Discograffiti

• UNREST’S MARK ROBINSON TACKLES BILLY JOEL'S DISCOGRAPHY (PART 4: 52nd Street & Glass Houses) (Ep. 236)

  Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives.  In this episode, host Dave Gebroe talks with the epitome of DIY punk spirit (who can also write a pop hook like the best of ‘em), the great Mark Robinson (of Unrest, Grenadine, Air Miami, Flint Flon, Uncomfortable Police, et al), and together they discuss Billy Joel’s entire recorded output with commentary, stories, and star ratings for every release. If you’re a long-time listener, then you know that Dave has harbored a long-time hatred of Billy Joel…so why the sudden turnaround in taste? Discograffiti’s Mark Robinson Tackles Billy Joel (But Only Metaphorically) Series dissects every last release Billy Joel’s ever had a hand in creating. Part 4 covers the first couple records that Billy made after becoming a superstar: 52nd Street and Glass Houses.  Here are just a few of the many things that Mark discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast: The vibe and feel that Billy Joel was shooting for on the first album he made after becoming a superstar; The rock star’s wife about whom he wrote “Big Shot”; The song that Billy referred to as “the most bullshit song I ever wrote”; A debate over whether “My Life” inspired the sitcom Bosom Buddies or vice versa; The beginning of Billy’s struggle to maintain quality across side two of his albums; Billy’s wild and wacky swerve from jazz to punky new wave; The huge hit whose lyrics he dashed off lightning quick on the car ride to the studio; And an in-depth deep dive on every song off 52nd Street and the first side of Glass Houses. Listen: linktr.ee/discograffiti I support a wife and a six-year-old son with Discograffiti as my sole source of income.  If you’re a Mark Robinson & Billy Joel superfan like me, The Director’s Cut of this episode is ad-free and features 6 additional minutes of essential material.  Support Discograffiti by opting for this clearly superior version. Either subscribe to Discograffiti’s Patreon at the Lieutenant or Major Tier, or just grab the episode as a one-off at the same link. The Director’s Cut: Patreon.com/Discograffiti

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• AN INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER PHIL RAMONE (Ep. 235B)

  Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. In this episode, we feature the next entry in The Chuck Granata Pet Sounds Interview Series. It’s Chuck’s chat with legendary producer Phil Ramone, Billy Joel’s most relied-upon right-hand-man, the producer of every Billy Joel record during the height of his popularity, from 1977’s The Stranger to 1986’s The Bridge. Phil won his first production Grammy for his work on Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years in 1975, eventually becoming chairman of The Recording Academy. He also helped produce, with Quincy Jones, 2001’s televised A Tribute To Brian Wilson. His credits and accomplishments in the industry are almost literally endless, and what better place to learn about them than Chuck Granata’s 2007 memoir (co-written with Phil) Making Records: The Scenes Behind The Music. Phil passed away a few years after this interview in 2013, which makes this posthumously released “Chuck Chat” yet another priceless buried treasure.   Here are just a few of the many things that Phil discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast: The dysfunctional Wilson family dynamic, which Phil talks about with great candor; Digging into the history of harmony, and the experience of working with The Beach Boys on Chicago’s “Wishing You Were Here”; Working with Burt Bacharach, and Phil’s transition from engineer to producer; The differences between east coast and west coast records in the 1960s & 1970s; The Nylon Curtain’s debt to both The Beatles & Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys; Why Elton John was nervous to perform at the Brian Wilson tribute; And stereo vs. mono with regard to hearing Pet Sounds. There’ll be a short sneak peak running publicly for free, but the entirety of this podcast will only be accessible on the Major Tier of Discograffiti’s Patreon. Don’t miss it, or you’ll only be getting part of the story. Get it as a one-off, or better yet just subscribe…and then we’ll all have world peace. Full Episode: Patreon.com/Discograffiti (available on the Major Tier & up) Free Sneak Peek: linktr.ee/discograffiti Subscribe to Discograffiti's Patreon and receive a ceaseless barrage (4 shows a week!) of must-hear binge-listening. It’s completely free to be a basic member, $1 to get your backstage pass, $5/month for the weekly Sunday show by & for our community, $10 for weekly early release, ad-free, super-extended Director's Cuts of the main show plus access to half our Patreon episode archive, & $20 for Discograffiti’s weekly bonus episodes and access to our entire Patreon episode archive. There are now over 400 Patreon episodes.

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• UNREST’S MARK ROBINSON TACKLES BILLY JOEL'S DISCOGRAPHY (PART 3: TURNSTILES & THE STRANGER) (Ep. 235)

  Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives.  In this episode, host Dave Gebroe talks with the epitome of DIY punk spirit (who can also write a pop hook like the best of ‘em), the great Mark Robinson (of Unrest, Grenadine, Air Miami, Flint Flon, Uncomfortable Police, et al), and together they discuss Billy Joel’s entire recorded output with commentary, stories, and star ratings for every release. If you’re a long-time listener, then you know that Dave has harbored a long-time hatred of Billy Joel…so why the sudden turnaround in taste? Discograffiti’s Mark Robinson Tackles Billy Joel (But Only Metaphorically) Series dissects every last release Billy Joel’s ever had a hand in creating. Part 3 tackles the two mid-1970s records that, after their release, wound up turning him into a superstar: Turnstiles & The Stranger.   Here are just a few of the many things that Mark discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast: The audible differences between the original James Guercio-produced version of Turnstiles and his self-produced, released version; The band that Billy poached in order to find the musicians with whom he’d spend most of his career playing; The Turnstiles track that most Billy Joel die-hards hold to their hearts as an all-time favorite; What generally happens when Billy tries his hand at reggae; The massive producer that almost helmed The Stranger before Phil Ramone stepped in; The mind-blowing level of success which The Stranger achieved; The song Billy wanted to drop from the track list, which wound up exploding wildly; The hit whose melody Billy had accidentally stolen before re-writing it as “Movin’ Out”; The connective thread between 10cc’s “I’m Not In Love” and “Just The Way You Are”; The three separate songs that were combined into “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”; Why, regardless of your favorite Billy Joel track, “Vienna” may just be Billy Joel’s best song of all time; And an in-depth deep dive on every song off Turnstiles and Streetlife Serenade. Listen: linktr.ee/discograffiti I support a wife and a six-year-old son with Discograffiti as my sole source of income.  The Director’s Cut of this episode is ad-free and features a plethora of additional essential material. Support Discograffiti by opting for this clearly superior version. Either subscribe to Discograffiti’s Patreon at the Lieutenant or Major Tier, or just grab the episode as a one-off at the same link. The Director’s Cut: Patreon.com/Discograffiti

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• UNREST’S MARK ROBINSON TACKLES BILLY JOEL’S DISCOGRAPHY (PART 2: PIANO MAN & STREETLIFE SERENADE) (Ep. 234B)

  Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives.  In this episode, host Dave Gebroe talks with the epitome of DIY punk spirit (who can also write a pop hook like the best of ‘em), the great Mark Robinson (of Unrest, Grenadine, Air Miami, Flint Flon, Uncomfortable Police, et al), and together they discuss Billy Joel’s entire recorded output with commentary, stories, and star ratings for every release. If you’re a long-time listener, then you know that Dave has harbored a long-time hatred of Billy Joel…so why the sudden turnaround in taste? Discograffiti’s Mark Robinson Tackles Billy Joel (But Only Metaphorically) Series dissects every last release Billy Joel’s ever had a hand in creating. Part 2 tackles his two early-1970s, California-based albums after signing with Columbia Records: Piano Man & Streetlife Serenade.  Here are just a few of the many things that Mark discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast: The multitude of genres that Billy tries out while in California during the early 1970s, before settling into his known style; The violent altercation that host Dave Gebroe may have had with the real-life Captain Jack’s son; The connective threads that bind Billy and Mark as artists that must create no matter what; The not-very-well-known gang of Billy Joel instrumentals that ended in this era; Billy’s “saving a hooker” song that’s somehow actually taken from his own personal life; The amount of money that Billy made off the Piano Man LP; And an in-depth deep dive on every song off Piano Man and Streetlife Serenade. There’ll be a short sneak peak running publicly for free, but the entirety of this podcast will only be accessible on the Major Tier of Discograffiti’s Patreon. Don’t miss it, or you’ll only be getting part of the story. Get it as a one-off, or better yet just subscribe…and then we’ll all have world peace. Full Episode: Patreon.com/Discograffiti (available on the Major Tier & up) Free Sneak Peek: linktr.ee/discograffiti Subscribe to Discograffiti's Patreon and receive a ceaseless barrage (4 shows a week!) of must-hear binge-listening. It’s completely free to be a basic member, $1 to get your backstage pass, $5/month for the weekly Sunday show by & for our community, $10 for weekly early release, ad-free, super-extended Director's Cuts of the main show plus access to half our Patreon episode archive, & $20 for Discograffiti’s weekly bonus episodes and access to our entire Patreon episode archive. There are now over 400 Patreon episodes.

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• UNREST’S MARK ROBINSON TACKLES BILLY JOEL'S DISCOGRAPHY (PART 1: COLD SPRING HARBOR) (Ep. 234)

  Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives.  In this episode, host Dave Gebroe talks with the epitome of DIY punk spirit (who can also write a pop hook like the best of ‘em), the great Mark Robinson (of Unrest, Grenadine, Air Miami, Flint Flon, Uncomfortable Police, et al), and together they discuss Billy Joel’s entire recorded output with commentary, stories, and star ratings for every release. If you’re a long-time listener, then you know that Dave has harbored a long-time hatred of Billy Joel…so why the sudden turnaround in taste? Discograffiti’s Mark Robinson Tackles Billy Joel (But Only Metaphorically) Series dissects every last release Billy Joel’s ever had a hand in creating. Part 1 tackles his turmoil-ridden ancient history, including early bands The Hassles and Attila, plus his debut LP, Cold Spring Harbor.  Here are just a few of the many things that Mark discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast: Dave’s complete revolution in taste from abject hatred of anything Billy Joel-related to discovering to his shock that he actually likes him; How first wife Elizabeth’s glue-sniffing brother’s crazed antics gave Billy his initial big break in first band The Hassles; How The Hassles metamorphosed into Billy’s sole foray into Zeppelin-inspired head-banging with his duo Attila;  An overview of his early days struggling with depression, which culminated in Billy attempting suicide twice in a row; How that experience turned his life around and led to his career finally taking off; And an in-depth deep dive on the early Hassles records, plus every song off Attila and his debut Cold Spring Harbor. Listen: linktr.ee/discograffiti I support a wife and a six-year-old son with Discograffiti as my sole source of income.  If you’re a Mark Robinson & Billy Joel superfan like me, The Director’s Cut of this episode is ad-free and features 12 additional minutes of essential material.  Support Discograffiti by opting for this clearly superior version. Either subscribe to Discograffiti’s Patreon at the Lieutenant or Major Tier, or just grab the episode as a one-off at the same link. The Director’s Cut: Patreon.com/Discograffiti

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