25 Best Billy Joel B-Sides

From Glass Houses

13. "All for Leyna"

From one of my three favorite Joel albums, this song is about obsession, specifically over an ex. I would say any guy who's ever been in a relationship that turned sour can relate to this one. We've all been there at some point in our lives. Here, the obsession is symbolized by a driving keyboard riff. My favorite part is when Joel's father yells at him to wake up (and the song literally comes to a halt, albeit briefly): "STOP!! Fooling yourself...wasting your time!"

14. "I Don't Want to Be Alone"

The title is something I used to always think about, but I feel the emphasis is on the word that's not in the title: "anymore." In other words, here's a song about a guy who cherishes his independence and individuality until one day, a girl helps him realize it's all a BS attitude, and being alone is not necessarily something he wants anymore. The best section is the short story in the first verse; it cleverly shows how manipulative some girls can be and how they love to play with our minds: "You're a sad sight, honey/but you look so cute."

15. "Sleeping With the Television On"

This song reminds me of the summer after my senior year in college when I was forcibly thrust back into the dating world and reduced to picking up (or trying to pick up) girls at bars. There was one girl who kept "shooting guys down" like "Diane" in the song. Similar to most moderately attractive women, she kept waiting for the "perfect man" to show up, which, of course, never happened since the perfect man doesn't exist. And every night, both of us ended up alone "sleeping with the television on."

From The Nylon Curtain

16. "She's Right on Time"

This is a Joel Christmas carol (and the only one besides "Christmas in Fallujah," a single released in 2007), but don't worry; it doesn't sound anything like one. I got this album for Christmas years ago and had to laugh when he opened up with, "Turn on the Christmas lights." Really, it's a heartbreak of a love song about longing. It's probably his most lovely tune. Many people say this Joel album was the most influenced by The Beatles, his childhood heroes. Die-hard Beatles fans will be able to spot the similarities in the vocals, harmonies, and melodies in the first two songs I included from this album.

17. "Surprises"

When I first heard this song, it was surprisingly moving€”bad pun intended. The line about the "sins of the fathers" still gets me.

18. "Where's the Orchestra?"

My favorite line in this song is about "the movie star who never faced an audience," which is sometimes how I view myself. And, of course, the closing line is really telling I think, but I'm not going to give it away here. Here's a game you can play with this song: If you have stereo (not mono), which I know you do, you can switch the audio to one speaker and only hear the music and then switch it to the other speaker and only hear Joel's vocals. For some reason, this song's audio was split into two equal parts: one for each speaker. I'm not exactly sure why, but this whole album is weird. (There are strange sound effects throughout, and don't even get me started on "Scandinavian Skies.") Now you can play karaoke with this song's music-only track on one speaker and sing along!