[I_Like_Plants]

Allentown!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K62DdoFoNeg

I remember this on the radio when I was a lot younger, I think Joel was a bit less affectatious (sp) in the original radio version.

I swear, I know where the Simpsons "gay steel mill" scene came from, but still what this song talks about is so true....

I've love to see it done by Rage Against The Machine or someone.

[mattduke]

"Can't make it hear anymore". Thanks Fed inflation!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke8l_EOOGcg

[jasonraymondson]

Speaking of the gay steel mill

[flash width=410 height=400]http://www.vsocial.com/ups/3ecbdf09eb67768dac9c66ab7aff2884[/flash]

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mattduke', '"')Can't make it hear anymore". Thanks Fed inflation!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke8l_EOOGcg

[Kingcoal]

Well I live in Allentown and I can say that only about half of the population is gay. Yes the video is gay, but so were all the other music videos from the '80's. Face it, the '80's was a gay decade.

All kidding aside, the steel mill is in Bethlehem link, right next door to Allentown. Billy Joel grew up in Allentown before moving to NYC, so it's a song about his childhood. Back in the day, the entire Lehigh Valley would fill up with noxious smoke from the mills. Most of the buildings in NYC contain steel from the Bethlehem plant. Even the Golden Gate bridge has Bethlehem steel. Their specialty was steel for buildings, naturally. Cheap imported steel from the third world did them in. There is a steel mill in Reading called Carpenter Technology link. They went with high tech alloys and are doing well with it. The moral of the story is that in America, you can't make generic commodities. Bethlehem did very well with making I-beams for something like 140 years, but they found it hard to change. Years of caving to the union brought the average sallary up to $75K/yr. That's a lot of money for someone usually without a high school diploma, gay or not.

Talk about gay, today, the plant is being turned into a casino entertainment complex with life style shopping malls, condos and of course, slot machine parlors built around the theme of blast furnaces. Ironic, huh? The older residents are in shock over it all. After all, they are died in the wool working class America. Democrat, mostly war veterans, just like the song. The song is also correct in saying that "it's getting very hard to stay" because that's the feeling among most of the college grads around here.

However, the Lehigh Valley is the fastest growing part of PA. The economy is fueled by New Yorkers moving here for the family atmosphere and comparatively cheap cost of living. They can sell their row house in Queens for about half a million and buy a castle here. Of course it means a 2 hour commute back into NYC, but what the hell, gas is cheap, right? At least that seems to be the opinion of the transit authority. There are a lot of busses that make the round trip, but no rail service, even though there is a rail road in use between A-Town and NYC. A big business around here is distribution centers, which have tractor trailers coming in one side and trains bound for NYC going out the other side. NJT wants to reinstate commuter rail out to Philipsburg, but PA sees no use in taking it the extra 10 miles into A-Town. What a bunch of idiots.

[I_Like_Plants]

Thanks for the comments. I'd guess the area's been gentrifying lately, and Penn is good country for farming etc. But it's true, we don't make stuff in this country any more.

It will have to get so bad that we're making our own shoes because we can't afford Chinese-made ones, that will be the turnaround point.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mattduke', '"')Can't make it hear anymore". Thanks Fed inflation!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke8l_EOOGcg

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '
')http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke8l_EOOGcg

[Daculling]

Reminded me of this photo. I didnt think the video was too gay but then came the shower scene and flaming baton twirler... ya, that was gay even for the 80's

Keep following that rainbow...

[hubbertspeak7777777]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'A')llentown!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K62DdoFoNeg

I remember this on the radio when I was a lot younger, I think Joel was a bit less affectatious (sp) in the original radio version.

I swear, I know where the Simpsons "gay steel mill" scene came from, but still what this song talks about is so true....

I've love to see it done by Rage Against The Machine or someone.