From An Innocent Man
19. "This Night"
This is from Joel's only concept albumsongs recorded in the doo-wop style of the '50s and '60s (hence the hits "Tell Her About It," "Uptown Girl," and the a cappella "The Longest Time"). If the music of the chorus sounds familiar, that's because Joel stole it from Beethoven's "Pathetique Sonata," which I mentioned in my article on Musical Déjà Vu. When I first heard this song, I kept thinking to myself that I heard the chorus before somewhere, even though I knew I never heard this Joel recording. A few days later, I happened to be listening to a Beethoven CD, and I put two and two together. Joel himself has since admitted to "borrowing" the music and adding lyrics. Blame public domain, baby!
From The Bridge
20. "Running on Ice"
This song, both musically and lyrically, describes the frenetic pace of living in the big, bad city. Because of its title though, it was used in a key scene in Michael Scott's James Bond rip-off movie in an episode of the U.S. version of "The Office," since his character happened to be ice skating. Oh, Michael Scott...will you ever learn?
21. "Code of Silence"
This song is, like, totally '80s. How '80s? It's a duet between Billy Joel and Cyndi Lauper. Yes, Miss "She's So Unusual" herself pitched in for a song off The Bridge, and the result isn't as unusual as you might think (sorry). It's a straight-ahead rocker, and Billy and Cyndi make sweet harmony together. Also, the lyrics are tellingly pointed; the chorus reminds me of how I felt in high school: "And you can't talk about it/and isn't that a kind of madness?/To be living by a code of silence/when you've really got a lot to say?"