On The Resistance, their fifth studio album, Muse have created a difficult collection of songs which may take casual listeners time to digest.

Casting off the Oasis and Radiohead comparisons that have plagued them for most of their career, the band’s dense follow up to 2006’s Black Holes and Revelations hangs off intense ideas of corruption, the end of the world and difficult love.
Releasing an album in 2009 is risky business; in a singles-dominated music scene, releasing an album with a theme threading through 11 songs is even more risky.
But Muse do just that and more with The Resistance, an album that changes musical style with each track, skimming through 70’s glam rock, 80’s hair metal, 90’s Britpop and cumulating the experiment with a three part symphony in just under an hour.
United States of Eurasia (Collateral Damage)
Song structures and musical styles fluctuate to the extreme on The Resistance from the Queen influenced “United States of Eurasia (Collateral Damage)”, a track built around an imaginary opera concerning the emergence of a new world dominance, to the pure pop leanings of “Undisclosed Desires” a song dealing with secrets shared between lovers.
The album opens with the full blown rock chant “Uprising” a glam rock mantra influenced by 80’s synths and riots with a throwback to Queen’s “We Are The Champions”. The rebellious lyrics “They will not force us / They will stop degrading us / They cannot control us / We will be victorious” directed towards world leaders, sound off a general mistrust in bankers, global corporations and politicians.
Fully embracing their pop leanings, “Undisclosed Desires” explodes with layers of synths and a wobbling baseline to full effect. This could be Muse’s most straight forward song ever. Creating the sound the Killers hoped to master on 2008’s Day & Age, which blends rock, electronics and pop, it doesn’t summarise the album’s sound and what it attempts to achieve, but deserves to become Muse’s biggest single to date.

Uprising Resistance
From the straightforward rock/ pop of the opening tracks, the album skews towards varied musical styles as the album plays out. After a brief stint in rock/ pop land, Muse switch gears once more on the epic “Guiding Light”.
Muse swing back to 90’s lo-fi garage rock on “Unnatural Selection”, as if further proof of this album’s toughness were needed. Yet, at the same time, despite their varied sound and structure, all the songs stitch together in a coherent stream, proving the simple genius of this band.
Tucked away at the back of the album, Muse serve up another stand-out track. “I Belong to You”, also featured on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack New Moon, before going into the distant past with their three-part symphony complete with overture.
Muse – The Resistance
Divided and dissected, The Resistance makes no sense. This isn’t a singles album but rather one made in the traditional sense with a beginning, middle and end and deserves to be listened to in that order.
If aliens came to earth and asked someone to hand them an album of evolving musical styles since the beginning of recorded music, Muse’s The Resistance would serve as a fine place to start. Bridging symphonies, 70’s Rock Opera, 90’s Brit Pop and electro-charged rock/ pop, Muse has most bases covered.
The Resistance will not please everyone, but those brave enough to embrace this album have lots to keep them happy on the trip.

fast cash

This is an interview with Mamane Barka, the last master of the Biram, a traditional African instrument in Niger.

In a world where entire animal species and ethnic tribes can be lost, it should come as no surprise that musical instruments too, can become extinct.
Standing firm against the disappearance of the ancient African instrument the Biram, is the musician Mamane Barka- the last master of the Biram.
There is an urgency in Barka’s voice as he strives to fulfill his ambition to keep the Biram going, amidst ever changing musical tastes and the nonchalance of the political elite in his native Niger.
He said: “Culture is disappearing. I can’t believe that in a country like mine, where you can get a lot of important traditional instruments, these instruments are allowed to disappear. The old periods are dying and there is no one who can continue – that is not good.”
He added: “I may be only one person, but I can do something that another man can continue after me.”
Barka spoke to Suite 101 about how he learnt to play the Biram and his efforts to secure the instrument’s continued legacy.
Learning a Sacred Traditional Instrument
Barka’s journey to becoming the last surviving player of the Biram is as fascinating as the music that he conjures from the instrument.
The Biram is a sacred, traditional instrument used by the small Boudouma tribe in Eastern Niger. Traditional fishing nomads, they live on the border of lake Chad.
A 5 stringed instrument somewhat similar to a harp, the Biram is played only by initiatied masters within the Boudouma tribe. In the Boudouma language, Biram means ‘family’ and the 5 strings represent the father, mother, and three children. The instrument is sacred to the Boudouma people and evokes images of their nomadic, peaceful life.
But Barka is not from the Boudouma tribe. He hails from the similarly nomadic Toubou tribe and only discovered the Biram in 1998 as part of ethnomusicological research he was conducting with academics.
He explained: “In 1998 I went with a professor of music to do research on music from different tribes in my country. When we met the man who became my master (Boukar Tar), he was crying. He said he was not happy because there was no one who played the Biram now. He played a song called Bulanga, which is a song he did for his friends and other masters of the Biram who died. ‘Now’, he said, ‘I am alone’. ‘What will be the future of the Biram?’ He cried in front of us. The professor told me: ‘Barka, the Biram is a very important instrument for your country and you shouldn’t let it die. You must go back and ask him to teach it to you’, and I agreed.”
Becoming the Last Master
However it wasn’t until 2002 that Barka was able to return to the coast to find the old master. Difficulties in identifying financial support delayed his dreams, but it was a UNESCO scholarship that finally gave him the opportunity to return to the tribe.
The 51 year old Barka explained: “When I went back to the village in 2002, the old master looked at me in surprise. When I told him that I had come to be his student, he was very pleased.”
After many rituals of purification the old master agreed to educate Barka in the holy instrument and the lyrics of the mystical songs.
Barka’s timing was just right as his master died the following year.
Armed with his master’s 47 year old Biram given to him as a gift, Barka is now truly the last master of the Biram in the world and considers it his duty to teach others about the instrument.
Most of the songs he performs are traditional Boudouma songs that talk about the life of the ancestors, the spirits and animals; the beauty of the water in the lake, the beauty of the desert, and the braveness of the warriors. He sings in the Boudouma language as well as in Haussa, Toubou and Kanuri, all different languages of Niger.
Teaching Traditional Music
Barka bemoaned the loss of interest in the instrument amongst young people in his home country.
“The population doesn’t want the Biram now,” he said.
“The young people don’t want it. They don’t want traditional music- not just the Biram but all traditional music. My country is full of important and very good music but the young people want rap music, or to learn the guitar or the piano or the saxophone. I am only doing this now, going around the world with the Biram, to get the youths to love the culture.”
Thankfully, the future for the Biram looks bright. Barka has three keen students– all anxious to get their own instrument soon.
“They want their own instruments,” he explained.
“I tell them one day I will get some money so that everyone can get his own Biram. I don’t want to be like my master- if I die there is no one anywhere with a Biram. My master gave me his own Biram; the one that his father gave to him- he had it for 47 years. It is very old and I am scared to leave it in my house with my two wives and nine children!”
Prior to learning the Biram, Barka was a well known musician in Niger, famous for popular music.
His devotion to the Biram now has taken him around the world and he hopes that his recent UK tour in November 2009, will continue to raise the profile of this beautiful instrument.
“The Biram is not a sacred instrument to me as it was to my master,” he said.
“Its music and melodies and the words are sacred, but it is a universal instrument. It is an instrument that everyone can learn to play without doing the purification rituals. You come to see me and I will teach you how to play the Biram.”

Research has shown how good sight-readers are successful, but how should we be teaching these skills to music students?

Sight-reading seems to be something that private lesson teachers just assume that a student is practicing on his or her own. Realistically, many students are not practicing sight-reading on their own and most probably don’t know how unless it is explained to them. Also, sight-reading is a skill that takes practice to become good at. Teachers should monitor their students’ sight-reading progress carefully, just like other skills taught in lessons.
A teacher can teach their student good sight-reading habits by isolating skills and teaching them to students, just like other concepts taught in a lesson. Research has isolated certain habits of good sight-readers, so teaching those ideas in a lesson setting should prove beneficial. These habits are scanning the music before playing, knowing common patterns in music, reading rhythms accurately, and practicing well.
Scanning the Music Before and Reading
The best sight-readers note the time signature and key signature before playing. It seems simple, but research shows that when the music is covered up after a student has started, many students don’t remember what key they’re in. By establishing the importance of the key signature, the student can make a step toward good sight-reading skills.
Knowing Common Patterns in Music
This skill comes with hour of scales, arpeggios, and exercises. Spending lesson time on these skills at any level beyond beginners can be a waste of lesson time. However, to recognize common patterns in music, a student must also know how to scan ahead enough in the music to find the patterns. Many students are not aware of their peripheral vision.
They can be taught how they can use their peripheral vision to scan ahead in music to find recognizable patterns. While doing this, the teacher can encourage the student to try to take in larger and larger “chunks” of information.

Reading Rhythms Accurately
The brain takes in sight-reading information incredibly quickly when it recognizes something familiar, and slowly when it doesn’t. By taking time to go over difficult rhythms in a lesson when they come up in an exercise or solo, the student has a much better chance of recognizing it next time.
Practicing Well
Students often don’t know how to practice properly. By talking about what a student should be doing during personal practice time, that student can learn good habits that will make practice time much more profitable.
Practicing scales, arpeggios and challenging rhythmical etudes at home are some ways students can improve their sight-reading skills at home. To make sure that the student is progressing, a teacher should make sure in the lessons that the student is practicing these skills at home.
Consistently teaching sight-reading practice in the right environment should yield a highly efficient sight-reader, and a student who can have more fun playing music.
Sources
MacKnight, Carol B. “Music Reading Ability of Beginning Wind Instrumentalists after
Melodic Instruction. Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Spring, 1975), pp. 23-34.
McPherson, Gary E. “Factors and Abilities Influencing Sight-reading Skill in Music.”
Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 217-

Finding a well-made, quality instrument for a new band student can be intimidating for parents, but it doesn’t have to be. With a few tips, it can become simple.

For most parents, starting a child in a school band program can be a confusing time. Parents are exposed to a whole new world of instrument and musical terms that many times are totally unfamiliar. Parents want the best for their child, but don’t want to pay a huge amount of money for an instrument in case their child doesn’t stay with the band program.
There are ways to buy good instruments at reasonable prices. With a few tips, unmusical parents can buy a quality instrument for a good price.
Become Familiar with Good Brands
Before shopping, look up some well-known local or online music instrument stores to become familiar with good brands. Woodwind Brasswind and Musician’s Friend are both very large and respected instrument stores that sell student models.
Most stores will have a section for the student model of the instrument that the child needs. Write down those brands and model numbers to become a more informed consumer.
Look Locally…
After looking around and writing down recognizable brands and models, start looking locally and online. Check area music stores for used instruments first. Most music stores will only stock well-made working instruments, so they are pretty free of junk instruments. Craigslist also can have some quality used instruments, but be cautious, because some people will be trying to get rid of off-brand copies.

…Then Try Online Musical Instrument Stores
If searching locally isn’t working, try looking online. There are some better deals online, but the shipping costs can sometimes negate those savings. Make sure to add everything up before clicking “buy.”
There are many more scams online on large-scale second-hand sales sites like ebay. Make sure to come armed with that list of what is good so that it’s easier to sift through the junk. Don’t be tempted by the other brands. If an unfamiliar instrument breaks, repair services usually can’t fix them because the parts aren’t available. Also, many of these off-brands brass instruments are made from sub-standard metals that can warp soon after purchase.
While shopping online look for these warning signs:
· No brand name on the instrument description
· Bids starting at 99 cents or an unusually low price
· Sellers based in India or China marketing almost exclusively to Americans
Check with Someone Before Buying
The school band director has seen it all when it comes to instrument purchasing mistakes. Before buying an instrument, check with him or her. Most band directors will be happy to help a parent approve an instrument. However, band directors do have many students, so don’t expect him or her to help with shopping.
Selecting a band instrument for a beginner can seem like a big, confusing task. With a few tips and some common sense, it can be easy and rewarding to start a child off on a new music-learning experience.

Duke Ellington is considered to be one of the greatest figures in the history of American music. Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington was born in Washington D.C. on April 29, 1899.
His parents were James Edward and Daisy Kennedy Ellington. They raised Duke as an only child, until his sister, Ruth, was born when Duke was sixteen years old.
Duke, even as a teenager had a great talent for music. In the beginning of his musical life, Duke began to take a promising interest in a new type of music that would later be called jazz. Choosing to base his career on a new idea may not have been smart, but Duke did take this chance and in turn became one of the most famous musicians in America.
Duke’s first job was at a government office. He was a clerk who received the minimum wage and was barely getting by. He would arrange dance bands for weddings and parties for extra money. His mother taught him how to play the piano. Sometimes he put this knowledge to use and played at a few of the dance parties and weddings.
After Duke’s first job, he became more interested in painting and the arts. For a few years he painted public posters. Duke then decided to put together his own band. At this point in his life things started to change for the better for Duke, but not for long. In those days, this new music was just beginning to develop and would later be given the name of jazz. In that time it was considered to be low and vulgar because it was music that grew directly out of the Black culture. In those early years, segregation was at one of its all time worst points in history. I think that is why Duke Ellington was one of the most important individuals to the growth and development of jazz.
During Duke’s long career, the new music slowly spread out of bars and saloons, to dance and night clubs and then eventually onto the concert stage.
In time, jazz became a universally recognized form of art and has been said that it is the only real form that has originated from the American soul.
By the 1960’s Duke traveled the globe so many times that he became known as the unofficial ambassador to the United States. Duke’s band had played in Russia, Japan, Latin America, the Far East, the Middle East, and Africa.
Duke, himself, was an elegant man. When the white people looked down on the black man and his music, Duke managed to bring dignity to every one of his performances. Once, the jazz historian Leonard Feather described Duke as, ‘an inch over six feet tall, sturdily built, he had an innate grandeur that would have enabled him to step with unquenched dignity out of a mud puddle.’
Duke’s private life was something of an enigma. Although he had many friends he never really told them everything about himself. He would often guard his privacy probably because he had so little of it. When he was alone though, he would almost always be arranging the next tune for the band to play, and was always thinking or preparing something for the band to do in the next performance.
Duke attracted some of the greatest musicians to join his band. Because of this it has been said that many of Duke’s pieces are almost impossible to exactly duplicate without the personal style of the original musicians. One of the strange things that was known about Duke was that his school music teacher, Mrs. Clinkscales, who played the piano, was always the inspiration for him to just sit down and start tinkering around with a few notes that usually became big hits.
In his band the two, probably most famous musicians were the trumpeter Whetsol and the saxophonist Hodges. As the band became more and more popular, saxophonist Hodges became the highest paid performer in the United States.
The 1920’s became known as ‘the Jazz Age’ because jazz had hit its first great burst of popularity. At that time Duke then added a young drummer named Sonny Greer. A few years after Greer was hired, Duke’s band hit a very rough spot. They were often stuck in the street with no money and nowhere to go. Duke and his band often were stuck doing crude recordings just for a few dollars to buy a meal.
In the autumn of 1927, luck had crossed paths with Duke again. The manager of Duke’s band, Irving Mills, had heard that the prestigious cotton club was looking for a new band and immediately Irving began campaigning for Duke. Duke and his band opened on December 4, 1927 to meet a mad rush of spectators who eagerly awaited to hear Dukes newest pieces. Duke’s band became very prosperous and they had their own spot on the Cotton Club floor with special lighting and accommodations.
At the year of 1928 the band consisted of Bubber Miley, Freddy Jenkins, and Arthur Whetsol on trumpet, joined with Tricky Sam Nanton, and Juan Tizol on trombone. Johnny Hodges, now on alto sax, with Barney Bigard doubled on tenor sax and clarinet, and finally Harry Carney at seventeen years old joined on bari sax. Carney was known as one of the first people in a band ever to use the bari sax as a solo instrument.
While Duke’s band was performing at the Cotton Club, his band participated in more than sixty-four recording sessions.
In 1931 Duke grew so tired of the show-business routines that he decided to try his luck again on his own. When he arrived in New York his band grew to almost three times what it originally had been at the Cotton Club. Duke feared that this would become a very serious problem considering how the stock market crashed in late 1929 and millions of people across the United States were out of work.
Somehow, though, most of the entertainment business survived the economic hardships. Ellington’s band had appeared on Broadway and had even gone to Hollywood to make a movie. Duke’s band was having a hard time performing in the south because of the segregation laws not allowing blacks to eat in white restaurants or finding accommodations that would allow blacks and whites to stay together in a half-decent room.
In 1932 Duke added a trombonist named Lawrence Brown. In the same year, most of the other big bands were adding vocalists to their ensemble and thus Duke felt pressured to do so too. Duke then hired a woman named Ivie Anderson and quickly proved that he had done the right thing.
Then in 1933 his band got a chance to play in Europe. At first Duke was very skeptical of how his music would be reacted to just because jazz had its roots in America and the Europeans had a very contrasting style of music. The band managed to talk Duke into believing the idea was a good one. The band’s first stop was England. The band was amazed at how well informed they were about their entire past. Even the Prince of Wales came to hear the band play. At the time the prince was an amateur drummer and Sonny Greer Showed the prince how to work the drum set and they played together and in the end were calling each other ‘Sonny’ and ‘The Wale’. All the concerts held in England were sellouts. The band then moved on to Scotland, and then Paris, France where their music was greeted with open arms.
When Duke’s band returned to America the band really began feeling the hardship and sorrow of traveling on the road, being separated from loved ones. Also, many of the band members, including Duke, began developing drinking problems and started making some of the musicians lives miserable. What made things worse was the fact that Duke’s mother, Daisy, died in May of 1935 that set Duke into a deep depression and he used to sit and stare into space while he talked to himself. Fortunately though, those long pep-talks with himself seem to snap Duke out of his depression.
But despite everything the band survived and in 1946 a saxophonist/clarinetist named Russell Procope joined the band and brought everyone up to a new point of view about traveling on the road. Around the time that Procope joined the band Duke invented a new song called ‘Reminiscing in Tempo’ and was not looked upon favorably by critics but it did seem to sum everything up that was written by Ellington from 1931 to 1939 in a combination of gladness, sadness, triumph, and tragedy. But then Duke’s friend Arthur Whetsol became and had to leave the band.
Then the future of the band seemed uncertain as the depression continued and millions of people were still out of work. Until around 1935 when the ‘Swing Era’ hit the U.S. Irving Mills had then formed his own record company in 1936 that boomed with popularity as the demand for big bands playing this new swing music was in intense demand.
Later on Duke hired a lyrical writer named Billy Strayhorn that led a premature death in 1967. But when Strayhorn was with the band he wrote many compositions that often went into the band’s book of music. Then in 1942 Duke hired one of the best tenor saxophonists ever and let him play the first tenor sax solo ever arranged by Duke Ellington.
In 1951 Saxophonist Johnny Hodges, trombonist Lawrence Brown, and Sonny Greer left the band together and formed their own band but then in 1955 Sonny Greer returned to the band and stayed with Duke until his death in 1970. And then by the 1950’s the Ellington band was carrying on almost alone.
By 1972 the times and styles of the world no longer fit the old time style of Duke’s band. The band was not known like it used to be and that could be the point in time I suppose you could say that the band broke up.
Duke Ellington’s career spanned the whole history of the birth of the music called jazz. And nowhere in that glorious history is there a man who had more love for music, more respect for his art, than the man they called the Duke.

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About the Author
David Kunstek writes for Http://www.ShotGlassShelf.com – Display Cases for the Shot Glass Collector, and Http://www.Secret-Deals.com – Every day discounts on Brand Name Merchandise

Bob Marley’s songs, which embody his message of peace, unity and redemption are still relevant today.

During his short life Bob Marley became known as reggae music’s ambassador to the world. He was also the first music artist of the third world to reach an international audience. Bob Marley’s message of peace, unity and redemption reflected the struggles he experienced growing up in a politically divided and violent ridden Jamaica. Even though it is nearly 30 years since his death, the songs he had written, which transcend racial and cultural barriers are still relevant today.
Reggae Music Brought Attention to the The Caribbean Islands
It was because of artists like Bob Marley that attention was brought to the poverty and desperation in the countries of the Caribbean. After the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 the world was in shock. Many today feel they can relate to these countries or at least have some understanding about them.
Discrimination in America
Coming to play in the United States, Marley was interested in reaching out to African-American audiences. A group he identified with, because of their history, but that somehow had eluded him during his career. He wrote the song “Buffalo Soldier” about Black U.S. cavalry regiments known by this name, which he used as a symbol for Black resistance.
The present day shooting of 22 year-old Oscar Grant in Oakland, California on New Year’s Day 2009 is evidence that the injustices that Marley spoke out against still exist. For he was a voice against oppression, particularly for those downtrodden, because of racial injustice. His songs One Love and No More Trouble embody this message.
“I’d like to see mankind live together. Black, White, Chinese, anyone. That’s all.” Time Will Tell (documentary), 1991, Island Records
Music for Peace in Jamaica
The political tensions in Jamaica got so high that it led to the near assassination of Bob Marley (leaving two bullets in his arm that could not be removed) [VH1 Behind The Music: Legend, VH1 Television]. Despite this he played the Smile Jamaica Concert that took place two days later. Marley left the country almost immediately afterwards.
Years later Bob returned to Jamaica to perform at the One Love Peace Concert. During his performance Marley called Michael Manly, head of the far left People’s National Party and Edward Seaga, head of the Jamaican Labour Party on stage. The two leaders of the opposing parties had caused much of the political strife in a war torn Jamaica. In a gesture of peace Marley got the two men to shake hands. This greatly calmed the civil war in Jamaica that is not terribly different from the wars taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan today.
“This is work. This peace work. It doesn’t stop. It never stop. That mean we the youth get our work to do.” Time Will Tell (documentary), 1991, Island Records
Bob Marley and His Message Delivered Through Reggae Music
Whether the message might be delivered by speech or through music that outlasts the human life and breaks down barriers, it is apparent that there continues to be a need for a presence like the one Bob Marley embodied.
War, racism and oppression are still so present in our world to this very day that no one should be able to lean back and enjoy the luxury of not being (directly) affected. The message in his music is directed at everybody. For once we should listen.
“The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?” Time Will Tell (documentary), 1991, Island Records

“There was never a tour booked this summer!” says Billy Joel, responding to Internet claims that he pulled the plug on a summer tour with Elton John. He continues, “Obviously, this has the smell of a really juicy story: ‘Why did they cancel? Did Billy and Elton have a fight? What’s going on?’ The truth is, there’s nothing going on. I had made up my mind a long time ago that I wasn’t going to work this year.”
Though the duo are currently performing together on their recurring Face to Face tour, these shows — which swept up the West Coast, and continue until March 11th in Buffalo — are make-up shows, rescheduled from canceled 2009 dates. Joel insists that rumors about 2010 summer tour were leaked by insiders at certain venues around the country. He explains, “There were a couple stories that came out that we were supposed to play Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, and I think Pittsburgh was mentioned. Booking agents hold real estate. They like to research what’s available when, to see if they can put together a series of dates. Then they’ll come back to the artist and say, ‘Look, if you wanted to, you could play such and such and such.’ These rumors probably came from somebody at one of those venues who had to be a big shot and call the local newspaper and say, ‘Hey, Billy and Elton are going to play here this summer.’ ”
Elton John even perpetuated the story himself. In a recent interview, he was quoted saying, “Billy just wants to take a year off. I’m so disappointed because when we came to Wrigley Field last year, it was like playing in the church of baseball.” Joel responds, “Elton and I don’t really sit down and discuss our future plans with each other. We see each other backstage and we hang out and kibitz and talk about music and life. When Elton did that interview, he’d just found out from his booking agent that I wasn’t going to be working this summer, and therefore Elton’s quote puts a spin on it that I’d changed my mind all of a sudden, or suddenly decided to cancel the tour, which is nonsense. There was never a tour booked!”
Before their February 22nd show in Denver, Joel approached John about his comments to the press. “When I saw him backstage, I said, ‘Elton, what were you told about this supposed summer tour?’ He goes, ‘Well, I just found out you weren’t going to be working this year, and I was heartbroken because I was looking forward to doing it.’ ” In his statement to the press, John also seemed to convey that their hugely successful Face to Face tour — which has brought in big crowds since 2004 — would be ending for good in Albany. “We’ll probably pick it up again,” says Joel. “It’s always fun playing with him.” He insists there is no bad blood. In Denver, their conversation ended thusly: “Elton said, ‘Are you mad at me?’ I said, ‘No, I’m not mad, I just want to clarify what’s going on here.’ Everything’s fine.”
Joel says the thought of retirement looms in his mind, but he’s always drawn back to the stage. “I see pictures of myself onstage, and I look at them and say, ‘There has to be some kind of mandatory retirement age for doing this gig,’ and then I watched the Super Bowl and saw the Who and I figure, ‘Well, I guess there is no mandatory retirement age.’ ‘I hope I die before I get old,’ — that went out the window. It’s always possible that I’ll tour again, whether it’s with Elton or on my own. I love my job. For now I’m going to stop, but I won’t sit around for the rest of my life and rot.”
Joel claims last year was a rough one. “There was an incident with my daughter that was very shocking,” he says of daughter Alexa’s suicide attempt. “I got divorced. I worked a lot. I promised myself more personal time this year. I’m going to Italy, and I’ll probably go to Paris. I’ll probably take my boat to New England and hang out on the coast. I’ll ride my motorcycle. I’ll just be a bum.”