Pop kingpin Billy Joel is working on two new projects, and he doesn't have

to sing a note or plink a piano key for either one.

The first is a classical piano album of new songs, which is being arranged

by established concert pianist Hyung-ki Joo. On June 25, Joel will travel to

Vienna, Austria, to supervise the project, which he hopes to have available

for release by the fall. The tentative title is Music for Solo Piano, but

Joel isn't totally sold on the name.

"I'm thinking of calling it Unsung, but that could be confusing because

people may think that this is just old stuff without vocals. It's not. This

is all new stuff," he stressed Thursday night at a press conference that

followed the induction ceremony for the 32nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame

Awards, where Joel was honored with the Johnny Mercer Award.

The new record, his first in eight years, will feature songs Joel wrote over

the past four years.

"The first four years the stuff really stunk and then I started getting

better," he said. "You really don't want to hear the early things. There was

a learning curve I went through."

In addition to working on his upcoming album, Joel is talking to

choreographer Twyla Tharp about creating a Broadway musical using his old

songs and her dance steps (see [article id="1444382"]"Musical To Incorporate Joel's Pop Hits"[/article]).

"We're just talking about it," Joel said. "She's got a group of

dancers who are working with her, and I saw some of my stuff choreographed

and I was very interested in that."

Both of Joel's new projects are noticeably removed from the realm of pop

music, and the artist continues to criticize contemporary mainstream acts.

At the end of the press conference, he noted Christina Aguilera's

fluctuating vocal style, first imitating her, then snapping, "Pick a note

and sit on it for a while, OK?"

It's not the first time Joel has lambasted the current pop scene.

"I feel like we're in a transitional state right now," he told VH1's Rebecca

Rankin in a recent interview. "There has been a lot of very popular pop

music, and it's fabricated. There's a formula right now with pop, and it's

aimed at a teenage demographic group. I don't know if that's what I hear

music being. There's also heavy metal and rap and that's aimed at a

particular demographic, too. I think there are a lot of people who are

really hungry for something else."

Despite such attacks, Joel said he hasn't written off writing more songs

with strong verses and catchy choruses.

"Right now, my interest is in writing piano music, but once this comes out,

I may go back to writing popular music or I may continue with this

instrumental music," he said. "I don't know. I'm just following the muse."