one of our CD clubs. Ha! Just a thought....

Anyhoo, my sense is he has different heroes than the rest of us - I'm guessing he might list Frank Sinatra, or Frankie Valli, possibly even Frankie Avalon, though likely not Frank Black or Frank Zappa. How else can you explain his output over the years, consistently nowhere near cool, albeit reflective of the aesthetic of the times....say, aware of the beating heart but more content to hang out in the fatty middle-aged spread. What other explanation for his apparent smugness, which is how I interpret his lame bad-assedness?

It's indisputable that guys like Billy exist in the pop music spectrum and have their moments in the sun. It's the length and breadth of his success in particular that's a bit of a stunner, and perhaps should be taken personally - hands up for those of us that own a BJ record - mine is up. Though I do take comfort in the fact that I bought it when I was 13.

I like the idea of a guilty pleasures list. And not the ones that seem like gp's but end up looking pretty good, like, say, digging Black Sabbath. More the Leo Sayer (got him), Toto (got two of 'em) type of thing.