Teaser // Billy Joel: STORM FRONT with Tim Heidecker

Summary

Jokermen Podcast – Teaser: Billy Joel: STORM FRONT with Tim Heidecker

Date: August 21, 2025
Guests: Tim Heidecker
Theme: Reflecting on Billy Joel, “Storm Front,” and Personal Encounters

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Overview

In this teaser episode, the Jokermen hosts are joined by comedian, musician, and actor Tim Heidecker to discuss Billy Joel’s penultimate studio album, Storm Front, and Tim’s personal (if awkward) brush with the "Piano Man" himself. The episode’s main throughline blends playful banter, Billy Joel nostalgia, and musings on the pop legend’s place in cultural memory. While serving as an intro to a longer conversation, this segment is loaded with humorous anecdotes and sharp observations about fanhood, regional connections, Billy Joel’s era, and his reputation in rock culture.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tim Heidecker’s Near Billy Joel Encounter (00:00–03:54)

• The episode opens with Tim prompting the hosts:
  Tim (A): “Do you guys, true or false, think I’ve been in the presence of Billy Joel?” (00:00)

  • The hosts riff about what it would mean to “bear the mark” of Joel, eliciting a mix of humorous skepticism and encouragement.
  • Tim recounts living in New York pre-fame, with his parents visiting from their hometown of Allentown—a city immortalized by Joel’s song.

• Tim’s mother, a lifelong Joel fan dating back to Cold Spring Harbor, jumps at a chance encounter with Joel at Balthazar restaurant.
  Tim (A): “We realized the table we were waiting for was Billy Joel and his young wife and his equally aged daughter, it seemed like…” (02:23)

• The emotional center:
  Tim (A): “As Billy Joel’s leaving, my mom says, ‘Mr. Joel. I’m from Allentown.’ And he did not stop. He shook his head and kept moving, just kept running. Oh, man, it was so embarrassing.” (02:52)

• The group reacts with empathy and amusement, probing how Tim’s mother took the brush-off. Tim notes a lingering coldness in her attitude toward Joel, especially when he later recommends a documentary.
  Tim (A): “…there was a bit of a coldness towards it when I proposed it. Kinda like, why would I want to watch that?” (03:49)

Reflections on Storm Front and Billy Joel’s Career (04:07–08:32)

• The hosts transition to discussing Storm Front as Billy Joel’s second-to-last album, and Tim’s relationship with it as a contemporary release during his youth: Tim (A): “I’m old enough to remember Stormfront coming out…had it on CD. It was a contemporary record for me…he was a current artist for me at a period of my life where I was starting to really get into music.” (04:27)

• Tim contextualizes the record in the era of his musical awakening, alongside CDs like Aerosmith’s Pump and Eric Clapton’s Journeyman—identifying Storm Front as a "seminal CD" for his generation.
  Tim (A): “…just like these seminal CDs. It’s a very…this is a very CD, classic CD record, compact disc record.” (05:35)

• Discussion of the album’s cultural dominance, notably the ubiquitous single:
  Tim (A): “…the video is the ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’…it was everywhere. It was massive and huge…He’s certified legend status at this point, I would think.” (05:39)

• Comparing Storm Front’s high profile to the less-celebrated previous record The Bridge: Host B: “You know, we talked on The Bridge about how…that was a record that came out, I think, three years after Innocent had come out. And he. That was a big hit for him first.” Tim (A): “But The Bridge was not.” (06:19)

• The Bridge is dissected with humor; only "Matter of Trust" is declared worthwhile:
  Tim (A): “Matter of Trust is a good song, right? Is that the only good song on that record?” (06:22)
  Host C: “It’s the only hit that made waves.” (06:25)

Billy Joel’s Persistent Underdog Status (07:15–08:32)

• Tim comments on the recent Billy Joel documentary’s significance, contrasting it to The Last Play at Shea, which had to combine Joel’s story with the New York Mets and the old Shea Stadium: Tim (A): “He didn’t have a documentary. He had to share a documentary with the Mets in a baseball stadium…He always felt like a guy that wasn’t—he’s like a Rodney Dangerfield.” (07:46)

• This spurs a running gag, as the hosts dub Joel “the Rodney Dangerfield of rock music,” cementing his reputation as an artist who “gets no respect.”
  Host B: “I’ve called him the Rodney Dangerfield of rock music several times on this series…He gets no respect, the man.” (08:16)

• The episode closes with the idea that Joel is finally achieving overdue respect:
  Tim (A): “…so he’s starting to rise up in everyone’s perception, I guess that’s right.” (08:23)
  Host B: “And, you know, just a whole series of massively successful podcasts about him online…” (08:32)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim Heidecker, on mistaken etiquette:
  “It broke my heart that she called him Mr. Joel. Mr. Joel. I’m from Allentown. And he did not stop…just kept running. Oh, man, it was so embarrassing.” (02:52)
• Host B, nailing the recurring gag:
  “He gets no respect, the man.” (08:16)
• Tim Heidecker, on generational fandom:
  “I was old enough to remember Stormfront coming out…He was a current artist for me at a period of my life where I was starting to really get into music.” (04:30)
• On documentaries:
  “He had to share a documentary with the Mets in a baseball stadium…He’s like a Rodney Dangerfield.” (07:46)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–03:54: Tim Heidecker’s “Mr. Joel” story: A failed fangirl moment for his mother at Balthazar, NYC
• 04:07–06:33: Storm Front and Billy Joel as a personal, contemporary artist; the landscape of CD-era rock
• 06:33–07:15: Digressing into The Bridge and other record ephemera
• 07:15–08:32: Billy Joel’s weird split spotlight, documentary history, and underdog persona

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Tone and Style

The episode balances affectionate nostalgia with good-natured teasing. Tim Heidecker’s self-deprecating humor and the hosts’ irreverent banter create a fast-paced, conversational rhythm. Their style is accessible to both casual and hardcore Billy Joel fans, peppered with inside jokes and knowing references.

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For longtime Jokermen listeners, this teaser whets the appetite for a deeper dive into Storm Front and Billy Joel’s legacy, illuminated by Tim Heidecker’s wit and a shared sense that—finally—Billy Joel just might be getting a little of the respect he’s always deserved.

Transcript

[A]

Do you guys, true or false, think I've been in the presence of Billy Joel?

[B]

Ooh.

[A]

Personally, physically?

[C]

Like, do you bear the mark of.

[B]

Having been in his presence, the sign of Joel?

[C]

I wouldn't know where to look.

[B]

True. I would say true.

[C]

I'll say false. How about that? Just for the.

[A]

Yeah, that would be fun.

[B]

Which one?

[A]

Well, it would be weird. Yeah. I mean, obviously, I think. Yes. Whenever you ask those kind of questions that you usually means I'm leading you to. I'm leading you to ask me how I met Billy Joel or why I was in the presence of Billy Joel.

[C]

When did you meet Bill? When did you meet Bill Joel?

[A]

Bill. Well, so this is my funny little Billy Joel story that I can. Then we can move on, but. Or you can ask. You can follow up with questions.

[B]

Maybe this will be the end. This. This will be the episode. It's just 85 minutes about Tim Heidecker's meeting with Bill Joel.

[A]

Yeah. So no meeting necessarily. But I was living in New York, pre television career, just, like, scrounging by. And I guess this would have been 2000, 2000 or 2001. My parents were in town visiting. Now my mom is. We're from Allentown. Do we need. Do we need to say this?

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

Do we. Do we even need to say this? I'm from Allentown. And so not only am I. Not only that song is important to us as a family, but my mom was an early Billy Joel adopter. Like, she had Cold Spring harbor on vinyl.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

And saw him in Allentown, like, on. When he was playing little clubs, like before, probably. I would say maybe around the Piano man album or before Piano man. Somewhere around there.

[B]

That's, like, before he really popped off.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So he was, you know, he. Like, he says in the documentary, he was a regional. Regional star or whatever would have been on. Yeah. Allentown would have been a place he'd hit a lot. So he definitely knew Allentown. Anyways. So obviously by 2001, we're all. We all know who Billy Joel is, but my mom has this sort of personal experience with him. And we're waiting for a table at this restaurant. I think it was Balthazar. It was like a hot spot down, you know, like a brunt, like.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yes. Where we're.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That's the kind of place that you might see him.

[A]

For some reason, we thought. We. I guess I thought it would be cool to take my parents there for. For lunch or brunch. And we were waiting for a table, and we realized the table we were waiting for was Billy Joel and his young wife and his equally aged daughter, it seemed like. But so we were waiting there. We kind of figured it out. And then as Billy Joel's leaving, my mom says, Mr. Joel. She calls him Mr. Joel. And it broke my heart that she called him Mr. Joel. Mr. Joel. I'm from Allentown. And he did not stop. He. He shook his head and kept moving, just kept running. Oh, man, it was so embarrassing. Oh, no, it was very embarrassing, Mr. Ma. You don't call him Mr. Joel. It's Billy. How.

[B]

How did you. How'd she take that?

[A]

I think she was a little ruffled by it. A little like. Okay, well, excuse me, you know, sorry, I'm only your. I've only been a fan since Cold Spring harbor had.

[B]

Did it impact her? Is she still a fan?

[A]

No, but I did recommend the documentary to her, and there was a bit of a coldness towards it when. When I proposed it. Oh, okay. Kind of like, why would I want to watch that?

[B]

Well, I guess that's what he gets for being cold in the first place.

[A]

Yeah. Anyways, that's my only encounter with Billy Joel. Wow.

[B]

Well, that's a delightful little twist on the story I expected to hear, which was, you know, you were gallivant. You were hobnobbing with some of Hollywood elites.

[A]

Yeah, it was at David Geffen's house.

[B]

Oh, geez, I hope you weren't ever there. Well, the Stormfront. Here we are, second to last Billy Joel record. You volunteered yourself for this one, Tim. What is it about. What is it about Storm Front that attracts you?

[A]

Well, I mean, first of all, Slim Pickens. Thanks a lot, guys. I mean, I. I've been listening to the whole series and was listening to James and Molly and everybody calling in. I said, well, what don't I get a shot to talk about Billy Joel? And I realized there wasn't a lot of opportunities left. But I. I was thinking, like. Well, I was. I'm old enough to remember Stormfront coming out in a way that I think I. I'm sure I had it on CD and was very. It's a contemporary record for me, as. As. As I think some of the other ones might not be. Certainly aren't, and was only ever familiar with them as, you know, classic rock staples for the most part. So he was a current artist for me at a period of my life where I was starting to really get into music and definitely had the cd. It would have been alongside, you know, Aerosmith's Pump and, you know, Eric Clapton, Journeyman. Just like these seminal CDs. It's a very. I mean, you guys would probably agree, this is a very.

[B]

Cd, classic CD record, compact disc record.

[A]

And then, of course, the video is the. We didn't start the fire. The tent. The tent pole of this record or whatever is. Yeah, I mean, it was everywhere. It was massive and huge. And this is. Is. This is. This is like, maybe not as big as Billy Joel ever got, but he's firmly on top of the musical world at this point. He's certified legend status at this point, I would think.

[B]

Yeah, he's kind of back on top with this record. You know, we talked on the bridge about how that was a record that came out, I think, three years after Innocent had come out. And he. That was a big hit for him first.

[A]

But the Bridge was not.

[B]

Bridge was not. Yeah, but not really.

[A]

Matter of Trust is a good song, right? Is that the only good song on that record?

[C]

It's the only hit that made waves.

[B]

I guess I'm partial to Big man on Mulberry street, but I don't want.

[A]

To have to subject people to analyzing the bridge again. So you guys don't have to go over it. I'll listen to your analysis later.

[C]

Just watch the video of him talking about it. There's a featurette that we reference heavily on the episode that you should check out, in which he gives thrilling and detailed insights into the making of the album.

[B]

Building the Bridge.

[C]

Saying stuff like, yeah, I. You know, I used to walk around on Mulberry street when I. When I. I was living sort of near there, and I'd get an espresso. And so I. Then I was thinking, what if there was a guy who kind of walked around street?

[A]

Gotcha.

[B]

It's interesting. Fascinating.

[A]

One thing I just wanted to say before we jump into the record, about. About Billy, that in relation to documentary, because I felt it was. I'm glad the documentary exists, but there was this other documentary that came out a few years ago called Last Play at Shea. You know, about this documentary.

[B]

Is that the one. Like, it's the concerts, you know, at Shea Stadium before they tore it down. Right. And Billy was one of them. Or he was.

[A]

Think was the last. The last guy to, like, do a concert there.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

But I thought it was so perfect. It perfectly encapsulated, like, the way we think about Billy Joel. Because he didn't have a documentary. He had to share a documentary with the Mets in a baseball stadium. You know, like. Like they crammed in this Billy Joel biography into the documentary with the Mets and the way the Mets were formed and what, you know, and kind of tied it into the stadium. So it just had this. Yeah, he always felt like a guy that wasn't. He's like a Rodney Dangerfield.

[B]

I've called him the Rodney Dangerfield of rock music several times on this series. I was just gonna say it once again right here. He gets no respect, the man.

[A]

But now we have the big documentary, the two parter. So he's starting to rise up in everyone's perception, I guess that's right.

[B]

And, you know, just a whole series of massively successful podcasts about him online, whether or not they release more than one episode a year.