In a new interview with The New Yorker, Billy Joel has opened up about why there probably won’t be any new albums in his future.

“Some people think it’s because I’m lazy or I’m just being contrary,” the Piano Man explained. “But no, I think it’s just — I’ve had my say. If I put out an album now, it would probably sell pretty well, because of who I am, but that’s no reason to do it. I’d want it to be good.”

But Joel admits that he thinks recording a new album might also just be too much hassle. “You have to have a certain amount of ambition to want to do all that.” He continues, “I don’t feel like that anymore.”

Nonetheless, Joel does admit that he’s been working on a series of “tone poems” that he calls The Scrimshaw Pieces. The music tells the story of his longtime home, Long Island. But don’t expect to ever hear any of it in recorded form. Joel says he hasn’t recorded it and that he’s already on the verge of forgetting some of it.

Despite the pianist and songwriter’s wariness about recording new music, he continues to perform to a packed house every month at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Visit The New Yorker for the full interview.