Hello. Today I am presenting myself with a challenge. It's about something I know in my heart of hearts but find myself struggling to express with words.
What is the deal with Steely Dan!
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| The men behind the madness: Walter Becker and Donald Fagen |
Why is it that one of my dad's least favorite bands of all time has risen so quickly to become one of my favorites. Aja, Gaucho, and Countdown To Ecstasy: all albums that I can't get enough of. My plan to get to the bottom of this is as follows: I will select one track each from the aforementioned albums and describe why they tickle me. Let us begin...
Song One: Black Cow
Black cow is the first Dan song I ever heard. Back in quarantine, I stumbled on a tweet I saved from my favorite bald youtuber about how he liked the album Aja. I had saved it so that I would remember to investigate at some point. That point had arrived.
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| The "title track" referred to here is Black Cow |
"In the corner, of my eye..." My first encounter with the iconic strained singing voice of Donald Fagen. The stagnation of my life in that moment felt realized in this track about someone with an addiction problem drinking a root beer float mixed with Bourbon. It really had it all, a drink I had never heard of, the sense of intrigue regarding who the song was about, and the question of what character was singing this ballad ("I'm the one, Who must make everything right,"). This gentleman and his convoluted life were everything I needed in what had become my rather boring one. Yet the sound of the band was so intent on being unenthusiastic. Even as the song crescendos into its third verse (the song has no chorus and three verses), the rising of the notes is cut short of reaching anything we might mistake for a pleasant feeling. And yet, how happy I felt to be the listener.
Upon finishing my first go round, I listened to Aja another two full times on that hot spring day. I was hooked.
Song Two: Babylon Sisters
Babylon Sisters hails from possibly my favorite Dan album, Gaucho. I'm pretty sure Fiona Apple said in an interview one time she liked Gaucho too but I can't find the interview or the tweet that I saw that had the interview linked so I might have made that up. But I like to imagine she thinks that anyway.
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| "Babylon Sisterssssss" -Fiona Apple |
OK back to it... Babylon Sisters is a prime example of another of the Dan's repeated themes that inspire so much joy within me: Los Angeles talk. You can imagine my delight when the song begins: "Drive west on Sunset, to the sea." Now consider how intense this fervor becomes when I am actually driving west on Sunset boulevard towards the sea, as I am prone to do because it is one of the steps to get to my girlfriend's house. It's like they're talking straight to me.
I am fanatical about Los Angeles. Not only is it the hometown, but as a recently minted music industry wannabe, I feel like it's a holy ground where anything is possible and there is always someone interesting and involved to tap in with. Thus, to feel that I'm retracing the steps of two industry figures transports me right to the metaphorical money.
Beyond that lyric this song is about how it's bad to fool around with younger women when you're an old guy, which I think is hilarious. This hilarity is actually a through line for my experience with their music. I don't know how serious the lyrics are intended to be but I find many of them absolutely side splitting. These guys were troubled in their middle age.
Oh, also I like the way this song sounds. It feels breezy but tinged with a lingering illness so that the breeze doesn't feel that good. Again... these guys were troubled in their middle age.
(Sidebar: one of my favorite examples of this comedic element is the song Gaucho from the same album, which is about a cowboy being somewhere he's not supposed to be and wearing fancy slippers.)
Track Three: My Old School
In looking for a track I like for a different reason than the former two, I have settled upon Countdown To Ecstasy's My Old School. I love the album cover for this album, and also this track. I think the main place that this one differs from the others is that I like it primarily for the way it sounds, less for any sort of references or weird vibes.
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| Go ahead and catch a vibe |
It's important to distinguish here that I prefer upbeat music most of the time as my mood tends to reflect directly the mood of the tracks I'm bumping. That's one of the reasons the Dan is such an elusive high for me. Despite it's oft bizarre undertones, it still improves my mood somehow. Having said that, this track is not confusing in that regard because it actually has a fun feeling to it.
The song follows a person with a girlfriend toting some lofty aspirations and ideals ("Oh no... Guadalajara won't do,"), a fairly standard recipe for some middle aged angst typical to the band. However it differs sonically from the typical fair. The ragtime keys and choir infused chorus make the premise feel less brooding and cynical, rather more upbeat. One imagines a chastising but humored spectator who knows what they're getting themselves into to be the singer. This effect is emphasized by the use of blaring brass, which introduces a sort of big-band-elation factor heretofore unheard. All these factors combined even give this track a sort of gospel music feeling.
All that to say that I think this is a sunny summer track and it makes me smile.
Conclusions:
1. I like music with a weird vibe if it makes me feel like a detective.
2. I like LA and also lyrics that are funny.
3. I like songs that are gospel inspired.
4. I like Steely Dan.
Wow, what great work we did here. I feel like I maybe know more concretely "why do I like that," now, so hopefully I can reference some of these points in the future when or if asked about my feelings on Daniel Steely. Alternatively, everyone will read this article and then no one will ask me because they already know. Thanks for reading, everyone.
Okay cool. Later!
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