The Joel Hoel - Episode One (video)
Added 2021-06-21 23:02:35 +0000 UTCJoin the holy trinity as they delve deep to determine why one of the most popular musical artists of all time, Billy Joel, is also one of the most divisive. Welcome to the first episode of The Joel Hoel.
Written by Vic Berger
Featuring Tim Heidecker & DJ Douggpound
Recorded by Alex Babbitt
Edited by Chris Robison
Title Sequence by Dan Mulcahy
Theme Song by Tim Heidecker
Theme Song Mix & Add'l Instruments by Trey Curtis
Tech Lead: Wesley Knapp
Producer: Matt Carlin
Comments
If anyone knows anything about underground hip-hop, the artist Jel (co-founder of the label anticon) sampled that Hassles song vic played. I've never heard it anywhere else before now and didn't know where it came from.
Okane84
2024-06-25 23:28:03 +0000 UTCI’m late to this party but enjoying the hole
Anima
2023-11-17 22:44:00 +0000 UTCExcellent
Derek Bee
2023-09-23 13:44:05 +0000 UTCFinally getting around to to his… and damn it is good! Falling in the Joel Hoel…
Jim Schroeder
2022-11-16 04:29:21 +0000 UTCMainly subbed for this, not disappointed fantastic history!
Chris Sunberg
2021-11-27 19:02:28 +0000 UTCThe greatest theme song of all time!
Dane
2021-10-23 03:48:07 +0000 UTCFinally found time to check this out. It's amazing. Great job, Vic and crew. Far and above any VH1 doc from the day.
Jerahmaya
2021-10-23 02:46:04 +0000 UTCThis was awesome!
Clay N. Ferno
2021-09-13 21:42:04 +0000 UTCI laughed as hard at 2:30-3:30 as I have at anything else that has happened on Office Hours.
Edwin
2021-09-11 01:21:12 +0000 UTCi didna read all the comments but songfacts . com says "In a 1987 interview with Q magazine, Joel explained: "I met a guy at an Echoes gig - was about 15 and he asked me if I wanted to play piano on a recording. So I go down to this little studio in a guy's basement in Levittown, Dynamic Studios, and they've got this sheet music down there. There's two songs, one's called 'Leader Of The Pack' and the other is called 'Remember (Walking In The Sand)' and this is pretty easy stuff to play and then Shadow comes in. He's a pretty strange guy, Shadow. He's wearing this big cape and dark glasses and he played the producer role to the hilt. I think he had a thing about Phil Spector. He wanted to be the Phil Spector of the East Coast. And he talked in these wild, dramatic, theatrical terms – he wanted more 'thunder' and he wanted more 'purple' in the record. He's waving his arms in the air saying 'give me more PURPLE'. And I'm sitting there kind a nervous – this is my first time ever in a recording studio – and I'm hissing to the other musicians, What does that mean? How do I play "purple"? And the guitar player leans over and say, Oh, just play louder, kid.""
skattishcattish
2021-08-30 23:22:45 +0000 UTCWe Didn’t Start The Fire was BJ’s nod to REM’s End of the World As We Know It but just years too late. You know someone “hipped” him to REM and he was like, “this the crap kids are listening to these days? I can do this.” And he did. And some kids loved it - me.
DG Megadoodoo
2021-08-04 13:31:56 +0000 UTCEnjoyed this! I can't get over that early session work, amazing.
Marc D
2021-07-18 16:13:51 +0000 UTCNew patron mat of here. Lifelong resident of Long Island so this is of great interest to me. (Ironically my sister now lives in Bethlehem so theres that too.) A former room mate of mine has one of the best BJ stories of all time. Looking forward to falling further down the hole.
John Mee
2021-07-09 00:31:30 +0000 UTCI become a patron to listen to this. ty for the content!
Sarah Zatkovich
2021-07-05 20:56:30 +0000 UTCPhenomenal work! This first ep of JH is worth the price of Patreon all alone. Bravee, bravoo!
David Edwards
2021-07-05 16:58:22 +0000 UTCVery well done! Thanks for the hard work. (Joel Hoel is especially helpful for making sense of growing up in the ‘80s.)
Matthew Crawford
2021-06-29 11:07:11 +0000 UTCI loved that
Ryan R Jones
2021-06-29 07:20:16 +0000 UTCI don't mind Vic's unconventional way of hosting that Tim seems to not like. It may have taken a few minutes to get used to at first but then Vic's authenticity, emotional intelligence and careful research began to outshine any awkwardness of his delivery. But Tim, please keep ripping him anyway. Also, anyone else got this theme song stuck in their head?
Boris Seagraves
2021-06-25 23:08:38 +0000 UTCNice work, Vic! Looking forward to Joel Hole episode 2 and Doug's Hole Hole diving into the work of Courtney Love. Please consider also a Nat King Cole Hole. Thank you.
C R
2021-06-25 17:14:19 +0000 UTCI have hemorrhoids and I endorse this hole.
IHaveHemorrhoids
2021-06-24 23:30:58 +0000 UTCTitle Sequence
👽
2021-06-24 16:39:39 +0000 UTCYou got me in your Joel Hoel no doubt about it
creg
2021-06-24 05:20:51 +0000 UTCStill trying to find my way out of the Joel Hoel after that auspicious debut
Jimmy P
2021-06-24 00:56:59 +0000 UTCI fell into the Joel Hoel!!
Hannah
2021-06-23 23:50:33 +0000 UTCDamn, I'm finally diving into this and Vic is dropping a mega truth bomb right in the beginning. Solo Lennon stinks! With the exception of a handful of songs here and there, it's all pretty uninspired. Thank you, T̶i̶m̶ Vic!
Maclaine
2021-06-23 22:03:26 +0000 UTCBrilliant work Vic!
Geoffrey
2021-06-23 21:51:11 +0000 UTClove how JH is equal parts Joel survey, and examining how we listen to and appreciate the evolving music of a unique artist. I'll be back-ak-ak-ak for the next ep for sure
Blake Buesnel
2021-06-23 20:06:03 +0000 UTCBill 🤌 Joel, billy joe Armstrong of Green’s Day 🤌, two dudes who really rock it! I’m a green’s day freak, but we must look to the past to see his influences come from men like Billy Joel. Would also give Doug’s idea five 👍’s for an episode on Courtney Love called Hole Hole
Rob Fletcher
2021-06-23 19:26:05 +0000 UTCNice I got the 100th like
Stephen Shippee
2021-06-23 18:10:10 +0000 UTChttps://vimeo.com/565722151/12c60089aa
Tim Heidecker
2021-06-23 13:05:34 +0000 UTCTH original!
Tim Heidecker
2021-06-23 13:00:56 +0000 UTCBilly loudly sipping beer in the microphone. Young Billy could be an honorary Trinity member! https://youtu.be/ncbNmrgxamo
Robert Franchini
2021-06-23 12:27:19 +0000 UTCLoved this so much! For deep divers, the clips from Cold Spring Harbor in this episode aren't the original LP versions - some were attempted fixes by Artie Ripp in the early '80s for CD. Here's "She's Got a Way" as it sounded on vinyl in 1971 (higher pitched): https://youtu.be/gi3snA_uuKs
Jon Uleis
2021-06-23 04:54:17 +0000 UTCGreat work Vic
Julian
2021-06-23 02:34:33 +0000 UTCThis was incredible. Great content, Vic
Chase Pillon
2021-06-23 00:00:50 +0000 UTCThis was awesome! Thanks!
T A
2021-06-22 23:56:09 +0000 UTCAlso heard a lot of Guess Who in that Atilla stuff- he really was just throwing everything at the wall! Very cool
Pat Flanagan
2021-06-22 23:49:24 +0000 UTCThe theme song is killer! Does anyone know if it's based on an actual Joel tune I'm not familiar with or a TH orig?
Pat Flanagan
2021-06-22 23:45:24 +0000 UTCfinally!!! not to say the last few months haven’t been worth their fee, but this is finally the Patreon kind of content that I subscribed for when I wanted to listen to Please Please Let It Be, keep up the great work. Much love and blessings and peace and well wishes and health and joy to all of you, office hours trinity/crew/friends/fam/and-fans alike! 🎼Here’s to episode one of Joel-Hole! ⚡️
DanBo
2021-06-22 23:35:29 +0000 UTCGiving this a shot even though I don't like Billy Joel at all.
Sean B
2021-06-22 18:28:39 +0000 UTCInteresting. I’ve never listened to Gordon Lightfoot despite working at record stores for years. Maybe that’s how Joel Hoel can help us... by pointing the way to artists listeners might not be familiar with. How many Joel Hoel heads just got turned on to Emmitt Rhodes?
Eric Brightwell
2021-06-22 16:19:56 +0000 UTCVic's fashion has been so on point lately. Lovin it, Vic!!
Madison Daly
2021-06-22 15:58:17 +0000 UTCNever been a Billy Joel fan, but always been interested in him because he is such a perplexing figure! Always thought, why did he get big? So, another perfect podcast from OHL network. Plus, fascinating to hear hidden gems from anyone's back catalog!
Drew McDonald
2021-06-22 15:39:08 +0000 UTCAlso would like an Oasis podcast called the Noel Hoel
Tom F
2021-06-22 15:33:32 +0000 UTCIs Doug’s pod Hole Hole or Hole Hoel?
Tom F
2021-06-22 15:32:06 +0000 UTCI’ve fallen into the Hole! Keep em comin
Shempin Jack Flash
2021-06-22 15:30:05 +0000 UTCI want to cast this to my TV, any chance you can post the link so that I can open it with the Vimeo app?
Spencer MacEachern
2021-06-22 15:13:54 +0000 UTCAfter going down the Joel Hoel, can you come up the Phil Hill?? (Phil Collins)
Paul F. Meeker
2021-06-22 14:48:32 +0000 UTCThis was phenomenal (and I don't really like BJ)
Grant Peterson
2021-06-22 14:10:08 +0000 UTCIn my opinion this might be the greatest thing you guys have done, it's so funny, interesting and heartfelt. It's great to hear Vic's awesome biographical information and Tim and Doug riffing on it sarcastically. Really great! Love this.
Paul Dye
2021-06-22 13:49:05 +0000 UTCLoved the 1st episode. I became a Joel-Head in college at some point (some how) and look forward to going deeper into the hoel!
Phil Braun
2021-06-22 13:30:04 +0000 UTCDoug - please do Hole Hole!!
Mars Hottentot
2021-06-22 12:50:01 +0000 UTCWOAH, Billy looks just like his dad, spitting image.
Mertie
2021-06-22 12:47:36 +0000 UTCNot much of Joel Hoeler - but I did bum a smoke off him in Portland, Maine once in the early 90s and he was nice in that fleeting exchange. I like that I'm not the only one who can't make it through my prepared notes without screwing it up 😂
Mars Hottentot
2021-06-22 11:57:34 +0000 UTCOur friend Bethan across the pond sent me this video link months ago when the Joel Hoel was first announced. Nice footage from 1990 NYC. https://youtu.be/I4v2_KPkcrs
Kevin Doyle
2021-06-22 10:31:18 +0000 UTCGood one Vic!
Magnus Frederik Botoft
2021-06-22 09:41:28 +0000 UTCI literally know nothing about Billy Joel, but this was interesting and I’m looking forward to part 2.
John Galantini
2021-06-22 08:38:44 +0000 UTCI loved Vic’s open but Tim cutting in fuckin hooked me big time.
Alex f_c
2021-06-22 07:20:12 +0000 UTCBegone, Joel Haters. It's our time now.
Maclaine
2021-06-22 05:47:44 +0000 UTCThis was really enjoyable and made me miss Tim. 'You left me when I was a boy (and moved to Vienna!). Nice job, Vic. Looking forward to moving farther down the Joel Hoel. (Sung to the tune 'We Didn't Start the Fire'): 'Drinking red with spa-ghet-ti Crashed my car into a tree North Fork South Fork Mon-tauk of the town We didn't dig the Joel Hoel It was always there But very few did care We didn't dig the Joel Hoel Vic's the head spelunker Filming in Tim's bunker
Kevin Doyle
2021-06-22 04:23:38 +0000 UTCThis was a treat and beautifully put together. Would be interested to see Producer Matt host something like this
Matt Vogels
2021-06-22 03:56:44 +0000 UTCDowneaster Alexa feels to me like Gordon Lightfoot, musically. It has the nautical connection with The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Kevin Doyle
2021-06-22 03:51:59 +0000 UTCI can’t get over Billy’s dad Howard. Who escapes the Holocaust, then fights the Nazis as an American soldier, only to move to Vienna (abandoning his family in the process) because he viewed America as a land of uneducated philistines?
Strerve McAlvoy
2021-06-22 03:08:10 +0000 UTCI've been meaning to pull the trigger on the Patreon for a while now, but this is what finally got me in. If Billy Joel doesn't automatically disgust you like he does with some people, you'll find he's got a really solid track record, with very few bad songs
Kal Peduzzi
2021-06-22 02:55:04 +0000 UTCLoving this!
Goose
2021-06-22 02:45:45 +0000 UTCThe Most Downloaded Woman On The Internet Cindy MarJOELis
Jon Smith
2021-06-22 02:41:52 +0000 UTCVic, Joel using the alias "William Martin" was probably a nod to Billy Martin, manager of the Yankees at that time
Jon Smith
2021-06-22 02:38:37 +0000 UTCVic is a treasure
Alexander Connolly
2021-06-22 01:39:58 +0000 UTCcan tell Vic spent a lot of time on this. glad it's finally here, looking forward to more trips down the Hoel
colindpratt
2021-06-22 01:37:15 +0000 UTChilarious opening
faroutmilkyway
2021-06-22 01:30:22 +0000 UTCI support Vic's cold open
JE
2021-06-22 01:16:57 +0000 UTCDoug please DO make a “Hole Hole” podcast
Eat Your Landlord
2021-06-22 00:58:27 +0000 UTCLoved diving into the Joel Hoel! It’s about time his story was toeld
Dan Mulcahy
2021-06-22 00:56:27 +0000 UTCThis was like hearing my mother in law explain a new Netflix show to me.
Tim Stahl
2021-06-22 00:49:37 +0000 UTCBilly Joel may not be a musical innovator, but he is an innovator of media, having released the first album on compact disc with 52nd Street, released in Japan on 1 October 1982. Also, who is he imitating on "Downeaster Alexa," because that's one song of his that I legitimately like. Stan Rogers?
Eric Brightwell
2021-06-22 00:14:46 +0000 UTCShirley the Joelhole will swallow us all up
Shawn McNulty
2021-06-22 00:12:24 +0000 UTCI dislike B Jhoel, but am looking forward to this and the possible resulting personal growth.
Dan Brenton
2021-06-22 00:06:51 +0000 UTCI find BJ insufferable and was dreading this day that I would be forced to listen to my 3 dads talk about him. That said, I am loving this 😂😂😂
Brandon Martin
2021-06-21 23:59:17 +0000 UTCThis is awesome. I do need to point out that Billy was almost certainly not on “Leader of the Pack” or that other Shangri-Las song. Billy only thinks that he might’ve played on some demos, but not the actual singles.
Patreonguy
2021-06-21 23:49:26 +0000 UTC“That’s not her style” is one of the greats!
Kyle
2021-06-21 23:38:33 +0000 UTCthat Hassles' jam in the jungle is hot!
Journe
2021-06-21 23:37:22 +0000 UTCa solstice treat. i’m ready to fall down the hole and never climb out
Jenny Schmidt
2021-06-21 23:34:37 +0000 UTCTo quote the great “Piano Man” himself, “I’m moving out” of my funny bone for this one! THIS IS THE BEST! Seriously fantastic, everything about it. The photos. Doug. Vic’s “cold open.” Cold Spring Harbor is a masterpiece and in fact he also visited Amherst MA once, Mister Joel did.
BrandonYoung82
2021-06-21 23:16:26 +0000 UTCI'm 3 minutes in, but thank you Tim for stepping in about The Nylon Curtain (an excellent album that came LONG before "We Didn't Start the Fire"). Love ya though Vic!
Jon Uleis
2021-06-21 23:15:51 +0000 UTCJoel Hoel head over here
James__Merr
2021-06-21 23:06:57 +0000 UTCI'm checking in ✅
Branleigh
2021-06-21 23:06:18 +0000 UTC
