Billy Joel might just be one of the most perfect pop stars to ever exist. He's smart, talented, fun, and makes great music. "Piano Man", "Tell Her About It", "Uptown Girl", "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". Hell, I even have a place in my heart for "We Didn't Start the Fire", despite it being one of his laziest songs. But today we look at one of my very favourites by this artist, "Modern Woman".
Everything about this song is just perfect to me. From the pulsating beat backing it up to the poetic lyrics sang in perfect rhythm to the synths to the horns to the guitar... it's really too good to exist on the pop charts. Of course, it didn't exist for long on the charts, because, well, people don't know what's good for them. But it did reach #10 in 1986, so it was a hit, just not a huge one.
I still love the song, though. It plays out the narrative of a guy who's off of his game when talking to women, and then meets this modern woman, and then all these paranoid thoughts flow through his head.
Now you're in trouble, maybe she's an intellectual
What if she figures out you're not very smart
Or maybe she's the quiet type who's into heavy metal
Boy, you got to get it settled cause she's breaking your heart
The song plays out in an upbeat tone, contrasting the feelings portrayed in the lyrics, which show restraint and uncertainty.
You've got your plan of attack
That won't attract the modern woman
It's a somewhat dark song that plays out in a completely different manner, and I love it. I'm sure Billy Joel loves it too.
From Wikipedia:
Though the song was quite successful, Joel has since said in interviews he does not care for it, and subsequently it has been left off most of his compilation sets
Huh. Well, that's just one man's opinion. Of course, it's the guy who made the song, but it's still just one man. *sigh* Time to re-evaluate my music taste again.
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