Legendary singer-songwriter Billy Joel said he no longer cares what “woke” critics think of him or his music, telling Bill Maher during a recent appearance on the Club Random podcast that he’s “inured” to criticism.
“And you don’t care what they say about you — the woke or … ?” Maher asked Joel on his podcast Monday.
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“At this point? No, I’m … yeah, I’m inured to it,” Joel replied. “I’m always trying to understand someone else’s point of view.”
The two New Yorkers spent much of the conversation reflecting on the shared experiences of growing up in the white suburban culture of the 1950s and 60s.
Joel, who was born in the Bronx and raised in Levittown, said suburban life is often unfairly mocked in literature and pop culture, leaving people like him feeling “insignificant.”
“We were made to feel non-existent, almost useless, vanilla,” Joel said. “And I was trying to say, ‘Hey, we’re here. We exist. We’ve got something to talk about.’”
Maher praised Joel’s songwriting for capturing the essence of postwar suburban life, referencing lyrics from tracks like Captain Jack, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Movin’ Out, and Angry Young Man. The latter sparked a deeper discussion about Joel’s evolving worldview.
Maher recited the lyrics: “I believe I’ve passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage / I found that just surviving was a noble fight / I once believed in causes too / I had my pointless point of view / And life went on no matter who was wrong or right.”
The television personality added, “That’s the message of the age. Even though some people will hear that and say, ‘Look at these two a**holes!’”
“Boomers,” Joel added dryly, poking fun at generational divides.
Maher also pointed to Joel’s 1982 Vietnam War-era song Goodnight Saigon, which includes the lines, “And who was wrong? And who was right? It didn’t matter in the thick of the fight.”
When asked if he still stands by that message, Joel answered simply: “Yes.”
Though Joel made it clear he’s not interested in pandering to political tribes, he emphasized that he still values open dialogue.
“I’m always trying to find out the other point of view,” he said. “I’d like to understand why they think that way.”
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Maher closed the discussion by criticizing the intolerance he sees from some progressive liberals: “I mean, it is what I am always trying to do on my show. It is, look, this is one safe space for everybody, and I will take the heat from either [or] both sides. I do feel like the left, who, ironically, I’m more actually aligned with, is more snippy about it, has a worse attitude about it, and makes me viscerally not like them more sometimes.”
Maher and Joel’s discussion comes as the woke culture that evolved from criticizing suburbia to dominating culture and marketing has begun to take a backseat. Over the weekend, Nike pivoted back to family-friendly advertising after significant backlash and job cuts, and CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which had become known for its divisive content that strayed from entertainment into activism.