going way back to kerble's comment, I used to hate Steely Dan as a kid, but definitely got into them in the past few years, and reversed that.

I grew up only hearing Steely Dan as the butt of musical jokes by stand up comedians on TV in the 80s. After Gaucho, it seems they were at the apex of a critical backlash circa early to mid 80s, which is right around when I started turning left and right looking for bands to check out as a kid.

before moving from Orange County, I knew a goth girl whose parents named here Aja. She HATED Steely Dan passionately for this reason alone.

And that letter to Luke Wilson is brilliant.. the PPS is the final KO.

The liner notes to the reissues are fucking evil and hence great.

Angus Jung wrote:"Rikki Don't Lose That Number"- they're telling Rikki not to lose that joint (you know, "roll a number"). A great many Steely Dan songs are drug-related, most of them harsher than "Rikki." "Time Out Of Mind" is about a heroin addict, for instance.

I was in a country hardware store that was playing muzak quietly. A middle aged woman digging through a pile of light switch covers was humming along to Kid Charlamagne, which was being piped in. It was around lunch time and she was in a her church clothes.

It dawned on me that the verse she was humming was
"Clean this mess up else we'll all end up in jail
Those test tubes and the scale
Just get them all out of here
Is there gas in the car
Yes, there's gas in the car
I think the people down the hall
Know who you are"

The woman in her Sunday best was humming along to a story about a coke dealer.

I've heard the Donald Fagen solo song "I.G.Y" a million times on Muzak. He has that chorus ("what a beautiful world this will be/what a glorious time to be free") which is all anybody takes from the song, but the actual lyrics are a totally angry, sarcastic satire on the bullshit promises of technology and futurism.

Yeah, I picked that up. It's sarcastic as hell.
What do expect from a man who named his band after a dildo? That's the sneaky, subversive thing they seem to have going on. It's very "California" to me.

I'm barely going NC on these guys because they really can get on my tit. I agree that King of the World is a good song as well, plus maybe five other songs. That's it though.

NC WF:9.9

-A

alex maiolo wrote:The woman in her Sunday best was humming along to a story about a coke dealer.

Even better: the song's about Owsley.

Maurice wrote:

alex maiolo wrote:The woman in her Sunday best was humming along to a story about a coke dealer.

Even better: the song's about Owsley.

Really?
Wow, I can see it with the test tubes, which can be used in all sorts of drug dealing/making applications, but I always associate scales with pot or coke. Plus, it was that time in California. Post-LSD and very much the snowy years.

Makes sense though. Thanks for the trivia.

OK, *ahem*,
a woman in her Sunday Best was humming along to a story about a guy who flooded society with government quality LSD and spent the profits building the Dead a massive sound system.

-A

alpha80 wrote::shock: WTF is all this skitzo pedophile talk...

Steely Dan's "Everyone' Gone to the Movies"
A song about a guy who shows dirty movies in his den on his own old movie projector to kids. Key Lines "Soon it will be to late..bobbing for apples can wait. I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have 8" That last line is a reference to the size of the film, 16mm or larger would be a pro film...8mm is amateur. The song sounds happy and upbeat, but this hides the character's seedy hobby.

Kids if you want some fun
Mr. LaPage is your man
He's always laughing, having fun
Showing his films in the den
Come on, come on
Soon you will be eighteen
I think you know what I mean
Don't tell your mama
Your daddy or mama
They'll never know where you been
CHORUS:
Everyone's gone to the movies
Now we're alone at last

Listen to what I say
He wants to show you the way
Right down the hallway with open arms
To teach you a new game to play
Come on, come on
Soon it will be too late
Bobbing for apples can wait
We know you're used to sixteen or more
Sorry we only have eight

CHORUS

Kids if you want some fun
See what you never have seen
Take off your cheaters and sit right down
Start the projection machine

so creepy.

I left my parents' house for a reason. Steely Dan is crap.

No, this song is about chomos! No, it's about gay sex! No, it's about drugs! No, it's about Clapton! Spare me. They could sing Brainbombs lyrics and I'd still abhor them.

If there has to be mellow jazzy rock, I suppose I'm glad that some of it is clever and sleazy and subversive and all that. Still, it is mellow jazzy rock, and I cannot listen to mellow jazzy rock. Crap.

I think one of the reasons for the loathing of The Dan is exposure. It's the millons of hours society has been subjected to it at their jobs, in the dentists office, at the Home Depot- which ironically enough hasn't really worked in favor of their popularity. On this point I think they share an unlikely bedfellow with Pink Floyd. Both bands rose to platinum on the shoulders of a few radio hits which replayed to the point of nausea and established a very, very narrow perspective of their work.

As for their music- I don't really think anyone else ever had top 40 hits using fruitcake-thick jazz voicings to the extent
that they did, besides Stevie. That's no minor accomplishment.

NOT CRAP

Perfect gin 'n tonic, brass 'n glass 'n moustache tunes.

Love the Steely Dan.