So R.E.M. releases "It's the End of the World" in 1987 and two years later Billy Joel releases a very similarly stylized song with "We Didn't Start the Fire". In their songs, R.E.M. talks about the apocalypse starting with "an earthquake" and Billy basically lists a bunch of influential/famous people from Harry Truman to Bernie Goetz and explains that societal turmoil has and will always exist.

I just wish Billy Joel threw a line in his track about how he ripped R.E.M. off and made a #1 single out of the idea that only got R.E.M. a slot at #16 in the U.S.

Brett Smiley

Live on Russell Harty 10/29/74

Also: Interview with Smiley and Stones producer Andrew Oldham

Smiley stopped into my record store this week and told me his life story. A sad story for sure. Ask me about it.