Does Bon Jovi give rock a bad name?

Do you remember when Jon Bon Jovi was a bad-ass rock n' roll rebel? Think way, WAY back. (Still a little hazy, I know. It's all the hairspray he used -- it fogs up the brain cells.)

Nowadays, Bon Jovi juggles his time as the co-owner of Arena Football's Philadelphia Soul and pimping his vocal-coaching talents on American Idol. (At least he stopped making movies.) But that's OK, it's his own personal journey and we respect that. (On the web, no one can tell you're being sarcastic.)

Seriously though, Bon Jovi's new album -- Lost Highway -- hit the record stores this week and Times pop music critic Sean Daly sounds off on it in his latest review. Click here to read his words of wisdom.

In the meantime, I have my own favorites ... and then some beefs to pick.

TOP FIVE BON JOVI SONGS:

5. Lay Your Hands On Me: "Right now the rules we made are meant for breaking."

4. You Give Love a Bad Name: "Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye" 

3. Bad Medicine: "Gonna take more than a shot to get this poison out of me"

2. It's My Life: "This is for the ones who stood their ground"

1. Livin' On a Prayer: "We've got each other and that's a lot"

FIVE BON JOVI SONGS I NEVER WANT TO HEAR AGAIN:

5. Never Say Goodbye: This song doesn't make me want to say goodbye; it makes me want to flip him the bird.

4. I'll Be There For You: You know a song sucks when one verse ("These five words I swear to you") basically tells you the number of words in the song's title.

3. This Ain't a Love Song: Oh, but it really is a love song. Thanks for the clarification, Dr. Obvious.

2. Runaway: My first garage band played this song (usually right after "Louie Louie" but before "Hungry Like The Wolf.") To this day, I get the cold sweats and acid reflux when I hear the staccato keyboard beginning.

1. Wanted Dead or Alive: It's right up there with "Roxanne" by the Police as most-abused karaoke songs in history. You can't sing it aloud without someone (me, I guess) wanting to punch you in the nose. And why is a guy from Jersey singing a song that sounds like it belongs in a Clint Eastwood movie? (That's a rhetorical question, boys...)

No pop from Papa Joel ... but maybe Alexa

On the eve of the end of his spring tour, Billy Joel went on the record about recording new pop songs:  Not gonna happen. At least not anytime soon.

"Look, I still love rock-and-roll, I still love pop music," Joel told Therockradio.com a few days ago before playing a final gig in Minneapolis. "I haven't divorced myself from the material that I wrote before -- I mean, that's why I'm out here on the road playing this stuff -- and I still believe in it. But I don't feel compelled to write in song form anymore."

Speaking of his latest tour, Joel started covering songs from other popular artists including AC/DC ("Highway to Hell"), Bob Dylan ("Lay Lady Lay") and even the Beatles ("Oh, Darling"). He also dipped deep into his own material, singing two songs from the '70s -- "Zanzibar" and "Everybody Loves You Now."

My take: Oh hell, Billy has told us all before he's not recording any more pop, but it still hurts to hear him constantly reinforce it. Sorta like having your parents tell you and your sister on Christmas morning that you were both "mistakes." (Ummm ... or so I'm told.) But as long as Joel continues to tour and play his hits (and the Christmas presents keep coming), do we really care?

SPEAKING OF JOEL: There's another Joel on the music scene these days -- his daughter Alexa Ray Joel, who just released a debut CD of six songs called "Sketches." But before you think she's getting all the breaks because of Dad, hear this out: She self-released the CD because she has no record label yet.

Still, it can't hurt to call home sometimes, right?

"When I first started writing songs I'd always show them to my dad but because he's so amazing he'd instantly make them way better," Alexa Joel told the Press-Enterprise during a recent interview. "I started to realize that doing that was basically cheating, so now he doesn't get to hear anything until it's done."

Go to her official website or myspace page to hear some of the tunes. (Freakishly realistic photo, isn't it? She's got Christie Brinkley's face but Billy's eyes.)

He's in a Syracuse state of mind

Billy Joel serenaded 5,000 Syracuse University students today while on hand to address the graduating class of 2006. Joel never received his high school diploma, but has received honorary college degrees from a half dozen colleges, including a doctorate from Syracuse.

Joel led the crowd in a slightly altered version of "Down in New Orleans," changing the lines for his audience: "Come on everybody, take a trip with me, up to Onondaga County, that's where I'll be. Oh, you're going to be a lawyer or an engineer, you can even study music in the college here. With any luck, you'll get a Ph.D. at Syracuse University."

Here's some other Joel songs that would be appropriate for today's college graduates. So we give you --

Everything a College Grad Needs to Know Can Be Learned from a Billy Joel Song:
-- Only The Good Die Young: "Virginia, they didn’t give you quite enough information"
-- This Is The Time To Remember: "These are the days to hold onto, 'cause we won't although we'll want to."
-- Pressure: "Now here you are with your faith and your Peter Pan advice"
-- Big Shot: "It’s no big sin to stick your two cents in, if you know when to leave it alone"
-- Everybody Has a Dream: "All the fantasies that I have been keeping will make the empty hours easier to stand"
-- Angry Young Man: "I once believed in causes too. I had my pointless point of view"

And considering the job market and economy...
-- Worse Comes to Worst: "Today I'm livin' like a rich man's son. Tomorrow mornin' I could be a bum"

Billy Joel -- Still going to extremes at 57

Billy Joel is 57 today. (Meanwhile, the dreaded song Piano Man feels like it's 73.)  No word on how Billy will celebrate the day. (As long as it doesn't combine alcohol and motorcycles, he's free to do whatever he likes.) Maybe he could shave that beard so he looks a little less like Garth Brooks or Peter Gabriel.

Though he seems finished with his rock/pop recording career to date, Joel hasn't stopped producing greatest hits and live-concert collections. His latest effort -- 12 Gardens Live -- is a double-disc live collection from his recent 12-night stint at New York's Madison Square Garden. It's set for release in June, when Joel resumes his tour in Vienna.

Speaking of discs .... Did you know Joel had more albums in the 80s than any other decade? True enough. Seven in the 80s alone. Some of his best (Glass Houses, Nylon Curtain, Storm Front) and two of his worst (Innocent Man, Bridge).

We dare not leave without a list in honor of The Man. So here...

Top 5 Billy Joel albums:
5. Storm Front (1989): I Go To Extremes, And So It Goes
4. 52nd Street (1978): Big Shot, My Life, Zanzibar
3. Glass Houses (1980): You May Be Right, Don't Ask Me Why
2. Nylon Curtain (1982): Allentown, Pressure, Goodnight Saigon
1. The Stranger (1977): Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Only the Good Die Young, Movin' Out. (There's a reason it's the only album Judd Nelson wanted back in St. Elmo's Fire).

For new fans to the blog, check out older posts about Joel, including my long, rambling item about how much I hate the song Piano Man. And Sean Day's effort to rub it in during his review of Joel's show in Tampa. That's good bloggin'!