An introduction to Steely Dan, my favorite cerebral-ironic jazz-rock nerd grouch band
When I was 14 I got a Walkman, and from that moment on I was free to choose my own mental soundtrack. I never had to hear Air Supply or David Pomeranz again, unless my batteries died or I caught a stray high note while changing cassettes. The most pleasurable and most agonizing choice of the day was which four albums to take to school with me.
One of the first albums I bought with my own money was Gaucho by Steely Dan. I would never have heard of Steely Dan if “Hey, Nineteen” had not briefly cracked the the Top 40 chart. Obviously I did not relate to the band’s experience—I had no memory of 1967 and was not a dandy ogling teenage girls who did not know who Aretha Franklin was. (I had a vague idea who Aretha was.) I liked the funny-sarcastic lyrics, the sound (beloved of audiophiles), the way their songs had narrators, and the weirdly moving vocal harmonies. So I looked up their previous albums. Aja remains my favorite. I remember listening to “Home At Last” and sitting bolt upright as I realized it was the Odyssey. Luckily I always sat in the back during Physics lab.
Walter Becker died on September 3. I’m hoping Donald Fagen resumes his tour. But damnit, I’ll never see the whole Steely Dan perform live. And another thing has occurred to me: Do younger musicians, people 30 and below, listen to Steely Dan and play their songs? They should.
So if you have a band and you play Steely Dan, let me know. I’ll come to your gig, bring music nerd friends, write about you. We can talk about what the songs mean.
If you have no idea what Steely Dan is, here’s a basic playlist.
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Goddamnit Donald Fagen was supposed to headline the Blue Note Jazz Festival in Yokohama this weekend and I’m in Yokohama and the festival has been cancelled!!!
I hereby make a vow to see Donald Fagen in concert as soon as possible.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
September 22nd, 2017 at 23:52
You share my frustration not having to see Becker and Fagen as Steely Dan. The band is a musician’s workshop not unlike Frank Zappa’s groups.
Interesting that I only discovered their song Dirty Work through the Showbiz Kids double CD compilation. It’s been a song that somehow spoke to me in the 90s. Funny how this song could also apply to certain Trump administration officials who’ve been thrown under the bus.
September 23rd, 2017 at 18:08
volume-addict: Dirty Work is also in the American Hustle soundtrack!