Steely Dan was simultaneously accessible yet difficult to get with. You had to listen to the lyrics carefully to pick up on the subtext of the lyrics, although you didn't have to pay attention to enjoy the music, which usually used more than three chords. You didn't have to know that Steely Dan took its name from William S. Burroughs, although the smart kids with older siblings might catch the reference. KISS was never about subtlety, unless you count "Beth," which really wasn't that subtle. It was all theatricality with them. Steely Dan, to be clear, couldn't have cared less, as this picture from their early days demonstrates quite conclusively:
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| I feel pretty |
We're 40 years on from the heyday of both bands. You're much more likely to hear a Steely Dan song on the radio now. This song was on the radio in the summer of 1977, 40 years ago, as I moved from junior high to high school:
Fleetwood Mac also owned the airwaves that year, but there were things happening elsewhere that changed my view of music substantially later on. I didn't know about the Clash yet, or the Sex Pistols, or Talking Heads, but they were all getting started then. I didn't realize hip hop was already beginning to develop out of the d.j. shows in the Bronx. Disco was on the radio and would explode the following year. Still, I found myself noticing Steely Dan. The voice you heard on their records was Donald Fagen, but the sensibility of their music was the department of Walter Becker. Becker was quiet and obscure, but the music he made with Fagen remains a big part of our musical landscape all these years later.
4 comments:
steely dan made annoying music that got stuck in your head for hours after hearing it.
i place them on the same level of 'turn that shit off' as the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The first SD song I remember was "Do It Again". I can't say that any of their songs was ever my current favorite song of what I was listening to at the time, but I liked almost all of them. A few years ago when I started composing a SD playlist on iTunes I was surprised at just how many songs there were that I wanted to listen to. (And I also discovered that I can't listen to more than 3 or 4 SD songs at one time - but I love it when one pops up on the shuffle!)
Off the top of my head, I think "Kid Charlemagne" and "My Old School" are the wittiest and best stories.
Gino, it’s a great country and you can turn that Steely Dan off anytime you’d like. I would commend the Minutemen version of "Doctor Wu" to you attention if you haven’t heard it.
RAC, I’m with you on the songs you’ve mentioned. A lot of their other tales are kinda, well, oblique.
Steely Dan was one of those bands that I missed when I went through my "classic rock" phase. It was only about 4 years ago that I got a bug and picked up a few of their albums. Much to my surprise I knew quite a few of their songs... and liked them!
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