Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives.  In this episode, host Dave Gebroe talks with the epitome of DIY punk spirit (who can also write a pop hook like the best of ‘em), the great Mark Robinson (of Unrest, Grenadine, Air Miami, Flin Flon, Uncomfortable Police, et al), and together they discuss Billy Joel’s entire recorded output with commentary, stories, and star ratings for every release. If you’re a long-time listener, then you know that Dave has harbored a long-time hatred of Billy Joel…so why the sudden turnaround in taste? Part 6 covers the time after his divorce, a time when most people tend to sit around and sulk, but not Billy—he dated multiple supermodels, settled down with one, and became happy to an extent that managed to prove conclusively that great art absolutely can not be created by very happy people. And he also managed to make and release An Innocent Man and The Bridge. 

The goal for this and the next episode was to make great art about bad art, to create two podcast episodes in inverse qualitative proportion to the rock bottom records being discussed. Mark and Dave accomplished their goal.

Here are just a few of the many things that Mark discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast:

• That time when Billy’s music became more ubiquitous than oxygen, and how he—and more importantly we—dealt with that;
• The various acts and song styles that Billy co-opted to create An Innocent Man;
• The unfortunate, damaging effect that An Innocent Man had on Dave’s perception of Billy Joel and his music, until only recently;
• The wildly successful Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 & 2, which went double diamond and whose two new tracks both became hits;
• The heavy Huey Lewis & The News, Sting, and Cyndi Lauper vibe of The Bridge;
• And an in-depth deep dive on every song off An Innocent Man and The Bridge.

Listen: linktr.ee/discograffiti

I support a wife and a six-year-old son with Discograffiti as my sole source of income. 

The Director’s Cut of this episode is ad-free and features a plethora of additional essential material. Support Discograffiti by opting for this clearly superior version.

Either subscribe to Discograffiti’s Patreon at the Lieutenant or Major Tier, or just grab the episode as a one-off at the same link.

The Director’s Cut: Patreon.com/Discograffiti