Coming from Long Island it's in my blood to be a Billy Joel fan. It's like living in Maryland and not liking crab. It's like living in Boston and not liking clam chowder. It's like being from Philly and not being a douche (sorry to my Philly fans but...you guys booed Santa Clause). Billy Joel is mainstreamed into the DNA of most Long Islanders. I don't think there is anything wrong with that.
It's funny as we're approaching our one hundredth song (yeah that little mile stone is only five songs away people) that this is our first Billy Joel song. That's kind of exciting because I have a pretty large Billy Joel catalogue (although I was looking today and I have a lot of repeats...need to clean that up). Chuck Klosterman put it best when talking about Billy Joel. Billy Joel is cool because he doesn't try and act cool. He just doesn't care what you think of him or his music (which happens to be really, really good people. He's a Hall of Famer people!). I think that's part of the draw.
Just the Way You Are isn't just our first Billy Joel song, but it also happens to be my parents wedding song. Actually I think it was a very popular wedding song upon it's release (in 1977). It's a sweet song and my first thought is always of my parents. Actually I have no other memories to this song other then the fact that it's my parents wedding song. There are some songs out there that just make you think of certain thing or certain people. They are steadfast and will never change. Just the Way You Are is one of those songs. It will always remind me of my parents, and that makes me smile.
There is a certain art to choosing a wedding song. Speaking as someone who was recently married, it is not an easy task. Shea and I had a number of songs that were kind of "our song" so we had sort through them and see what fit best. We decided on Harvest Moon after careful consideration, but the decision didn't come until the week before the wedding. Looking back at our wedding and our dance I don't think it was possible for us to pick a more perfect song. Getting married in late October, the room, the people... it was perfect. Not to brag or anything of course.
When choosing your wedding song you want to make sure that you find the song that encompasses the moment and you as a couple.I've been to weddings (actually a wedding) where the song was kind of "I'm sorry what song are they dancing to?" moment, and it was awkward. There is nothing worse than a wedding song flop. I think I'm going to search Google for the strangest wedding songs ever. That's a fun little research project.
Just the Way You Are is one of those songs that were written to be a solid wedding song. I think if there was a list of the top songs to be considered to be used for weddings it would be in the top ten. But for me it will never be anyone elses song, this one belongs to my parents. It's almost not a Billy Joel song anymore, it's my parents wedding song first (for that's the memory I've always had attached to it) and a Billy Joel song second.
Dude!! I just found this. When did you start blogging (i.e. how many times have I forgotten that you've told me about this)? Your comments are spot on. I was just telling John about my secret favorite Billy Joel song (one that no one has ever heard). But your thoughts on a wedding diddy are insightful. Maybe you could help John and I come to an agreement: he prefers the instrumental theme from St. Elmo's Fire, and I'm more partial to the song from the final fight against Mother Brain in the 1994 classic, Super Metroid. Thoughts?
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