Did we recently discuss Steely Dan?

[Guest Eagle Man]

And say that as subversive as the lyrics may be, the music is just bad middle-of-the-road jazz-rock? I vaguely remember this happening.

 

I downloaded Pretzel Logic this morning. It inspired me to ask a girl if it hurt.

 

When she fell from heaven.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Have you and I discussed it? Because that covers my feelings on Steely Dan to a tee.

[Guest Eagle Man]

Maybe that was it. All my typing tends to run together these days.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

Oh God, my dad loves this band so fucking much. Yikes. Even I'll admit though, the production and musicianship are generally ridiculously good. Of course, that's pretty much why my dad listens to music.

[Guest Eagle Man]

As a musician, I respect that they're doing some interesting things in terms of chord progressions and harmonies, but the end result somehow ends up being not very interesting at all. I really don't know how that happens. "Rikki, Don't Lose That Number" starts off with this cool gamelanesque percussion intro, then it abruptly falls into some slimy, oily smooth jazz groove, and the marimba is never alluded to again in the song. How odd.

 

Oh, and "Reelin' in the Years" is a bumper for Cubs games on the radio, and seems to be used coming out of breaks 3 times out of at least 18. Just thought I'd mention that.

[Slayer 0]

But the Grammies told me they were better than Eminem

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Only mildly related, but, given that I've been listening a lot to Miles Davis's fusion stuff again, allow me to lament the overall lack of good fusion. I like the Mahavishnu Orchestra (at least the first two albums with the original line-up; that's all I've checked out) and about half of Herbie Hancock's work from the early-to-mid-70s, but almost everything else I've heard is awful. Miles was the only great one in the field.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Don't forget about 40% of Jaco's material! Guy was good when he wasn't gaying it up with Weather Report.

[Guest jonnymack]

I enjoy Steely Dan, it's the perfect music to relax too if I want to read or something. Are they the greatest ever? No, but they definitely put something together that I think holds up pretty good even today.

[Guest Eagle Man]

No, that's my point; it doesn't hold up well at all. It's dated as fuck. It's empty 70s MOR, cool as some of the horn parts may be at times.

[Guest jonnymack]

No, that's my point; it doesn't hold up well at all. It's dated as fuck. It's empty 70s MOR, cool as some of the horn parts may be at times.

 

 

Hmmm, well I disagree, I think it sounds good but maybe I can't separate it because I dig it so it never feels dated to me.

[BX 0]

Great music.

 

Two UGLY dudes.

 

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug03/imag...danheader.l.jpg

[Red Baron 0]

Classic Rock staple. It seems like when Classic Rock stations need to fill something in, Steely Dan does the trick.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

I think since I was probably 12 years old, if not before then, I have *hated* Steely Dan. I can't even explain it, just thought it was dreck.

 

I also want to point out that, while I got jumped on about it early last year, I've come to realize how much I am not a fan of the Eagles. I've never liked Joe Walsh period, and Don Henley never much impressed me either. There are a few songs that I don't mind, but most of their catalogue... take or leave. mostly leave. I think growing up in a Top 40/Country-only region and not being very out-going musically warped me.

[Henry Spencer 0]

I've come to realize how much I am not a fan of the Eagles.

 

A bold statement!

[spiny norman 0]

I really enjoy Steely Dan. Tickets to a concert of theirs here go on sale on Friday, and I've considered picking them up, but all my friends I've mentioned it to find the idea of going to such a concert laughable, which is a great shame. Pretzel Logic would come close to my top fifty albums of all time.

 

Also, I really enjoyed Two Against Nature. I wouldn't rate it over The Marshall Mathers LP (and I certainly wouldn't rate that album as the best of 2000 either), but I don't see the point in disliking something purely because it was given an award, especially an award as unimportant as a Grammy.

[Guest George's Box]

I've really come around on "Charlie Freak," though. It's all very dated, yes, but this song is still pretty neat. This is an instance where the suspended chords and stuff are really evocative.

[Slayer 0]

doooo do do-do, dee doooo do do-do

[Guest George's Box]

Well, I'm starting to come around a little bit on the lyrical aspect of the band, though I still have major beef with how impossibly well-produced and precise everything is. It's too sterile to rely on all those L.A. session men. Donald Fagen's solo album has a couple of good songs, but it sounds even more soulless than Jazz From Hell. I guess if I can slog through the schlock and just enjoy the lyrics, it can't be that bad. Oh well, I could only forestall the inevitable for so long. I'm my dad.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

No worries, fellas. I still hate this band.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I enjoy Steely Dan, it's the perfect music to relax too if I want to read or something. Are they the greatest ever? No, but they definitely put something together that I think holds up pretty good even today.

 

This sounds like the closing thesis statement on a term paper where the student doesn't really care about the subject, but has to churn out something at the last minute.

 

Classic Rock staple. It seems like when Classic Rock stations need to fill something in, Steely Dan does the trick.

 

Seriously. This was especially true with the station I listened to in South Florida. I couldn't stand these guys after listening to the radio for too long. Although, I did end up digging the Moody Blues a lot (seeing them next month here, actually) despite the fact they played "Nights In White Satin" seemingly every hour.

 

Oh well, I could only forestall the inevitable for so long. I'm my dad.

It's only a matter of time before you too cause a household fire using buttered toast in the toaster.

[Elbarto997 0]

Steely Dan is perfectly adequate Jazz Rock, actually. Much more listenable and much less pretentious than, say, Phil Collins. That much should at least be handed in favor of Fagen & Becker.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

And as I sighed my irrational hate for Steely Dan died in fifteen ways:

15 Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More

14 The Nightfly

13 Everyone's Gone to the Movies

12 The Boston Rag

11 Night by Night

10 Parker's Band

09 I Got the News

08 Barrytown

07 Kings

06 International Geophysical Year

05 Change of the Guard

04 Show Biz Kids

03 Dirty Work

02 Charlie Freak

01 My Old School

 

However, I've found that my love affair with Steely Dan maybe just be a seasonal one: it was great jogging music all summer, yeah like totally, but now that I have to don a wool coat and wear a lot of black and trudge through the bitter November wind, I'm not in the mood for "Show Biz Kids" at all. It just annoys the fuck out of me. Maybe I just oversaturated. I feel the same way about Springsteen at the moment, too.

 

Also, I can save a sliver of face by stating that I don't care for The Royal Scam, Gaucho, or Two Against Nature at all, and I really tried hard on that last one. I mean, I still remember everyone complaining that the dildo band beat Kid A!

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

Steely Dan is perfectly adequate Jazz Rock, actually. Much more listenable and much less pretentious than, say, Phil Collins. That much should at least be handed in favor of Fagen & Becker.

 

Technically it's very good jazz rock, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's good music. Look, I've had to live with these two twats a long time, my dad is effing obsessed.

[King Kamala 0]

Amusingly enough- one of my dad's least favorite bands alongside Buckingham and Nicks era Fleetwood Mac (He loves the old blues band and hated it when they sold out). He really likes "Dirty Work" though and he was upset when I told him that it was a Steely Dan song when we were driving in the car, listening to it on the radio.

 

As for my opinions on Steely Dan but depending on my mood, I either really dig them or am somewhat annoyed by them. That goes for most popular 70s and 80s soft rock acts (Hall and Oates come to mind)