Phil played it for me in the car as he and I and a few others guys headed to Charleston, SC to continue our jobs as extras in the film, The Patriot. We'd been playing the role of British Soldiers in the film for some 6 months by then. This would be the last week we were together.
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Joel was a local hero of sorts in Phil's hometown. He played his music at bars and small venues, anywhere he could really. Joel knew he had something. And he did. He just didn't understand what it was.
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The music is bad. Very bad. So bad that your mind may not be able to comprehend all of the intricate ways that it effortlessly – and earnestly – does nothing right. To listen, you have to be prepared for this. It is truly bad in a way that you may not be aware a song could be.
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This goes beyond
@SimonCowell telling someone music "isn't for them." It transcends parody and rockets into something that could only be described as ... art.Show this thread -
It was entrancing. We couldn't stop listening to it. We all knew the lyrics by heart by the end of our week together.
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Joel refused to listen to the haters. Refused to believe his music was not something people wanted. He was right. They did. And they would. For reasons that may seem cruel. That it was so bad that it defied reason. It defied our understanding of reality & challenged our beliefs.
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By the time we were done listening to the album we were no longer the boys we'd been. The young 20-somethings that got into that car, listening to the hum of the CD winding up as we barreled down the highway, were gone.
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We were men now. We had come to appreciate the rarest of arts.
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Art that, while objectively heinous by any standard of decency, had been offered with the purest of faith. It's hard to describe but it's as though Joel had found the perfect pitch of awful. He hit every "note" as it were. Masterfully.
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The paradox of Joel is that his musical masterpiece only exists as a result of his complete lack of musical competence. But, and I can't stress this enough, it is such perfect incompetence that it is difficult not to admire.
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As we were all young and had dreams of filmmaking, we plotted out making a documentary following Joel's ambitious desire to be heard and the audiences that seemingly loved him for what would seem on the surface like all the wrong reasons.
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But sadly, we lost that magical CD at the very end of our week together. Phil was incensed. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to find another copy. But now, some 20 years later, I've found it. At least one of his songs, anyway. The hunt continues for the rest.
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So now I present to you, "Yesterday's World," by Joel. Unappreciated in his time. May his music simultaneously torment and enrapture you.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvE3M22zFP4 …
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This one's for you, Phil. Sorry about leaving your CD at the hotel.
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Update: the hero that posted the above song reached out to thank me for spreading Joel’s magical wonder.pic.twitter.com/AomFMhmqLR
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End of conversation
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