It's Still Rock And Roll To Me

Album

Double Barrel

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Doo-Wop

Composer(s)

Billy Joel

Entered Chart

May 24, 1980

Peak Date

Jul 19, 1980

Released

May 12, 1980

Recorded

1979

Catalog #

Columbia 11276

B-Side

Through The Long Night

In this song, Billy Joel was making a comment on musical styles and trends. At the end of the disco era, the music press began touting the "New Wave" sound, which included bands like The Police and The Cars. Joel thought that this new sound was just a variation on power-pop that had been around since the '60s. He didn't have a problem with the music, just the way it was being categorized. "I like it, but it's not particularly new," he said. Around this time, Joel was often abased in the music press as a provider of middle-of-the-road dreck. Popular artists are often targets for journalist derision, but while most of these artists choose to ignore it, Joel responded in this song. The lines, "It doesn't matter what they say in the papers, 'cause it's always been the same old scene" and "There's a new band in town, but you can't get the sound from a story in a magazine," were specifically written to attack the press that was bringing him down. While you can real all you want about a singer or band, the only way you'll really know what they sound like is by listening. "Sometimes the press gave me a hard time, and liked giving them a hard time back," Joel told Howard Stern in 2014. "In my neighborhood, somebody hits you, you hit them right back." One of Joel's most popular songs, this was his first #1 hit on the Hot 100, spending two weeks at the top spot in July 1980. The single was certified Platinum, which at the time meant sales in excess of 2 million. Joel would score two more #1 hits in America: "Tell Her About It" and "We Didn't Start The Fire." "Miracle Mile," as mentioned in the line "Should I get a set of white wall tires? Are you gonna cruise a miracle mile?" is a stretch of road (about a mile long) full of various stores in Manhasset, Long Island near where Joel grew up. >> After he wrote this song, Joel says he realized that the chords were the same ones Bob Dylan used on "Lay Lady Lay."

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 'til 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 a 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?
Well, 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
Alright

Ooh, what's the matter with the crowd I'm seeing?
Don't you know that they're out of touch?
Well, 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 and roll to me
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound, funny
But it's still rock and roll to me