One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel
From Glass Houses (1980)
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"Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways it's still rock and roll to me." © 1980 Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
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Oh, it doesn't matter what they say in the papers Billy's first #1 hit was "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me." The song is Billy's sarcastic take on the music industry and music critics who were unfairly dogging him in the press. Once a critics' favorite, Billy had become a target of the critics after the success of ballads like "Just the Way You Are" and "Honesty." While critics fawned over the latest punk or new wave act that came out, Billy pushed back, he wasn't about to "take any shit from anybody." In the song, a critic or music industry exec or girlfriend is urging the singer to try on new clothes or get a new car, to appease and impress the public, friends, fans or critics, to jump on the latest trend, but Billy wryly notes that "it's the next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways, it's still rock and roll to me." And critics are useless, "you can't get the sound from a story in a magazine, aimed at your average teen." 
"Don't take any shit from anybody."
It is not that Billy didn't like the new wave, it was just that the "new" wave wasn't that much different fundamentally than rock and roll. It was simply stripping rock and pop music of the excesses and pretensions that had built up in the late Sixties and Seventies.
The song irked critics of course, a Rolling Stone writer even called it the "worst song" ever written about rock and roll, but that only showed that Billy had hit the right note. The song struck a chord with fans and other musicians too, as it went to number one on the charts and Billy received a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for Glass Houses.
Billy on "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" on SiriusXM.
Although it was released over thirty years ago, the message of the song is still relevant today, as noted in this American Songwriter article from 2013.
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What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearing?
Can't you tell that your tie's too wide? Maybe I should buy some old tab collars? Welcome back to the age of jive. Where have you been hidin' out lately, honey? You can't dress trashy till you spend a lot of money. Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound Funny, but it's still rock and roll to me What's the matter with the car I'm driving? Can't you tell that it's out of style? Should I get a set of whitewall tires? Are you gonna cruise the Miracle Mile? Nowadays you can't be too sentimental Your best bet's a true baby blue Continental. Hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk It's still rock and roll to me. Oh, it doesn't matter what they say in the papers 'Cause it's always been the same old scene. There's a new band in town But you can't get the sound from a story in a magazine... Aimed at your average teen How about a pair of pink sidewinders And a bright orange pair of pants? You could really be a Beau Brummel baby If you just give it half a chance. Don't waste your money on a new set of speakers, You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers. Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways It's still rock and roll to me (All right, Rico!) What's the matter with the crowd I'm seeing? Don't you know that they're out of touch? Should I try to be a straight 'A' student? If you are then you think too much. Don't you know about the new fashion honey? All you need are looks and a whole lotta money. It's the next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways It's still rock & roll to me. Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound Funny, but it's still rock and roll to me Vertical Divider
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