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All Times are Eastern (New York City) Time Zone.
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| | Convergences usually around 10:00
PM NYC Time each night. Stop by during your lunch break too. Starting point for chat is obviously EMG and more. Wait around a few if no one is there when you get in. |
Click for July 2003 BlueBook Entries
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 23:35:22 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 23:21:05 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 21:26:15 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 21:13:58 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 20:42:00 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 18:24:00 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 18:14:42 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 18:00:53 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 17:49:15 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 17:35:35 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 17:31:23 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 17:28:56 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 17:19:14 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 17:12:35 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 16:56:32 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 16:53:00 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 16:42:05 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 16:10:41 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 16:08:34 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 15:49:04 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 15:31:09 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 14:56:43 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 14:56:36 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 14:40:27 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 14:06:41 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 13:50:18 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 13:37:22 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 13:23:46 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 13:16:54 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 13:00:46 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:54:57 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:54:15 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:53:45 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:35:17 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:32:23 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:30:43 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:23:01 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:19:57 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:11:25 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:05:00 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 12:04:44 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 11:50:00 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 11:46:36 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 11:36:28 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 11:30:36 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 10:32:30 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 10:28:11 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 09:29:04 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 09:20:35 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 08:22:00 ET
Date: Mon, June 30, 2003, 07:34:31 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 23:43:20 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 19:17:44 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 17:32:51 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 17:28:07 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 15:53:03 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 08:32:19 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 08:26:29 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 07:30:27 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 01:29:59 ET
Date: Sun, June 29, 2003, 01:23:22 ET
Date: Sat, June 28, 2003, 15:15:37 ET
Date: Sat, June 28, 2003, 14:58:27 ET
Date: Sat, June 28, 2003, 13:35:53 ET
Date: Sat, June 28, 2003, 04:29:56 ET
Date: Sat, June 28, 2003, 01:17:18 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 20:36:21 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 19:25:18 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 15:47:05 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 15:45:49 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 13:24:59 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 13:16:54 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 12:33:51 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 12:26:32 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 12:21:40 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 12:14:16 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 12:08:08 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 11:57:26 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 11:38:49 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 11:38:11 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 11:35:59 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 11:22:02 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 11:01:13 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 10:10:33 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 10:07:37 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 10:04:16 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 09:38:04 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 09:03:53 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 08:26:36 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 08:00:21 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 07:42:01 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 06:44:44 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 06:41:29 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 06:40:12 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 06:00:15 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 05:56:31 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 05:02:03 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 02:47:16 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 02:23:57 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 01:47:21 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 01:24:04 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 01:22:24 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 01:14:41 ET
Date: Fri, June 27, 2003, 00:33:59 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 23:46:41 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 23:41:46 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 23:33:09 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 21:30:41 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 21:28:47 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 19:48:25 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 18:29:05 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 17:41:45 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 17:34:41 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 17:13:33 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 16:41:23 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 16:35:44 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 16:20:52 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 16:16:46 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 16:14:16 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 15:55:46 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 15:36:28 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 15:12:32 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 15:09:45 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 14:24:09 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 14:21:03 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 13:34:47 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 12:44:39 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 12:36:13 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 11:51:04 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 09:24:20 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 07:47:19 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 06:56:14 ET
Date: Thurs, June 26, 2003, 04:40:37 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 21:50:28 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 21:39:20 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 20:58:22 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 20:53:06 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 20:50:13 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 20:45:59 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 20:44:24 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 20:35:35 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 20:35:22 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 20:07:14 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 19:55:08 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 19:35:23 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 18:45:30 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 18:40:13 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 18:33:04 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 17:45:19 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 17:40:55 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 16:50:07 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 16:42:18 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 16:31:40 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 16:22:16 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 15:47:07 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 14:48:56 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 14:28:36 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 14:22:28 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 13:53:55 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 13:46:19 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 12:54:09 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 12:20:52 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 12:06:09 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 10:25:33 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 09:33:36 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 08:48:36 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 08:38:05 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 08:24:43 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 05:22:55 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 03:13:23 ET
Date: Wed, June 25, 2003, 00:27:29 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 22:56:04 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 22:26:51 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 21:45:19 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 18:56:02 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 18:39:31 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 18:29:44 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 18:12:37 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 18:07:40 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 18:03:35 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 17:48:20 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 17:45:50 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 17:35:07 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 17:30:55 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 17:15:06 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 17:04:16 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:48:06 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:27:19 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:22:47 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:22:42 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:20:16 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:19:05 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:18:25 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:16:43 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:14:09 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 16:11:51 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 15:51:01 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 15:40:58 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 15:13:39 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 15:06:26 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 15:02:52 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 15:01:30 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 14:57:00 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 14:36:25 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 14:34:24 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 14:27:28 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 14:11:29 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 13:25:43 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 13:02:25 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 12:49:04 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 12:40:01 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 12:32:02 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 10:19:22 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 09:45:32 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 08:01:14 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 06:45:04 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 04:25:06 ET
Date: Tues, June 24, 2003, 04:24:09 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 22:46:23 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 21:46:18 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 21:29:48 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 20:07:11 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 19:52:23 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 17:43:08 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 15:43:33 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 14:24:02 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 14:07:33 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 13:02:57 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 12:33:32 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 09:41:50 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 09:25:00 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 09:16:59 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 08:35:33 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 08:24:10 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 08:11:49 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 06:28:55 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 05:34:29 ET
Date: Mon, June 23, 2003, 01:53:05 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 23:22:54 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 23:06:40 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 21:45:20 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 21:35:51 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 20:47:24 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 17:02:44 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 16:29:07 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 15:20:11 ET
Date: Sun, June 22, 2003, 09:23:17 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 21:11:50 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 19:45:33 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 19:25:34 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 16:50:24 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 16:09:42 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 13:41:09 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 10:13:46 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 06:57:53 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 06:15:33 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 05:54:19 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 03:05:57 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 02:54:31 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 01:30:27 ET
Date: Sat, June 21, 2003, 01:27:28 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 23:54:11 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 23:33:36 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 22:51:19 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 22:04:38 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 21:58:22 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 19:55:53 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 19:03:52 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 18:34:12 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 18:22:42 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 17:28:51 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 17:02:02 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:42:11 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:34:20 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:24:43 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:23:33 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:21:00 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:19:20 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:12:40 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:12:38 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 16:07:28 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 15:49:16 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 15:34:00 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 14:55:56 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 14:20:41 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 14:14:28 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 14:09:04 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:58:20 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:45:51 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:44:28 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:44:25 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:39:27 ET
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Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:37:17 ET
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Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:23:30 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:10:24 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 13:03:35 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 12:54:29 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 12:38:50 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 12:19:15 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 11:57:58 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 11:18:05 ET
Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 10:53:55 ET
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Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 10:46:51 ET
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Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 10:23:43 ET
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Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 06:34:25 ET
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Date: Fri, June 20, 2003, 00:03:33 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 23:50:05 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 23:44:53 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 22:54:54 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 22:41:31 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 20:35:41 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 20:27:46 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 18:26:13 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 17:43:38 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 16:59:15 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 16:39:31 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 16:36:32 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 16:29:36 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 16:25:57 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 16:20:47 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 16:18:59 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 15:34:19 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 14:15:45 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 13:59:11 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 13:49:28 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 13:11:18 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 12:53:53 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 12:35:23 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 12:29:26 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 12:09:51 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 11:54:44 ET
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Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 10:03:54 ET
Date: Thurs, June 19, 2003, 09:48:08 ET
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Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 23:53:10 ET
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Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 23:25:32 ET
Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 21:21:04 ET
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Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 19:25:51 ET
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Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 19:20:55 ET
Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 19:01:48 ET
Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 18:52:26 ET
Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 18:49:59 ET
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Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 17:58:51 ET
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Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 16:54:03 ET
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Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 15:37:55 ET
Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 15:30:46 ET
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Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 14:37:40 ET
Date: Wed, June 18, 2003, 14:34:43 ET
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June 2003 BlueBook Entries
Posted by: Don Breithaupt, TorontoI wonder whether having three digital versions of EMG available from Day One has impacted negatively on its Billboard chart position. Surely the regular CD, CD/DVD, and DVD-A all have different bar codes; they would show up as different items on Soundscan. Just a thought.
Posted by: steelydoubt, today my grandma had the radio on while she was driving me to school, it was magic 79.5 (vomits in mouth), there was a commercal for santa barbara airbus. the dood said "rikki dont loose that #". it was cool.
Posted by: Danfests, ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003
From: Jim McKay < hoops@dandom.com>
Subject: DANFEST UPDATE: Raleigh/Carolinas, Balt-DC, ...
High lights of the Danfest goings-on.
See http://www.dandom.com/danfests for more details.
DANFEST-RALEIGH/CAROLINAS:
- 60 members on the Raleigh/Carolinas Danfest List
Nope! No show there BUT discussions are underway to charter a bus from the Carolinas to catch the Atlanta or Manassas show.
Sign up for their Danfest list at http://www.dandom.com/otherdanfests
DANFEST-BALT-DC: Countdown to Ecstasy Danfest
- 84 members on the Baltimore/DC Danfest List
This very active Danfest list is making plans to purchase a block of tickets and go en masse.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/baltdc
DANFESTS-EASTERN PENN:
(includes former DANFEST-POCONOS and HERSHEY)
- 21 members on the E.Pa. Danfest List
The Poconos Danfest list has been merged with the Hershey list for the "Eastern Pennsylvania" Danfest list. "Little Wild One" is organizing an event. Get on the list and start chatting.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/epa
enGORGEment'03:
- 34 members on the enGORGEment'03 Danfest List
SueDave and pals are planning a night-before party in Seattle and then another great wing-ding at the Gorge.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/engorgement
BOSTON RAG'03:
-106 members on the Boston Danfest List
Mark "Boston Rag" Drinan & "Sponge" Bill Griffin are cooking up another amazing Danfest for the Mansfield show with special Dan guests. In 2000 it was 70s SD tour soundsman, Dinky Dawson.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/boston
R E M I N D E R S
____________________________________________
DANFEST-L.A.:
- 88 members on the L.A. Danfest List
Includes discussion for the shows at Costa Mesa, Santa Barbara(if it happens) and L.A.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/la
DANFEST-GOLD RUSH TRIFECTA:
- NEW LIST
At the suggestion of several, fan discussion and meet-ups for Pas Robels, Kelseyville and Tahoe have been combined into one set of Danfests, dubbed by Ed_Beatty as the "GOLD RUSH TRIFECTA" since they all take place in the old Gold Rush territory.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/goldrushtrifecta
DANFESTS-NEW ENGLAND:
- 17 members on this Dand List
Danfest lists for Connecticut and Vermont have also been combined into one. If you were on the old Connecticut Danfest list, you are now on the New England Danfest list.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/newengland
DANFEST-AZ:
(Includes Phoenix)
- NEW LIST
Fans headed to the show in Phoenix should sign up for the DANFEST-AZ list. Chris Lonn is getting things organized.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/az
DANFEST-COLUMBUS:
- NEW LIST
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/columbus
DANFEST-ATLANTIC CITY:
- NEW LIST
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/atlanticcity
DANFEST-NYC:
- 161 members on this Danfest List
Covers shows for Holmdel, Jones Beach, & Roseland. Lady Bayside already has plans a'goin' for the Jones Beach show.
http://www.dandom.com/danfests/nyc
http://www.dandom.com/danfests
jim
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by: h, Tones:
Good to hear they are getting it out so the fans know and will buy.
Too bad I saw one on eBay already--one less store without it.
I asked at several Borders if I could have the special 24" X 18 " EMG poster when they were done with the display. In 2000, when I lived in another area, the Borders there saved me a couple of flats for 2vN. This time, they basically said, "umm, no, we don't give them away, too much trouble, but <cough, cough> look on eBay." Oh well.
jim
Posted by: tones, update: the promo stuff arrived last week (I just found it today...), and included posters (the cd cover with blurbs about the Grammys and the special edition) and a promo cd for in store play.
Seems Warners is finally waking up...
Posted by: h, Whoooa., Raja...wasn't directed at you. Was directed at Frank Sinatra. Seriously, was directed at several situations today, not people. Name calling usually gets boring and isn't very convincing usually either. Usually.
Just thinking how three years ago, I was gearing up to spend a week out on the East Coast to see SD at Jones Beach, Hartford, Boston and Camden. I think a lot more people could check out the Danfest clips than could in 2000 thanks to broadband and comcast and rr.com and the like.
Fly low, be cool.
Glam Rock?
jim
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Hoops - I'll play nice, sorry it was you Peter, oops. As for Sinatra, as a human being he was just a terror and a bully. But when he sang he was really another person. I think people were talking the other day about the singer as actor, and yes, definitely it is crucial that the singer take on the persona of the song. This is why Frank's god-awful personality never got in the way when he sang. He was the song. Studio musicians loved working with Frank and there is a terrific book out there called, "Sessions with Sinatra" which details some great studio stories to go with the songs.
Posted by: hoops, Just a heads up on a few things.
* One, the Dandom Digest has gotten really busy in recent weeks, going out to about 1,650 to 1,700 subscibers (after screening out the bad addresses of those who forgot to unsubscribe), the content is a cross between discussion like here and news items. It also digests stuff from various Danfan sources. http://www.dandom.com/dandomdigest . In the past week, the original Danfan internet place has reestablished it's own personality. Sign up!
* Danfest lists and pages have been updated. Some lists have been consolidated (Balt-DC/Manasas, Hershey/Poconos, CT/VT), new ones have been started (Gold Rush Trifecta for Tahoe/N.Ca., Atlantic City, Columbus, AZ for Phoenix) and others are just there. Aside from getting people together to meet in person, there's a lot of useful discussion on ticket purchases (some Danlists are buying group blocks of tickets) while others are chartering busses and others are getting special air-fare and hotel rates. So even if you don't plan on hooking up with other fans before or after shows, there's a lot of useful info being discussed at these Danfest pages and Danfest Mail lists. There are more 600 people total signed up just between the L.A., Chicago, NYC, Dallas and BaltDC Danfest lists with there being something like 40 lists as of this writing.
Check it out at http://www.dandom.com/danfests
And while we are warming up for the tour, take a look back at some videos and pics of the 2000 Danfests at http://www.dandom.com/idanvention
Hope that gets you stoked.
jim mckay
Posted by: hoops, I've never really figured out for sure what Glam Rock is all about or why it's appealing, let along worth getting hot under the collar about. Safe to say, you don't need to be up on Glam Rock to be in love with Steely Dan music.
There's so many sides to Sinatra, some I admire greatly while other sides, especially certain sides of his image, really turn me off. Safe to say he wasn't into glam rock either. I think I appreciate his ability to phrase above all else.
When I made the Elmer Fudd comparison in "Godwhacker" I didn't completely grok the "Be very quite" bit at the time. Someone else very cleverly came up with that and it does work--is amusing.
Can't get into the clock thread for some reason. I know they have clocks plastered all over the DVD-A and the album notes. Do you thing they will have EMG watches for sale at the shows?
Thanks for the interview, Russ.
Disagreeing is great but play nice, OK?
jim
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynI said glam rock Eurotrash. It's a classification, not a judgment.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Joey - two things here. That reviewer (who was that or was that a Bluebooker?) is an idiot so let your heart not be troubled. I thought glam was like, Slade and NY Dolls - those guys with the lipstick and platform shoes.
Second, there is only and could only be one Chairman, and that is....please rise and salute......the late Mr. Frank Sinatra, who was the best vocal storyteller and the singer with the greatest breath control ever. I invite anyone to knock that chip off my shoulder.
Posted by: Bob, Hoops said that on June 18, Book keepers son. So have several others so you are in good company. For those who think Godwhacker is about Bush, the take has been that the boyz are making W. out to be like Elmer Fudd. Not certain I agree.
Posted by: Joey, " (not like The Who's glam rock Eurotrash such as Tommy or Quadrophenia, but more subtle).As always in the Dan literary aesthetic, the emotionally inarticulate schmuck who tells the story looks for comfort in booze ................."
WTF ?!?!?!?!?!
Excuse me Sir , but the " Chairman of the Board " , one Mr. Peter Dennis Blanford Townshend , does NOT pen " Glam Rock Eurotrash " .
Quadrophenia in particular is a Masterpiece and displays the band's skills in all of its gloryhole peek -- Just as " The Royal Scam " and " Aja " display the Dan at THEIR Killer peek .
You have left me so upset that I am stirred to sadness and quite visibly shaken to the core .
The Joey !
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYI beg to differ, I don't believe B&F put out a record without having final cut.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Elmer Fudd all the way. I hope that live they sing "wewy wewy".
Posted by: bookkeeper's son, L.A.I don't know if anyone else has noticed this,but doesn't Fagan sound like Elmer Fudd when he says 'Be very,very quiet' in Godwhacker? It makes me think of an old Looney Tune or a Pat Oliphant syle political cartoon, complete with 'slinky redfoot' and his "trusty(brilliant choice of words)angel girls'....
Posted by: Dennis, ChicagoI just listened to an interview with becker and fagan from a radio station on the west coast. The interviewer asked why they chose to record live with basically the same band and becker said they enjoyed the interplay that developed between the musicians. I don't think it is safe to say that if there is drum roll in a song it's because becker and fagan say so. Chances are 50/50 that they did ask for it, but I don't believe they tell every musician exactly every note they should be playing. I know for a fact from a becker interview that they gave mccracken and herington charts but let the guitarists play the voicings they would normally play. They didn't tell them exactly what to play in every instance although I'm sure a lot of suggestions were thrown around. They also said that they never used to do tracks over and over, they would use different players for different things but fagan said maybe it's time to set the record straight on doing things over and over and before he could talk becker said "it's served us pretty well so far, what's in it for us to come clean at this point?". COT talks like he knows them personally and is in the studio with them or something. The fact of the matter is, noone really knows what goes on but b&f and the musician's in the band. Everything else is heresay unless you hear it from d&w or the musicians. I know it's romantic for you to dub these guys the taskmasters but ease up, it's music, and this music sounds like it developed over time. Very greasy stuff, great playing. Just dig the music.
Posted by: h, Of course, I might quibble with the word "rivals" and replace it will "exceeds."
Posted by: hoops, Joshua Klein alluded to Steely Dan in his 6/28/03 "Chicago Tribune" review of Fleetwood Mac's show last Thursday at All-State Arena. Nice to see someone appreciating the Dan at the Trib:
"Only Steely Dan rivals Fleetwood Mac when it comes to delivering slick studio weirdness under the guise of soft rock, and Buckingham's strange bent brings out the best in the band."
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYActually it is not an option that a drum roll would just show up in a particular place without B&F's direct orders. These guys are known to be control freaks to the max. If it's there, they wanted it there. Who could argue this point?
Posted by: DACW ,
I get the same kind of feeling from third hand rose as from "Can't Write Home About You" or gladstone bag man from Second Arrangment...
Carlock is tick-tock as in clock - time, before it all "clocks out" ...with those occasional exceptions...like just before "be vewy vewy qwiet" others inclduing Peter's (if that's your real name)
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawarePeter: I apologize for my rant. I guess I interpreted your posts in the wrong way...I'm one for analyzing music and such, but I think you're overanalyzing the percussion in "Lunch w/ Gina" just a tad.
Personally I think your idea of common themes is probably ill-advised. I think some of these tendencies are more coincidence than a set-in-stone pattern.
Earl
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawarePeter: I apologize for my rant. I guess I interpreted your posts in the wrong way...I'm one for analyzing music and such, but I think you're overanalyzing the percussion in "Lunch w/ Gina" just a tad.
Personally I think your idea of common themes is probably ill-advised. I think some of these tendencies are more coincidence than a set-in-stone pattern.
Earl
Posted by: AnonEmouse2, NYCI have it on reasonably good authority that they are rehearsing in NYC. Location non-IDed to protect the guilty.
Posted by: angel, Morning Scan:
Found in todays Patt Morrison column at www.latimes.com.
"• Corn dog time approaches in Orange County, which means another fight among Republicans over who still holds appointments by a Democratic governor to those very juicy seats on the county fair board. Last year, Gray Davis pulled the plug on former Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle's board seat, but let him stay until the fair was over. Pete Wilson's appointee Emily Stanford won her battle to keep her spot, so 80-year-old Orange County Democratic godfather Richard O'Neill takes the place of the late and beloved GOP lobbyist Randy Smith. Davis has tilted the board from GOP to Democratic, which one fan predicted would mean "better rock 'n' roll bands." On this year's lineup: Steely Dan."
Posted by: Another Anon, "New International Dictionary" says that a "second hand rose" is a 1 rose flower previously given to another, suggesting cheapness on behalf of its presenter 2 a divorced woman, 3 woman who is somewhat slatternly.
Maybe they are at a secure, undisclosed place like Cheney. If they want that stuff out, don't they put it on their web site?
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.The only other place they might be rehearsing is out here in the L.A. area since the tour kicks off out here. The weather has been putrid back east and they might have wanted to get away. Lots of the big touring bands rehearse at a soundstage at Sony Studios (Fleetwood Mac) most recently. I've asked around and nobody I know has a clue. Then again, since the great majority of their current line-up are New Yorkers, maybe not. So let's raise the musical question: where in the world are the Steely Dan?
Posted by: Anonymous, NYCMy boyfriend just returned from Starbucks and swears he bumped into Walter Becker on West End Avenue, carrying a guitar. Are they rehearsing in NYC presently?
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Look, I know we're reaching with this deconstruction of thee tiny words but I always felt with the lyrics that we should roll em around, disassemble them, throw em against the wall, see what we've got, them put it all back together. To me, it's just fun. And Peter, I don't think you think you know it all. Nobody's always right but I appreciate your very affirmative positions. Don't stop, bud. It's thought provoking.
Posted by: Jami, A hyphen? See my comments above, Russ. Play it backwards and Donald is dead.
Jami
Posted by: Russ, Not onmly that, but if it were intended to be "third-hand rose" as in an exaggerated "second-hand rose", the "third-hand" would be hyphenated to make it an adjective. The lyrics on the official Web site clearly show it as three separate words
Posted by: Jami Lis, MinneapolisNo theory here. Hoops is dead on. The term is "second hand rose" not "Rose" and means a woman who is beautiful and elegant like a rose and sexually experienced. Another term it reminds me of is "English rose" not "Rose" which means elegant and sexually atractive woman whose British but again, it's based on the flower. So a "third hand rose" would be an elegant whore used by lots of guys.
Some of these other interpretations, whooo-weee!!! Some of you try too hard. Approaches the ridiculous debate a few years back that "Chain Lightning" was a song about a series of homosexual Nazis conjoined in anal sex.
See you at St. Paul.
Jami
"Ticket in hand"
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawarePeter Q: Why don't you stop with the, "I know everything about Steely Dan and what their songs are about" routine? If you know so much, write a book and sell it. It's getting annoying.
DOE
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Well, the slang is usually third leg. I've heard "arm" references as well but not as much. It's the "rose" part that makes this a viable reference, I think. And in terms of whatever the heck is happening in that very kinky green book, this guy may be suspended from the ceiling or some such and then at some point....schwwiinng. Scary and creepy but they've taken us there before.
Posted by: snakehips,
Well I've never heard it referred to as a "third hand" either, but if he's online, typing with his two hands...? Check out other SD lyrics...there's a lot of weird shit in there...lol
Hoopsie - I just think if they were using your theory, they would have capitalized Third Hand Rose - since I think Second Hand Rose would normally be capitalized...
sh
Posted by: h, Chief:
You can call yours whatever you want (myself, I never related to that kind of naming thing), but I don't think that's what B/F intended by "Rose" in this case.
jim
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYIt makes no sense to call the male sex organ "my third hand." Do it?
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.I have never, ever come across a literary or vernacular reference, slang or proper usage, of "thirdhand rose". They coined it knowing we would think of secondhand rose as we have, thirdhand merely being a step further and it still works on that level. But "rose" used as a verb trumps it.
Posted by: hoops, Can't remember which forum I previously posted the following in.
I'm just the opposite. I never thought of it as being "Rose" with a capital "R". Although there is that Babs Streisand performance of "Second Hand Rose," that term thas been around the block a long while before that.
Based on the pre-1960's/Sexual Revolution morés, a "second hand rose" (not cappitalizes) is a woman who's been married before but is still attractive to a fella.
So I always though "third hand rose" another word for whore, a woman who's been around more than just second hand--third hand. My question is this. Is "third hand rose" also a classic slang or is it a Steely Dan-invented variation on the "second hand rose" slang.
jim
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Snaky - Duh, I didn't get it, I was certain it was capitalized. Well, that ices that one. Your theory is extremely compelling.
Posted by: snakehips,
If you check the liners, rose ISN'T capitalized...everyone just assumed it was a name...
D & W must crack up at the thought of us analyzing their amazing lyrics...lol
sh
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Snaky -- yes, yes yes! You're brilliant! Never thought of that. That's their sense of humor all the way. The capitalized "Rose" is just there to throw us off.
Posted by: snakehips,
Has anyone noticed that "rose" in third hand rose is not capitalized? Like a name would be? Since were talkin' sex here, could it be that rose is a verb? My "third hand rose"...like, ahem, well you know...
Am I way off here?
sh
...here is where i get off...
Posted by: Beerberian again, @it"So let's switch off all the lights
And light up all the Luckies
Crankin' up the afterglow"
Post Coital cigarette ... the company is Fucked so
Posted by: Beerberian, @itRajah; I'm with you on that one ... I think it's about an alcoholic lunch with GINa (and Tanqueray ref too) once an alcoholic always an alcoholic ... lasts forever
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Russ- thank you very much for that article. Man sounds like he's real student of his craft. Can't wait to see this "whipping" thing they talk about.
Peter - you know I've been thinking about Gina and more and more I think she is a metaphor for addiction. I struggled with this concept of the song which has been raised by many of the Book recently but more and more, I think they have something. He can't stop hearing that voice ringing in his head - that need for stuff, could be the smack or blow or booze, pot- anything really that you know is bad for you and you try desperately to avoid, probably you've had a long history with her, now you duck into the "places" Gina has been barred from, peeling out like the Flash but she always seems to be right on his tail, going postal with the need for whatever and then, bada-boom, there she is, available to you and that's when you relapse and decide, hey, she looks great. The addiction is forever, even if you manage to stay away from her, as we all know. And again, a very up and funky musical number - great, great dance tune, only it ain't what it seems. I think I just scared myself.
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYAnyone read the chapters on Steely Dan in Peter Lavazzoli's book? I have found them to be quite interesting and helpful.
Posted by: Russ, http://www.moderndrummer.com/viewfullfeatureartist.asp?alt=100008037
cool interview wuith Keith Carlock
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynIs that a rhetorical sarcastic question or do you want an answer there, cupcake?
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynThe careful, methodical placement of certain types of characters within very identifiable spatio-temporal fields is another trait of SD lyrics. A sort of metaphysical, temporal ennui seizes many males , eg. "and the time goes by/it goes so slowly/you know a man could cry"..."with only you/and what I found/we'll wear the weary hours down"..."days don't really last forever/it's gettin pretty damn close"..."cornflakes and Camels/and the long restless shadows of my life"...etc. Here, characters just kind of float through time like seahorses float through the ocean - petrified, confused, bored out of their minds - "just breathing, not being/like meat on the bone."
The lyrics often observe women in motion, on the go, not standing still - "she's coming round the corner/her body's just a blur"..."she said she loved me/and was on her way"..."I guess you kinda scared yourself/you turn and run"..."before the crew could put out the fires/you hopped a bus for Gramercy Park" etc. Men only exhibit this type of desire to move when they're around cars, as has been noted.
Periodically an instrument makes a humorous comment about time. For example, on the whole of the disc EMG Carlock is allowed to play outside the pocket only twice, both times in Lunch With Gina, once right after line "We got nothin but time" and once before the line, "Maybe later, maybe never". These flurries of percussive activity comment on the lyrics - time is like a drumstick pounding on the narrator's brain in the first case, in the second case it reminds our boy that if he's good he might get a kiss, but that it's Gina who controls that, not him.
Memory is always more sweet, better, more hopeful, than the present. Examples are almost too abundant to mention, but for starters
Posted by: dbeefy, in case the Reds decide to push the button downAttention London danfans -
This was brought up last week,(thanks princess) but tomorrow sees Stealing Dan (and Don) playing in Barnes, SW London...
http://www.jwgrogan.demon.co.uk/main.htm
anybody from here or the yellow going ?
dbeefy
Posted by: oleander, where'd we sample those yeggs??fever dreams has been slapped with a hefty ticket in web-traffic court, to wit off the air until 7/1. Then there will be updates.
Legion2--You go, daddy. You made me see this vision of (forgive me) Queen singing "We are the Godwhackers...."
Schvinnnnn--yo bro. Happy late late birthday.
Peg--just let me know.
angel--love it! -- er, how does it work with three hands?
Anybody in the ACC DanFest region: a trip to Atlanta for the show is afoot. E me if interested.
And Richmond Festers of yore: I'm IN for Manassas!! Field trip??
Raj--I didn't think of it that way, a Bab Sis style 3some.... Just as someone who'd been around the block thrice or so. Speaking of which, forgive me again, but the "birdie bye-bye" part of Gwhack makes me think of "Bye Bye Birdie." That would be the set of 2 refs to Bway musicals.
Incidentally, I think of Pixeleen's "three-times perfect" state as being in the x, y, and z axes.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Angel - there was a very famous song from the Broadway musical of the early 60s called, "Funny Girl". One of the big numbers was a tune called, "Secondhand Rose". "I'm wearing second hand clothes...that's why they call me second hand Rose." The character was a poor girl from Brooklyn of the early part of the 20th century. She wasn't a loose woman at all, just poor. Third hand Rose is the cyber-slut who our narrator in Green Book is projecting into a threesome with his wife or lover or girlfriend or whomever he is sharing his sexual fantasies in the Green Book. And it implies she's one more step removed from Secondhand Rose, a low-born working girl who probably would do what Secondhand Rose wouldn't -- be the sex fantasy gal of a man and his "old girl". I'll entertain dissenting opinions, though. help me Blue Bookers....
Posted by: DACW, neveronaSundayangel: are you actually saying she has her hand on his joystick?
Posted by: angel, There has been talk about Green Book being this virtual sex holodeck type thing and I can definitely see some of that. Someone asked what 3rd hand Rose meant and just now something new (at least I don't rememeber reading it) came to me.
"And here she comes very "Kiss Me Deadly"
My life, my love, my third hand rose"
Could that line have meaning "a la" some of the interpretations of the song Rose Darling?
Just a thought.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Peter, these guys have been smoking cobalt ciggies for a long time. They do have quite a through line of apocalyptical and dystopic themes in their work, and now it seems, sadly, a lot of it is coming true. Maybe that's why it seems with EMG that they sort of lifted the veils from their lyrics. 9/11 certainly changed civilization as we knew it. A lot of their older work starts to come into focus in light of our current world order. And yet, D&W call EMG a party record and the way it makes you wanna dance certainly confirms that. I think the album is very emotionally challenging in this respect. You're hoppin & boppin to the very tasty musical grooves meanwhile the lyrics reflect a very troubled world on the edge. Apocalypse Wow...and the band played on.
Posted by: george lister, ruralCharles Bronsons wife?that cant be right
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynIt is instructive to study the reviews of EMG that have been chosen to appear on the official SD website. Toth, writing in National Review, says that around the time of 2VN "the world had turned into a Steely Dan song"; Walton, in The Guardian, actually tries to compare them to Pynchon (there is no way of knowing for sure, but it seems certain that B&F must be big fans of both Gravity's Rainbow and Vineland); and Mulvey, in dotmusic, invites comparison with DeLillo.
It is well known by now that DeLillo's 1978 novel Players was so eerily prescient of the events of 9/11 ("They have money; we have destruction") it almost reads today as if it was beamed here from an interplanetary crystal ball. When Toth writes "the world had become a Steely Dan song" he means more that the Dan radar had picked up a general mood, general social trends, overall patterns of behavior, rather than predicted a specific incident many years in advance, as DeLillo's novel did. This leads to something interesting.
EMG is much more accessible, in its lyrics and stories, than previous Dan work. Much of it borders on being plainspoken and direct social commentary. (Something else they completely avoided till now, maybe Fall of 92 being an exception - in the past, whatever you felt B&F's social and political beliefs were had to be an inference you made, they provided no clues in their work). The vague, shadowy, chiaoscuro stories of the past have been flushed out with glaring lucidity, the vile theories behind them have been corroborated. We frolick in malls while terrorists plan to blow them up; Slinky redfoot is just around the corner; the President's with a chick in the Oval office. EMG is a virtual I-told-you-so of implications.
Posted by: julierood, throw a kiss....dianeDianeDIANE
ah the bluebook! This is where i am going to meet my 20 new best-danfriends? Cooool! Thx for the info...Gorge will be so good
would like to hook up with others going too!
See ya!
jules
Posted by: steelydoubt, ever since june 10 and on june tenth is says "Everything Must Go!"
someone LOVES steely dan there
Posted by: steelydoubt, what is up with that top five website?
Posted by: Word Up, http://www.performingsongwriter.com/pages/upcoming.cfm
Posted by: references pop up in random places..., http://www.topfive.com/arcs/pk062703.shtml
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.DACW - oleander - Peter Q -
Very instructive and passionately rendered, thank you. And while I think there might be two or perhaps three tracks on this record that are more immediately rewarding to the ear, subjectively speakin' that is, certainly no song carries the hefty punch of EMG. It ends up being quite a history lesson of the last few years. Perhaps the most accessible lyric in all of Dandom. Thanks for making it obvious to me.
Posted by: Brett, Where I come from getting "faced" means getting fucked-up and I think Don and Walt are just kids on the block. Face Time = Party Time.
BTW, add this great quote to the quorum: "Behind every great fortune is a crime."
Hi Mothra!
BB
Posted by: DACW , Ole: Oh, yes, those are crocodile tears...the sense of entitlement and invincibility has Ebbers and Lay thinking they can make a comeback (The OTHER DONALD trumped the real estate market in the tri-state area more than once) if they continue to avoid indictment... Enron used the the .com New Economy model. Global Acquisitions and stock options are not counted as debits...leverage the company with cheap bank loans, as they've leveraged them more than a decent sized Central American country...pump up your own stock in a rising market and funnel the market cashouts back into acquisitions, which don't count as debits...it's a freakin' money machine...stay on the front page of the business section...cook the books, while the regulators look the other way, and, in fact, cook the government books in 2000...then when the market comes stumbling down, the paper profits vaporize as capital is sucked into a monetary black hole...meanwhile Lay and Skilling tell the emloyees and 401k ers to hold onto their stock, while the management geeks dump theirs for big wads of cash...
The party never ends...but then "let's admit the bastards beat us" indicates that this was all a game..Just this inning is over, at least in their minds...while Rome burns, let's loot the suckah...but they will miss the face time, the perks, the glowing wonderment of the business and social pages...the irony - we know who the REAL bastards are...
So this has been just a Circus...and whose left cleaning up the elephant poop?? US, the suckahs that PT Barnum pegged a 100 years ago..or do we....Didn't we contribute to this and laugh and were entertained as long as the wine flowed are way?...the Louisianization of America....aren't we just pissed because their wine wtill flows while we're left with wHine?
How many of us believed our broker or trades analysts, whether real or on the web, when they told us not to be concerned about our growth stocks having P/E ratios of 100:1 or more...investing in companies that never made a profit...as long as Dow Jones increased 30% per year, who asked questionis as speculation and mass action drove a market? how many of us laughed about "irrational exuberence" while we pumped our growth funds because some yo-yo from TIAA-CREF told us we were years from retirement and to stay put, despite that voice in our heads screaming BUY BONDS, BONDS!! Not that we hadn't seen this before in the 1920a...and now we're farther away from retirement than ever...just as well - better for the health anyway...while the poker players are slipping away from the table with as many chips as they can stuff in their pleated trousers...
OK, so they've got Martha Stewart, just when are Lay and Ebbers going down?
http://www.sagecommentary.com/
Now the new economy is done or at least we finally recognized that it never existed beyond the Green Book...but have we learned any lessons?
I'm having a Memento moment with this album...perhaps it really starts with the collapse of the new economy ( EMG)and ends up with the big Kablooie (TLM)...have to chew on this...
Posted by: oleander, sorry, sunWait a minute.
Does no one realize what REALLY happened to Enron and similar corporate execs?
They ended up laughing all the way to the bank.
They made out like fucking bandits, and that's what's going on under EMG.
Yes, they admit the bastards beat them; they've been called on the carpet for their transgressions and their status post scrupulectomy. But memory is short; have your lawyers stretch it out long enough, and the American public will move right on to something else.
Therefore, they don't dissolve the corporation in black bunting, but in the quintessential party drink. And when the lights go out on the biz, the afterglow of getting away with offshore-sheltered millions begins. They may do the whiney pro forma "major pain and suffering," but why do you think "it's cozy down below"?
"Does anyone get lucky twice? Wouldn't it be nice?" Ouch. I am SUFFOCATING in the irony. They carefully planned this luck of theirs and hid it well. (BTW, this is a great line in an SD song, since what was 2001 about except the Dan getting lucky twice?)
Yes, "the sorry sun is rising"--not a hot, bright judgment of their wrongs, nor a fresh new dawn, but a sucker of a sun that thinks the party's over. Get hip, Sol! The protagonist is booking it to Bimini. As for "the famous road not taken," is it too obvious to point out that this is a ref to Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," which is used to drum into every eighth-grader's head that we must choose; our choices make us as we make them; and that you can never go back and make the same choice twice? But the guy in the song thinks the road not taken is for saps, and that he can have his cake and eat it. He took the spacious highway to Moloch, pedal to the metal, and never looked back.
And is sure he'll get away with murder: "And if somewhere on the way/ We got a few good licks in/ No one's ever gonna know..."
Tax sheltered fun in the sun in perpetuity. Yeah, I'm really worried about his self-esteem... Keep in mind he got a lot, all right....
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynI have found a good slogan to work by in examining Steely Dan tales is that frequently what appears to be psychological explanation is not,and that is certainly the case in the story of the song EMG. The phrase "everything must go" is something we associate with RETAIL SALES - just look at the cover of the disc, the jewelry hawker. A clothing store, a shoe store, an electronics store, a store selling QUANTIFIABLE MATERIAL GOODS might put up a sign saying emg; however, this is not where our narrator is from at all. He's from a WHITE COLLAR CORPORATION, a service company, dealing in intangible products, not in hard goods. What could the phrase "emg" possibly mean here? What must go, the office furniture? The computers? The pencils? Hardly. SD is talking about attitude changes, cleaning out the wolves, about mindset. The song reflexively harkens back to TLM and TIMTM - the thematic is carried around in a circle, a first in a SD album, making this almost a kind of concept album of mood (not like The Who's glam rock Eurotrash such as Tommy or Quadrophenia, but more subtle).As always in the Dan literary aesthetic, the emotionally inarticulate schmuck who tells the story looks for comfort in booze ("pool of margaritas", is interchangeable by now with "we've got provisions and lots of beer" or "down in the bottom of the wine dark sea", take your pick).
Posted by: John Galt, NYCOk.
The title track is the best track on the album, IMO.
That being said, D and W are narrators of what they see around them and then they throw in a little fiction/sci-fi and voila...you have an interesting story complemented with delightful music.
There might be hidden meanings but why rack your brains to try to delve deep into their psyche to figure it out.
Take the meaning you get out of it and run with it.
i.e Cuervo Gold and the Fine Columbian = getting fucked up.
Posted by: Meal Reviewer, CaliIn mi country we have the talking, "When the water pipes is good, the washing man is happy." That's is how STILLI DAN make me feel, like a happy Chinese tree! I thank my beautous wife Barna for bring me to America so I can hear the beautous happy music of Ronald Fagen and Walter. Thanks you baby! PS - Rodrigo no esta en casa.
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoI agree with Mitch. I appreciate the post interpreting EMG as the decline and fall of the US, as it seems well thought out. But my gut tells me that it really is just a song about a company going out of business, since the narrative all fits quite well when taken this way.
Certainly, Dan tunes run the gamut from fairly obvious to quite obtuse in terms of lyrics, but I would put EMG in the fairly obvious category. Not to say that there's nothing interesting about the lyrics, though. The much-discussed "Face time in the service elevator", for example. Its just that the overall subject seems pretty clear.
I can't wait for the tour. 1 month to the day for the Harvey's Tahoe show!
-Rob
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CA
"So let's switch off all the lights
And light up all the Luckies
Crankin' up the afterglow"
I might be just repeating what everyone already knows, but this verse is just hinting at something similar to "face time in the service elevator".
Basically, The comapany's dead. Lets have some fun, and afterwards have a smoke to crank up the afterglow (Lucky Strike is a brand of cigarettes and the pack even says "Luckies" on it).
Pretty straightforward I thought.
Posted by: Mitch, Do you ever think we give Donald and Walter too much credit? I, as much as the next guy, like to find little hidden meanings in their songs...but the entire deconstruction of EMG as reflecting the decline of the American "empire"...well...to me that's a reach.
These guys are great song writers. But c'mon...sometimes a song that sounds like it's about a company going bankrupt is a song about a company going bankrupt.
(This is in NO WAY a slam ad D&W...it's just that I think you can take any song lyric and intrepret the way you want. Kind of like how people have taken Nostradamous' quatrains and made them relavent to current events.)
Songs like "Third World Man" and "Aja" and "Home At Last" and "Chained Lightning" have made us think that every song is some sort of deceptive narrative. Sometimes their stuff is pretty straight forward.
I suppose that's why the website is called "Fever Dreams".
Posted by: Post-'76 scorching solo, Green Flower Street
Posted by: Studio7Dave, ChicagoI've been reading these posts for a few weeks now, thought I'd join the fray...
While I agree that the title track on EMG is about corporate greed, I thing to a larger extent it's about the end of the American empire, the possible thermonuclear defense of that empire in its last days, and the remeniscence of our former empire. The end of the New Frontier if you will...
It's high time for a walk on the real side
Let's admit the bastards beat us
There has finally been a successful challenge to America. We've lost a big battle and the writing is on the wall.
I move to dissolve the corporation
In a pool of margaritas
If we're going down, let's have one last bash.
So let's switch off all the lights
And light up all the Luckies
Crankin' up the afterglow
Could be just setting up the party, but "Luckies" could be a sarcastic name for a nuclear target. "Afterglow"...mushroom cloud...radiation...
'Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go
Launch the warheads..
Talk about your major pain and suffering
Now our self-esteem is shattered
We're ashamed of our empire's decline.
Show the world our mighty hidey-ho face
As we go sliding down the ladder
We've been taken down a notch...or could we be going into hiding somewhere?...
It was sweet up at the top
It was nice to rule the world...
'Til that ill wind started blowing
The rest of the world is turning against us or...nuclear fallout.
Now it's cozy down below
Down the ladder into the bomb shelter.
'Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go
We gave it our best shot
But keep in mind we got a lot
The sky the moon good food and the weather
First-run movies -- does anybody get lucky twice?
Wouldn't it be nice...
Remembering the greatness of America. Aviation. Space travel. Has any nation ever been as well fed as the US? Central heat and AC. Hollywood. It would be great if we could regain our power...nicely accentuated by a line from the quintessential American band, the Beach Boys.
Tell me can you dig it Miss Fugazy
Now it's gone from late to later
Could this be a doomsday clock reference? Anyway, since we're destroying the world, let's get back to the party...
Frankly I could use a little face time
In the service elevator
And if Dave from Acquisitions
Wants to get in on the action
With his Handicam in tow
Well we're goin' out of business
Everything must go
Can it be the sorry sun is rising
Guess it's time for us to book it
Talk about the famous road not taken
In the end we never took it
And if somewhere on the way
We got a few good licks in
No one's ever gonna know
Why would the greatest empire the world has ever known not be remembered?
'Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynA sixth theme of B&F stories is that of conspiracy, real or implied - the same raiders who "dissolve the corporation" give stolen pension money, money bilked from honest workers, to the politicans who are supposed to be in the "last mall," protecting your children from the terrorists who are going to blow it up, except that they're more concerned about losing their Audis. People with eerie Middle eastern names like "Abu" are all over our teenage girls. The "Green Book" is a double, triple, maybe even quadruple entendre - "Green Book" is actually the title of a terrorist manifesto written by Qaddafi! "Green Book" is also a novel by Jane Paton Wills about children growing up on alien planets. "Green Book" is also a too obvious to mention metaphor for a checkbook. "Catwalk in the warehouse" - is where Tim Roth suddenly comes alive and shoots Michael Madden down in the film Reservoir Dogs - what is Pixeleen doing there?; translation of "pitched in a trailer in Burbank" - put some superchicks into these shoot em up blood and guts flicks. Watching all this, having once been insiders in it all but now disgustedly relegated to the perimeter, now "early resigned", the few who have manage to save their naked souls can only convalesce on Blues Beach. (Even there, the respite is brief - it rains.)
Posted by: bwaySteve, 43rd and BwayI think Slang Of Ages refers to the word "fuck" .I keep trying to make something more out of the lyric but always come back to this.Do you think Walter is trying a little too hard to sound buzzed ? LOve the chorus melody.
Posted by: afoolnluv, Gaucho's amigo - "ruff!"Digging all the various takes on "face time", but my initial interp was the guy needed some time to compose himself before going back into public. But in a superficial way because Dave was invited to film the "emotional moment" for posterity, as in that movie about the losers in "Dot Com".
Of course since that initial take on my part, you guys here have revealed away many different more exciting possible meanings of "face time" to me. Nice job.
Gina - Admirable restraint you showed there. Tell those people they need to listen closer. To my ears the Dan have never written songs like "TTIMTM" or "Greenbook". New ground has been broken...
Posted by: beerberian, @itface time
noun. Time spent interacting with someone in person, rather than via email or some other electronic link.
Example Citation:
"John and Heather duly dispatched their pictures, both of which showed pleasant, open, plumpish faces. Both liked what they saw, but there still remained the underlying worry that neither might be the person they said they were. It was not until eight months after they first made computer contact that the couple finally secured what is termed 'face time' — a meeting in person."
—Christopher Middleton, "Tugs and Pie: it's love at first byte," The Daily Telegraph, May 10, 1996
Posted by: Mr.sticks, HUGE SALE TONIGHT!
FRIDAY JUNE 27,2003
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EVERYTHING MUST GO!
STEELYFANBAND.NET
Posted by: DACW, The "face time" scene could also be a metaphor for the American public servicing Enron, Clobal Crossing etc. - they had us believing that "new economy" s**t while CEOs and execs lived a hedonistic, celebrity life. Not a week went by in the Houston Chronicle (and this was before the crash) where there was not a major article about Enron's record "profits," acquisitions, and social life...at the expense of the employees, market investors, and eventually the company themselves...and they'd "Do It Again" ...Acquiring new companies, stock options etc. made it easy to cook the books while Robert Rubin and the rest of the regulators looked the other way...anyway, I just saw another article in the Wash. Post on how everyone want to "get in on the action"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37316-2003Jun26.html
Posted by: Mitch, I believe the "face-time" term in the case of EMG stems from the common term for time in front of the customer - "face time". Sales reps are often measured by their "face time" with the customer. I would say it has nothing to do with time on screen. That doesn't fit the narrative.
In the case of EMG which is a corporate song, I would say it's pretty certain that their double entendre begins there and ends with Miss Fugazy in the elevator.
Posted by: Shaun, BostonSkeevie- In reality "Face Time" does mean getting more time on screen. But I don't think in this particular case that's what it means. Someone posted some great newspaper clippings from a Houston paper a few weeks back. It said how all of the executives at Enron were always partying, drinking Margaritas and basically having sex with everyone in there offices and everywhere else at the Enron headquarters. (Even in the service elevator?) So my take take on "Face Time" is that it's about getting oral sex. Why would Dave from acquisitions have anything to do with getting anyone more screen time with his handicam in tow? Dave works in acquisitions, not at CBS. Dave is filming the boss having sex in the service elevator. 'I think it's a more amusing lyric from that perspective'.
Joey- It's time to get a new car stereo. It ain't the cd....it's your stereo!
LoveBob- 100% correct. These songs played live will knock people out! It's going to be one awesome tour!
Posted by: mwnf, Nevermind... I didn't see the post below. Got 101 Row R.
Posted by: Man with no face, What's the password for the Atlanta presale!!! I thought there wasn't going to be one. I tried "nature", no go.
Posted by: Joey, " Greenbk- crank it LOUD!! pissin crashing piano, incredible bass (as is rest of album) and KILLER guitars - not in a virtuoso Carlton sense as in past ,but in the "simple" and masterful manipulation of the sound(s) itself. "
Hello Q .................
Alright , I WILL definitely play EMG louder at home , but in the car
( 2000 CAMRY with Factory Sound System ) , whenever I turn it up , it just sounds more muffled .
And " GreenBook " .....WTF ????????????? IMHO , this is THE worst song on the entire album , which , by the way , is definitely growing on me . After the first listen , I gave the entire a disc a solid B+ .
I have since upgraded that to a solid A- and with a bullet !!!!!
Developing ......................
P. S . I do not have ANY Steely Dan Boots --- Does anyone here know which one is a " MUST " ???????
Joey !
Posted by: Russ, sh: yes, I hear the lines in the Blues Beach fade as: "Everyone's tall and tan... I wanna be on the sand".
Crell: myy take on that noise on the Godwhacker fade is it's either a duck decoy call, or Donald making some kind of funny noise with his mouth... Duck decoy makes sense given the overall "hunting" theme of the song. Isn't that one of the hunter's aids Elmer Fudd carried when he said "Be vewy, vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits"?
Posted by: Skeevie Wonder, A Service Elevator somewhere in FLAWest Palm 9/17 Tickets go on sale tomorrow 6/28 at 10 AM - I'll be at my keyboard unless anyone has any presale info - is there any preesale info.
Also - my take on "Face Time" - I believe its a term used by on-air personalities to mean time when their face is on screen.
So without Dave from acquisitions, our hero wouldn't be getting any face tme. I think its a more amusing lyric from that perspective.
Posted by: dbeefy, doing it againSorry, another post in quick succession. Am going to have to disagree with Chief of Theory on this one, nothing personal but I *like* the dealing with / commenting on 'corporate greed' in EMG.
Would the people who have to donate to charity do so if it wasn't part of the corporate structure ? (and, in this arrangement, does anyone have a choice in who they give to?)
Since the corporate world has probably got various governments 'in their pocket', I'm sure there's room for a little dissent. Bring 'em all down is what I say, comfy Eames chairs and all. There are plenty of people subverting the systems from the inside.
anyway, back to the music...
Posted by: dbeefy, driving like a fool out to HackensackDACW - "IT'S THE SONGS STUPID" I completely agree on this one. Some friends are moaning because EMG doesn't have a load of rock guitars, but as far as I can see, they're missing the point. Anyway, there's always the Royal Scam..
Buses all over London are showing ads for the new Tomb Raider videogame. Whatever the track is really about, I now can't look at Lara Croft without thinking Pixeleen..
(and as a no-budget filmmaker/writer, all this digital video stuff *really* speaks to me :)
Posted by: lovebob, Hoops!
Bob Tedde here, finally getting back to you from your June 16th e-mail. To answer your question, time is having it's way with me... hard, and between the Dad thing (which there is never enough time for) and the 40 year old professional rock and roll thing, The closest i get to a personal life is guitar time w/Peg, experimenting with Snapple Cap "Real Facts" (see www.rockola.com), an occasional Japanese Anime' w/Ellen Brenner and reading the Dandom Digest. Thanks for keeping that little thread of wonderfulness constant and consistant. I lurk the "Yellow" and "Blue" from time to time, (hey has anyone already said something like Yellow + Blue= "Green Book"? ) but I know better than to post on rare occasion. It's a long story but the words 'obsessive', 'compulsive', and '5:30AM' are all relevant.
So here I am, and I'm all in love with the new record and dying that TSD is less and less able to perform due to increasingly divergent schedules of our individual members. We did, however do a mostly inspirational show on June 20th, wherein with no rehearsal (just a sound check) we performed THE LAST MALL. It was actually good enough, (or at least never bad enough at any one given moment) to put up on our website, and thanks to the awesome web bending powers of Miz Ducky... it is! The URL is
http://www.TheSteelyDamned.com
...and Hoops, I SWEAR, I did NOT lift the color from the Blue Book. It was "eyedroppered" from the picture to it's right , (which was taken incidentally by Peggy on March 23, 2003, exactly two years after the imfamous LLB show from March 23, 2001. Can you believe it's been 2 years?)
It's great to see so many regulars still active on both books.(although the 2nd Peg is a might confusin' for yours truly) Here's to the summer tour. i'm really hoping to use up a frequent flyer mile or two and make it out to more than just the SoCal shows. I'll most likely be workin' when they are in my own backyard anyway.
One last thing I'll share as regards my/our "Last Mall" experience: If TLM is any indicator, the tunes on "Everything Must Go" were made to be played live, which may explain some their enormous subtlety, even for Steely Dan. I think the new stuff will rock harder and swing tighter than anything previous, and the band will soar as the individual musicians, (many of whom were involved in the recording process) relax into music designed with them in mind. I also expect Becker and Herington to reach new heights individually as they continue to compliment each other stylistically. We didn't get what was truly special about The Last Mall, and again, we never actually rehearsed it, but it felt so fucking strong even in such a tentative form... An awesome thing in a slightly unnerving way. Kind of like something from a movie where characters with a 'novice' or 'apprentice' quality to them (read: just-whateverable-enough-to-be-dangerous) dabble with forces beyond their ability and with a careless or incomplete incantation evoke a glimpse of other worldly power or an entity of biblical proportions (which later threatens to be unleashed for reals and threatens to destroy the universe as we know it and...) Oh my god, what have we done?
lovebob
lovebob
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYNever in a million years would I have expected SD to latch on to this simplistic, overinflated, cliche-ridden, media hype nonsense about corporate greed. As if people like Bernie Ebbers or the Enron sleazebombs are the rule and not the exception...puh leeeeeze. In my company, once your salary reaches a certain level, you are REQUIRED to give ten percent of your income to a charity - it's a condition of your employment. It's like that in many firms. I'd be intensely curious to know how many people, in particular journalists, who carp and whine and moan about "corporate greed" give ten percent of *their* salaries away. How come you never see a headline that says STOCKBROKER DONATES FIFTY GRAND TO AIDS RESEARCH, although it happens every day? And irony of ages: who funded the Steely Dan PBS special, or for that matter any PBS program at all?
Posted by: Capt Marvel, @world dominationSteely Dan Boots ; ... presumably Would;
1/ Take a Leap of Faith across 20yrs
2/ Put a Toe into Tone
3/ Have Souls
4/ Dance to an ageless rhythmn
5/ Be laced with kerosene
6/ Swear and kick and beg us
7/ Take one step back darlin'
8/ Step up on the platform
Posted by: duncan, Wendy Melvoin can be heard on the new single by Lisa Marie Presley ''lights out''
Posted by: Pierrick Brient, i'm looking for S.Dan boots, only good sound and from the 70s. Did someone can help me ? Even for only a list...
Show bizz kids
Posted by: Beers Got The News, @workNice review in Colorado Daily ... courtesy of HQ - full piece @ below
http://www.thedancollective.co.uk/cgi-bin/guestbook.cgi
"Everything Must Go," like most Steely Dan records, is something like a soundtrack for bitter man's lonely dinner at home. You can see the half-empty wine glass, smell the dope, feel the groove and in the end, you feel mean and smart, like Becker and Fagan themselves.
Posted by: Beerberian, @it
STOP PRESS St Als GB is down - Bandwith exceeded --- all welcome to come over here ... and try it UK stylee
http://www.thedancollective.co.uk/cgi-bin/guestbook.cgi
Posted by: Gina, Bandwidth Sun MountainDACW, your "Gook of Liars" is the best typo in ages LOL
Comments from "old" Dan listeners here in my hometown are divers. Some said they were disappointed because SD still sound like Steely Dan, which had me refrain from comment and look the other way :-)
Can't take them serious. They rave when it comes to classical music and are caught in the flow of this virus everything needs to be renewed all the time in order to be "good". So bottom line is, they never really "got" Steely Dan or else they would understand :-)or at least appreciate.
EMG managed to capture the essence of the SD decades, if even in nano-seconds, which makes you pull out the old vinyl or spin the remastered CD's to clear the mind from memory-lanic spells. So it all fits again :-)
Banyan Tree Bow in Blue,
G.
Posted by: bwaySteve, night shiftI am beginning to get comfortable with the simplicity of EMG.As long as I take my medication I can be free of the torment of having to compare this record with other ones.I can listen, twiddle my fingers during the solos and excercise my imagination again which I realize has been linked too closely to the computer the past several years.
It was very cool to see my daughter jump over several boxes singing ,
"Pix el eeeeeene ! " She gets THAT song .She's a little too into Green Book.
Posted by: Shaun, BostonDan Audio Crack- You said it all perfectly. Anybody that "doesn't get" this record should re- read your post another forty times! You're spot on!
I got the Karmakirad DVD-A. Holy shit! Is this thing as cool as I think it is? It sounds as good, if not better then EMG! It's quite amazing. I can't believe how good it sounds!
Posted by: CrellMoset, The presale password for the Atlanta show, which begins in a little over 8 hours, is HOBSD.
CrellMoset
Posted by: DACW, errata Gina.
anyone?
Parker's
Harmon-Kardon
Slang
Book
Walter
happening
Posted by: DanAudioCrackWhore, Q: Exactly right...Play it LOUD. EMG works well on DVD-A and CD, while TvN really requires DVD-A to hear it as it should. In a sense both the initial recording session of TvN and EMG set out to do the same thing - capture the live sound of the 90s tours. EMG became much more successful at this while D&W retreated back to their studio paradigm for TvN shortly after the first few sessions...this is what an adult album should sound like...
The live tracking and analog recording, ESPECIALLY WHEN PLAYED LOUD take advantage of the open soundscape and great instrument separation despite a plethora of cool tricks (e.g., rattlesnake sound near end of vocal wall of sound backround vocals and tight harmonies...I'm impressed with how there's a real PLUSH feel to the album...
EMG is a superb recording that COOKS and SWINGS way more than it ROCKS...really it's mostly jazz and blues with Soul, R&B, a bit of 60s pop on Blues Beach and that Stax backbeat...
WHAT THIS ALBUM IS NOT:
(1) an incendiary rock GUITAR album...Look, since 1976, after the Royal Scam was released, there have only been 3 songs by the Dan/solo work with smokin' guitar solos: Peg, Third World Man (and that's pushin' it especially since it is rumored that Carlton's solo is left over from RS), and Lucky Henry. That's it - in TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS - 3 scorchers!! - an average on ONE every NINE YEARS...although I would argue that Fagen's midi/synth thing solo on Lunch with Gina is the equivalent of an Alan Holdsworth fusion run...
(2) a rock album - Countdown to Ecstacy was THIRTY years ago...I think they've moved on...The song structures and chords on all the songs except for Blues Beach and some of Slang of Ages (verses, bridge), and Luch with gina have virtually nothing to do with any music recorded after 1955 except for Steely Dan recordings...In my view, it has never been more apparant how different Steely Dan is from the rest of the pos=modern musical Universe, which at best is one of the outer layers of Dante's hell...
WHAT THIS ALBUM IS:
(1) The tightest most soulful Steely Dan album since Katy Lied
(2) melds the open soundscape of Katy and Gaucho with modern playback technology for immediacy...again, CRANK IT UP!!! You are there in the 8th ROW, baby!
(3) a recording filled with songs taking a lot of structure from pop and jazz and blues recordings of 1940s. Listen to Marian McPartland's interview and the songs - it back to the roots of waht became rock - pre-rock, the Lava period if you will merging Duke Ellington with Charles Brown...
(3) From Gaucho to the Nightfly to Kamakiriad to TvN to EMG, heavy grooves percolate through the album. Why is this structure a shock to anyone. now, with Carlock setting the pulkse, they resemble Porcaro's work in Katy a bit more,a real 3-dimensional sound...both are combo groove and fill players. Porcaro was a bit more fill, but Carlock has a LOT of sneaky stuff going on...I should point out that SD has picked out fill players for tour (e.g. Erskine in '93) and on albums (e.g. Vinny C on Negative Girl and Chris Parkers performance on On the Dunes)...not all fans have ben enthralled, but I dig a good fill, jazz drummer...
The point about Carlock on EMG is that he sets a joyfulness juxtaposed against lyrics touching apocalypse, numbness, post-nookyular world, aliens, virtual experiences. UPBEAT AN-NIHILISM or UPPER SURREALISM
(4) IT"S THE SONGS, STUPID...IMHO, these tunes and lyrics simply rank among Dan's best. Most are altered blues meets 40s jazz with some R&B and SOUL mixed in...on TvN, the songs were more late 50s structure, almost like odd TV jingles...the BRIDGES on these songs are to die for...I won't delve into the lyrics in this post - but they're as good as it gets in pop music...literate, adult, twisted, weird, clever, funny...
(5) There are numerous goodies and spontaneous moments if we pay attention...get a decent system and CRANK it - actually the CD sound superb on an iMac with the Harmon-Karden speakers
(6) This album is WEIRD...and weird is good...lots of off kilter mu chords, sound effects, the Wurly, the hot back and forth between Donald and Wlater on Greenbook...
(7) The combination of Donald's voice and the backround singers and most importantly arrangments lead to frankly the BEST VOCAL album in the SD discography....vocals more up front than on TvN...great phrasing, spacing, tone and blending with the back-up singers, including Fagen himself, it's a marvel. I also like Walter's vocal performance better of Slan than 11 ToW...he sounds better live as on Gook of Liars from AiA
(8) It's partly the live recording, but there's real communicatioin between the instruments - the best since Katy Lied and some of the Scam and Aja recordings...No playing to CLICKS here baby!!! and that's the key to Walter's guitar. The tone is very good, and you can hear him (e.g., Last Mall) taking it all in. The linear solos spliced in the the 70s always had something to do with the song structure...but Walter's jazz/blues solos have EVERYTHING to do with the song structure and what's happeniong around him...Walter also sneaks iin some themes that are coming up or are previous into the mix, excellent use of call and repeat - very, very clever...
(9) I don't know if Weiskopf has better chops than Tom Scott, but I'd rather listen to Weiskopf - it's soulful and weird...The intro to the title cut is nothing short of brilliant as he integrates the theme from the bridge into his Mingus at Antibes deconstruction...you can just hear Enron, Global Crossing, and the .com bubble come crashing down in a pyre of speculatioin, lies and torched 401Ks...
Thus Danfans, unshackle thyselves from Pre-conceived notions and party-on like it was 1999 again to this Plush jazz special recording...I'll provide a blow- by blow take on the songs themselves later - all great stuff, but that Greenbook, Pixeleen, Lunch with Gina run are about as good as it gets in pop music...on 99.99999% of the albums out there the penultimate title track would outshine there rest - but there are so many birght starts in this Dan galaxy...If TvN deserved four Grammys, and it did, then this one deserves 40.
Posted by: Lee de la Houssaye, New Orleans, La.Anybody know what the presale password for the Atlanta show is???
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Posted by: CrellMoset, Does the groove of Godwhacker remind anyone else of the groove in Springtime? It cant' just be me!
CrellMoset
Posted by: Jive Miguel (in from Bogata), DC - Beach Boys?On the title cut, Donald sings "Wouldn't it be nice?!"
I was watching the boob tube, and on comes an ad hawking a "Best of the Beach Boys" CD, replete with the tune "Wouldn't it be Nice". The similarity is eerie. Who knows?
Posted by: John, re: Pixeleen: Movie or Video Game
Chief of Theory expresses concern about which medium is featured in Pix, although I'm not sure how much it matters. First, I try not to take anything in a Dan song too literally. Sure, a Utah festival is mentioned and Sundance is the likely suspect, but can't this just be a sly slam at the marketing of characters/treatments/properties in show biz? Don't today's show business kids cynically try to get their ideas "placed" at Sundance, so that they can hop the independent route to movie success? And isn't that cynicism in stark contrast to the relative innocence of the fans of vid games and action movies?(Perhaps even our Pixeleen, the ultrateen)?
And doesn't that play in well with one of the major themes of the CD, of the rot of business, at least as practiced in the early 21st century?
Furthermore there's all kinds of crossover between video games and the movies. Final Fantasy started as a game and became a movie. Lara Croft likewise. Kate Archer (whose James Bondian antics in the vid game "No One Lives Forever" make her the more likely role model for the first two verses) makes three. So it's not like a video game concept couldn't end up being shown at Sundance.
I agree that the Japanese angle needs further deconstruction. I think anime. But Roppongi is not just a location in Japan; it is also a symbol of East-West fusion... not a surprise from a band that created Aja.
All best,
John
Posted by: Q, Joey,
I think at best you need to listen to the album more, and/or - on a much better system.
The sound is dynamic and superb and the complexity is breathtaking if rendered correctly. It is definitely a power hungry album given the strong bass, analog recording and high dynamics and back horns, etc.
Otherwise, with all due respect...I can only give you my symapathies...
Greenbk- crank it LOUD!! pissin crashing piano, incredible bass (as is rest of album) and KILLER guitars - not in a virtuoso Carlton sense as in past ,but in the "simple" and masterful manipulation of the sound(s) itself.
Tribute to Jerry G...(?)
EMG- the lyrical sarcasm is dead on, and the music lays in perfectly - a masterpiece
Pix - Awesome - What an incredible energy to the beat and sound -incredible chorus with a phenominal showcasing of Carolyn L.'s taltents and the a beautiful intertwining effect with Donald - breathtaking (with all due deference to Joey) - oh. and the the sax solo...
Gina - classic - incredible groove, cool and yet phenominal energy - a PERFECT concert tune
God, Things Missed,Last Mall - good stuff
Slang - good fun
Blues Beach - novel?...
Posted by: The Bebop Webdroid, The Windy CityGreetings to all fellow Dan-ites –
I would like to tell you about a band called BEBOP DADDYS. They are an original band based in the suburban Chicago area, and take pride in citing a major influence and connection to our heroes in SD. They are NOT a STEELY DAN tribute band, (Chicago already has a fab SD trib band called KATY LIED), but an original project with the same type of instrumentation as the Bard Boys.
The rhythm section of BD features the current bassist and drummer of THE LION KING, which is currently in a 10-month run in Chicago. The musicianship of the band is first rate. For anyone in (or out) of the Chicago area who may be able to attend tomorrow night’s gig, they are appearing at HARRY’s of ARLINGTON in Arlington Heights, Illinois. They have preformed at Club 602 NORTH, and the Chicago staple FITZGERALD’S has given them a residency on the same evening every month. They are also planning to appear at 2 other well-known Chicago clubs: Martyrs and Cubby Bear. Details about Friday night’s gig, as well as future summer gigs, can be found on their website: www.bebopdaddys.com.
When not performing their own original jazz/rock compositions, BEBOP DADDYS will perform “unique arrangements” of some classic as well as obscure material, including music from Rickie Lee Jones, Joni Mitchell (the JACO stuff); Pat Metheny, and of course, Steely Dan. They have also written some rather “humorous” arrangements of a HEART tune and a ZEPPELIN tune (both done in a jazz format)! And there’s a lot of 3 and 4-part harmony vocals to pepper the stew.
Come out and support local music in Chicago with a group of talented Chicago area musicians who adore all things tangentially Steely --
Best regards,
The Bebop Webdroid
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYThis belief that Pixeleen is a girl in a video game worries me. The more and more I study the lyrics, the less I agree. What video is shown at the Sundance film festival? Roppongi, if I'm not mistaken, is a fashionable neighborhood in Tokyo and must have something to do with the noodle shop. This popular belief warrants further study. T
Posted by: CrellMoset, Could someone tell me exactly what that noise is in the mix at 4:40 in "Godwhacker?" I know what it sounds like, but . . .
CrellMoset
Posted by: ed beatty, @rocky mountain highHello one and all
As just reported to me by my daughter direct from the movie theater in california,
Prior to the screening of 'finding nemo"
Commercial advetisement for EMG-
from that innnovative band Steely Dan
Underneath the commercial was the music to blues beach.
so..............
Thats where the marketing money went!!!!!!!!
Ed
Posted by: Joey, " Godwhacker in particular sounds like they recorded that in one take his voice toward the end sounds real harsh.
Pixeleen is great but does anyone else agree with me that during the chorus there is just too much going on. To much overlapping of vocals and etc...
When am I going to like green book "
My point exactly . The whole album has that turbib , turgid , basement feel to it -- like the Stones' " Exile on Main Street " .
Either EMG was recorded in Donald's Basement or inside the muffled , echoed surroundings of the United Center Arena in Downtown Chicago .
Any guesses as to which ?????????????????????????????????
Joey !
Posted by: sh,
I think D & W are funnier now than ever, but in the past there have been lot's of funny lines in songs like The Fez, Haitian Divorce, Everything You Did, Black Cow, I Got The News, Hey Nineteen, My Rival...and of course it's the way Donald sings them...
I haven't really counted, but don't they sing "Pixeleen" about a zillion times? (not my favorite song)
Do I hear Donald singing "everyone's tall and tan" in the outro of Blues Beach?
sh
groping in the dark...
Posted by: Meal Reviewer, CaliI just say thank you to my beautous wife Barna for getting me the CD Asia from the STEEL DAN! which we never have in my country, only LP record from the Buck Owens.. Oh I love this music!
Posted by: Anthony, Bar and GrillI don't know about lyric errors but Donald's vocals sound bizarre on some of the songs if you listen with headphones.
Godwhacker in particular sounds like they recorded that in one take his voice toward the end sounds real harsh.
Pixeleen is great but does anyone else agree with me that during the chorus there is just too much going on. To much overlapping of vocals and etc...
When am I going to like green book?
Posted by: angel, I guess she's a knockout -- hey where have I been?
Did he get drugged? Hmmmm.....
Posted by: angel, I still don't hear Trina in Blues Beach, either. Still sounds like Tina, to me.
G? Being who some of us feel the Gina might be, that would actually work. I don't have the album to check right now. It is in the car.
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, Art imitates various SD songsJust read a review of this new flick, 28 Days Later, based on an end-of-the-world scenario:
See http://www.28dayslaterthemovie.co.uk/main.html -
"Hello one and all ..."
The plot is apparently a good deal more gruesome than King of the World, though, and instead of a nuclear hole in the ground it's a killer virus.
Posted by: Man with no face, Does anybody else hear "I'm about to go postal when *G* waltzes in" instead of "when *she* waltzes in"? And I dunno, Tanqueray is a premium gin, and the martini is very popular these days.... I don't know if its as decadent as kirschwasser from a shell though. Retsina emphasizes the connection to Homer's Odyssey, its Greek.
Posted by: Russ, Just as I suspected, the lyrics now up at the official Dan site have it as "Do you hear the Slang of Ages", not "Do I hear..." as printed in the CD's sleeve notes. Big difference between those two, meaning-wise. Wonder if they will correct the CD's notes. Also wonder if there are any other lyric errors in there?
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Q - I think the use of all the overwarmed and passe slang in the mouths of the narrators and active charcters these last two albums is hilarious. Especially in the mouths of - how shall we put it - older, mature, might as well say it, middle-aged people. Just keeping it real, or whatever. They were NOT this funny in the 70s. Donald voice delivers just the right comic touch. They both love to pretend to be these schlomos, losers, miscreants. It's also their schtik on almost every interview and probably even when they're just hangin' out. You know how sometimes friends develop this lexicon or even play on alter-egos? It's an adolescent thing and some of us carry it on through to our adult years. That's if we're lucky, most of the time we just become deadly serious and boring and just not any fun at all.
Posted by: Billboard, EMG falls from #9 to #22 on the albums chart this week. Sliding down the ladder. Thanks to Warner/Reprise's crack promotions dept.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynMore in the stories told on EMG than in previous works, B&F talk from the point of view of boring people - people whose lives are rocked by the post - Clinton aftershock. (We used to get "retsina" and "Kirschvasser", now it's plain old Tanqueray. Characters used to speak in cutting edge, hip slang - now we get "go postal" five years too late; "roll with the homeys", in 2003, is pathetic to the point of comedy, like Beaver Cleaver saying "daddio"). It is as if the language got stuck in a seven year time warp; it lays around like stale bread at the Black Dog in Martha's Vineyard, where the Clintons used to vacation ("the house on the Vineyard." -TIMTM). Here B&F display a knowledge of the consciousness of their characters that is pretty astounding. Pixeleen's script is "penned by a hack in the Palisades" - who? What screenwriter who got really big in the Clinton years lives in the Palisades? Correction - what screenwriter got big, but not so big that he can do pitch meetings by video conferencing but has to "pitch in a trailer in Burbank"? Storytelling wise, EMG is a big advance for the Dan. It requires much further investigation.
Posted by: Eric, San Diego, CABought the Kamakiriad DVD-A on tuesday and it is GREAT! The interviews with Walter and Donald are priceless, and it's interesting to see Walter's studio in Hawaii.
Also, our local Tower Records has a display of their 25 best sellers and EMG was number 5. What is also nice is the giant sign behind one of the registers advertising the CD.
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, re Pixeleen typesInteresting recent article about female action heroes from MSNBC. Sound like anyone we've been debating lately?
http://www.msnbc.com/news/931064.asp?vts=062620031010
"All of these 21st-century women do have one thing in common: They’re today’s new female action heroes, women who don’t have to sacrifice their femininity in order to get the job done, and done right.
They’re younger. They’re tougher. They’re smarter. They’re braver. They’re out to save the world and, thank you very much, they can do it without the help of men.
And yes, they are our new role models."
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYHe's describing Michael McDonald's vocals on Rose Darling. Odd and disgusting.
Posted by: Jon, Best reason for not buying any Brian Sweet offering: In the guide to... book he describes a certain SD tune (can't recall which offhand) as having harmonies that are stacked atop one another like corpses in a concentration camp, or words to that effect--as sickening and execrable a metaphor as I've ever seen in print concering our boys' music.
Boycott this asswipe.
Posted by: Mitch, My favorite bits about the Sweet book are the quotes and anecdotes from the studio musicians. It's a good insight as to how Donald and Walter got things accomplished.
Posted by: angel, Howard: Regarding Donald, Walter and Brian Sweet. There was also their comment on the Katy Lied Reissue liner notes about wanting to check the Steely Dan Biography, but only finding a copy in Japanese.
"Having said that, we turn to the trusty studio library with the aim of consulting Mr. Brian Sweet's controversial critical biography of your unworthy narrators - only to discover that they only have the Japanese edition in stock at this time."
Posted by: Howard, @lunch
Re: Brian Sweet
His book "Steely Dan: Reelin in the years" is a very interesting read. Yes, there are some more questionable areas within, but there's no denying he did some good research for it. Definitely recommended. I think in the intro to the book he makes it clear that (despite repeated tries) he never got an interview with D or W. The book is based on interviews with almost everyone else involved.
The "complete guide to the music of SD" book is quite different though. It's a small book, postcard sized, with comments (brief) on every song they recorded. Worth reading, but his first book that covers the history of SD in detail is the one to go for.
I've never seen D+W comment on the book itself, though the comment that people had in mind might be this one, from a BBC webchat a few years back:
Brian Sweet: How does your 1990s songwriting routine compare to/differ from the one you adopted during the 1970s?
Walter: That name Brian Sweet sounds familiar. If he doesn't know the answer to that question by now, I don't know what to think.
Walter: It's not that different, essentially.
Donald: We're much older now.
(http://www.steelydan.com/bbc.html)
Howard
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYRe: personnel on SD albums. Fool of Love, in reality the exact opposite of what you're saying is true. Virtually everybody who plays on a SD album has already secured an enormous reputation and is very well known in jazz. I can remember seeing Jon Herington play with Bill Evans & The Super Band as far back as 1985 (sometimes they had Dennis Chambers on drums)and blowing every other guitarist away.
Posted by: dbeefy, showing his films in the denNice one hamburger laddie, The Gristle and The Dan (good idea..!)
Hmm.. how about Whitehouse -"Why you never became a dancer" followed by Deacon Blue?
Posted by: afoolnluv, l-u-v is like oxygen...Sweet, not "the" Sweet...
Posted by: afoolnluv, P,Q. - I'm not implying that they were unknown before playing on a Steely Dan album anymore than you are implying that all Steely Dan fans listen to jazz.
You're not, are you?
My point was more that the bulk of their (the session cats) *mainstream* notoriety came from playing with the Dan, for the reasons I stated earlier. For instance, Steve Gadd played for years on Paull Simon's albums, but it wasn't until after Aja that most people knew he could solo. Nobody, save for maybe Mrs. Gadd, even cared. Now remember, I'm talking *mainsteam* interest. I have no idea how many fusion albums he played on before that, if any. Now the Dan can't release an album with anyone else playing drums without someone wishing it was Steve Gadd. And that's just one example.
steely librarian - I've googled myself dizzy here trying to find that quote by D or W about the Sweet or the book, but to no avail. I'll stay after class for spreading unsubstantiated rumours if you'd like.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynFool - jazz fans would. You seem to be saying these people played on a Steely Dan album first, and then got famous??????????
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynThat's one book by Sweet; the other, called The Complete Guide To The Music of Steely Dan, was published in England by Omnibus Press and is now out of print. Periodically one turns up in an Ebay auction and maybe you could find it on Alibris or one of the other good used book sites. There is actually an inexhausitble amount of literature in existence about SD, most of it magazine articles.
Posted by: afoolnluv, googling...steely librarian - I'll have to get back to you on that one. I thought I read a witty aside about it in one of their interviews from years ago.
Posted by: afoolnluv, and another thing...How many people would even know who Cornelius Bumpus, or Steve Gadd, or Bernard Purdie, ad infinitum, were if they hadn't have read their name on the liner notes of a Steely Dan album? Sure most had been in the business for years, but most bands don't feature the session players, and back in the day they weren't even credited most of the time.
Posted by: Steely Librarian, Hey Afoolinluv, I agree the book has more than a few inaccuracies. And just reading the book tells you that Becker and Fagen weren't interviewed. However, I didn't know that Becker and Fagen actually denounced it. Wow! Where and when did this happen?
Posted by: afoolnluv, P.Q.- yeah, I read some of Sweet's book. D & W have publicly denounced it as being full of inaccuracies and false assumptions, and I believe Sweet has admitted to not actually interviewing D & W for the material, if that means anything to you. I think a lot of people here who have been around a while will tell you it should be read with a skeptical eye and a golf ball size grain of salt.
Posted by: Steely Librarian, Brian Sweet's book is called "Steely Dan." It is probably the only full-length bio of Steely Dan. It came out in 1994 and was reissued in spring 2000 with an additional section covering 1994-2000. The new chapter is not essential if you already have the 1994 version. The book was also condensed around 1999 into a small CD-sized book called "Steely Dan." That one was part of a series on various classic rock artists.
Sweet, based in the UK, started "Metal Leg," a Steely Dan Fan Mag in the late 1980s. It was OK, but it wasn't until New Yorkers Pete Fogel and Bill Pascador took it over around 1990 that it got really good. Sweet's book is basically a synopis of the "Metal Leg" issues from 1987-1994. Sweet attempted to re-start "Metal Leg" in early 2000, but after about two issues, it folded again.
What's best about Sweet's book is that it is the only one of its kind and it makes a nice starting point to learn about the band. What's not so great is that it has no index, and more importantly, Sweet liberally inserts his opinion all over the place as fact. So there are some factual inaccuracies. Of course, you will find that at Dan fan web sites too.
I saw Sweet's book in Borders just last night. However, if you want to read all the "Metal Leg" issues that serves as its basis, just go to http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/mlintro.htm Sweet briefly had a website but Pete Fogel has one at http://www.metalleg.com
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoPeter Q-
You mentioned Brian Sweet's books in response to another poster. I am not familiar with these but would be interesting about learning more about the Dan and their recording sessions. The info you hinted at sounds fascinating. Could you specify what books you are referencing?
Thanks for the info.
-Rob
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CAFrom the LA times archives:
Beat at their own game; Session drummers once played on pop's most memorable songs, back when gigs were plentiful -- before drum machines sidelined the sidemen.
Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles, Calif.; Jun 15, 2003; Geoff Boucher;
Abstract:
[Hal Blaine] says the phone that never stopped ringing in the 1960s and early 1970s went silent in the following decade as the drum machine arrived and music trends veered away from him. A bitter divorce left him without his Rolls-Royce, yacht and the house above Mulholland. "I have to be honest with you. I'd be homeless today without my pension." Blaine ...
[The rest of the article is not available for free]
Sounds its one of these ex-session drummers who is singing TIMTM :(
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynFool - Do you have Brian Sweet's books? You may want to read through them again to get a refresher on how much money Aja and Gaucho cost to record and what B&F had to do with some of their royalties - and that was in the seventies. Also, there was an article in the LA Times earlier this month about what has happened to some drummers of the past, many of whom played with SD, and what their current situations are. I lost the link but it should be easy to find on the LA Times web page. Thirdly, if you think playing with SD makes you some kind of well-known superstar individual in the music business, maybe you should visit the steakhouse Cornelius Bumpus plays in every Friday night in New Jersey. (Did you know that one of the 2 or 3 greatest jazz guitarists who ever picked up a guitar, Tal Farlow, had to have a day job as a sign painter? ) Did you by chance read the link someone posted here today about how a journalist called Warner/Reprise and not one single person he got on the phone could say how to get him a review copy of EMG? Does that sound like marketing support to you? Does that sound like involved management? Compare the amount of interviews B&F give today with the amount they gave in the 70s - as we know, publicity is free but advertising isn't. Pick any artist you like who has a record that is selling alot - let's say, Kelly Clarkson. Do you see her doing radio interviews in small markets like Seattle, Minneapolis, Birmingham, etc. ? Why or why not is that the case?
Led Zep is rumored to be re-uniting for a tour - will they play small halls or will they play all the largest stadiums? And why is that? Are they a better group than SD? Obviously not. So why then? I think you may need to rethink your idealism a bit.
Posted by: afoolnluv, still proof reading......don't think the label execs have had anything to do...
You get the idea.
Posted by: afoolnluv, proof reading......label execs have had *any*...
Posted by: afoolnluv, Pete Q - sorry, but I disagree. Studio time and personel would be paid for out of the advance money for the album. Or D & W might even forgo the advance in exchange for ownership of the masters. Either way, any session dates could be paid for by D & W out of pocket (they're not in McCartney's tax bracket, but they could surely afford to pay for a session or two by the best if they wanted to), knowing that they will recoup the fees by either royalties and/or concert grosses.
You seem to be under the assumtion that D & W have to make compromises to make a recording. They don't. And I don't think they would. If they wanted players like Wayne Shorter and Purdie for a session they could and would get them. The fact that they didn't means that it wasn't nessasary to get the sound they wanted. Even if you had a valid point about the economics, don't you think those players would want to be on the "new Steely Dan album"? Times are hard for them too, and a high profile gig like that (which might lead to more gigs) doesn't come around that often anymore (which might be the underlying reason for the hostility from some of those people when they aren't called by D & W for every session). It even would be good business for them to lower their usual fees for D & W for the exposure.
My take is that the personel D & W are using now are young players who get the job done and done well for what the music calls for now, and folks who's work they've heard and admired in other contexts and want to expose to a larger audience. And if they didn't have serious chops they would be anywhere near the finished product. I don't think the label execs have had nothing to do with a single note on their albums from Countdown to EMG (again with the exception of the hiring of David Palmer), but I'm sure they have probably provided lots of material for inside jokes and scathing lyrical content.
Play Dan!
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.I agree somewhat on TIMTM. It reminds me of, somebody said something akin to this, an old style country/western narrative of loss. You know, Johnny Cash tale of the Mrs. packing up and splitting with everything, leaving only regret and loss. The comment about Godard is insightful, course if you're a fan of his, seeing the boom only really bothers you to a point, then you look past it. But yeah, the equipment is showing a little on this one. I love his sad cuisine though, the Andria Doria, and the days being pretty damn close to lasting an eternity. I don't get the "birdie" thing at all, I mean, yeah, a woman, but it's so incongruous. Is this one of the "mad, wiggy" elements DF refers to? Self conscious, yes. Pitiful, yup. Then again, Chief, have you ever gone through a divorce? It's all of that and more.
Posted by: Neal, NJ"If you knew anything about the Dan or Zappa, you'd know neither have ever made music to fill "contractual obligations." The fact you would
even consider posting that means you need to read and listen closer".
Well, I apologize for insulting your deities. I didn't know that I'd be hurting anyone's feelings by expressing an opinion. As to my reading skills, I recommend that you read "The Real Frank Zappa", where he, in his own words, describes how he put out albums in that period to grudgingly fulfill bad contracts.
The "contractual obligation" term was his, not mine.
As to Dan, just because I said that one tune sounded like that, doesn't mean I think that's what they did. I have the utmost respect for them also, but they are human and they do not walk on water. I think you overreacted with your flame message.
No need to respond. I don't have time for intolerant forums, and I won't perpetuate this any longer.
Neal
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYI think TIMTM has the following problem: it's SD winking at us, saying Look at us put the screws to these yuppie bastards. It makes you too conscious of listening to a song. The only thing I know how to compare it to is when you watch a Godard film and you can see the boom mike hanging over the actors' heads, drawing you out of the fictional story in the film and bringing attention to the fact that you're watching a movie. Anyone else have this feeling? I am curious to know.
Posted by: bwaySteve, Home TodayDilemma: I pull in to Home Depot to pick up an a/c and Blues Beach comes on the radio....cool. As I open the door to get out of a 400 degree car I hear Josie start to play over the Home Depot P.A. I don't know whether to just keep sitting the car and enjoy the song already playing or listen to Josie as I walk to the store so I decide to sit in the car and listen to Blues Beach AND Josie at the same time.I felt as long as being in the moment involved so much Steely Dan I would milk it.
Posted by: Hamburger Laddie, LondonHail DBeefy! Nothing wrong with loving both The Dan and The Gristle. I recommend TG's Live At Ajanta Cinema Derby followed by Gaucho for the ultimate IPod rough/smooth experience. See you at Stealin' Dan sometime...
Posted by: chillin at the manatee bar, Butler, PaEMG ranked #3 on Apples Itunes site. Entire album cost $8.91 Can't wait, Can't wait, Can't wait. Blossom Row B
Posted by: dbeefy, here at the western worldThanks Princess, am going to check out Stealing Dan (and Don)!
PS. for anyone else in the uk, HMV has a hell of a sale at the moment, lots of Dan cds for £5/6 :) (remastered editions, Alive in America etc..)
dbeefy
who just bought Pretzel Logic and 2vN
<continues to chill out>
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.We are of a mind I think, Chief. It also speaks to the impressionable nature of kids, I mean, I have a buddy who plays his seven year old Sinatra and there he is, singing "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning." Hey, if you were to play enough Ozzie for the rugrats, eventually you'd hear them braying out "Crazy Train." I wouldn't advise that, though, or Frank for that matter, but slap on any Beatles and they WILL copy substantially. I bet they'd sing to the SD tunes that are still in rotation on the aging hippie stations, though. And what does that say?
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYWell I didn't mean to say every single composition by these people can and should be sung by kids. Also, now that you mention it, the greatest jazz singers like Satch, Billie and Ella certainly attract kids to sing along (granted, they're not composers).
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Hey Chief, well, it's an interesting theory but I don't think it totally holds up. I like the part of your theory, if we extend it a bit, which seems to be saying that great masters of the art do tend to be magically simple sometimes, so simple and so concise and accessible that some kids- and I think we should define kids as ten and under- pick up on them and wail away. I did with the early Beatles starting around that age, certainly. I don't think it holds up for Rogers & Hart, the Gershwins or Hammerstien: My Funny Valentine, Night and Day, So in Love with You am I, The Lady is a Tramp, I Get a Kick Out of You and the majority of the so-called American Songbook don't strike me as being crooned by the kiddies. Holds up better for the Beatles early 2:30 minute ditties but certainly not Tomorrow Never Knows, A Day in the Life, For No One, the later serious themes. SD fits in better with these older songwriters, and certainly with the great Jazzmen. But there's a lot of Lorenz Hart in SD lyrics even if just in terms of verbal pyrotechnics.
But I cannot accept your theory as you state it. Isn't there something approaching, I dunno, anti-intellectualism in your theory?
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, nah ...You have obviously never heard my 4-year-old daughter's rendition of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (a song that neatly summarizes a typical parental response to various kid demands). Don't think she knows any SD, though, but she does know a ton of Beatles.
Frankly, hearing children sing anything by B&F is a scary thought best left alone.
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYIMHO, Rajah, what prevents B&F from entering into the uppermost tier of songwriting teams - and this is true of Jagger & Richards and Frey & Henley as well - is that you can't imagine any of their songs being sung by children, which is easy with Lennon & McCartney, Rogers & Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein, or the Gershwins. The greatest of the greats make us want to sing from age 2 and on. They hit the resonant chord that's inborn in the soul.
Posted by: princessofcairo, san franciscohey, dbeefy,
stealing dan (and don) are based in london:
STEALING DAN ... (AND DON)
Now including the 'Second Arrangement' in the setlist.
Regular gigs:
All Tuesdays at The Bulls Head, Barnes
July 1st 2003
Sept 2nd
Oct 7th
Nov 4th
Dec 2nd
Jan 6th 2004.
Details on http://www.jwgrogan.demon.co.uk/stealing.htm
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.The review of SD and Fountains of Wayne in the Village Voice had a couple of disturbing comments in there and one other comment that is so right on. What the reviewer, Glenn Kenny, attempts to posit is some kind of parallel about the great songwriting teams - Rogers & Hart, Lennon & McCartney and Becker & Fagen. He got that right, arguably the three best songwriting teams of the 20st century pop. Great lyrics from Lorenz Hart, check those out sometime if you're unfamiliar. But the Jew/non-Jew thing is just bizarre, I don't know what he's getting at, Lennon, a virtual Jew? Am I missing something here, or wasn't John the guy who preached no religion? Weird and really unecessary, Mr. Kenny. But then he writes something I wish I had, "Both teams are masters of the sort of songwriting irony many of us used to enjoy before irony got confused with sarcasm and was subsequently pronounced decadent if not dead." he'so right, huge numbers of folks just don't get irony, it's too subtle (when done well) most times for their tiny receptors, it's off their scales and reads to them, if at all, as sarcasm which I always felt was a comment intended to hurt someone. Most times, when we fight with people the interplay devolves, unfortunately, into sarcasm. That's when we've ceased to argue facts and feelings and just start trying to hurt the other person. Our boys' lyrical landscape tells abstract stories peppered with comments by various narrators and active characters who say and do things that reveal to us their inconsistencies, their fears, their weak-mindedness, the dreary architecture of their souls, to borrow a phrase. And it makes you think, man, I don't wanna be a schmuck like, oh, the guy in Things I Miss the Most, Cousin Dupree, EMG, What a Shame About Me, on and on back through the catalogue of Dan. That's irony in there. The very undefined comment about Jew/non-Jew songwriting teams notwithstanding, this is a pretty good review with quite a few well thought out theories. I like Fountains of Wayne very much, very open and eclectic. Different musical worlds (is anybody in our boys' world, I think not) but they do share space in the same firmament. Give it a look, somebody posted it back down a ways.
Posted by: Boston Rag, SD/FOWThanks Chase for the VV link...
"I've been entertaining the idea that Steely Dan and Fountains of Wayne are actually the same band" - Village Voice
Hey, I've been telling anyone who would listen for 4 years that Adam Schlesinger is the Gex X's Donald Fagen. A brilliant idea to review "Welcome Interstate Managers" and "Everything Must Go" together.
Favorite FOW lyric this week:
"I used to fly for United Airlines
Then I got fired for reading High Times"
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Dbeefy, smoking with the boys upstairsHello to all. I've been reading the posts for a couple of days now and thought it was time to jump in. Like a lot of others, I'm currently basking in the glow of EMG (current faves include pixeleen and EMG itself. Green book is proving a bit of a grower as well...)
A few random-ish thoughts - I realised the other day that I've been
listening to the Dan for 15 of my 31 years - half my life, which is a nice idea. Stop me if you've heard this before, but my first exposure was on late night radio in South Wales (Glamour Profession, in case you're wondering, around the time that Gaucho came out). In the meantime I've amassed *nearly* every album, some of which are still on good old fashioned cassette tape. (Boy do I need to buy some CD's!) I didn't bother with 2vN at the time (mistakenly thinking that 'they've got old and have lost it'), and besides I was more interested in electronic noise music back then (Probably the complete opposite of the Dan - Throbbing Gristle, Whitehouse, etc ;-)
Anyway EMG has now brought me slap bang back to the middle of the world of Becker and Fagen - just got to get Pretzel Logic, 2vN and 11TOW and I'll have them all... lovely.
A question - much has been made over the years of the storytelling/cinematic style of many of the songs (tracks that spring to mind include - Haitian Divorce, Don't take me alive and the aforementioned Glamour Profession, not to mention Pixeleen) - does anyone out there know of any films / books based on / influenced by the Dan?
I've heard mention of William Gibson and Douglas Adams - I see what you mean but am not much of a sci-fi fan. (more film noir...)
Well I'm nearly done for now, but can I just add one thing - "Please play in Europe, a UK date would be just what we all need over here!" Failing that, does anyone on this side of the pond know of any tribute bands playing in London ??
I'll end on a misheard lyric - I always thought it was 'I struck a match against the *dawn*' in My Rival, but a recent post here put me right.
take it easy everyone...
dbeefy
Posted by: Russ, Hey and how about that funky little walking bass thingy that WB slips in on the fadeout of Slang of Ages? Closest thing to a bass solo on the album. Reminds me a bit of some old Motown stuff by James Jamerson.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynVerily, in Steely Dan tales the sea, the ocean, the beach, sand, water, things aquamarine and nautical, are equated with the possiblity of salvation and rescue. Sun, sand and sea are always good. Bars, clubs and restaurants offer only dark intrigue, suspicious characters, castration-fixated ho's. This is empahsized over and over and over until it becomes a kind of lunatic gestation mythos. For the first time, in the instantly classic number Blues Beach, we see a character try to resolve these issues within the same song, thus indicating that the DAN is moving into new psychological territory; thus we await the next installment with bated breath.
Posted by: Andy, DCRoger Friedman, gossip columnist extraordinaire, writes this this morning:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,90336,00.html
Luther's No. 1, but Steely Dan Reels
Yesterday I told you that J Records would have three albums in the top 5 this week. Well, it was the top 6, as it turns out according to hitsdailydouble.com. But Luther Vandross pulled it out in the last round and wound up eclipsing Monica to make No. 1 for the second week in a row. Monica got No. 2, and Annie Lennox was No. 6.
The big, unexplained story of the charts, though, is what has happened to Steely Dan's Everything Must Go. Warner/Reprise, the Bermuda Triangle of the record business, has not just fumbled the ball on this one. They've also given up the game.
A couple of weeks ago I tried calling the Warner publicity department to get a copy of this CD. Three calls in I was told that Everything Must Go was a Reprise CD. "Isn't this Warner/Reprise?" I asked. The girl I spoke to didn't know how to get an advance review copy.
Like a few people, I purchased Everything Must Go when it was released two weeks ago. It's a mini-masterpiece, quite a bit better than the Grammy-winning Two Against Nature. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have really outdone themselves by composing real jazz — no fooling, either, it stands up by any standards. They have then laid down their usual enigmatic and literary lyrics against magnificent melodies.
The theme of Everything Must Go is not so mysterious though: it's corporate greed. "The Last Mall," "Things I Miss the Most," and the title track address the issue head on. In "Things," the narrator — a jailed inside trader? — fries up his "sad cuisine," gets in bed with girlie magazines, and recalls fondly his Audi TT, house on the Vineyard, house on the Gulf Coast. Now he's learning to meditate and build the Andrea Doria out of balsam wood in his spare time.
The latter song, which closes the album, would be a Grammy-winning Song of the Year in a perfect world. Opening with a wild Walt Weiskopf sax solo recalling great film noir scores (the kind that portend ominous outcomes), the song pulls no punches. "It's high time for a walk on the real side/Let's admit the bastards beat us/I move to dissolve the corporation/In a pool of margaritas."
From Enron to Tyco to Dana Giacchetto and Martha Stewart, the targets are hit with a bull's-eye. Why Warner Music can't sell the follow-up album to a Grammy winner by a legendary group, though, may be more of a scandal than anything those other people were involved in.
Posted by: Slinky Godwhacker, from Outta Space
>>More than a few people liked it since it won VH1's "Video of the Year" Award for 1993.
Thanks Mike...I had no idea. My only disappointment with the video was that I was expecting a really gruesome image to accompany "a human heart, beating in an ion grid." <g>
Posted by: Chase, "village voice"The yokels have spoken:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0326/kenny.php
Posted by: Thelonious, Mondo, MontanaI need an antidote for Godwhacker. It has grown on me daily for two weeks now and I can't get it outta my head.
What a cool, incredible, incisive indictment of current (and recent) events.
Thank God for these guys. Long may they snarve!
Pixlelene and EMG are contributing substantially to my dementia too, Can't wait to see what they play on the tour.
Preparing to be amazed...
Theo
Posted by: Kid Clean, Baking in the heat
Now that we all have EMG, lets see those revised, song specific wish lists for SD 2K3.......
What a Shame About Me
Kings
The Last Mall
Cousin Dupree
Doctor Wu
The Things I Miss the Most
Only a Fool Would Say That
I Got The News
My Rival
Caves of Altamira
Gaslighting Abbie
Godwhacker
Time Out of Mind
Almost Gothic
Haitian Divorce
Everything Must Go
Your Gold Teeth II
Peg
Kid Charlemagne
Parkers Band
Aja
Lunch With Gina
My Old School
KC
Posted by: Mike, Louisville, KYRe: Snowbound video
Great video. More than a few people liked it since it won VH1's "Video of the Year" Award for 1993.
So that's what an icecat looks like ...
El Sup
Posted by: Slinky Godwhacker, like, from Outta SpaceI also picked up the DVD-A of Kamakiriad today. I agree with Boston Rag about the surround mix: it's "aggressive" ... much greater panning of instruments to the surround channels even compared with EMG. But it's fun to play with the speaker balance controls on the receiver and (for example) boost the hell out of the surrounds to hear parts that are otherwise buried in the mix. In "Trans Island Skyway" in particular I hear several tracks of DF moaning "crying time" that I never noticed at all before.
The interview piece is really interesting: some behind-the-scenes stuff from the set of the "Tomorrow's Girls" video, DF and WB talking about writing "Snowbound" via some very lengthy long-distance phone calls between NYC and Hawaii.
But I gotta say that to me the best reason to have the DVD-A is for the little-seen, extremely bizarre video for "Snowbound." Disembodied heads attached to the tops of little cars? DF as the Evil Mastermind, installed in a lab at the top of a custerdomed building? Who came up with this?!?!? I tend to be in the camp that believes videos are Bad because they supply ready-made images that tend to take the place of the listener's own imagination ... but I dunno, this one is pretty cool!
Posted by: Shaun, BostonDamn! I ordered Kama over the net and they said it was shipped eight days ago. It's still not here. If I would have known that, I just would have went to the record store today. This sucks!
These are my feelings on Walter singing SD songs that DF has done on the records. I know I can't speak for everyone. I waited 20+ years to see this band play live. Each tour they play a certain set list. They obviously can't play all of you favorite Dan tunes on every tour. So you hope it doesn't take another 20 years to see another tour. Every few years you wait and wait for the songs you personally can't wait to hear Donald sing. I happen to just love "Monkey in Your Soul" and "Daddy Don't Live in That NYC". I wished and prayed every tour they would play these two. I love the way DF sings them. Absolutely fantastic! I have to say that when WB took lead vocals on these two, I was very disappointed and very upset. I waited all these years to hear these done live and DF isn't singing them!
Of course, I did get over it after seeing my fourth show and thought Walter did a nice job on them both. But guess what? Donald Fagen IS the voice of Steely Dan! He's the ONLY person I want to hear sing the SD songs I've been listening to over and over again for 30 years on the records. As far as "Slang of Ages" goes, I wouldn't care if DF ever sings it. I heard WB originally do it, and that's just fine by me. What I don't know, won't hurt me. Again, I really believe that if WB is going to sing on this tour he should stick to Slang, 11TOW, or songs that Jim Hodder or David Palmer sang. Just my own personal feeling on this matter.
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CAThanks Rob@TheCity.
Re: Kamakiriad. This was a difficult album for me to appreciate. Took me a while and several, several listens.
I remember buying the cassette-tape on the release day and being a little bummed. I was hoping for a continuation of "The Nightfly" in terms of melodic exploration, but it was all grove (or so I thought at first). The vocals were really buried in the mix. All I was hearing was the drum patterns.
Soon after, I picked up the CD anyway. Once I had the lyrics-sheet and I could pick out the words, the songs started to get stuck in my head. Also the backing instruments seemed more defined and I could hear them for the pretty complex pieces they were.
I am now looking forward to the DVD-A. I am sure the spreading out of the instruments will reveal all sorts of fills/hooks that were just blended into the stereo mix. I hope a local Circuit City has it (like they had EMG on release date).
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynRe - nobody tells W&D what to do. Possibly not in terms of content, but in other areas...look at how many musicians played on Aja and Gaucho. Suppose the guys went to the suits today, in this economic climate, and said "We want to pay to fly 47 musicians in and record every song 8 times with 3 different bands every time." What do you think the record company says? They say "Fine, give your royalty checks to the recording studio to pay for it." The size of the groups and musicians have been drastically smaller on the last 2 discs, no? Artistic choice, or economic? Let's be real. Here in the biggest market for their music in earth they're not exactly playing 10 sold out nights in Madison Sq Garden. Steely Dan appeals to an elite crowd. We our grateful for their great music but let's be real about who tells who in the music business.
Posted by: Boston Rag, Flytown I picked up Kamakiriad today on DVD-A. The disc and bonus features are superb. I went through a phase a while ago where I decided Kama did not have the staying power in my CD player that all other Fagen or Steely Dan works had. I decided the reason I lost interest in the CD is it sounded "too digital" or "too sterile" for my tastes.
I was happy to discover today that the DTS mix is warmer and more plush than the standard mix. And let me tell you - YOU WILL HEAR THINGS YOU NEVER HEARD BEFORE. It's a little unsettling hearing things all around you. I can see why Walter has said he likes his music in front of him.
The behind the scenes promo is great. I have no idea why Reprise sat on this for 10 years. Maybe it was sent to the media in 1993 to help them with their news stories. I've never seen it. Some really nice shots of Walter and Roger Nichols at Hyperbolic Studios. Walter looks like he's 15 years old.
There are some photos on the DVD of Donald that, to be kind, show him in his blue period. If you want to know what they mean by "tortured artist", just look at these pix.
The liner notes feature an essay by the late Timothy White, who also received an Honary Doctorate at Berklee on the same day as Donald and Walter in 2001. In the essay, White says "the album's fluctuant fantasy environment overflows with bantering horns, beckoning female background harmonies, and a tremulant keyboard sound that sustains Fagen's amorphous vocals with the ease of an Eames chair".
Maybe "the comfy Eames chair" was a nod to Timothy White. Anyway, check this disc out. The mix is truly amazing.
Mark in Boston
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Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoOn "Kamakiriad"-
I just had a nearly-complete listen to the "Kamakiriad" DVD-Audio and I must say it is so great. There's a lot of great detail in the arrangements that I frankly had never heard before. This surround mix is so detailed and beautiful. "On The Dunes" and "Trans-Island Skyway" really sound incredible.
If you don't have this disc yet, I highly recommend it, even if you already own the regular CD.
Only A Fool from San Jose-
I agree with your observations on those 3 lines in "Blues Beach." Those lyrics are snuck in there as a sort of connective piece that runs continuously to the next line. The way DF says "Hey pretty girl can I cop a ride?" is priceless. That reminds me of lines of like "please take me along when you slide on down" and "skate a little lower now" from "Hey Nineteen".
I also appreciated your list of catch phrases from each song. I would have picked the same exact lines in almost every case. Being in the Bay Area I can also understand the appeal of "The food and the weather".
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.So OC's comment prodded me to check out other possible touring players' sites. Predictably, Walt Weiskopf is on board and check out this dude's resume. He's co-written theory books and does lectures and stuff. Yikes, how many degrees are gonna be up onstage this summer...maybe we could all get a couple of units (we used to call them credit hours in the Stone Age) for passing small pop (!*#) quiz upon exiting the arena.
Posted by: P-G E, "selling out so our bands don't have to"Excuse me if this has already been mentioned, but Warner Bros has the complete album available as a digital download on Ebay for $9.99 for one more day.
Apparently trying out new ways to "get the product out".
I must admit I didn't believe my eyes when I saw the "headline" for the item:
>> Steely Dan Everything Must Go album download <<
Was sure it was some private numbskull out to make a few extra $$ till I realized it was a legitimate sale.
Two copies left right now. I wonder how many they started with???
P-GE
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, re Vocal Features for Walter this tourWell, I enjoyed Walter's versions of Monkey and Daddy Don't Live in that NYC last time out, but to avoid the DF comparison that bugs so many people, bring back Midnight Cruiser for him to sing! I like his version much better than Hodder's original. Only a Fool Would Say That would probably be too rangy a melody even transposed down for him - it was even a bit screechy when Palmer sang it. Brooklyn is a possibility, but Donald did a great Dylanesque take on that on the old demos and I'd rather hear him tackle that one if they revived it. Western World would be great to hear live, sung by either of them or both for that matter. When are they going to find something that works as a harmony duet? They traded lines on Movies in 96 which was a bit rough even though I liked it. Walt sang harmonies on Rikki in 96, but I know they would both prefer to avoid that one.
I predict there may be a radically rearranged and funked up Show Biz Kids this time around. It could be a good one for Donald and Walter to trade verse lines and then duet on the chorus like on the original, with the girls singing the Lost Wages part behind them.
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CAMy last post made me realize that each of the songs has a key line that I like for its lyrical/musical interplay:
1. TLM - "Cause in the morning—that gospel morning" - almost hopeful?
2. TIMTM - "Birdie good-bye, Birdie bye bye" - just beautiful! I can almost feel a catharsis of pent up emotions.
3. BB - "I said hey pretty girl—can I cop a ride to" - smmmoooth
4. GW - "You better step back son, Give the man some whacking space" - funny & sincere
5. SoA - "Let me put it this way doll" - sleaziest sounding line ever. Becker sounds like he has a lot of practice :)
"Or something halfway in between" - I had to put this one too.
6. GB - "She’s kind of cute but a little younger" - love the backing vocals on this line.
7. P - "It’s, like, her stupid father" - the minor melody suddenly punches through.
8. LwG - "This endless afternoon" - sounds like he actually longs for it. I also absolutly love the solo after the bridge. It starts off sounding like a filtered guitar (the attack is still audible) and then morths into a tenor sax solo (Chris Potter) and finally ends on the filtered guitar again. Maybe it is just a sax solo that Becker double tracked with a guitar over in some parts. Just brilliant. Looking at the song credits though, it says Synth solo and nothing about sax/guitar solo. Hmmm...
9. EMG - "The sky, the moon, good food and the weather" - fits why I'm in the Bay area. Although, I had to give up on first-run movies once my daughter was born (Dec, last year).
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.OC - yes, got it, the Bumpus will be back! I didn't think they could get him back cause I recall he looked a tad annoyed on the Plush video from the Sony taping of 2vN. Does he no longer run with the Doobie tours at all?
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CAMy favourite parts on Blues Beach are the way the lyrics and background progression just slide over the words:
"Then I clicked my heels and I doubled down"
&
"I said hey pretty girl—can I cop a ride to"
&
"Cause if she still wants in I gotta pull some strings"
Posted by: OC Mark, Rajah, check out Cornelius' website .. he will be on the tour.
Posted by: Rob, Blues BeackI'd like to put my 2 cents worth in on "Blues Beach" also. This was the first song many of us heard from the new album and I must say it still ranks among the best on the album for me, despite the fact that quite a few people have posted here about how much they don't like it. To me it is musically similar to "Hey Nineteen" and "Janie Runaway". Maybe it's the tempos, the arrangements, or the overall groove of it, but I definiitely think it's just as great as these other classic SD tracks.
Certainly, it is among the most catchy and seemingly simple songs on EMG. But for the discerning listener and DanFan, it has a lot of treats. It's worth another listen for those who haven't noticed the following:
- Keith Carlock is pulsing flawlessly throughout this track, with great snare action and some great fills on the long fade out.
- The Rhodes playing is SO tasteful in the intro and beginning few bars off the vocal. (0:06) and thereafter
- The Hammond B3 organ is a nice touch and not played much in the Steely Dan canon compared to the Rhodes and Wurlitzer. There are some really great sustained B3 notes under the vocal and on the instrumental break.
- The piano solo in the instrumental is also so simple yet has great groove
- "Paranymphic Glider, a Hypothetical Friend" - who but Steely Dan could come up with this line?
- The background vocals are so smooth throughout. Great little punctuations like "Chillin'" and "Gropin' in the dark"
- My favorite part of the song is actually after the vocal (2:40) Listen for a great series of ultra-slick guitar licks at (2:51) , (3:00) and (3:15)
- Another great Rhodes lick at mixed in with the guitar at (3:07)
- Notice a sudden Hammond B3 sting at (4:00) followed by Donald Fagen's "Oh!"
- "Get a big tropical cooler" vocal way at the end of the fade out
Enjoy. There's so much great stuff packed into this little gem of a track.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.I think the other two singers will be Catherine Russell and Cindy Mizelle. I also have a feeling Mr. Bumpus will not be in the house. I couldn't see them going without young Mr. Leonhart, "horn consultant" or whatever he's called on the credits. If nothing else, he needs to protect his sister from the unwanted attentions of skeevy old farts. Oops, that's me!
Posted by: MissFugazy, NYCWhy is the Green Room desolate every time I visit? Get off your bums and gab, for the love of crap.
New to the Bluebook, fresh out of the womb and screaming. Somebody wipe me off and give me a slap. If there's already a MissFugazy, let me know, and I'll defer.
-Mel (reduced to shivers and tears by Green Book, Pixeleen and the title track)
Posted by: sh,
angel - (my dear friend) Nooooooo!...I was so disappointed when Walter sang Monkey...no one has a way with words like Donald (imho)
;-)
schnakie
Posted by: OC Mark, From what I've been able to glean so far the EMG touring band will include Don & Walter, Walt Weiskopf, Cornelius Bumpus, Michael Leonhart(?), Jim Pugh, Keith Carlock, Carolyn Leonhart, and Jon Herington. Any news on the bass player? other BGV's?
Posted by: snakehips,
sharkdeville - yes, weiskopf is touring with them. i checked out his website www.waltweiskopf.com
sh
Posted by: angel, I thought Walter's version of "Monkey" was better. His gravely voice gives it new life.
Posted by: angel, Here at the Western World. I believe it didn't make the Royal Scam, because there were too many similar type songs on that one.
Posted by: Shaun, Beantownhoops- As much as I love Walter, I don't ever want to hear him sing another SD song that Donald has alrady sung on record. Every time Walter sings an old Dan tune (Monkey or Movies) I'm always freaked out wondering how it would have sounded if DF did it. Let Walter stick to Slang and something off of 11TOW. Please.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.iMy guess is "Here at the Western World" with WB. Can't you hear him crank out a bluesy, "Rruuuth-ee will give the silver key"? Is that the tune that never appeared on the nine albums? Anybody know why that is?
Posted by: hoops, the L.A. House of Blues/Universal shows required no password. You can email house of blues concerts and ask. They are nice enough to reply.
Somehow, I go with the title track off EMG as being the show opener. The intro is perfect and sets the mood, you know?
I think it's a given that Walter will do "Slang," but on what other track or two will he sing ? I want him to do "Josie" and maybe "Everything You Did" or "Haitian Divorice."
My two cents.
jim
Posted by: Brian, New OrleansDoes anyone have the presale password for the Atlanta Show? I am signed up with the House of Blues, but since I live in New Orleans, I do not get presale info for concerts in Atlanta. Any help would be most appreciated.
Posted by: denton, davenport, IowaMitch, on the E7aug/A bass I was really not sure what to call it. Thanks
for pointing that out.
x02110 may have been simpler! Also the F#/E was supposed to be xx4210.
Posted by: sharkdeville, sizzlin inBlues Beach is yet another CLASSIC Dan tune, and D&W have every right to be proud of it, and i think they are.
The chord progression is a killer too.
Last Mall is funny and swings like hell, but i usually skip it. (glad it's the first tune)
Anyone who can't see the obvious laugh they're having at the character's expense in TIMTM is really missing the point. It's hilarious.
Aside from Godwhacker and Gina, my favorite moments on the album are:
"birdy good-BYE"
"dancing in the vid-e-YOWW..."
"the sky..." (bridge on EMG... classic Fagen vocs)
any word yet on who's blowin' bass and sax on the tour?
i had the pleasure of seeing and talking to Bob Sheppard last weekend, and it ain't him...
is it Weiskopf?
Posted by: ME, HereAny inside info as to what the Dan will be playing this summer on their tour?
Listened to "On the dunes" over the weekend and man that song is fuckin incredible...especially the last few minutes.
I'd love to hear that one with about 10 beers and the fine columbian in me.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Yeah, TLM could be a good opening song, I love the WB's opening riff, it's kinda, "hey, we're back," feel. And yeah, "Roll your cart back up the aisle" is a hoot.
Posted by: Shaun, BostonOh come on now! The Last Mall rocks! Donald sounds great. He sings his ass off! The lyrics are great. The whole song is great. It woud make an awesome encore for this year's shows. I bet you done live, The Last Mall will be one of the best songs on the set list. Mark my words.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Even though I agree TLM and BB are not as compelling as the rest, still, the bridges on both are brilliant and fun, I don't think DF & WB can pen a bad bridge, they're consistently that part of the song that just lifts you right up, especially live. I love the three couplets on BB, "It takes a crusty punk to really beat the mean street of Medicine Park," "They were gassed and running every which way but unhappily not for us," and "Things may get a whole lot worse before suddenly falling apart," they are inspired satire, irony, ribaldry, whatever. Check the music behind these lines, it reminds me of sunshine, puppies, kids skipping down to the carnival rides, it's so joyful. The notes Donald hits on the word "unhappily" couldn't be more breezy. Meanwhile, everything's coming unglued and going to shit, the juxtaposition is so very sharply drawn. It's like one of those days where everything is just going so wrong, nothing's working no matter what you try, you're losing things, breaking things, and after a while it begins to actually get comical and absurd. Like that, "Look on the Bright Side of Life" song from that Monty Python movie, Life of Brian, "Life's a crock-a-shit, when you look at it." 'Sfunny.
Posted by: hoops, in the fool's club"Guess I'm A fool too":
You should have ignored Yo. His post was nothing more than malicious bashing of someone by an anon. Now that there's been a response I can't take it down.
I liken TLM and BB and the rest of the album to the last Apple Powerbook unveiling. Jobs presented the new PowerBook G4 12" and it kicked ass and I was awed. Then he presented the 17" version and, HOLY FUCK! 12" is amazing but the 17" version is jaw-dropping!
TLM and BB are insta-classic, but the others are epics!
Let's not also forget that we've had TLM and BB in our mitts for an extra month. They are relatively "old" with more attention given the "newer" of the bunch.
My two cents.
jim
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynIsn't the minor pentatonic in BB cool though? I thought. However I have been studying the LYRICS of the Dan more in my mature years.
Posted by: Guess I'm a Fool too, 'cause I agree--the 2 weakest cuts on the disc are TLM and BB. Not to say that they suck. Just the least compelling.
Posted by: Yo!, Only a Fool- After reading your last post I must say that your handle fits you perfectly.
Posted by: Sigurd Huckle, SwedenBill from Pittsburgh wrote that Zappa "had relinquished the rights to the material that came out on Sleep Dirt, Orchestral Favorites, etc. and had no control over them, hence the crappy covers, etc.....The complete Lather finally came out near his death as I recall."
I believe Zappa was dissatisfied with how Warner handled things and that he delivered this material so the contract would expire. Warner however re-shuffled the songs and released 3 LP's with a minimum of promotion and what many fans think are ugly covers. This was stuff that FZ initially had planned to release as a 4LP box (Läther). Läther came out on CD ca 1996, a couple of years after his death. The strange thing is that FZ released the 3 ugly LP's on CD ca 1991, slightly re-worked and with the original ugly covers. Personally I rate Läther as Zappa's artistic peak. ...sorry, what was the initial Steely Dan thread? I know that Becker & Fagen are long time Z fans (since the days of Garrick Theater, N.Y.C. '67 actually)
/Sigurd Huckle
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CANeal,
I am in almost 100% sync with your ratings!
I always skip TLM and BB when I listen through this album
I was a little worried a few weeks ago when I downloaded that BB mp3. My nervousness increased when the next song to become public was TLM.
The worst 2 cuts from their album first ended up being the first 2 I heard.
I can see it now:
Exec: What do you guys think would be good single material? Something to reel people in.
Donald: "Blues Beach" has got to be it. It's wiggy. <snicker>
Becker: I like "The Last Mall". It rocks. <stares>
Exec: OK!
<later>
Walter: You don't think they would actually release those, right?
Donald: No way. Some one has to listen to these and compare them to rest of the album and figure it out...
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CAThanks Denton. I'll try those out.
I expect this album will contain the usual suspects -
maj7, m7, m11, 7, 13, 7#9, 7#5, m7b5, 7sus4 and of course the various "slash" chords like Isus2/III (eg: Gsus2/B), I/IV (C/F), etc.
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYI sent Becka to the store to pick up Everything Must Go and she came back with a CD of that name by Manic Street Animals, what the heck?
Posted by: Mitch, Denton,
Great chords. However, I have rarely, if ever, seen a chord notated as:
E+7/A
Most often, a fake book will refer to that chord as Am(Maj7).
Where are you in Iowa?
Mitch
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghD&W have consistently said that "Night by Night" was written for commercial reasons. Not sure why they say that - it was never a single and is not particularly poppy. Otherwise, I agree that they do what they want and let the commercial chips fall where they may.
As to the Zappa thread, I'm a long-time casual FZ fan, not a completist, but I recall that he had relinquished the rights to the material that came out on Sleep Dirt, Orchestral Favorites, etc. and had no control over them, hence the crappy covers, etc., and they were in the stores before he even knew what was on each LP. I do remember that they represented his final obligation to WB. The complete Lather (with an umlaut, pronounced "leather") finally came out near his death as I recall.
Posted by: fezo, diversityvillecheck the liner notes, Azoff is now only Becker's Satan
My first misheard lyric from EMG. After multiple listenings, I thought the line on the title track was:
And if Dave from Acquisitions
Wants to get in on the action
With his hammer toe
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynThe fifth cohesive element of the Steely Dan fictive structure is the carefully planned, well thought out, finely wrought observation of characters within the mise-en-scene of a BAR or RESTAURANT in which critical action in their lives takes place - sometimes actual physical acts (Hoop McCann at Mr. Chow) sometimes psychological realizations (chick in Rudy's in Black Cow), sometimes the absence of distracting witnesses ("the waiter never comes" for lunch with Gina, although it has been observed that SD lyrics grow more resonant over time so we may have to wait here). Note: interestingly, when salvation is offered in a mise-en-scene outside a BAR or RESTAURANT, the narrator/wimp/loser turns it down, as when, somehow, Hollywood actresses show up at the Strand Bookstore and offer to ball all day. In exacting instances in which the outcome of the character is unknown, cf. My Rival, the character is very deliberately placed OUTSIDE the comfort space, eg. "I struck a match against the door/of Anthony's Bar & Grill" (coy homage to Anthony Jackson, Steve Khan's bassist in Eyewitness (hilarious that people from a band called Eyewitness show up in a song about detectives)) or grabbing takeout from Dean & DeLuca.
Posted by: dentonagain, sorry, spacing on chords got all screwed up!
Posted by: denton, iowaOnly a Fool, I came up with a very crude chord progression for TIMTM:
Intro
B7 - E - Cmaj7 - Dm9 - F7 - E7
Am E+7/A Am7 E/F#
I don't mind...
(I position Am with descending "bass" on g string...)
Fmaj7 Am/E F7 E7
I don't miss...
(use intro chords for "Lie on the couch" part...)
Em7 Dm7 G9 C
The talk the sex
F7(?) G9 Am
the Audi TT the vineyard the gulfcoast
Dm7 G9
these are the things I miss
EZ guitar version, just guessing on alot of "7ths" and "9ths" etc.
still working out part after birdie bye bye...think it goes to Abmaj7,
Fm7.
Posted by: afoolnluv, Neil - If you knew anything about the Dan or Zappa, you'd know neither have ever made music to fill "contractual obligations." The fact you would even consider posting that means you need to read and listen closer.
The music on "Sleep Dirt" was part of a 4 lp collection called Lather. When Warner Bros. refused to release a 4 lp box, Franks divided it into four separate albums (Sleep Dirt, Orchestral Favorites, Studio Tan, and parts of Live at the Roxy) to complete his contract with WB and get the hell off the label (and famously went on the radio and played Lather in it's entirety, telling people to record it instead of buying the albums), but the music wasn't written or performed as contract filler.
I can see where you might have misunderstood the context of Zappa's material as it was presented, but to say the Dan would bow to label or public pressure to record something they didn't believe in is an insult to everything these guys have stood for for 30+ years. I would venture to say the the last time the label had any influence on what the Dan produced (other than maybe picking the singles) was when they hired David Palmer, and you see how long *that* lasted.
D & W answer to one, never did (not even Gary Katz).
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.The first three on EMG are problematical,yeah, the chorus in TLM, the chorus in TIMTM, and the chorus in BB. Great songs, all, and I'm sure will pass the test of time, just not as hypnotic as what follows. But these songs evolve. Ask us in 10 years.
Posted by: Neal, CD Overall: A-.
Production: A-. Many of the lead vocals are munged by the BU vocals and vice versa, even on my reference monitors. They have the classic SD sound, but with the exception of Slang of Ages, it doesn't have the fun diversity of yesterDan.
Performances: A. Fagen clearly loses vocal cohesion when he tries to sing above his usual tenor. Becker is a strong yet unflashy bassist, which I like. I wish I had their call list for support players...
The Tunes:
Last Mall: B- Structurally, I thought this was weak, though I dig the lyrics. I think it could have used another hook or interlude somewhere within.
TIMtMost: B. Reminded me of some of the yawners I remember from Gaucho. Wierd that they mock materialism in Last Mall and extole it here.
Blues Beach: D- I think this was written to appease someone in the record company, the way Zappa wrote "contractual obligation" albums like Sleep Dirt (though there's one great instrumental on that album...). I have listened to this tune 3 times, and now FF past it every time.
GodWhacker: A- Like the groove, like the lyric, but missing the point. The sizer solo is way cool; love that sizzling "Moogy" sound.
Slang of Ages: A- Finally, a different rhythm sound. Becker's vocal and the near-cajun groove makes it seem like it's an addition, not part of the collection. Nice diversion, and it grows on you.
Greenbook: A+ This was my loop cut and personal fave. That groove and the vocals are ba...aad. Love the little B3 tickles after the choruses.
Pixeleen: A Nice everything. I knew this would be Wayne's fave cut. I like the imagery; a love ballad for a virtual girl... how appropriate, given that most modern nerd-males probably won't get near the real thing till they move out of Mom's house when they're 45...
Lunch with Gina: A+ my second fave. Vocals, groove, catchy hook, frightening concept... it's all good.
Everything Must Go: A Great tune. Hits awfully close to home in this time of rampant business failures. Could become an anthem for the times.
I don't view this as a groundbreaker for them, but I'm still going to the show at Camden in August, and I'll buy their next production effort.
Posted by: Peter Q, Brooklyn Princess -That's a funny link! I can't believe that guy is singing Angel of Death by Thin Lizzy, even though Lizzy's huge in Japan. How odd!
Posted by: princessofcairo, san franciscosomeone sent me this odd link...this guy does a capella covers. beat boxing. all the instruments. there are some dan songs here:
http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/DOKAKA/
listen! he's cracking me up!
Posted by: Joey, " Pitched by Irving Azoff's yes man
Sent to a station in Utah... "
Irv Azoff may be Satan.....................but at least he is Steely Dan's Satan .
Joey : " Soaked Through all in Digital Video "
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Major props to the Pretzel Logic folks who last night could do no wrong at Baked Potato in Universal City. Everything they touched worked, two monster magical 75 minute sets. Lots of shaking and stirring. The place packs maybe 30 or so but the crowd sounded like three hundred the way we carried on. On a Sunday night no less. Thought it might be difficult to go back to the older stuff after 10 days of EMG. Nope, sounded freshly minted. Very strong players who played and stayed together. Man on keyboard played like it was his birthday and XMAS rolled into one, marvelous feel. Get that man a candelabra.
Posted by: afoolnluv, re: blues and EMG:
Walter said at the ceremony where they got their doctorates something to the effect of, "When in doubt, play the blues."
Seems that might be a commetary on what they were writing at the time; that "doubt" on EMG could be about society, relationships, physical and finacial mortality, reality, etc.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynPossibly Green Book is a sly reference to the classic sci fi novel by Jill Paton Walsh?
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CA"Slang of ages" has pushed me to go back to 11ToW. I had forgotten how good that album was. The only thing I dislike is the drum machine sound - even there, I only have real issues with "Girlfriend" (horrible snare drum, almost an explosion) and minor quible with "Down at the bottom" (snare is too loud/compressed).
Anyway, I have actually been lisitng to 11ToW more than EMG the last couple of days! I hope they release it in the DVD-A format soon. does anyone know if there are any plans?
I can hear all sorts of slippery chords (and interesting voicings) burried in the mix. I have not yet had the time to actually sit with my guitar and try playing along with the CD yet though. So I thought I could cheat and see if anyone already has written down the chord progressions for these songs.
And finally a little comparison-
Down at the bottom:
"I like the feathers and I love the hat"
Green room:
"I like the neon, I love the music"
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYThat's not a congruous comparison. Chambers uses two pedals on the bass drum if I'm not mistaken. Gadd likes to play marches, like the solos on the Gadd Gang albums or 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover. As such to compare the solos on Aja versions is obnoxious. That comment was icky.
Posted by: Russ, 'nother Green Book fann here... Just love the way the lyrics flow so effortlessly against the melody... a lovely poetic flow, kinda reminds me a bit of the way Home at Last flows. A gem.
Posted by: Randy, Northern NJ / USA
I had a chance to catch (pianist) Bill Charlap over the weekend; he was playing solo piano at a festival I attended. He played beautifully and I spoke with him briefly before zipping off through the rain to the other side of the festival to catch the Bucky Pizzarelli Quartet; he was succinct when I asked him how the session(s) came off for "Godwhacker" and "Pixeleen": "great session; piece of cake." Pizzarelli was also a treat, playing some great smooth lines as well as bopping up a storm.
Aside from 'Everything Must Go,' virtually the only other new release of note (for me) these last few years is the new Steve Winwood album, 'About Time,' which came out last Tuesday; it's somewhat of a stylistic throwback to the B3-organ centered work of Traffic and/or Spencer Davis Group, with some nice latin percussion and extended organ and guitar soloing. The single ("Different Light") sounds very much like updated Traffic, and "Silvia (Who Is She?)" may be one of Winwood's best solo tracks ever; superb-
Randy / NIGHTFLY**@aol.com
Posted by: Chase, ManhattanThe latest Warner Records Newsletter has this everything must go feel to it. Check it out.
Warner woes? Release Pixeleen.
I could start a movement with this. No shit.
Pixeleen...
Based on results of a google search
Brewed in a brain from Jersey
Struck by a gag order limiting
Punched up in analog audio
Song with the sweet catchy melody
Stuck in a trailer in Burbank
Pitched by Irving Azoff's yes man
Sent to a station in Utah...
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYI am interested in information on non Steely Dan Walter Becker produced projects, specifically the songs he produced on Michael Franks' album Blue Pacific and the Lost Tribe albums, and I am also interested to know if anyone hears the influence of the bass palyer from Lost Tribe, Nima Ephron, in 2VN and EMG. I have been turned down for research grants on this subject by 22 different foundations and am getting a little frustrated. Thank you!
Posted by: Roy.Scam, I agree with Peg that "Green Room" is musically built on jazz rather than blues. The thing that suggests blues to me is the opening line, "My coat is black and the moon is yellow." This seems to be a reference to the Lloyd Price song "Stagger Lee", an early rock and roll song loosely based on a blues song. I can't imagine what purpose that lyric serves unless it's to evoke memories (which I think is at least partially the theme of this song). The only other possibility I see is that the line creates a sense of danger, in the light of how the Stagger Lee story turned out.
It's easy for me to mentally draw this number up as a big band jazz tune (with a wee bit of chronologically inappropriate funk) crooned by the Modernaires or one of those other groups that Manhattan Transfer emulates. Especially when I envision that great bass riff played by a troupe of horns.
"Green Book" works for me as a parade of memories mixed in with fantasies; maybe a journal or diary kept by someone who has non-factual flights of fancy. In a recent interview, Fagen said that he thinks it's important to keep your fantasies alive, even if you're in love and monogamous. I'm not admitting to anything here, but I think it's possibly when cataloguing memories and drifting down memory lane, that lovely thoughts of your one and only life partner can get overlapped with certain early Jill St. John, Joey Heatherton daydreams. I mean the brain is a complex machine and those memory cells can get their sharp edges shaved off with excessive use.
Posted by: Howard, @lunch
Bill - interesting comment on the increasing trend in "bluesiness" of SD's albums - I think I agree. The Blues has always been a strong influence on their music, and blues structures and ideas crop up in all sorts of songs (as you've nicely listed). But I do hear something slightly different in the last two albums - either blues structures are appearing more frequently in the songs, or the arrangements are highlighting the blues aspects more. Walter's guitar will, of course, help to bring out the blues in any song! Maybe it's a combination of both aspects, but the feel of the newer songs seems a little more R&B, and feels closer to the blues, than the more strongly rock and jazz-orientated arrangements in the Dan from the previous century.
Re: Green Book, it doesn't sound strongly blues-based to me either. The only really strong hint is the "Rolling into the bar at Joey's" line, when it moves to the IV chord, but then it continues its own twisted path and ends up back at I with barely a hint of a V.
Peg - I don't know if Green Book uses a single mode. The main chromatic note seems to be the flattened second, which probably gives the strongest "flavour" (or "aroma" to follow Zappa's terminology) to the music. This is used in a lot of Eastern and Jewish music I believe. There are also flat 3rds mixed with major 3rds (kind of Bluesy, I guess...) and some flat 5ths as well.
As Don already said, you can think of the main chord change as Ebmaj7b5/D moving to D7. This is actually quite similar to a Spanish guitar cliche - finger a standard E major chord, move it up one fret, apply flamenco strumming, then move back to E.
Howard
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynPeg! It's certainly true that much of the lyrical content of the kind of raw, 1950s style Chicago-based Chess records type blues that B & F love, as well as the Delta blues guys like Blind Lemon Jefferson or whomever, is very rough on women, but on the othet hand there are lots of affectionate songs too. In SD this is never the case, ever - the trap is always sealed, the fate already written, beforehand. By the way this is an impartial observation, neither approving nor disapproving. Re : Green Book/Caravan, there's an album by Ellington saxophonist Johnny Hodges called Hodge Podge on which
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoHello everyone. I had the honour of playing with Chris Potter last night at a jam session at the Toronto jazz festival. He completely kicked my ass, as I wasn't playing shit, but it was still such an honour just to share the stage with one of the world's best (and one of my favourite) living tenor saxophone players. We played the old standard "If I Were A Bell". I was talking to him about the Dan, and he said they're cool, nice guys. Not egotistical at all.
Posted by: Don Breithaupt, TorontoHi Peg,
The scale you're referring to in "Green Book" and "Caravan" is not Mixolydian; it's not one of the seven pure Greek modes. It's sometimes called a Spanish scale, sometimes a Jewish scale, and amounts to Phrygian with a major third. It's what you get if you play a harmonic minor scale starting on the fifth degree. In "Green Book," you hear the whole scale (by implication) as the basic vamp moves between Cm69/D [or Ebmaj7(b5)/D] and D7. It's my favourite tune on the record, and NOT because of the theory!
Posted by: DACW, re: Blues on EMG...the Piano Jazz inteview with Marian McPartland is a clue. It's the Jazzy blues structure of the 30s and 40s from Ellington to Charles Brown, not the Robert Johnson or BB King stuff...this focus away a bit from the 50s cool jazz that permeated TvN (there's still cool jazz in the horns) with an infusion of film noir and the R&B funk.
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghThis description of Slang of Ages sounds like another similar semi sci-fi tale, told in the third person, Wet Side Story:
>>An example of a socially inarticulate fellow yearning for real human contact.
Also, I'm glad someone else was reminded of the work of the late great Douglas Adams, whose trademark combination of sci-fi and odd humor is very compatible with Don & Walt's despite its intense Britshness - for me it was the concept of the Last Mall that recalled this particular eating establishment:
>>This is how I imagine Zaphod Beeblebrox chatting up babes at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe...
Finally, I officially withdraw Green Book from my list of blues-based tunes, and damned if it doesn't have elements of the Caravan melodic/harmonic approach to it. We know that D&W love Duke madly, so that is probably no accident.
Posted by: Peg, Still cleaning upPeter, I forgot to mention: The Allman Brothers are now considered a JAM BAND and therefore they are cool again. It has happened to lots of bands -- once they get labeled that way, they are "in." Look at folks like John Scofield, Charlie Hunter, etc....they now can make $$ because of it. Anybody who likes good live music needs to check out the jam scene. Visit www.jambase.com and look up some of the bands listed on their web sites, if you do not know anything about them. I am going to see the Allman Brothers when they come here because their opening act is Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. Now that is a good funk jam.... Speaking of, hey, SD wrote all these fun, danceable songs for EMG but they still are not playing anywhere you can dance? Come on and let's JAM when they play this summer! Get off your booty, ya'all!
One more thing: gosh, darn, EMG is not on the Top 40 list, at least not the one they print in Rolling Stone. Bummer. They need promotion!!!
Posted by: Peg, Covered in mud, but FYE onlyRegarding Green Book not being blues based: After playing Green Book by ear (okay, with fingers, actually) last night I have decided it's 1. Written on a scale similar to that used in by Ellington in his tune "Caravan", and that Fagen, unlike me, actually wrote something on that scale that sounds good and fresh, and that, 2. Its progressions go up and do not follow any sort of blues progression; 3. Therefore, no way is it blues based. Howard, one of many ace musicians who knows music theory better than me and reads this page often, perchance can tell me us the name of the scale that was used. I got out a theory book and am guessing mixolydian.
Hey Peter, I agree with your statement that women are portrayed as rather "negative girls" most of the time, but then there's the chick in Almost Gothic...Spell love LUV! But overall, yeah, it's not a great thing...then again, consider the men/protagonists in most songs. They are not really what you would call stellar...Basically, it's hard to make an interesting story out of uninteresting characters, and so these songs have to be peopled with folks who have quirks.
Posted by: Mr.sticks, Please join the Steely Fan Band THIS FRIDAY NIGHT...June 27,2003 at 8:30pm for a great night of Fun,surprises AND of course all Steely Dan music..LIVE!!
Come ring in summer at the STUDIO CAFE in Newport Beach Ca. on the Balboa boardwalk as we perform an all new show with a really great UNPLUGGED set of CLASSIC Steely covers!
The show is free and we look forward to a great night with you.
Thanks
Mr.Sticks
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynIn Don DeLillo's novel White Noise, one of the characters persuades the dean to let him give a graduate course in American History on Elvis Presley. Similarly, we are trying to convince our dean that a course, jointly sponsored by the music and sociology departments, on Steely Dan has now become necessary for a well rounded education. The dean does not agree. We have become gravely worried about the lack of Steely Dan knowledge among our young people. Mention the name to anyone under 30 - soemtimes under 35 - and all you get are stupified looks of incomprehension. I recently went to an Allman Brothers concert and half the crowd looked like they were 16. Why is that?!
Posted by: Slinky Godwhacker, now from Outta Space!
Peter Q: Don't mean to be contrary, but so far you've "proven" that Steely Dan is simply a combination of the Beach Boys (first two) and Madonna (last two).
Posted by: Little Wild One, total recallPeter Q: That's second verse, first song, first hit. In the first verse, the protagonist goes after the man who stole his water (not sure which thematic element that fits into, but fire away, mate).
Let's see then, that's cars/transportation, left/right coast, spiritual imagery, bad women. 'Course, personally, I think the subject matter goes a bit deeper than that, but on the surface the predominance of those topics may tend to support the statement that D+W made regarding their belief that the Dan fandom has the male gender in the majority.
Posted by: Peter Q, Brooklyn...posted so far brief remarks about 3 of the 9 consistently identifiable thematic concerns of Steely Dan stories that our research has found - 1) the identification of male characters with their automobiles; 2) the juxtapositon of California life/people with that of New York City; 3) the sensational use of evocative Chrisitian imagery, appealing to saints, Jesus, etc. starting with Turn That Heartbeat Over Again and on through Godwhacker. The fourth remarkably consistent characteristic is the portrayal of female characters as two timers, backstabbers, whores, criminals, and in general bitches who make mince meat of their men. This archetype appears in the very first story on the very first album ("then you love a little wild one, and she brings you only sorrow/all the time you know she's smilin, you'll be on your knees tomorrow") and on down through TIMTM, by which time we are so acquainted with her that no description of her self or actions are any longer even necessary (and do not appear in the song)!
Posted by: Tonight He (The Waiter) Came (to The Steely Damed), bob tedde come on down! you're the next contestent on the solo is right!
congratulations to the steely damned on another fine gig... aja notwithstanding (notice how that air bag didnt launch on godwhacker but lunched on gina? nice italian catholic girl? not)
chuck was just fabuloso on sax i mean note for note on d blues and fm ...
but then hank had to leave and i was so upset till i found out love bobs to nail the kid c solo to the freakin wall... you better do some more of that pickin bob...would have even possibly preferred you on third world man... really impressive, who knew?!
i've seen em a dozen times and this open park event i mean was over a grand or two attending wouldnt ya say? but no acoustics so hard to cheer em on...
got there late cuz blonde thin thing was late from her $200k/year job at boeing up here - is it really worth it?... caught this much:
bodie
terzo mondo
egg cream
do it agin
kid c
deacon b
CAVES!!!!!!!!!!
fm
thanks bob... and peg too et al
do it agin... but next time no pc and no steely darned for the vacuous carlsbad airheadskids, and no more use of the word expletive instead of using them
Posted by: angel, Nice to have you back in the sadddle again, Ole. :-)
Great slang work.
For those who never mix their primary colors....
Found in the Dandom Digest yesterday was the comment from Fidyl that EMG has part of the "My Name Is" song by Eminem. The B man mentioned this quite a bit ago to me, but I didn't follow it up. Mostly because it was tough listening to the audio streams of EMG, at the time. Checked it out today and well, listen for yourself. Funny stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000I5JQ/qid%3D1056223626/sr%3D2-1/ref%3Dsr%5F2%5F1/102-7722172-6360935
Posted by: oleander, tomorrow's for squaresInteresting.Here's what I think of "Slang":
I think "Slang of Ages" is about… slang. But inasmuch as a Steely Dan song is rarely about one thing, it’s also about music and the art of pick-up and put-down. Mr. Becker is an aficionado of argot, a practitioner of patois, a virtuoso of vernacular, which you can hear on "11 Tracks of Whack" from the title on in. I think he’s doing a little tribute to the richness and malleability of the language; the tune is one slang phrase after another, from various times and places.
Slang isn’t just popular catchphrases. It’s the incubator of linguistic change. It’s the reason a language doesn’t die. Think about Orwell’s "1984," in which limiting language is one of the tools of oppression. Big Brother’s goal is to whittle Newspeak down to as few words as possible, so that each word has only one meaning and each meaning only one word. If people don’t have the language to express ideas, then they won’t have the ideas, which are dangerous to the status quo. And while you have that thought in your mind, take a momentary digression and think about the Bush administration’s "No Child Left Behind" and "Clear Skies" initiatives (not to mention the many other Orwellian aspects of his reign).
So Mr. Becker spins a situation in slang. He’s simultaneously trying to pick up his conversational partner and assuring that he can’t. This is how I imagine Zaphod Beeblebrox chatting up babes at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, or Han Solo a few decades down the road at the space lounge on Tatooine. Mr. B is trying his pick-up lines while putting her down, scratching through her veneer of sophistication—"If you grew up in Amsterdam, then I’m the Duke of Earl." She cops to his scorn and splits—then he’s all "Hey—where’d she go?" His version of "piss off, then" is to offer to "make it right"—right all right, by telling her to "Be There Now," i.e., get lost—and ending with the classic hitchhiker drop-off line, "This is where I turn." This is the kind of guy I love to run into in bars.
This is also a tribute to jazz and rock’n’roll, the slang of music, always rich, layered, mutable, surprising. Just as styles in language change, so they do in music. If you’re lucky, someone in the know, like Mr. B, will show you how it’s done. The tabs—guitar or pharmaceutical—may look iffy, but he’ll tell you which ones are for real. Or maybe someone like Gene Chandler or Eddie Floyd will, who get a tip of the Steely hat for their "Duke of Earl" and "Knock On Wood." Soul survivors. Like the Dan. Soothe me! Slang me!
Posted by: Homey, knock on woodIn 1972 I had a friend named Fred who changed his name to Charlie Manson after he saw the picture of Walter Becker in the gatefold of Can't Buy a Thrill.
Posted by: Chief of Theory, Queens, NYI've seen alot in my Steely Dan days. I once knew a woman named Agnes Catuli who legally changed her name to Cathy Berberian because she fell in love with the picture of Jim Hodder on the back of Countdown To Ecstasy.
Posted by: Jive Miguel (in from Bogata), DC - Not Too ShabbyThis will be the cool part of the summer.
Nissan Pavilion here in DC/VA area, August 27th
Center Orchestra section, 22 rows deep, 2 center cut seats for me and my lovely main squeeze.
Sometimes I judge a song by the "goosebump effect". All 9 songs on EMG are superb. The first goosebumper is Godwhacker. Others follow, and vary by mood and situation.
This is really a tremendous effort by the boys.
Posted by: Man with no face, Re: Noises. I've listened to the CD version probably 2 or 3 times a day since it came out (I have a looong commute!). I listen to it at a rather high volume. There are all kinds of little noises all through it. For example, right after the word "fights" in TIMTM, there is a noise although it might be just fingers sliding on guitar strings as the chord is changed (theres a technical term for that, which I can't remember). You hear that more clearly at other times in that particular song. At first I thought it was a little tape snippet a la the 11TOW effects.
Posted by: Isa, The NetherlandsRe:Groovetime
Groovetime is indeed a distinguished radio program about jazz music.
The first broadcast was on Radio 1 at the 13th of may in 2001.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynRe - Slang of Ages - Groovetime, if I'm not mistaken, is a very distinguished radio program in Holland about American jazz, thus linking the narrartor's desire to be "dropped off" there (cars again!)and showing that the girl is either lying about being from there, because she doesn't know what Groovetime is, or else she's too young to know, which is even worse for our narrator because he keeps making bufoonish gaffes like calling her "doll" and "babe". (The desperate whining line, "You oughta know, you oughta know" suggests that she oughta know what Groovetime is if she is who she says she is.) Slang of Ages may refer to, as I read in one British newspaper that I unfortunately lost the link to, sleazoid chat-ups. However he has no substantive, concrete knowledge of how to approach women other than to use cheap pickup lines which is why, upon noting her disgust at his behavior, he begs "Show me how it's done." Doubtlessly appalled by a gent in his fifties who needs to be shown, she "skips to other dimensions", dimesnions in this instance meaning other men of a younger generation - which in fact the narrator understands, because "Be There Now" unveils his desire to strip away the effluvia of age, generation gap, difference of interests between folks of vastly different backgrounds, and connect on an as it were metaphysical plane, have their "souls" get together. An example of a socially inarticulate fellow yearning for real human contact.
Posted by: Chase, blue screen of deathSteely Dan yet again used as example to illustrate online copyright infringement practices:
"Actually, it's more like a nightmare, and it goes something like this:
You hop online to download some of the new Steely Dan CD, Everything Must Go.
Your reasons may vary, from wanting to hear more of a song you caught on the radio, to sampling the music before you buy, to, yes, maybe even getting the tunes without paying for them.
The last few times you did this, you received pop-up warnings from someone that your computer would be damaged if you continue to download copyright works.
Because it's the Internet, you can't be sure just who's sending those messages, so you ignored them.
You find the song you want, and you start downloading.
Suddenly, an error message appears, but before you can read it, your computer locks up and -- if you're lucky enough to be a Windows user -- you get the Blue Screen of Death.
You try to restart your system, but when it comes to the point where you'd hope to see the Windows startup screen, you are presented with the ominous phrase, "Operating system not found."
Welcome to a scenario envisioned this week by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright issues in Washington."
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/1961689
Posted by: Denton, IowaHere is link to "Snowbound" video, if anyone hasn't seen it.
http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/fagen.mov
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoMy Quick Review of Donald Fagen's "Kamakiriad" DVD-Audio
"Kamakiriad" is actually one of my favorite records in the Steely Dan/Walter Becker/Donald Fagen canon. So when I heard this would be out on DVD-Audio, let's just say it was a no-brainer that I would buy it. I personally consider it to be on par with the best of their output, although I have certainly heard some differeing opionions on this board and elsewhere. Since I will assume everyone on this board has already heard the album, I will not attempt to review the music itself so much as it's presentation in the new format. And if you haven't heard the album, well... do.
First and foremost... the surround mix: Having scanned through the ablum (but not having heard it all yet), I was surprised at how different it sounded from the regular CD. I've been listening to this record pretty frequently for about 7 years, and I can safely say I heard many things in the surround mix that I have never heard (or at least noticed ) before. There are lots of layers of secondary embellishments with rhythm guitars, extra keyboards, and even subtle sound effects that become apparent on this mix that were probably "lost" in the original stereo mix just due to the tendency of layers of sound to "cover" each other when you only have 2 channels. I also feel that the frequency range and dynamic range seem wider and fuller on this mix too. The bass has an extremely deep yet delineated sound, and the percussive effects like shakers, hi-hat, wood blocks, etc. are far more distinct in this mix than the CD. Overall, I thought Donald's vocals were a bit too "spread out" over the sound stage, but this is largely perhaps a matter of prefertence since I grew up (like most of us) listening to stereo records with distinctly-located center vocals.
To me, the whole concept of a surround mix, I think, has to be taken in a different context than a regular stereo mix, which is generally meant to sound like a performance taking place in front of the listener, like in a concert hall. With surround, it's just plain different. It's just meant to be more of a sound "experience" than a replication of a concert performance. Given that I've accepted this different midset, the surround mix was extremely pleasing to my ears and expanded on the basic sound of the record quite well.
I have not heard the hirez stereo mix yet, but I suspect that it will not be a heck of a lot different from the album since it is a 48kh/24 bit recording versus a 44kz/16 bit on the CD (although you never know) But I don't suspect this is what most of us are interested in on this disc anyway.
Extras: There are some very nice extras on this disc. In addition to the usual on-screen lyrics and pictures, there is a dozen-or-so picture gallery of photos of Donald circa 1993. There is about a 20-minute video on the making of the album, which I thought was great. Lots of nice Donald and Walter footage and commentary. This was definitely my favorite extra, and you get to see inside Walters "sound hut" recording studio where this and all modern-day Steely Dan albums were (at least in part) created.
And then there were videos for "Tomorrows Girls" (with Rick Moranis) and "Snowbound." The former is somewhat dated looking but otherwise pretty cool, and the latter is just plain bizarre, with little machine-men cars driving around a dismal-looking futuristic model-world, with DF starring as a "car-man" who is the unseen Oz-like controller of this snowy nether-worldly place. This totally is not what I had in mind as I have been listening to this this song for the last 7 years. Interesting, but I almost wish I had not seen it. I think Donald and Walter are right that it's better to find your own mental imagery for their somgs and not be reeled into one interpretation by any visual material.
One disappointment I had with this disc's on-screen visual material is that it does not offer a personnel listing at all, at least not that I could find (except in the actual jewel-case booklet, and not on a track-by-track basis) Ironically, there are full credits for the DVD-Audio producers, mixers, graphic designers, etc, but not for the musicians who actually perform on the recording. This seems wrong to me.
Overall, I think this disc is well worth buying. The interview footage alone is worth most of the price of the disc, and the quality of the surround mix is a real treat. It really makes me appreciate the level of complexity and detail packed in to the arrangements, yet the basic funky/jazzy sound that we know as Fagen/Becker is all there plain as day.
Cheers
-Rob
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.I have been contacted from beyond... on the 23 July opener (3rd row baby) East Louis Toodle-oo, - and -- Reelin' in the Sheeves! Guarantee.
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoThat radio interview on "The Mountain" is so hilharious.
http://www.kmtt.com/people/fisher_west/fisher_west_new.htm
I think Donald & Walter would have been great comedy writers if they didn't end up becoming musicians. I guess in truth they are actually both.
Does anyone have the second half of the inyerview saved on a computer somewhere or an audio recording of it? For some reason I can't download the second half like the first half, and I would like to save it for the future. I'm just hoping the radio station doesn't take the link down and we lose this great interview forever.
Andy Metzger or Hoops maybe?
-Rob
Posted by: SouthOfHollywood, Joey'sHas anyone else considered that the "Sweet Backstory" line in Pixel might be an anotomical reference?...Hmmmm...SOH
Posted by: John, re: narrator in Slang of Ages
I agree with Peg's perception of the narrator as an "alien" or, at the very least, that the song is an extended diversion into science fiction. Alien could be extraterrestrial, or it could just be someone who's out of step with the rest of the world.
The musical cue is there in the sound effects. He perceives the woman to be from "out of state" (which sure sounded like "outer space" until I listened closely). Out or state is reminiscent of the Coneheads who are from France (not). The woman "skips dimensions." And of course the whole song sounds as if it's kin to "Hat Too Flat" from 11ToW.
All best,
John
Posted by: Bill W., Barrington, RIHere's an EMG review I've submitted to Amazon.com, though it hasn't been posted yet:
========================================
The ultimate swan song? Let’s hope not!
----------------------------------------
I’ve given the Dan’s new release, Everything Must Go, multiple listens over the past few days and give it a big thumbs-up.
That wasn’t my initial reaction. I suspect listeners—myself included—may be guilty of placing expectations on artists to behave as they once did; as they did when we first became enamored with their artistry. But people [hopefully] grow and mature over a period of thirty years, and Becker and Fagen are not afraid to bring this maturity into their work. If I may, I suggest that listeners attempt to strip themselves of such expectations and immerse themselves in the current offering on its own terms. You will not be disappointed!
I highly recommend cranking up ‘Godwhacker’ while driving. Becker’s bass line and guitar solo kicks ass. I’m not big on dancing, but I’m ready when I hear this.
And I don’t recall two Dan songs that have evoked more emotion within me than ‘Things I Miss the Most’ and the title tune, ‘Everything Must Go’ [EMG].
When I first learned of the Dan’s choice of 'Everything Must Go' as the title for this CD, it immediately conjured up a thought that this would be it: their last effort. If so, I will remain grateful for all they’ve created over the years.
Or maybe this is reading too much into it. Maybe EMG, the song, should simply be thought of as a great recording, reason enough to use it as the title of the CD. Please listen to Walt Weiskopf’s beautiful saxophone work and the melodic phrasing of the lyrics.
But I remain suspicious. When I consider EMG’s placement as the last track on the CD, and the lyrics themselves, I can’t help but interpret this as a possible swan song. Will they also leave this as the last performance of the last encore during the EMG Tour? If so, I can only envision people exiting in tears. The thought of EMG as a swan song is truly sad, but, if true, has any artist ever bowed out with such high quality?
I was a bit put off at first by the more poppy cuts, ‘The Last Mall’ and ‘Blues Beach,’ but now find them lighthearted and enjoyable. Of course, apocalyptic and fatalistic images don’t hurt the songs’ credibility as honest works of the Dan.
At age 48, I’m a beginner pianist and will be performing ‘Here at the Western World’ in front of approximately 100 people at this summer’s annual recital of my teacher’s students. It’s a respectable rendition, I suppose, especially when considering my limited background. I’m just hoping the song itself will catch someone’s ear in the audience. I know my teacher, a 50ish Berklee grad, enjoys it. Last week she was looking at the lyrics while I was playing, and asked, “What’s this ‘lay down your Jackson’ mean?”
========================================
I've ordered tickets for Sept 10 in Wallingford, CT. Looking forward to it.
Posted by: Our Man Abu, Tampa, FlI'm new to this site, but have enjoyed the commentary related to my favorite musical act. I first heard The Dan 31 years ago and have never looked back. I was fortunate to have heard them perform in Tampa (opening for Chicago) in about 1973. EMG is one that requires (as do they all!)several listenings and, once was not disapointed.
Posted by: Allen Peck, Tampa, Fl
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareOnly a Fool:
I agree with you, although I am thinking maybe the tabs are the way that the alien experiences sex, and so does the narrator. Or at least he's convinced she's an alien (Netherworld, opened up my head which would mean read his mind).
OK...so my theories on what the Slang of Ages is:
A) the drug-related high the narrator gets from the pill he's given, or
B) a sexual experience he and the alien receive from the pill,
or
C) a combination of both, where maybe it's something halfway in between.
One way that would make C) intriguing would be if this were the case:
"Are you all part of the dreaming" - his drug induced high
"Or the end of my life so far" - a lot of times, sex can be looked upon as maybe a change in your life...an epiphany
"Or something halfway in between" - maybe it's just both...it's a drug induced high that creates a sexual experience.
Now THAT'S crazy...any thoughts?
DOE
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CAI'm pretty sure the "tabs" in Slang refer to drugs, not guitar tablature.
Also, one of the first sounf effects (right before the words start) sounds like somehting alien. But it also sounds like a whistle (wolfing a lady walking by). The lyrics that follow also match this.
I see "Slang of Ages" as a juxtaposioning of 3 favourite Dan themes -
1. Drugs (Tabs, hit me with the Slang of ages, etc.)
2. Young women (all my deraming... end of my life so far... something half-way in between..)
3. Sci-fi (out of state... skipped dimensions... oppened up my head)
So, it looks like the pratagonist is hitting on a young lady when he notices that she is an alien and decided to get some unworldly drugs from her instead.
Ha-haa!
That sounded completely crazy.
Posted by: Peg, Under the sunAs I see it, the protagonist in TIMTM is a comical loser who is such a schmuck he got taken not only to the cleaners, but got stripped down to his virtual skivvies after a divorce. Classic use of exaggeration to create humor.
Speaking of protagonists, I don't think Pixelene's narrator is her father; he's a fan or someone involved in her creation...The narrator in Slang of Ages is a guy from some science fiction story..(those wierd sound effects in it are a nod to Tribbles, those critters in that Star Trek episode, and don't say they aren't!!!) Slang is referring to jazz/music throughout...there's even a reference to (guitar) tabs in it...
I agree with the presence of blues basis for the EMG songs listed previous except for Green Book. Nope. Green Book has a 1960s Mancini-esque melody as well as 1960s themes (smoky lobby, Jill St. John)...I do not think it was intentionally based on any blues theme.
Note to Oleander: I did get my ticket...I will be e-mailing you...Get your checkbook ready, chil' ;) Happy Weekend to all!
~Peg
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CA
Probably just a coincidence, but "Pixelan" is a software company that specializes in visual effects (SpiceMaster is their best known line)and video editing:
http://www.pixelan.com
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghHere's a musical thread to give us a break from the lyric analysis, inspired some early comments, can't remember from where. I suggest that EMG is SD's most "blues-influenced" album - more blues-based songs than on any predecessor. I know it's hard to define blues, especially the way SD alters the basic I-IV-V, and they frequently add choruses and bridges that depart from the form, but here's what I suggest qualifies in their discography:
CBAT:
Do It Again
Fire in the Hole
CTE:
Bodhisattva
Show Biz Kids
Your Gold Teeth
Pretzel:
Parker's Band
Pretzel Logic
Monkey In Your Soul
Katy Lied:
Black Friday
Daddy Don't Live
Chain Lighting
Royal Scam:
Don't Take Me Alive (a stretch)
Sign In Stranger
Green Earrings (a good example of altered blues - still a 12-bar)
Aja:
Peg (Donald explains why in his instructional video)
Josie (ditto)
I Got The News
Gaucho:
Time out of Mind, maybe
My Rival
2VN:
What a Shame
Jack of Speed
Janie Runaway
Cousin Dupree
EMG:
Last Mall
Godwhacker
Slang of Ages
Green Book
Lunch with Gina
EMG
Thoughts from you musicologists out there?
Posted by: Bill, pghAs the Blue's current self-annointed WB afficionado and defender, I suggest there are some parallels between the newly-impoverished schmuck in TIMTM and an even shallower character in "Fall of 92" (a Becker/Fagen composition), you know, the guy that drives his beloved dog to the pound in his Beemer cause he can't afford the dog food after losing his cushy job but somehow can keep the fancy vehicle - hey, there's another car for the auto thread!
Posted by: tonez, So here's the story from here: our WEA (Warner/Elektra/Asylum) rep (who really very cool and keeps us relatively informed) says that she just placed an order for promotional material. Apparently the Dan were down the list a bit, since Metallica, the Deftones, StainD all had new albums released right before the Dan (and of course being MTV bands that's where they get their money), so hopefully in the next few weeks we'll see more of a media presence as far as posters and displays go.
Keep talking to your local music retail establishment. There's no better advertising than word of mouth.
peace
t
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynDuke! Myself and my colleague, the Chief of Theory at our local college, are writing a book on Steely Dan's Worldview and what we post here are the beginnings of our research. We certainly welcome your constructive, positive comments. Thanks.
Posted by: Rock, HOMEHere is another Vernon Reid Steely connection:\
He quotes "anyworld that I am welcome to:
http://archive.guitarplayer.com/archive/artists/vreid88.shtml
Posted by: , Back on March 20th, Randy "NIGHTFLY62" posted:
"In case anyone might be interested, there's a book (edited by 'Village Voice' writer Greg Tate) entitled 'Everything but the Burden: What White People Are Taking from Black Culture,' which includes a chapter on Steely Dan. The book is essentially a series of interviews and essays, with the chapter on Steely Dan being an interview between Tate and Vernon Reid of the band Living Color. Reid's admiration of Steely Dan is apparent, and he basically explains how much of Steely Dan's music and lyrics pay tribute to or parallel African-American culture and perspectives. Interesting reading-"
Posted by: ROCK, homeYeah I read that about steely by greg tate here is a link
http://citypaper.net/articles/2003-03-27/cover2.shtml
The founding member of LIVING COLOUR is calhoun and his sister sang backup on Two against nature.
Interesting....isn;t it???
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynThat essay is in that book by Greg Tate, you can get it at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Borders, anywhere. It's a 360 perspective from anything you've read about SD before, be forewarned.
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareTo Peter Q:
Hey, maybe you should start your own band. You've got the songwriting thing figured out. Just bring out the recipe cards, and start lyricizing on your own, since you know all about it.
About TIMTM: I think it's a song about losing your lover, but not just any loss. It's the death of his "Sugar Mommy"...the guy married (or maybe didn't marry, just a physical relationship) a wealthy old lady because he had a thing for old ladies (an old bird, per se). He enjoyed the talk, the sex, and all of the great amenities of being married into money. They didn't have the greatest of times (fighting with the kids and about the kids from her first marriage who are entitled to the inheritance), but he enjoyed a few of the things. Now that she's gone (sees the adorable ghost), he's lost it all because her children were in the will and he wasn't. He quit his job when becoming associated with her, and now he's basically got nothing. Also Birdy bye-bye could be a reference to her dying in her sleep (by morning she was gone).
Just a thought.
DOE
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.So where can one find the essay, love to read it.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynI'm amazed that no one in here has discussed the essay by Vernon Reid, "Steely Dan Understood as the Apotheosis of The White Negro" in the book "Everything But The Burden: What White People Are Taking From Black Culture," by Greg Tate.
Posted by: Man with no face, The protagonist in TIMTM is perhaps another in the line of put upon male characters as in Black Cow or Negative Girl. He doesn't miss her funky attitude or their fights, but he does miss their talk and the trust he had for her, and he still calls her adorable. From the depressive way he's reacting, it sounds like she ran off with another guy and then cleaned him out in the divorce settlement, even getting his prize guitar. I read the "Birdy" verse as a girl. Donald sings it really plaintively, as if he wanted more than just casual sex out of his birdie friend. Maybe he couldn't even perform. Anyway, he sounds like an emotional wreck, wallowing in self-pity.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynOf course the point being - and this is another stalwart in the SD lexicon - the gal is the source of his misery, emasculating him to the point where he can only curl up with girlie magazines. The guys in these songs are so weak! And their women - only bitches, whores, cannivers or runaway Lolita types. The lyrics are eternally incapable of embracing a normal, healthy female at all, a rather bleakly misogynistic viewpoint.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Peter Q and Lady B, I think we're on the same page here, I mean, the only thing that seems to convey some modicum of true regret from this guy in TTIMTM is "somebody to trust." You can be able to talk to lots of people satisfactorily, of course have sex with anybody, it being one of the basic of human functions, but, that trust thing. Now you can truly trust relatively very few people in your life. What do we make of the "trust" element here? Does this schlub have a saving grace?
Posted by: Lady Bayside, NYMaybe it's just with TIMTM that when it comes down to it, if the singer/writer's ending a *bad* relationship, the things you do miss the most may not have much to do with the person with whom you were involved.
The human contact, the sex (is bad sex better than no sex?)--those are expected. I love the line "the Audi TT". It is so sly, so snide.
And so classically Steely Dan.
LadyB
Posted by: Mr. Lapage, Movie Theatrehttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2539278831
Warner Bros. has a store on EBAY that sells most of their shit.
They are offering "EMG" as a complete download for $9.99 as well as "Blues Beach" for $1.49.
They are also selling T-shirts for their other artists but not the Dan. Maybe during the tour they will offer "the Steely Dan T-shirts", that would be more convenient than buying all the merchandise at the shows.
Also, I couldn't imagine the dan not having a merchandise page on their site. There has to be some sort of demand.....My good friend has a great shirt from the first comeback tour and it rocks. I have the AJA shirt with tour dates on the back.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynActually there's a bit of trickery in the lyrics of TIMTM. What appears to be psychological explanation is not - no reason for the disintegration of the relationship is provided at all, and the actual things he misses are not in and of themselves the things that make a difference in a relationship ( maybe sex, but obviously that can exist for itself just like a car or a chair ). We could actually make the case that this guy is a shallow boob and B & F are saying this is what love and relationships have become in our society - cars, houses on the Vineyard, talking, ie superficiality and not real emotional connection.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Great post Bill, what must have gone down when they came up with, "I'm building the Adria Doria -- out of balsa wood"? I don't know how Don is going to bray out that line on the tour without cracking up. Personally, I almost fell out of the Barco-lounger when I first played it, lyrics in hand. It's soo whacky and far afield but soo right on. The poor schlep in TIMTM reminds rings with an incredible degree of truth and honesty. And I seriously wonder about his values. Then again, men just don't handle break-ups well at all. We're basically spineless in that arena.
Posted by: h, againDon:
No prob. Not sure there is a lot of overlap in posters here and at the Dandom Digest, but they seem to be different audiences to some extent. The Dandom Digest goes out to about 1,800 people, but people here seem to be more intense, albeit, probably a more narrow audience. Hard to say.
Chris Lonn sent what he did into the Digest and I responded to him as above yesterday , but he disagreed with me and insisted it still appear.
Bottom line, I'm with ya—and so is pretty much everyone else.
Keep posting, Don!
jim
Posted by: Bill, againThey'd be a great stand-up team if it were not for Donald's tangible discomfort with public speaking, interviews and anything other than playing and singing. It's amazing a guy as shy as him has become the front man for a hugely popular act, and a testament to the quality of the music over the glitz that propels most other "showbiz" oriented performers without a tiny fraction of the talent of DF (or WB). He's even fairly shy and reserved in the instructional video he did with Warren Bernhardt. Walter has become quite garralous since they resumed touring, and has a rapier wit that comes out when speaking more so than Donald's, but Donald is no slouch in that department and always gets his bon mots in. Wouldn't we all like to be flies on the wall when these guys are tossing lyrics back and forth to each other? Talk about high comedy!
Posted by: Chesterfield King, NWre: Walter's contrubution
In a recent interview, they claimed that the way they write lyrics is to try and crack each other up. I can see the stories evolving as the trade one-liners back and forth trying to out-do each other. Would make for an interesting stand-up act!
Musically, imho, WB adds layers to the texture, especially the bass lines and all minor blues based tunes. Can't think of anyone who writes more creative bass lines, even if others (Chuck Rainey, Tom Barney, et. al.) are playing them.
Not sure if that adds up to 15%, 150% or 1,500%. All that matters to me is that they make better music together than separately.
Posted by: h, The line that has me ROFL right now is from "Things I Miss the Most."
"I'm learning how to meditate/So far, so good"
This is like "Bodhisattva." If I was *really* learning how to mediate, would I be keeping track of how I'm doing in learning how? LOL
Speaking of funny, got a parking ticket and can pay with credit card--that means 20 more frequent flyer points towards a plane ticket to see SD!
jim
Posted by: Man with no face, Perhaps Time-Warner thinks there are two types of people, those that will know about and buy a new SD product and those that won't. There are very few fence sitters that will be swayed by any kind promotion. This would seem to be true of any artist with a large back catalog. Only when you get an Annie Lennox situation, where she hasn't recorded in 8 or so years or the 2VN "big comeback" do they do any promotion. The funny thing is that I think EMG is more accessible to casual listeners and more radio friendly than 2VN and could possibly win some new converts.
Random thoughts:
When I heard "Me, Slinky Redfoot/And our trusty Angel-girls" today I got a thought of Donald, Walter and Carolyn and the backup singers. There could be a metaphor about music and their muse in there somewhere. "You better step back son/Give the man some whacking space" let the man show his chops.
Slang of Ages also seems to be a metaphor about music wrapped up in a tale of the older guy trying to relate to the young doll in the club scene. "These tabs...", "Roll..." and "Opened up my head" sure sounds like he's talking about MDMA, but tabs could easily be tablature. Commentary on the famous Dutch jazz scene? Duke (Ellington) and Earl (Hines)? The chorus sounds like just pure love of music. Almost like he's imagining playing with his revolutionary jazz heros. Jamming can be very "Be Here Now". Very Zen like.
Posted by: Don Breithaupt, TorontoHoops,
The post that set me off was:
"Christopher D. Lonn" <clonn@owensperkins.com>
Subject: Big Noise . . . Get Real
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:16:31 -0700
It arrived in my Dandon Digest today...
Is the Blue Book the wrong place to respond?
D
Posted by: bill, pittsburghRe the late 70's tour that never was: I'm sure it wasn't scale, but much more. I believe the story was that the record co was pushing for a tour (not our boys whose ugly memories of 74 were fresh in their minds), they began to negotiate tour slaries separately with the various players they wanted, all of whom were making a fortune in the studios without travel, and those players began to compare notes with each other and all wanted more. Not sure if it has ever come out who the players were but I'd bet they would have included Rainey, Larry Carlton, Tom Scott, maybe Purdie but I don't think he appears much on Aja (don't have my copy handy), and that's when this tour was to happen. I recall there was even a tentative date set for a show at Penn State while I was there. I also recall that D&W expressed some relief when the whole thing blew up and they were free to continue to hibernate in the studio. Brian Sweet's book discusses this episode, but it is also not here at work.
>>On another subject, re: promotion, distribution, marketing, advertising, etc. B&F actually wanted to tour after Aja but they couldn't afford to pay the required union scale wages for the band they wanted to put together. Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie probably laughed at the salaries they were offered.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Angel - your comments are quite enlightening, seriously. I'd like to check this out a little more before jumping on the bandwagon, though. So, DF propells the plot and WB kind of, provides poetic imagery while of course also bringing to bear his screwball use of jargon and slang from the Jazz Age all the way up to now. Not to say DF doesn't do the same thing in his way. But, if you think of Nightfly and Kamakiriad lyrics, they're great, but not as ironic, sardonic and satyrical as SD. I guess the question is, though, they're both hilarious but is Walt funnier than Don? I often thought they'd be a great comedy standup a la Smothers Brothers. Now THAT would be a scream!
Posted by: hoops, Don:
Thanks for posting. Searching for "Big Noise" on the BlueBook shows that no one has talked about the similarities since the end of May. And except for in yesterday's Digest where someone *claimed* that someone said EMG and BNNY were entirely the same, I don't think anyone has said they were the same. In May, the discussion focussed on the one small part which you again point out.
I think everyone has moved on.
Paso Robles will be part of the "Gold Rush Trifecta Danfest"--details and Danfest list in 24-48 hours.
Posted by: Don Breithaupt, TorontoWow. Quite the furor over "EMG" and "Big Noise, New York," especially considering raiding one's own creative stores for raw material is standard operating practice for every songwriter in the known universe. "Big Noise" was not widely released, after all, and that's such a juicy chunk I was glad to see it resurface. For the record, and for the benefit of the hearing-impaired zealots who have claimed there's no similarity between the two songs (stop it; you're making fools of yourselves): bars 9 through 12 of the A-sections are virtually identical, melodically AND harmonically. This is not my opinion. It is demonstrably true. They're even in the same key. Can we move on?
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynI thought Wine Dark Sea was a novel by Patrick O'Brian? Numerous B & F lyrics contain literary allusions like that. I can't picture these guys reading O'Brian but hey, who knows?
Posted by: angel, Donald mentioned that he and Walter take turns writing the lyrics. He said that his lyrics advance the plot and Walter's are (I don't remember what he said precisely, but they are Walter's). :-)
I was listening to The Last Mall and this is what came to my mind. I have no idea if it is right, just an impression.
Roll your cart back up the aisle (Donald)(plot advances)
Kiss the checkout girls goodbye (Walter)(sounds like something Walter would say)
Ride the ramp to the freeway (Donald) (plot advances)
Beneath the blood orange sky (Walter) (Reminds me of "Wine Dark Sea", Walter)
Got my copy of EMG back today. 2 days of no listening and I was dying in the merciful rays. I thought I was going to have to go through the weekend without it. Need that SD fix.
Slang of Ages, growing on me. Took a bit to get past the fact that it was Walter. I don't hear Donald doing that song, but maybe that's just me.
Posted by: Isa, The NetherlandsHallo Gina!
Leuk dat je hier gewerkt hebt, zelf werk ik ook in Eindhoven. En wat de parkieten betreft: inderdaad ik ben dol op deze gezellige diertjes en ook bij ons is de spaghetti niet veilig als we gaan eten. Als ze de kans krijgt zit ze boven op je bord! Ze praat ook, en is heel erg tam.
Wat betreft de teksten: er wordt inderdaad flink gefilosofeerd over het een en ander. Ik vind het erg leuk om te lezen....maar soms denk ik ook wel eens dat er te diep gegraven wordt. (b.v. de Quantum-theorie bij Goldwacker). Ik weet niet hoe het in Amerika zit, maar hier weet de gemiddelde Doctor in de Engelse taal/letterkunde volgens mij niet zoveel van deze complexe materie af. Het is immers exacte wetenschap. Literair geschoolde mensen hebben vaak meer affiniteit met andere aardse zaken. Maar goed....we mogen niets uitsluiten natuurlijk.
Nadat ik de analyses van "de harde kern der forumschrijvers" heb gelezen vorm ik op basis van het geschrevene en mijn eigen gevoel de(voor mij) uiteindelijke betekenis van de song.
Slang of ages vind ik trouwens geweldig. Walter heeft de perfecte stem voor deze song...en uiterst geraffineerd uitgevoerd ook.
De hele CD vind ik trouwens erg goed, alleen het nummer "Green Book" trekt me niet zo, maar misschien komt dat nog. Soms heeft dat even tijd nodig. Persoonlijk mag jij ook wel een beetje trots zijn: "Lunch with Gina"?! (Ook al gaat deze "lunch" over andere zaken dan lekker eten). Niet alleen Nederland, maar ook jou naam komt er in voor!
Eh....zou dit iets voor het forum zijn? Nederland....Gina....EMG... o jee......Het zou kunnen he? Misschien zitten WB of DF hier wel heel sneaky mee te lezen hahahahah!
Veel groetjes,
Isa
Posted by: Lady Baysode, NYAh. I feel better. One of the attorneys in my office gave me the copy I bought for him for a loaner til I get my other one back.
I feel like an addict. I need my fix.
SH..you did not say burn. I know you didn't. Get out there and buy truckloads of cds. Darn it, let's get them up to #5 on the chart. It's not as if Warner/Reprise is helping. It's up to us!
Oh, for the love of God, when will it be 5 o'clock?
LadyB
Posted by: snakehips,
LB - lol! I don't think I could go the weekend without playing EMG either. I've only purchased one copy (so far) but will need to burn a copy for my husband. And I love Lunch with Gina, but I can't get into Pixeleen - and everybody's raving about that one. Hmmmm...
Hi Tonesy
sh
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareLet's face it: the music industry is in each other's pockets. Billboard makes money from the record companies, record companies make money from sales figures and (to a lesser extent) reviews published by Billboard. Let's say you have Joe Teenager, who gets a $20 allowance each month (probably more like a week, but anyway). Who would Billboard and the record companies rather see get sales:
a) a couple of old farts who may never record another album, or
b) some hot young chick who has her whole career in front of her, and with the proper promotion could make them tons of money.
I think Billboard's review reflects the business' desire to see Joe spend his money on Justin Guarini or Kelly Clarkson than Steely Dan. Look at their Metallica review to see some correlations.
I wonder if JC listened to more than three tracks on the EMG...
DOE
Posted by: Lady Bayside, NYI love POC's game (originally from the radio station), but frankly right now I can't summon enough brainpower to come up with my own story, even if normally 100 words is about what I'd use in a sentence. (heck, this one clocks in just under 40!)
Still can't quite get into Lunch With Gina. I know, sacrilige, but it just seems to be under my radar right now. Things I Miss The Most is right up there..I can't get it out of my head, can't stop singing it.
I've been playing EMG about four to five times a day at work. YEsterday a friend of mine stopped in to drop something off, and even though he claims he is a huge fan, he has not yet acquired EMG. I--get this one--GAVE him my copy of EMG (returning a favor, really) so he could listen to it. Now I realize that it is Friday and the liklihood of me getting it back before the weekend is somewhere between slim and none, so I suspect that I am going out during the day sometime to hit the local Tower to buy another copy.
That would make FOUR.
And they only debuted at 9? Not for lack of effort on my part, let me tell you.
LadyB
Posted by: oops..., strike thatIt's just some lame repeat of an earlier interview.
Still...
Billboard does suck ass or what?
Posted by: gwbushwacker, now you're talkin'An interview from Australia, where it is tomorrow already:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/20/1055828480766.html
Posted by: gwbushwacker, looky hereA review originally printed... tomorrow:
http://www.billboard.com/bb/reviews/album_article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1913923
Billboard sucks ass!
Posted by: DACW, It seemd obvious to me but just in case:
Bastards = Warner
Posted by: DACW , My 2 piasters: I think D&W went with the promo thing and interview last time for TvN...Letterman, Today, etc. This time around, they did what they wanted - the Confessions schtick and that's it. Perhaps they anticipated a less then stellar effort on the part of the "other" WB. Some pencil-necked geek there at AOL Time Warner Without Ted Turner Whatever undoubtably predicted that sales would be less than TvN and certainly not in the 3 or 4 million range, so it wasn't worth sending out materials. But it should be remembered that some promo in a sense has been accomplished at the Steelydan.com site...more and more folks suf Google or get the link from the Reprise site and there ya go... They have sent e-mail promo material out, but stopped as soon as the release date hit. As for peaks. Unless you've an unknown like Norah Jones, who's record sold due to word of mouth, a quality recording, concerts, TV appearances, and her beautiful profile up here and there...sales are generally highest in Week 1 due to internet pre-sales and the like. But # 9 is pretty good (thanks for sharing the rundown before)...a top ten album certainly is a feather in the cap. Considering the limited promo... A hit radio single or another Grammy if promoted could always boost sales....last time for TvN there was more curiosity after 20 years...although, I think the quality of EMG, the more open sound, and word of mouth *might* prevent the immediate slide down the charts...
Personally, I think AAA is a poor fit - Pixeleen and Lunch with Gina should be released within 2 months of each other on the AC format...
Truthfully though, I don't care about sales, and above a minimal level to allow future recordings, it's doubtful W&D care either...here's my beef...the Bastards delayed the release a month for this??!! Why?
OK, I've got it out of my system - and EMG is here. Now. at work...at home...keeping it (sur)Real.
YGK: right...Hi Hat Too Flat
Posted by: YGK, Listening to Slang again this morning.......
someone inquired as to what it 'meant':
I think it's Walter's "Hey 19".
He's trying to relate to a younger thang, and then she disappears......
just a thot.
ygk
Posted by: NYC, is not always identified with the good, righteous and true. After all, it's the place where Daddy got tight every night and passed out on the barroom floor. It was a locale deemed so detrimental that he left there.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynIn reality, once one understands the logic and coherence of the Steely Dan system, Godwhacker is a predictable piece. The use of evocative Christian imagery so obsesses Becker and Fagen that it appears on every single album - but whereas it ws once "I met my baby by the shrine of the martyr" it's now "Give the man some whacking space." Talk of God and death is a lot harder when you're 55 years old than when you're 25.
Posted by: Slinky Redhead, formerly on the Left Coast From Show Biz Kids to West of Hollywood, B & F's view of the Golden State rivals Nathanel West's Day of The Locust, Norman Mailer's Deer Park, or Robert Stone's Children of Light in presenting a schematic of the City of Angels as hell on earth.
Truer words were never spoken (or agonizingly screamed).
Posted by: RexRacer, from upstateCan't resist...
Brooklyn owes the charmer under meeeeeeeeee!!!
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynOn another subject - re: Becker singing. When his voice is recorded together with the background singers the emotion he displays is so earnest, so desirous of wanting to be a singer, displays such an understanding of what a singer's mission is, that it is very genuine. It's commendable.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynOn another subject, re: promotion, distribution, marketing, advertising, etc. B&F actually wanted to tour after Aja but they couldn't afford to pay the required union scale wages for the band they wanted to put together. Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie probably laughed at the salaries they were offered.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynSo far we have identified two predictable, re-occurring themes in Steely Dan work that occur over and over and over, ad infinitum, in their songs. The third we might postulate is the "second person lecture", the objects of which have been brewing since Do It Again and which culminated in Keith Jarrett's winning a lawsuit against Becker and Fagen when they ripped off his song and called it Gaucho. This trend
Posted by: Gina, Sun Mountain, MaastrichtThings I miss the most has to pound and stir when played LIVE.
Wonder about the setlists ...
Hoi Isa, je woont maar een uurtje van mij vandaan, heb ooit een jaar in Eindhoven, Son gewerkt (Vodafone/Libertel) en er nog een goede vriendin wonen. Grappig! En vorig jaar ben ik bij Clas in Stockholm, Zweden geweest, erg erg leuk. Zag aan je emailadres dat je een parkietenfreak bent??
Mn ouders hebben altijd agapornisjes gehad die als piraatjes rondvlogen en volwaardig lid van het gezin, aan tafel meeaten en meer wat dies zij. De Nederlandse SD-fans zullen vanwege de referentie op deze nieuwe CD wel een bepaald gevoel hebben, grinnik! Slang of Ages speelt nu trouwens, de meningen zijn verdeeld over Walter's vocale kwaliteiten maar ik vind dat z'n stem geweldig klinkt, hoor. Qua tekst is "she skipped dimensions" en "slang me" erg mooi gevonden, over gedachtenkronkels enzo en eigen belevingswereldjes, de meesten hier analyseren tot in den treure toe maar soms zegt je gevoel alles wat er te zeggen valt, dan is het goed zoals het is!
A Banyan Tree "And if Dave from Acquisitions wants to get in on the action with his Handicam in tow".... Bow G.
Posted by: wonderwaif, anyone going to the Paso Robles concert on the 24th? is a pre-show shindig being organized?
same goes for the santa barbara and concord concerts.
Posted by: t, interested party - I work at a small indie store called Bedrock in San Rafael, Ca., north of the Golden Gate by about 20 minutes.
I asked the Warners rep about p.o.p. (promotional stuff) about a month before the release date and she didn't have any then. Now it's a week after and still nothing. I realize we're the lowest on the food chain as far as distribution goes, but I get the feeling Warners is dropping the ball on this one, for whatever reason. I'm going to call our local Warners sales rep again and see what she has to say about it.
I'll keep everyone "posted"...
Posted by: angel, Southern California did its part for sales of EMG.
It ranked #5 in Southern California, only behind, Radiohead, Metallica, Vandross, Lennox.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.The lyrics on this album are captivating. We're talking about two guys in their mid-fifties who have watched the passing show for 30+ years. The phases are so pared down, so economical, so poetic, and yet so evocative of the wildest, "wiggiest" imagery. Some lines alone could be either great character studies or full blown story lines for novels, movies, anything really. My favorites:
that Gospel morning
blood orange sky
building the Andria Doria out of balsa wood
days really don't last forever, but it's getting pretty damn close,
crusty punk to really beat the streets of Medicine Park,
unhappily not for us
that stank attitude
me, slinky Redfoot and our trusty angel girls
we sniff you big tiger in the forest of the night
Rajahs of Erase
Who rip and chop and slice
give the man some whackin' space
was it somthin' that I said...
There's a crazy little place I know called "Be here now"
Here she comes very "Kiss Me Deadly"
my third hand rose
Anachronistic, but nice
the seamless segue from fun to fever
the festive icons along the way
Dropped in the streets of Roppongi
a flash of spectacular thigh
Better keep it real - or whatever
Rave on my sleek and soulful cyberqueen
symetrical and clean
cold psychotic brain
I peel out like the flash
In a pool of Margaritas
tell me can you dig it Ms. Fugazy
frankly, I could use a little face time in the service elevator
The lyrics on this one are incredible.
Posted by: an interested party, xxxtones -what store do you work in, and where?
Posted by: tones, Picking up on the "no promotion" thread, I tried *again* to get promo materials from the distributor yesterday to set up a display, and the sales rep said he hadn't seen any yet.
It's bullshit. It's going to take a hit single for the album to get any push (keeping in mind the industry doesn't release singles anymore), and until people know it's out there won't be a hit single.
Reminds me of the time we got a promotional flyer and promo stuff for 2vsN... 3 days *after* the Grammys, and a *year* after the album came out. Though we at least had some display material around release time.
Not this time, at least so far...
The ironic thing is, everytime I play EMG in the store I sell a couple. It seems to grab people more immediately that 2vsN did.
Somebody tell Warner/Reprise.
Posted by: Legion2, N.O.Jesus...I've read through about a months posts to be sure I didn't duplicate someones theory.
I've never posted here so please...be gentle. The closest I've gotten to throwing out my ideas on Dan lyrics was sending my rantings on the topic of Aja to Oleander. He mentioned that I might like to post my Aja ideas here but the theory was the "Precious" to my "Gollum". I believe my own theory so firmly I hate to see it disproved or worse, common knowledge. But I'll just save all that for therapy later.
As for EMG....
Kudos to Andy on his interpretation of Pixeleen. I think we're simpatico on a majority of your ideas. Also, Man with No Face, I believe is correct about the line "Soaked through on the floor of a noodle shop" although I would tend to believe it refers to how the Pixeleen phenom has flooded society with her image. Think of the posters pasted everywhere to promote a record or movie. Its easy to see a "Pixeleen" flyer on the floor of a greasy noodle shop. (Brings to mind the advertising blimp in Blade Runner).
As far as Godwhacker.... Does anyone feel its the greatest battle song since "Flight of the Valkyries" in Apocalypse Now? I thought someone would (as slinky redfoot did to a certain extent) see the imagery of the military hunting Bin Laden/terrorists till "the stars bleed out". Surely an attack on DF/WB's precious New York would not go unanswered. This song is notice to those who would perform such ghastly deeds as the attacks of 9/11 that we're coming for you. WE are the GODWHACKERS. If you choose to kill as the so-called hand of God, then we will kill that ideal...that God , or at least the warped perception of God you claim to follow. Its powerful stuff that ,I think, reflects an anger you've never seen from SD. An anger I'm sure we all shared when we saw the images that day.
I believe Slinky mentioned "In the beginning\ we could hang with the dude\But it's been too much of nothing\ but that stank attitude\Now they curse your name\And there's a bounty on your face\Its your own fault daddy\Godwhackers on the case
We supported Afghanistan in their war with the Soviet Union. I believe Bin Laden fought in that war with the Afghans as well, therefore, we supported him indirectly. We could "hang with the dude" until he turned on us.
We track your Almighty ass\Thru seven Heaven Worlds.
No Matter where he runs, we'll follow
Me, Slinky, Redfoot and our trusty Angel Girls.
In my opinion, the narrator places himself on the front lines looking for them. Slinky and Redfoot could easily be the nicknames the military always adopts for units or divisions while the trusty Angel Girls are most likely Air Force pilots, AWAC operators, satellite technicians relaying information?.....take your pick!
And when the Stars bleed out\That'll be the fever of the chase
We will never stop looking....plain and simple. If it takes till the end of time.....
Be very, very Quiet\Clock everything you see\Little things might matter later\At the start of the end of history
I'm sorry I forgot who made the Elmer Fudd connection but that was GREAT!! I'd missed at first but it works beautifully! As far as Clock everything.... Count your moments here as precious. The little things you (the hunted) take for granted are going to mean alot when your time
is up.
Climb up the Glacier\Across bridges of light\We sniff you, Big Tiger\In the forest of the night\Cause there's no escape from the Rajahs of Erase
Again, run but we'll find you. The "Big Tiger" goes from predator to prey. Forest of the night? Brings to mind those night vision shots of Desert Storm bombings
The rest seems to be self explanitory as this point. That is if you buy into my goofy theories. Either way thanks for allowing me to throw out a few ideas. I would flesh out a few more theories but I'm about to fall asleep on the keyboaklhio;iv;i8h
Posted by: afoolnluv, I'm a little late on this one, but -
Sharang - your "85% Donnie" statement just doesn't hold up. 11ToW sounds more like a Steely Dan record than either The Nightfly or Kamakiriad, both lyrically and musically. Walter's bass playing and lyrical input (and more than ever, his guitar playing) are as much a part of the Steely Dan "sound" as Donald's voice.
Seems pretty obvious to me.
Posted by: SouthOfHollywood, Joey'sHere you go, POC...
The day's DIRTY WORK yet unfinished, I head for HOME AT LAST on this very BLACK FRIDAY. Driving from BROOKLYN to BARRYTOWN ('cause DADDY DON'T LIVE IN THAT NEW YORK CITY NO MORE) it happens again. Flashback to the day I GOT THE NEWS about EVERYTHING YOU DID while perusing your little GREEN BOOK, PEG. MY RIVAL! DR. WU! How could you?
"ANY MAJOR DUDE WILL TELL YOU there's been a CHANGE OF THE GUARD", my friends had told me. "ONLY A FOOL WOULD SAY THAT!", I'd reply.
And now this. HAITIAN DIVORCE or WITH A GUN?
DON'T TAKE ME ALIVE.
Posted by: bwaySteve , 43rd and BroadwayI haven't decided if EMG is "groundbreaking" yet because when I start thinking that way I know it's the beginning of the end of my enjoyment phase. Today I am reading the lyrics more closely so my brain doesn't babble while the music's playing.I am amazed at these lyrics.If there is genius in this one it's in the words and an appreciation of the lyrics enhances the cinematic qualities of these songs.The casual way they spring from the vernacular implants the strong messages they contain on an almost subliminal level.I guess tacking them on to a familiar blues progression is pretty subversive too.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynNext to the identification of men with their cars (never women - women always ride the subway, ie Pixeleen takes the double AA to Sheridan Square, the Almost Gothic chick is on the 5 train by Fordham Road, etc), another prominent-to-the-point-of-obsession thematic element in Steely Dan's stories are the identification of California with depravity, mayhem and degeneracy and the identification of New York City with the good, righteous and true (most recently evidenced by "I so in love with this dirty city" from Green Book.) From Show Biz Kids to West of Hollywood, B & F's view of the Golden State rivals Nathanel West's Day of The Locust, Norman Mailer's Deer Park, or Robert Stone's Children of Light in presenting a schematic of the City of Angels as hell on earth.
Posted by: princessofcairo, san franciscoa local radio station is holding a contest for front row dan tickets at konochti on the 26th of july. they were looking for submissions of a short story (100 words or less) using titles of dan songs. it didn't really have to make sense, but it was better if it did. the winner will be announce tomorrow morning (i guess). here is my submission:
Last BLACK FRIDAY, CHARLIE FREAK did his DIRTY WORK without THE FEZ. Now there's FIRE IN THE HOLE, though there's never been a more NEGATIVE GIRL WEST OF HOLLYWOOD than PIXELEEN. RAZOR BOY tells GAUCHO, "Repent for EVERYTHING YOU DID." So Charlie sees the GODWHACKER who cries, "YOUR GOLD TEETH can't save you from THE ROYAL SCAM. Sigh, 'WHAT A SHAME ABOUT ME,' but pity died HERE AT THE WESTERN WORLD. Stop living NIGHT BY NIGHT - remember the CHANGE OF THE GUARD!" THROUGH WITH BUZZ, Charlie stocks up at THE LAST MALL. Now JOSIE is HOME AT LAST.
i pared it down quite a bit from my original 140 words...
sounds like a fun game, no? anybody want to give it a shot for fun here?
-poc
Posted by: Peter Q, Brooklyn...though Dr. Nelson has made the interesting suggestion that, often, the characters in Dan songs are linked to their cars in ways that they themselves would not appreciate, eg, the Audi TT is a glorified Volkswagen Beetle masquerading as a luxury roadster (the relationship in this song masqueraded as a solid one); the drug lord in Daddy Dont Live In That NYC no more is still in his gawky-ass El Dorado when all of America has gone to Hondas and Toyotas already (he is banished from the landscape, a dinosaur, like his automobile of choice);the Kamakiri doesn't go two miles before it happens across an accident (the idealistic trip is already over before it starts); Kid Charlemagne has nowhere left to go but his car(it's out of gas, sputtering, like his life)...and on and on and on with the car metaphors until one wonders if this is intended to escape our notice or if it's just the product of an exhausted imagination.
Posted by: John, re: Promotion
Considering that Reprise Records is owned by AOL Time Warner, which is the largest fricking media company in the world, you'd think there would be some more promotion of this project! I mean, AOL owns People Magazine, CNN, HBO, AOL, New Line Cinema, Little Brown books, Time Warner Cable, and on and on!
I mean, AOL online releases a new version of its software and you see 30 second spots morning, noon and night for months on end (to say nothing of the flooding of CDs containing AOL software through the US mails).
All best,
John
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoI just got the Kamakiriad DVD-Audio in the mail. I ordered it from Rhino.com on Sunday and here it is already, almost a week early. I did this on the advice of somebody either on this board or the SteelyDan Yahoo Group board who already got it a week ago, almost 2 weeks early.
Anyway, I can't wait to pop this in the DVD-A player. I'll try to listen to this at least in part tonight and give a review tomorrow. I'm fascinated by the prospect of 2 original videos and Donald/Walter interview footage.
-Rob
Posted by: Da Bill, overworkedThe best place I found for DVD-A's is at www.circuitcity.com there you can search for just DVD-A's. EMG and Kamakiriad are in stock. Free shipping by US mail.
Posted by: oleander, outta gasFever dreams is beginning to get on line with EMG. I am now back to 6/15 on the Blue. That's it. In reverse chrono order. So if you don't see your post yet, I'll get to it.
Great comments. Particularly enjoying Peter Q, hoopsie, and Faceless One.
And THE ULTIMATE: William Gibson doing Steely interps!! I can't wait for more. A perfect loop is becoming complete for me.
Re: Rob Toth's article: Not only is he a terrific writer and journalist, but a bodacious fever dreamer, a gentleman and a scholar. I'm having a little cognitive dissonance thinking of National Review readers surfing fever dreams.... I hope we hear MUCH more from Rob.
Earl--Look, I'm a desultory archivist at best. I am careful to credit people's contributions, but who said what first means nothing to me. It's the fabric of the whole. If you want to make sure you get credited with something, email it to me at oleanderdeletethis1@earthlink.net
Posted by: Boston Rag, Where's the product???I took a ride to Best Buy this afternoon to see if they had the DVD-A of Kamakiriad. Of course, they didn't. While I was there I wanted to check out the product placement of EMG. In the front section of the CD department there was a feature display of Metallica, Annie Lennox, Staind and Linkin Park. OK, no EMG featured. So I went over to the Steely Dan section to see how well stocked they were with the SD catalog. There was not a single copy of EMG in the rack! I asked a kid who worked there if they had the new Steely Dan. He checks with someone else and I learn "we had some copies last week but we sold them. We should be getting some more in soon". Auuuugggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!! No wonder it's fucking #9. Not only is it not being promoted there is no product in the store!!
The same thing happened after 2VN won the Grammmy for Album of the Year. Most stores did not have it in stock for 2 weeks after the Grammy win.
This pisses me off to no end. Hey Azoff, if you or one of your staff should happen to read these boards - WAKE UP!!!
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoSorry for the duplicate post. Browser refresh problem.
Anybody have the full text or a link to that Donald Fagen interview? I'd love to read the rest.
-Rob
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoJesse-
I LOVE that "grandmother" quote.
I think I have more repsect for Donald Fagen now than ever.
-Rob
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoDuke Of Earl, that's why I said that I would be all for that, as I think Don & Walt should be more popular than they are. Sorry if you took it the wrong way.
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoJesse-
LOVE that "grandmother" quote, hilharious!
I like DF more now than ever.
-Rob
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoJust a few of my personal favorite lyrics from EMG (I couldn't resist). Most of these have just as much to do with the way Donald sings them as with the actual words:
"Kiss the checkout girls goodbye" (I'm imagining Target for some reason)
"I'm building the Andria Doria out of balsa wood" (love the irony of building a model of a ship that sank)
"The Audi TT, the comfy Eames chair, the '54 Strat" (SD: a band after my own heart)
"Hey pretty girl can I cop a ride?" (love the way DF sings this)
"...a paranymphic glider, a hypothetical friend" (only Donald and Walter could come up with this)
"The new cashier looks like Jill St John"
"Penned by a hack in the Palisades"
"I could use a little face time in the service elevator"
I could go on, but I won't
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoRob, you missed the best part of that quote (it was Donald, by the way). He also said, "They would play a song about fucking your grandmother as long as there was a guitar solo."
Posted by: CrellMoset, Bingo shrang
"The perfect Virginity of Mary, the Mother of God, is three times perfect and entirely perfect, without flaw, omission, or imperfection. The Virginity of Mary, the most pure Mother of our Divine Savior Jesus Christ, is a perfect reflection of the will of God."
Quote from "The Immaculate Virgin Conception of the Virgin Mary," an online Catholic Magazine.
CrellMoset
Posted by: Rob, San Francisco(Janie Runaway) "was rejected by mainstream radio stations as a single not because it was about an underage runaway but because it had a sax solo instead of guitar solo. They won't play songs that have sax solos."
_________________
What a great Walter Becker quote (or paraphrase). Do you think he was serious? If so, this is so indicative of what is wrong with popular music today.
-Rob
Posted by: Sharangadang, MuswellbrookThree times perfect means that Pixeleen is a virgin. Mary (mother of god) is said to have a virginity that is three times perfect.
When I first heard "soaked through on the floor of a noodle shop" I pictured Pixeleen dissolving (in a pixelated way) into the drain on the floor of a noodle shop in Japan.
Also, I first imagined Pixeleen as Japanese but I now know that can't be true, otherwise she'd be Pixereen.
-Sharang
Posted by: Isabeau, The Nederlands (Nederland) - EindhovenHallo Gina!
Leuk om een landgenote te ontmoeten op deze site! Inderdaad....veel Amerikanen. Voor hen is het al zo moeilijk om de teksten te begrijpen, laat staan voor een buitenlander. Leuk trouwens dat ons kikkerlandje in "Slang of Ages" voorkomt! Morgen krijg ik een rasechte Amerikaan op bezoek uit SF(de echtgenoot van mijn in Amerika wonende vriendin) en hopelijk kan hij me nog wat helpen met de gecompliceerde teksten van deze prachtige nieuwe CD. Ik zal zeker vaker terugkomen op deze site...we zijn hier immers allemaal een beetje "soulmates" van elkaar nietwaar?
Groetjes, Isabeau
Dear Clas,
It's not so complicated.....my mother is French (my father is Dutch) and to them it seemed a good idea at the time to call me Isabeau.
But most people call me Isa.
Groetjes, Isa.
Posted by: Mitch, Rob,
(I can't resist!)
The comparison of EMG and Attack of The Clones isn't valid: EMG has far better acting and dialog!!
: )
Mitch
Posted by: Eric, When 2VN came out, they wanted to use Janie Runaway as a single. Becker said in an interview that it was rejected by mainstream radio stations as a single not because it was about an underage runaway but because it had a sax solo instead of guitar solo. They won't play songs that have sax solos.
Guess that rules out Pixeleen, huh? Great track, although not my fav on the album
Eric
Posted by: Dr. Warren Krueger, Lost AngelsDamn right. Pixeleen is heroin for the ears and mind.
How could it not be recognized by reprise as a single for AC stations?
Somethin' aint right.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.If the pop stations were to start playing "Pixeleen" - EMG would take off like a freakin' rocket. That song is musical morphine.
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoCorrection on the chart info, Royal Scam only reached #25 on the album charts, not #15.
So this puts EMG tied for 4th place with "Gaucho" out of 9 albums in terms of chart peak status, meaning that by this measure EMG has done better than the "average" Steely Dan album.
-Rob
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoNot that sales matter much to me personally (I stand behind my previous post), but Dennis makes a good point about charting at #9 being quite good. I. Here's the Billboard chart info (from SteelyDan.com) on all their previous studio albums:
Album: Peak Album Chart Status
Can't Buy a Thrill: #17
Countdown to Ecstacy: #35
Pretzel Logic: #8
Katy Lied: #13
Royal Scam: #15
Aja: #3
Gaucho: #9
2 Against Nature: #6
Everything Must Go: #9
This assumes by the way that EMG has already acheived it's peak chart status, but it is obviously possible that it will still go higher than it is now.
Just putting things in perspective.
-Rob
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9Someone already posted some the same thoughts I had about Pixeleen...here's what I think...
Verse one
He's playing the game and seeing the potential of the chick in the game making a good action flick. I think maybe three-times perfect ultrateen refers to the number of lives you usually get in a game. And a lot of times the number is on the screen to let you know how many is left like 3X.
Verse two
He is directing...maybe in his head....maybe on the set ...how the scene will go. Abu rams the clip, is upon the catwalk....Pixel...you whip the knife from your go-go boot. Camera....we get a nice shot of her thigh. Pixel, your pager goes off and you have the look of disgust because it's your as-if boyfriend Randall...you don't have time to talk with this bozo. ect, ect, ect.
Then we get a sense that maybe our director/gamer guy has a flashback to when he played the game in the room above "your" garage.
Then we get possibly another point of view with "This is what I see". Could be the producer chiming in....could be a studio exec....who knows.
I'm sure some of the stuff I have said here has already been posted somewhere on this board, as I eluded to earlier. But I think this song has a lot of things to it. It's fun to come up with what you think the lyrics mean!
This song could do some damage on the radio/charts if it gets the chance!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Rob you are right on. When you love something, doesn't matter what the great unwashed or anybody else thinks. Bravo. But, jeez, wasn't it quite a vicarious thrill when they won the Grammy? In some weird way, it felt like all of us won the damn thing. What a comeback story. I felt so -- proud.
Posted by: Dennis, Chicago#9 on Billboard is pretty damn good. I hate to bring up the bad economy but 2AN also came out pre 9/11.
Posted by: Rob, San FranciscoI've been thinking about the issue of sales also. First, I'll state that I fully understand that Donald and Walter need to make decent sales numbers to continue to have label support and a financial incentive to do future projects. And yes, Grammy Awards and widespread popularity of the new album would be nice. But...
I think this is another case, as with other peoples' opinions of the album, that the public acceptance or popularity of the work should really not matter to me very much. I love EMG, that's what matters. If nobody else in the world bought the album and it was just me and the music, that's fine with me. It's cooler anyway to have the favorites in your collection be the same stuff that everybody has. Sure, everybody and their uncle says they like "Aja" or "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Kind of Blue", but I'm actually more impressed by people who like stuff that's a little less expected than that. If EMG ends up being a cult favorite among hardcore Dan fans, it just proves that Donald and Walter delivered a great album to those of us who "get it". And yes, there are lots of people who don't "get it" and never will. (Sorry to be harsh but it's true).
I know this sounds stupid (and someone on this board will rip me a new one for it), but I'll say it anyway: I'm a big Star Wars fan, from way back. Almost 20 years went by between releases (sound familiar?). Then in 1999 "The Phantom Menace" came out and made a huge amount of money despite the fact that a lot of people thought it was mediocre. Next "Attack of the Clones" came out and many Star Wars fans thought it was a much better movie, yet it did only about 2/3 of the grosses of the previous movie made 3 years earlier (sound familiar again?). As you'd expect, the "comeback" aspect of the 1999 movie and the huge media hype and promotion surrounding that release made it big money. Sure, I'd love to see George Lucas and his pals grab an armful of Oscars and stacks of cash because I loved the newer movie. But that didn't happen, and there will still be another Star Wars movie for me to look forward to. And the fact that the next movie was "better" and made it quite a bit less money doesn't mean anything in terms of what it means to me as a fan or it's respectability as a piece of entertainment. The same thing is true here.
Donald and Walter have said repeatedly that they create songs that make them laugh and allow them to express thier personal sense of humor and irony. And they do this in a totally unique musical context. Some people like them, most don't. And if their albums don't make big numbers, I personally don't think that Donald and Walter are going to give up and slink away with their tails between their legs and disappear for another 20 years.
The short conclusion to this long post it that I love EMG and if only a few of us buy it, well, too bad. Donald and Walter won't starve to death, and many of us will be there at their concerts cheering them on (along with thousands of other people) because they're great muscians. That's what matters.
Posted by: Joey, " Everything Must Go is even more Grammy-worthy than Two Against Nature "
EMG is definitely growing on me the more I listen to it ( Twelve times straight through now ) ................................................by the time February rolls around and " Grammy Time " comes a callin' , you may be right -- Eminem could be toast again .
Developing .....................
Hoping ..........................
Joey !
Posted by: Mitch, Duh. My bad.
Posted by: Man with no face, No computer references? "Pixel" is pretty much a information technology term. Computer games are shot in digital video so the visuals can be easily manipulated.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Well, "cyberqueen" seems to imply the virtual world, but I mean the way things go today, it's like, what comes first the video game or the movie? Lara Croft and that whole crew. The pitch is like looking at a story board.
Posted by: Mitch, I am thinking the video game comes later because there really are no video game references nor computer references in the song.
Just my thoughts.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.I think you're right on with Pixy but those lines "this is what I see..." I get an image of a studio boss or whoever this thing is being pitched to, standing up - he has to have huge eyeglasses on, don't know why, he's lanky, gauky, kinda like Don but of course he's a complete idiot and all he can visualize after that onslaught of action imagery is Pixy mincing around with gun and tamborine.
Posted by: Bill, PghMitch, I'm with ya, except that there's lots of computer-gaming tie-ins involved, too and I still think that the "this is what I see" section is the reaction of the studio exec - cynical (just a girl in girly trouble) and opportunistic (dancing in the video, etc.) Carolyn is the Greek Chorus commenting on the scholckiness of it all.
Posted by: Mitch, Another thought on Pixeleen:
How about this? Freddy (the narrator) is pitching a new movie character that is a cross between the chick on "Alias" and the movie "Spy Kids". There's your high level pitch right there - "It's Alias meets Spy Kids!"
(In fact, I think this movie has kind of been made already with a boy in the lead - "Agent Cody Banks.")
This way, the father calling and the boyfriend paging are actually things that are happening while Pixy is hanging onto the train for dear life in a Catholic school girl ensemble. It's kind of an adventure comedy - a popcorn flick for teens and skeevy older guys.
Verse 1 he's pitching it.
Verse 2 he's directing the lead. (In fact, the line "Better keep it real - or whatever" is the director trying to use the parlance of the young demographic.)
Carolyn's parts are coming from outside the pitch (with the exception of the bridge). Kind of an omnipotent narrator calling this movie what it is - high concept summer-movie schlock.
The third half-verse confirms my thoughts, I think:
This is what I see
Just a girl in girlie trouble
Dancing in the video with gun and tambourine
He's pitching the video-cross over for MTV to promote the movie.
Thoughts?
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareDouble-edged sword. A certain poster to the board makes a comment that you don't hear their music on many stations, thus requesting at smooth jazz stations and others is suggested. Then, there's the "do you want to have to listen to crap to hear their songs? NO! That's not the point, I own the freakin' CD, I can listen whenever I want. If you want more Steely Dan in the future, people have to buy their music now. To refuse TV performances using the argument that the media is capitalist is hypocritical; last time I checked the record industry was capitalist...so why even make music?
My point is that they deserve to make some dough from this album. It's a great album, and if they had more momentum imparted from studio execs, managers, promoters, radio jocks, and yes, FANS, then maybe they would be #6 instead of #9.
DOE
Posted by: Mitch, I sense a tongue planted firmly in cheek in those statements!
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Marty - I heard or read somewhere recently that the boys have refused TV appearances because they believe the media is being - I think they used the word, "controlled" by the government. "Isn't everyone sick of capitalism" was another soundbite I remember. I mean, they sounded typically off-handed but, wow, those are some strong statements.
Posted by: Marty, Wilkes-Barre, PADisappointed to see that Everything Must Go has only sold 2/3 of what Two Against Nature sold in its first week. I think Two Against Nature debuted on the Billboard at #6 while the new one debuts at #9, as noted.
As pointed out, everywhere you look there is Anne Lennox and Metalica being promoted but hardly any Steely Dan. So the record company isn't doing it's part. Apparently Clive Davis is doing for Anne Lennox what he did for Santana, at least in terms of promotion.
But I'm also bothered by the lack of appearances by Steely Dan on radio and TV. When Two Against Nature came out, it was released with the huge specials on PBS and Storytellers. They were also on public radio, BBC and Letterman. Of course, Letterman didn't happen until a couple weeks after Two Against Nature came out, but I heard that being on some late night show typically boosts sale something like 10-20% for the week. I know some of these shows are dumb, but I don't get why they aren't out promoting what is a much finer album with an even bigger push. I know Steely Dan fans who don't even know the new album is already out.
Maybe it's their managers that are the problem. I see they have new ones. In the album Becker and Fagen are listed as having different managers. I don't know how managers work, but this seems like a bad thing. Maybe the two managers can't get their shit together.
Everything Must Go is even more Grammy-worthy than Two Against Nature, but I think an album like Anne Lennox's which has someone like Clive Davis behind it will do better.
Marty
Posted by: DACW, Steely Dan decided to have a groundbreaking career rather than a groundbreaking album...
I agree with Howard...the last two albums are iterations, and significant ones at that, of their previous work and some of the great masters of the past: Miles Davis, Coltrane, Mingus, Sly and the Family Stone...each album is a new alloy, each malleable ad revealing to the ear with repeated listens. Importantly there are new musical ideas and chord progressions in many songs...and you can still dance to it.
Posted by: Class (not Clas), San FranShrang- The leed singer always gets the credit as "the main man"
Would there have been The Who without Peter Townsend? NO!
Would there have been The Rolling Stones without Keith Richards? NO!
Would there have been Steely Dan without Walter Becker? NO!
I also find it pretty ironic that when Townsend and Richards go out on the road as solo acts they're more popular and out draw Daltry and Jagger. Which gets me to the point about the Walter Becker solo show in San Francisco in 1995. It was a hell of a lot better than going see Donald Fagen sing Drowning In The Sea of Love at the Beacon Theater with the New York Rock & Soul Revue!
Shrang (aka school boy)...one more thing. You're right about giving some of the credit to Gary Katz. No one, I mean no one could get coffee faster then Gary! Look it up...it's in Brian Sweets book!
Posted by: Birdy Bye-Bye, SXSW of HollywoodThings I like the most (about EMG)
- the way The Last Mall really starts swinging in midverse - in fact the entire
cd swings big time.
- the slicing "edge" of Godwacker
- the gorgeous sax solo on Slang of Ages; the beautifully sung chorus contrasting
with WB's mildly lecherous singy/talky vocals
- everything about Green Book, but especially those keyboard embellishments that
somehow remind me of weather report
-the stunning intro to EMG, what a profound statement of a melody line. Brilliant
I love this album - for me it brings back that sly dan warmth that I so vividly remember
from Katy Lied. This is the Dan at it's best. Slick and subversive and did I mention
that it really swings???
Posted by: Russ, KMITB: from whatt I remember the 11ToW had 12 tracks because "Little Kawai" was added as an afterthought by WB, and he didn't consider it as really a "track of whackk" like the others, but it was more done as a favor to his family to win some brownie points.
And anyway on the Japan version, there were not 12 but 13 tracks: incuding "Medical Science"
Posted by: Pook, rOLLING WITH THE HOMIESDoes everyone agree that in order to sell more cds that they need to put Steely Dan on the Adult Contemp. stations?
I mean they are playing Phil Collins, STYX (??), and Fleetwood Mac...but no Dan. What gives?
Pixeleen, BLUES Beach, and Godwhacker are certainly radio friendly IMO.
Life is strange,
Pook.
Posted by: SteelyDave, TorontoI saw a commercial for steely dan done by borders books. It had that blonde from the "confessions" promo saying "I am here with Steely Dan, buddy." ..and then they say in stores june 10th etc...at Borders it is about 20 secs..I think they play blues beach in the background.
I saw it on ESPN and ESPN2 on the same night.
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9Question about 11 Tracks of Whack...maybe this has been answered before and I just haven't seen it....but why is it called 11 Tracks of Whack when their are 12 tunes on it? Thanks in advance!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: Russ, I think in the chorus to Slang of Ages they are actually saying "Do you hear the Slang of Ages" not "Do I hear the Slang of Ages" as it says in the CD's printed lyrics. I listened closely again today and pretty sure it is "you" not "I". Anyone agree??
Posted by: Can't Resist, Hey, Sharang--you mispelled genius.
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareSharang: From what I've seen, Don and Walt don't give a darn about creating "groundbreaking" music. In the context of the 60's and 70's, the music they were interested in making (mixture of pop, jazz, soul, etc) was groundbreaking to a certain extent. But they are still making the music that they want to make...it's just that we know exactly what we are going to get.
That's probably one reason that they don't get the airplay and the hype that other artists get, because their music doesn't fit what is generally conceived as popular music anymore. "Peg" hit in the late 70's because that's what pop music sounded like. Not to mention radio won't take a chance on anything that doesn't have an edge or a name behind it.
I guess my point is that if you were looking for a groundbreaking album, you probably picked the wrong band to start listening to. Listen to their first 8 albums...you'll find what they are going to give you.
Earl
Posted by: Howard, @lunch
Sharang - I did actually respond to your comments about EMG breaking new ground (or not), but looks like you missed them.
I don't think we should expect each and every album by Steely Dan to be "groundbreaking". It's only relatively rarely that a musical work is truly groundbreaking. The Rite of Spring, Bitches Brew, Revolver - these are groundbreaking works. If we start to expect more and more artists to be "groundbreaking" with each new musical offering, we will end up losing the significance of the term.
As others have said, there's little doubt that Steely Dan have broken many musical barriers in their career. You could point to specific albums, but it's more of a gradual accumulation of ideas and techniques, steadily exploring new musical territory as they progress. I still believe that Steely Dan have *continued* to evolve over their last two albums. The changes are perhaps not as great as those from Scam to Aja to Gaucho, but they are definitely trying new musical ideas and pushing back some musical frontiers.
As I said before, there is nothing in their earlier work that is remotely similar to "Negative Girl". The more in-your-face dissonance of the chords, and the angularity in the melody was something quite new. I think they've continued to push in these directions, and the evidence is there in the new songs. They are writing melodies and using chords that would have been quite alien in the pre 2VN era. Aside from N.Girl, which is maybe the most obvious example, there's Green Book - which uses chords for the verse that never quite seem to resolve, and the openings to several of the new melodies (Pixeleen, EMG, Gina) are more angular, and less obvious, than most earlier songs.
The solo albums from both had already hinted at this new direction, but the last two SD albums highlight it more clearly.
Howard
Posted by: Gina, Dutch Sun MountainSome catching up reading in here :-)
Howdy Isabeau, leuk een mede Nederlandse in deze voornamelijk door amerikanen bevolkte forums. Maar niemand kan, gezien de tekst in het door Walter gezongen Slang of Ages om ons kleine landje heen, nietwaar?
Enne, vaker terugkomen hier, hoor!
Banyan Tree Bow in Blue,
G.
ps. something completely different and maybe not as dan-tangential as expected, but Jack Johnson's CD On and On is more than cool, he lives on Hawaii apparently and his songs sound, well ... perfect if EMG needs an after party where one can mellow down when listening ....
Posted by: who woulda guessed?, Walter = Andrew Ridgeley
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynRe marketing efforts: OK, so I'm a musician with a $3000 a month Manhattan apartment to keep up. Steely Dan comes in and says Hey, we'd like to take up three years of your life, which is how long it takes us to record 9 four minute songs, and we can pay you this much. Then the producer of a Broadway show says to you, this gig is guaranteed steady work for years, two hours a night, no strings, and we can pay you twenty times what Steely Dan can. Consequently there is no marketing budget whatsoever. You just can't go to a suit at a record company and say "They had hit singles 30 years ago." No record company would stand for it in today's business environment. It's not 1980 anymore. To record an album like Aja or Gaucho today would almost certainly require private venture capital; no record company would put up with it nowadays.
Posted by: Clas, Isabeau - ach so mine liebling! Du habst eines schönen blauen Donau name så also sprachen, Zarathustra? I probably painted your enchanting little face before you were born.
Posted by: cheap flights airline tickets, http://www.cheapflightselect.com/Nice pages
Posted by: Sharangadang, Muswellbrook>>>I think it is the height (or is it the depth?) of ignorance to posit that Fagen is "85% of what makes Steely Dan good". You write that as if it were some universally established fact. In reality, such a statement is the afterbirth of a spore hatched by a closed mind. The problem is that you seem to be so positive that your assertions are correct, writing as if you assume that certain of your foundational points are pre-proven. By doing so, you sow the seeds of doubt relative to ALL of your notions, even the correct ones.
Walty boy, you can't fool me!! I know it's you, you sneaky boy! You slanged me.
Look bro, when I say something in a post, it should be obvious that it's my opinion vs. some universally established fact.
And instead of using poor grammar and malformed metaphors to attack my intelligence, why don't you spend your energy actually explaining precisely why I'm wrong rather than attacking my cockiness. To say that my credibility suffers because I am extra positive about my assertions is one of the weakest forms of argument that exists. You are going after my character rather than focussing on the meaning behind my words, which is really not any way to make a good point.
There, you see how it's done? I have well-formed, convincing counter arguments to each of your implied "points", leaving it in your court to rebutttttt. I even made a purposeful mistake to give you an opening (will he take it folks?).
Now, for all of the "everything must go positively" readers out there, here's my sanitized comment, which is really all I ever cared to discuss (gosh, hope it's still within the boundaries of the discussion board)...
EMG is not groundbreaking. If anyone has a good reason to the contrary, I'd really be interested in discussing it with you.
Back to Walty boy, *in my opinion* (something that's not necessarily a universally established fact) I think that Donnie is 85% of what makes Steely Dan good. But don't get me wrong. By no means does that imply that you (assuming you're still Walter) make up the other 15%. Dear no. No, in fact, I think you are probably somewhere between 5% and 10% of what makes Steely Dan good. The rest of the credit goes out to the collected talents of all the hired guns over the years, as well as Elliot S and Gary K (and at least .01% to the Bosendorfer and a little less to Omartian).
Sure, you may have written a lot of clever lyrics, and have made some good chord change suggestions to Donnie, and you're pretty nifty on the mixing board, so don't take me the wrong way. And yes, your vocals on 11TOW were pretty much in key, so extra points for that too.
But face it bro, Donnie is John Lennon and Paul McCartney combined, and you're George and Ringo. Donnie would have been successful even if he never met you, but would never have made it on your own.
Donald Fagan is a marvel, a multifaceted genious. There would never have been a Steely Dan as we know it without him. But, Walt old boy, I'm pretty sure if it wasn't you it would have been the next guy that he would have taken with him to greatness.
Or at least that's my opinion.
-Sharang
Posted by: Andy, DCI just put up a bunch of new EMG reviews and articles at my site. Here's a list of ALL the reviews I've come across--many of these have already been posted to the Blue, but many have not--I'm not going to try to figure out which have been posted and which haven't. Apologies in advance for the excessively long post.
The Advocate (Stamford, CT)
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/features/scn-sa-album5jun12,0,3843621.story?coll=weekend-headlines
All About Jazz
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/pf/20030519/2791/steely_dan_return_with_the_new_album_everything.html
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/classicpop/reviews/steelydan_go.shtml
Billboard
http://www.billboard.com/bb/hotprod/index.jsp
Birmingham (UK) Post
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=293
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/157/living/Steely_Dan_does_it_again_with_new_disc+.shtml
Boston Globe (2)
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/161/living/Sonic_boom+.shtml
Charlottetown (Pr. Edward Is.) Guardian
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=286
Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/output/derogatis/cst-ftr-dero10.html
Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0613/p17s02-almp.html
Cox News Service
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=288
Daily Telegraph (London)
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=285
Daily Yomiuri (Yomiuri, Japan)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20030619woa4.htm
Dayton (OH) Daily News
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=291
Dotmusic
http://www.dotmusic.com/reviews/Albums/June2003/reviews29737.asp
E! Online
http://www.eonline.com/Reviews/Facts/Music/RevID/0,1107,2975,00.html?attmusic
The Guardian (London) - interview
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=278
The Guardian (London) - review
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=290
HighFidelityReview.com
http://www.highfidelityreview.com/reviews/review.asp?reviewnumber=13143569
Ice Magazine (interview excerpt)
http://www.icemagazine.com/stories/195/steely.shtm
The Independent (London) - review
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/story.jsp?story=412757
The Independent (London) - interview
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/interviews/story.jsp?story=412754
Jazz Review
http://www.jazzreview.com/cdreview.cfm?ID=4813
Miami Herald
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=284
New York Daily News (interview)
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/90112p-81967c.html
New York Post (interview)
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/58373.htm
New York Times (review)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/10/arts/music/10CHOI.html
New York Times (interview)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/arts/music/12POPL.html?ex=1055995200&en=4708253d8fc220cc&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
Orange County Register
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=43498§ion=SHOW&subsection=MUSIC&year=2003&month=6&day=13
The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1055419389322500.xml
The Onion
http://www.theonionavclub.com/reviews.php?review_type_id=2&issue_id=163#review4
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/features/scn-sa-album5jun12,0,3843621.story?coll=weekend-headlines
Rock's Back Pages (interview)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/news/0606_hoskyns_dan.html
Rolling Stone
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=2046725
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=289
Seattle Post Intellegencer
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/125805_steelydan.html
Slate (review)
http://slate.msn.com/id/2084479/
Slate (essay)
http://slate.msn.com/id/2084479/sidebar/2084512/
South China Morning Post
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=280
Springfield (MA) Republican
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=279
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=283
The Star Ledger (Newark, NJ)
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-1/1055658120261470.xml
The State (Columbia, SC)
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/entertainment/6065509.htm
Time
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=277
Time Out
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=292
The Times (London)
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=287
UPI
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=281
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/listen-up.htm
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42389-2003Jun10.html
Posted by: E. Fudd, Whackity Whack, don't talk back
Wemember Filwip Michael Thomas, Wan?
I whacked 'im.
E
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Hoops - - you're right. This forum should be a celebration. Sorry I spun off into some ego-tangent. Heck, I come here to connect, not to alienate people. My sincere apologies to everyone. Let's keep it real but restrained. Mitch & Sharangadang, I appreciate your commentary.
Posted by: Firemop, House On The Gulf Coast
I am also disappointed with the kind of promotion (or lack thereof) that EMG is getting. The fact that there are no TV appearences on the horizon may be because D&W are reluctant to participate. Didn't I read an interview where they were dissing television as "an organ of the state"? It's hard to tell if they were just being their amusing smart-alecky selves or if they were making a political statement. Knowing Steely Dan as we all do, its probably a little of both. I would think these guys are smart enough to avail themselves of promotional opportunities - unless they just don't give a damn about the money.
And just for discussion's sake, here is another theory: We know, along with Becker and Fagen (and hopefully their record company), that EMG is an exceptional recording. Perhaps money spent on a promotional campaign goes further *after* the Grammy awards. For example, I think that money spent promoting Norah Jones' record would not have been nearly as effective before she cleaned-up at the Grammys last year.
-fm
"It's high time for a walk on the real side."
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoTwo of the best jazz CDs of last year were Wayne Shorter's "Footprints Live", and the collaboration of Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, and Roy Hargrove on "Directions In Music: Live At Massey Hall". By the end of the year (about seven months after being released), they had each sold about 30,000 copies, and were two of the highest selling jazz records of the year. 91,000 in one week is pretty damn good.
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoPeople shouldn't be disappointed with 91,000. Almost all jazz CDs fail to break the 5-figure mark.
Posted by: This Just In, Dateline: June 18th 10.45 EDT The Great Beyond, Any World
This is Slinky Redfoot reporting. We've just been informed by Ted Turner who has been handling the Steely Dan promotion team somewhere off the Bahamas that Walter Becker has passed on into another dimension. Hold on, I have Ted on his cell phone line here...
TT: How goes Slinky? Yes, we got the sad news while we were out here on open seas. I was listening to the Beatles' White album...you know, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9...when Donald called and said Walter was way gone after his boat in Hawaii was hijacked and hurled into the Reefs of Cheesemart or something off the coast of Maui...nothing but fire and steam.
SLINKY: What do you mean hijacked?
TT: Well, we've heard that since the 10th that Walter had been receiving threatening letters from one E. Fudd. Despite this horrific tragedy, we do have good news for his estate and the Steely Dan family. Sales have shot up by 480,000 units since this phone call began! We're Number One now, baby
SLINKY: That's not much consolation...
TT: Hell, I just may be back in a full time job again, and I can get any Janey Runaway and not from a noodle shop any time I now...Besides it's been rumored that Walter has been dead for some time anyway. If you play Waterloo backwards, I swear you can hear "I am the Walrus" Regardless, we all know that Mr. Becker was only 0.85% of Steely Dan anyway.
SLINKY: ...wait, I've just been buzzed on the China Crisis line...hello?
WB: This is the cute little bunny...
TT: floppy ears?
WB: No, you idiot. It's me Walter Becker. Hey, I'm here with Mel Blanc...we're dodging Bugs and that giant eraser as we speak.
SLINKY: Walter, can you tell me what happened?
WB: Well, I was having lunch you see...and she thought she heard Skank of Ages...next thing I know, I'm cruisin' with Jan Hammer in a pink speedboat doing 90...
SLINKY: Walter, have you heard about the burst in sales?
WB: Yes, I decided to just take one for the team...we've got an ether mitt for the head of MCA when he dives from the 14th floor. We love the fiction in Time mag, so we'll do our best to keep 'em afloat. Besides, Grammies are a shoe-in now...
SLINKY: So, how are you going on tour?
WB: Well, Roger "The Immortal" Nichols is VIRTUALLY certain of a system...He's put a critical mass of plutonium into the body of a Sadowsky guitar. If I hit the G-string just right... and we know how much fun that can be... right? I've got my new buddy right here - Dave from Acquisitions...you should have held out a little longer...any minor world, dude.
Anyway, the string will vibrate at the RMS or root mean squared velocity of 85 mph...and you know what that means...
SLINKY: ...another Back to the Future sequel?
WB: Almost...Roger can sync-lock us with a fuel cell powered Philips 66 plasma monitor onstage. Should work in all venues except Dallas...too much methane in the air there or something...
SLINKY: PHILLIPS 66? Don't you mean Philips, the company that developed digital audio with Sony years ago?
WB: Nah, Phillips 66. The freakin' oil companies own everything here in the netherworld as well...
SLINKY: So, will you and Donald be making another album together?...and will we be able to tell?
WB: Yes, Roger has assured us we can get a Max Headroom thing going within a year... but first, George Harrison and I are making a sitar album first...that's right - all Sitars, ladies and gentlemen... You know you can sample all the electromagnetic wave patterns in the Universe, and no one charges you 120 Grand either!...We've got a complete record of Yoko Ono screetches that we're warp filtering through a Bodhistratavarius Sitar once played or at least in the general vicinity of Ravi Shankar...
SLINKY: So what's everyone listening to there in the Cosmos?
WB: Mostly Norah Jones, Kraftwerk, and there's a cloud here that features a really hot Frank Zappa tribute band...
Posted by: 91 thousand, sigh?thinking about this, although disappointing at first, i realize that they sold 91 thousand instead of 141 thousand this time but with NO letterman show, NO today show, NO CNN 'people in the news' segment' NO major record store blitz or promotion, no huge buildup about their "COMEBACK" , no 5 dozen feature articles about ther 'first album in 20 years", .....hell, no promotion to speak of at all. Yeah its nice to think what might have happened if they had promotion, or of Luther bless his heart hadn't had a stroke, or if they hadn't picked Super Tuesday (Lenox, metalica, Radioprick, etc) as their release day....but under the circumstances it puts the 91 thou in perspective as pretty darn respectable.
Posted by: Little Wild One, where everybody knows your namehoops: can I buy you that drink tonight in the greenroom?
TROY: I have two kids under 12 and hear the same type of crap from them. Believe me, no matter how right you seemingly may be, the consequences sometimes of being right are that everyone loses. Ask those who have been right, but unable to tell anyone because they are grounded. They know.....
Posted by: CrellMoset, The latest from Steely Dan, "Everything Must Go" (Reprise) enters The Billboard 200 at No. 9 with sales of 91,000 copies. The tally falls short of the 141,000 copies the duo's 2000 comeback album "Two Against Nature" generated in its first week.
CrellMoset
Posted by: E. Fudd, wabbit season
E.
A whacking we wiwl go
a whacking we wiwl go
hidey-ho da mewweo a whacking we wiwl go
huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh
Posted by: Lee, BeckervilleI think it is the height (or is it the depth?) of ignorance to posit that Fagen is "85% of what makes Steely Dan good". You write that as if it were some universally established fact. In reality, such a statement is the afterbirth of a spore hatched by a closed mind. The problem is that you seem to be so positive that your assertions are correct, writing as if you assume that certain of your foundational points are pre-proven. By doing so, you sow the seeds of doubt relative to ALL of your notions, even the correct ones.
Compared to previous Dan works, all of them are evolutionary, not revolutionary. The first one was in fact revolutionary, and yes, relative to others' compositions, ALL of the Dan's productions are revolutionary. However, what do you expect them to do? Should they be something that they are not? Should Steve Spurrier, revolutionary American football passing attack guru now bring forth a revolutionary approach to running the ball? No, that is not what he is, it is not what he does. Maybe Rick Pitino, master of basketball's run and gun should develop a revolutionary slow down game. Hey...maybe John Phillip Sousa should have revolutionized violin concertos. Maybe Don and Walt should try to meld the dulcet sounds of Turkish yak noises with early native American tom-toms. THAT would be revolutionary.
You obviously have not given 11 Tracks a fair shot. Try that first, and then come at us with something less than certainty relative to your views AND their underpinnings. After that, your thoughts will be dealt with in a more accepting manner.
Posted by: Peter Q, Brooklyn...unless it's the endless references to automobiles as safe havens from the chaos of the big bad world in Dan lyrics - the Kamakiri, the Audi TT, the beloved white Aries, I drove the Chrysler, is there gas in the car?, midnite cruiser, you in your Lark you're a mark, daddy don't drive in the El Dorado no more, - and those are just the ones I can recall off the top of my head. In proxemics we were told that there are 3 places where people feel most comfortable - home, job and car. The systems-thread of Dan characters who feel most at ease in their cars is a little bit of insight into the Dan world-view.
Posted by: hoops, Rob:
Check out the BlueBook on May 16. That's where I first saw the story about DF's solo album, although I've seen other stories here and there through the years where future solo albums have suggested.
Rajah, Sharang, Dan Fan, etc.
I'll tell you, I'd hate for any forum to be a "yes, everything is wonderful, don't think otherwise place." (See my post below). The debate about originality in the new one is a good topic but the tone is kinda shrill if you ask me. In the 10-plus years I've been doing this sorta thing, this has been a real downer day for me. The last round with the three of you really got to me in a downer way. I'm going to go home, have a drink and not think about this place.
jim
Posted by: P-G E, Sverige/MCA no more articlehoops wondered where Randy had read that MCA will close shop. I found this on Billboard dated May 20:
http://www.billboard.com/bb/feature/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1891301
The article says the plans for the label that started back in 1924 is for it to be shut down.
Apparently it has already started as Mary J Blige's new one will be released on Geffen and not the label wher she's spent her whole career; MCA.
Next Steely Dan release on Geffen? UMG (Universal Music Group)?
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.C'mon you guys don't take your ball and go home. No one ever accused me of trying to be '"right". Of course I am most of the time. Not. I sympathize with the guy whose missus hates the Dan. My daughter and son-in-law are both the same way. I know what it is with them, it's the endless rotation of Rikki, Hey 19, and Reeling in the Sheeves on the aging hippie stations. I'll be sending everyone a set list from July 23 so c'mon, can't we just all take pot shots at each other in a civil but borderline vicious manner? It don't hurt or nothin'.
Posted by: Rob Keil, San FranciscoA Donald Fagen solo project has just been mentioned here. The only other place I've heard this mentioned on on Andy Metzger's site, and it was listed as a rumor. Does anyone know anything else about this, particularly whether it's just media talk or if Fagen has confirmed that the project is real?
Donald is batting 1000 on his solo projects as far as I'm concerned, and I would love to see a new solo album from him in the coming years. In the meantime, I will have to curl up with the new DVD-Audio of "Kamakiriad"
-Rob
Posted by: P-G E, SwedenRe: Promotion
Looking on it from a small country way up north I have to agree with Scotty and Hoops; this time around the reord company/peopel in charge seem to have been content on Steely Dan selling whatever they can without any even half decent attempt at promotion.
Could it be that the sales of 2AN didn't convince the record company any amount of promotion of EMG can get the album sold to any large number outside of the danfans. If they can't be sure they can move at least 3,4,5 million copies they'd rather spend that promo money on an artist where they can really increase sales. If Steely Dan end up selling 1 million or 500 000 makes little difference when they look at the big picture... It's just not worth the effort.
Can THIS be the reasoning behind the lacklustre push EMG is getting?
Back in 2000 2AN was the big comeback album and some of the promo material actually spilled over here as well. Posters could be see in stores and airplay sent it into the top 20 where it peaked at 17.
When the official chart is published here Thursday I doubt that EMG will repeat that. I haven't heard one single track on the radio. (As far as I know not one copy has been sent to radio stations that helped spin Cousin Dupree and others the last time around).
I guess we can't expect more from the record company and management than we've got so far. I wonder if Donald and Walter are happy with the business side of things?
P-G E
Posted by: Sharangadang, MuswellbrookDan Fan,
You are correct. I will stop arguing about Steely Dan and find a more appropriate place to discuss the new album.
NOT!
Are you on crack? What the hell is this board for if not to discuss Steely Dan? If you don't want to read my posts, just pass over it dude.
-Shalangadelic
Posted by: Dan Fan, GIVE IT A REST!I"ve noticed this not only here but on other Dan forums today as well. Some of you Dan Fans make great arguments or a few el lame-o ones too.
But I can't believe how some of you behave like old batty nuns and are are making discussion of EMG, even those who love the album, so painful and argumentative. You think people want to read your arguing? Shit, Becker and Fagen would have a sense of humor about it. Whatdafuck, just Joey, Bill and Hoops with his Godwhacker cartoon post were the only funny things. Over at the yellow, 8 days after the new one they're too busy discussing U2 ( ! ) to have much concern for EMG and I won't go into the alt board.
"Read my post again! I said..."
"Here's you comment , Sharangetrc, exhibit A, for the prosecution."
Some of you take yourselves wayyyyyy too seriously. Be passionate, but this is absurd. You people arguing aren't listening to each other at all and act like assholes towards each other. You care more about being right than Steely Dan music. Let me tell you, you are killing the fun.
Look some of you, I get this shit from my bitchy old bag of a wife. She hates Steely Dan. Period. I wish she'd have an affair so I could have an affair with Steely Dan this summer. We're fucking lucky to have any new Steely Dan. What? Would you rather a repeat of Britnet Spears than a repeat of Steely Dan? Give it a rest. I don't want to come hear and hear the same shit. I already get it from those who think all Steely Dan suck. And I'm tired of people posting to the losers who bash this shit. GIVE IT A REST! WE HAVE A NEW FUCKING GREAT ALBUM! If you don't like it, where's your own album? What do you expect for $11.00.
People are dying in Iraq and the World Trade Center a bunch of people died. I wonder how many SD fans who were WTC victims would have loved to live to hear EMG???????????? I mean I'm happy to have EMG as little a thing it means. STOP the bickering on the piss pages, here, everywhere. Just quit it already! What's with Dandom today?
I know, no one's reading...Rahjah and Sahrangadang and the like will go back to their war over who's right. Sheeeesh...enjoy life, already, while you have it. Maybe we'll never have a new SD album again. Now THAT would suck and is worth getting all huffy about.
Discuss U2. Sheeeesh!
Posted by: Sharangadang, MuswellbrookRaj-
Finally, some thoughtful retorts to my claim, and without personal attack. You make a very good point that EMG could only have been achieved as a result of D&W's groundbreaking tenure. But it doesn't make EMG itself groundbreaking from anything they've previously done, or from anything anyone's ever done.
Consider Royal Scam, a tremendously groundbreaking album. It sounded different than anything anyone had ever done before, including Steely Dan, and it influenced so many bands. Then the leap to Aja was just as groundbreaking. I think the reasons why these albums were groundbreaking are common knowledge so I won't repeat the obvious.
But it's not obvious to me what specifically in EMG sounds different than anything previous. The answer is -- nothing. They are great tunes, but it's TvN part II. It's Kamakiriad extended. The sound, the writing, the hooks, the lyrics, the performances are all great, really great, but nothing different and groundbreaking.
I am NOT unsatisfied with EMG. I am wondering why D&W haven't chosen to take music to an entirely new level, again! Maybe Donnies upcoming solo album will take a stab at it. I can only hope.
-Sharang
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.OK, Sharangadang, here's your comment:
"No, you missed my point. Steely Dan itself USED TO BE groundbreaking. Every album up to Gaucho was verrry different from the previous. And then Nightfly really showed that Donald is 85% of what makes Steely Dan good. But Kamakiriad, TVN, and EMG provide nothing groundbreaking. They don't. They are just more of the same. They are."
The nine albums and the solos represent the ongoing development of a band that had a very strong sense of what kind of music they wanted to produce. They had a musical vision from the very begining. It would be poppy, jazzy, and bluesy all rolled up together. The lyrics would not be anything near to being easily accessible. They would be topical but not trendy, erudite but employing the use of the most common jargon, slang with irony. As time went on, this theory opened them up to taking in and co-opting elements from all genre of music, hell, there's calypso, salsa, big band, classical elements, disco, funk, and goodness knows what else in there. And THAT is what is groundbreaking about them. With EMG you have been given a stylistically mature set of songs, songs it took thirty years to be in a position to deliver. Artists in music usually, I said usually, have a relatively short window of time in which they are relevant and popular. At some point, that window closes, oh they still record it did for McCartney, Bowie, Springsteen -- and they were among the best. U2 springs to mind as having a very lengthy ride and still vital. For Don & Walt to literally come back from the cript and deliver two Grammy winning albums (I've looked in my crystal ball)is nothing short of a musical miracle.
Now, at the risk of appearing to be clever, what part of "groundbreaking" are you still groping in the dark for?
Posted by: Joey, " Hey Joey, I can quote Pete, too. "
Bill/Pittsburgh
You are much loved by the Joey !
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, also a PT fanHey Joey, I can quote Pete, too.
Just wanna be misunderstood
Wanna be feared in my neighborhood
Just wanna be a moody man
Say things that nobody can understand
I wanna be obscure and oblique
Inscrutable and vague
So hard to pin down
I wanna leave open mouths when I speak
Want people to cry when I put them down
Not sure if D&W appreciate him, but they have some things in common, not the least of which is an interest in certain uses of technology for entertainment purposes. (I'm talking about LifeHouse, a William Gibson/Matrix-style plotline from 1972, not his recent legal troubles!)
Posted by: hoops, Randy:
Thanks for the story on MCA. Where did you see it?
Also noticed that Simon & Garfunkel are having a reunion tour this fall. I remember reading that Simon was coming out with an album soon. Hmmmm...
Posted by: hoops, chicago, west of the loop, where it's hot & sticky & about to downpourDead on, Scotty. The only promotion I have seen is at Borders where they have a really cool display poster if you can get your mits on it when they are done. But I would rather they leave it up for a long time to sell more EMG. I mean, what's the deal with an Eagles single getting a quarter of the "New CDs" sale page in Best Buy's circular while SD is relegated to 1.5" X 1.5" or so?
jim
Posted by: Isabeau, The Netherlandsre: "tambourine"
Man with no face: Thank you very much!
Clas:
I'm here reading everything I can about the lyrics.
Because they are very, very complicated, especially when you're not a native speaker. However, you all helped me a lot by discussing and explaining the lyrics. Without all of you it would be totally abacadabra for me! Thank you all for your help and...keep going on!
Greetings form a Steely Dan fan!!!! And not a little one hahahaha!
Posted by: Scotty, Red Bank, NJI don't understand something. How can a band that sweeps the grammy's in 2000 come back and only sell 90,000 copies of there follow up record. I'll tell you how. Absolutely ZERO promotion! I've been walking around New York City for the past two weeks and haven't seen anything! Every store I walk by has a Annie Lenox poster in the window. Every store! On construction walls there are Radiohead and Metallica posters plastered ALL over them. Not one SD promo poster. Not one! Not even in the record stores! Who ever is in charge of promotion for this record/band should be shot! I'm convinced 90% of the weeks sales of EMG has been by word of mouth. The other 10% has been from a little radio play and local newspaper reviews. This is sickening.
Posted by: Joey, "Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution- or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement."
I got that beat :
" The enemy has met his Master in the Fields "
-- LBJ , 1967
You think Walter and Donald were ever big fans of Lyndon Johnson ????????? Me Neither . Hug Me .
" You need a new song
I'll set the words up so they tear right at your soul ;
Don't take me too long
But there's a danger that I'll plagiarize something old .
My fingers kill me as I play my guitar
'Cause I've been chewing down at my nails ;
My hairline ain't exactly superstar
But there's one thing that never fails ,
This never fails..............................
I write the same old song with a few new lines
And everybody wants to cheer it
I write the same old song you heard a good few times
Admit you really want to hear it "
Joey von Fagen/Becker ???????????
Posted by: Kirschwasser, in my shellAudiTT,
re: Hey Nineteen, it's very clear what Hey Nineteen is about based on the lyrics alone, but Donald has also explained it. It's about a 30 year old dude who goes on a date with a 19 year old chick and they have nothing in common because of the age difference. They're having a lousy time but he still wants a piece of action so he gets her drunk and high. The fine columbian is actually cocaine, not weed.
-Sharang
Posted by: NEWTWOBLU, motownhey duke of earl I almost forgot.
Your usage of the word "refuse" had me spitting out my coffee it was so damn funny.
WEll put, Duke.
I will be at two shows this year the detroit one and the show in NYC.
Rock on.
Posted by: hoops, Nu2Blu:
I tried tyo handle this via Email. Thanks for agreeing to not post anymore-because you and all of the pseudonyms you've been using to alternately flame and support your various personna's posts about Bush, not to mention some nasty spam, etc. aren't welcome. Your posts will be taken down and more if you continue.
I hope everyone else will me a favor and ignore this weasel. I had to pay to find out that this guy was screwing with us.
jim
Posted by: newtootheblumybrother, michiganderUnfortunately it is true. Poor people can't relate to the word "Andrea Doria" and/or "City of St. John" but they can relate to: " Sweet Home Alabama" or my favorite " life in the fast lane". Listen I am sorry for telling the truth about intelligent people and money. The fact that we are all here leads me to believe that we are all well read.
Why must everyone be so angry about their own success. It is not "bad" to have money...it is all relative people.
SO long forever my friends,
D.
Posted by: Sharangadang, MuswellbrookBy the way, tambourine was chosen because it rhymes with Pixelene.
Posted by: Randy, Northern NJ / USA
For those who may be interested, Steely Dan's old label (and holders of their back catalog) MCA will soon be no more; MCA will be merging with IGA (Interscope-Geffen-A&M) Records, and the "MCA" name will no longer be used.
Through the seventies, MCA had known ties to the mafia and was considered one of the most corrupt labels in the music industry; many of the sordid issues were detailed in the book "Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, the Music Business, and the Mafia" (1993) by William Knoedelseder.
MCA is also holder of The Who's back catalog.
Randy / NIGHTFLY**@aol.com
Posted by: Sharangadang, MuswellbrookMr. LaPage, Peter Q,
Nothing I've said suggests that I am bitter. Read my posts, then read them again. Then carefully read them again. Then tell me what I said that suggests I am bitter. Then read them again.
And when did I say I didn't like EMG? I love EMG. You say I'm spewing statements with no blah blah blah at all?? You can't even read a post and understand the meaning behind it. You have completely missed my entire point while at the same time putting words in my mouth, and topping it off with an insult. Talk about the pot calling the book green.
Rajah of Erase,
>>>>Here's your groundbreaker - you stopped listening.
Are you saying that EMG is in fact groundbreaking or are you just trying to make yourself feel better by getting in a clever remark?
I challenge you or anyone to tell me what makes EMG groundbreaking. If I'm hurting your feelings, go cry to your mother. I'm looking for a discussion, not a battle of wit and insult (but I WILL defend myself).
-Sharang
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareNew2Blue: You're probably right. The low-class refuse tends to listen to cowpoke music like Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Charlie Daniels. After listening to those, about the only time they have left is to catch the NASCAR race, get to the local General Store (a.k.a. Post Office) to pick up their welfare check, and to breed their farm-animal-of-choice. Maybe if the Dan ran a special at the local dollar store, they might wedge a path into the lower-class status quo.
DOE
Posted by: Joey, " Oh yea, the women are better looking when you have money too.!!!! "
Beautiful women know EXACTLY where the money Is .....always have ......always will !
And now , with your indulgence , I would like to break out into song :
" Surrounded by people
A real heavy crowd ;
But inside I still feel lonely now ...............
Should I get away
From the high heels so proud ;
Is there something different life can show me now ? "
Joey Townshend
Posted by: NU2blu, BloomfieldWow! What an amazing outpouring of hatred for the rich.
You guys are probably right..interesting people are everywhere...just trying to give you an update as to the demographics of the dan.
Didn't mean to upset the middle class.
It is probably best if I make this my farewell from the Blubook.
It has been real and I have enjoyed the banter between all of you.
One last thought on the wealthy:
As AYN RAND once said "Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution- or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement."
Respectfully yours,
D.
Posted by: Audi TT, Thats the great thing about the Dan. You can take "Hey, Nineteen" to be about a really cool guy who chases young poon even though they don't share the same musical taste and lives the good life of booze and fine bud, or you can take it to be about a really pitiful guy who doesn't perhaps fully realize he's a shallow loser. Wonder which interpretation the intelligent people choose?
Posted by: bill, in need of spellcheckuh, disappoint
Posted by: Bill, Nice comment on the clarinet patch following Meat on the Bone. There's lots of little touches like that on EMG which make me smile or laugh out loud. For instance, is there a drummer alive who can resist punctuating the lyric "knock on wood" whenever it may appear in a song? Sure enough, Mr. Carlock didn't dissapoint me. Drum machines and loops don't know that rule.
Posted by: KD, ChiI dunno, new2, they'res pretty a' purdy women down by d'ese dire straits too.
I reckon.
Posted by: hoops, Nu2Blu:
I didn't know I was rich. I'll think of that with my backlog of family doctor bills, etc. Also check your email account for an email from me. Thanks
jim
Posted by: Charlie Freak, AustinWhat a load of arrogant crap by new2theblue - there are plenty of interesting people of substantial intellect
who are not necessarily "rich" that definitely "get" Steely Dan. Disgusting post....
Posted by: Bill, Not necessarily - do they all know that folks like them are the butts of many of the jokes in the SD repertoire or do they just consider SD to be cool background music? Or did they become wealthy because they have enough intelligence to succeed in business (I know, intelligence won't buy you a cup of Starbucks coffee anymore) AND have some good taste, too? Probably a little of both, plus a generational thang - SD has been upscale thinking person's music from the beginning, and many fans are now near D&W's age and in some positions of authority in their business endeavors.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynWhat a hilarious misunderstanding of what SD is about!
Posted by: New2the Blu, Bloomfield Hills, MichiganI live and work in one of the most affluent suburbs on the planet. That being said, I am fortunate to know and befriend very wealthy people. My point is that I was fortunate to start a successful biz and everyone I come into contact with is eclectic and well spoken.
What I have found is that when invited to parties or get-togethers everyone, I mean EVERYONE of these well-heeled people has Steely Dan in their collection. I am a Dan lover and when I go to these parties etc.. and have a few cocktails, some fine columbian etc... I want to hear "The Caves of Altamira" et al. And guess what they have it. ALL of them.
They all have AJA, THE SCAM, and PRETZEL.
People of substantial means and intellect typically drift toward the Dan.
...and you know what they are so much more interesting than poor people.
I don't want to sound like an elitist but let's face it....Becker and Fagen are loaded....and their music is directed toward the rich.
C'mon....the AUDI TT, House on the Gulf Coast,.....
Regards.
Just my insight into the wonderful world of the dan.
Oh yea, the women are better looking when you have money too.!!!!
JOSIE< Katy> PIXELEEN > Janie........
Posted by: Mr. LaPage, My DenHey Sharanga, I know what the lyric originally means or at least how it is often interpretted by fans---as meaning film size. But, Mr know-it-all, in this case, I meant dick size, i.e. ego, OK? And boy, based on your posts, you seem really desparate about yours. Go spread your bitterness elsewhere.
Not everyone has to like EMG, but you are just spewwing statements with no thought or persusaveness at all. Convince us or at least take some meds, you are way too set on being negative.
How about starting out, "I know most all like EMG, but how about enlightening me about how to start liking it. I'm not grokking." Anyone can shout epithets.
Posted by: Mitch, Wow! This sidebar from Slate is just FANTASTIC!!!
http://slate.msn.com/id/2084479/sidebar/2084512/
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Sharangadang - Here's your groundbreaker - you stopped listening.
Posted by: DACW , BigFan: Fred(dy) at Slate.com gets it. I believe it is first time "recombinant" had been used in reference to the stylings of a pop band...Recombinant animals (usually mice) have a gene removed ("knockout"), or added ("overexpressed"), or mutated to test the function of genes and proteins in disease and normal cell function and physiology.
For example, there are a couple of mouse models for muscular dystrophy involve a gene that encodes for the protein called dystrophin. Dystrophin is a protein that hangs on a protein scaffold on the surface of cells including muscle cells. With the most common type pf MD (called Duchenne MD), the gene than codes for dytrophin has a mutation that causes dystrophin to "fall off" or better to never hook up with the scaffold. When dystrophin falls of, so do other critical proteins, turining the system from a sturdy steel frame house to pick up stix. Stability and information related to forces are disrupted and a cycle of damage, attempted repair, and wasting results...a very nasty progressive disease...
anyway...sorry, got out of hand there...recombinant works in the review and pertains to SD music as it is is reflects the twisted and incomplete information contained in Steely Dan songs while evoking powerful imagery in the imagination...
Isabeau: see previous post
"...dancing in the video with gun and tambourine..."
This is some more cartoon-like imagery. The superteen is a super spy in a super-cool band a la Josie and the Pussycats...Think the Josie or the Archies or the Monkees (a live cartoon) with better music...(although there were som good studio musicians on the early Monkees stuff)
Elmer: Duck Season
h: EMG is the closest thing to the way Katy was recorded...the outtakes of DrWu and Your Gold Teeth II give a glimpse of the mother lode they struck...it may be easier to hear what those German microphones were all about...I bet before the noise reduction machine's head slipped to the side or whatever it did...the sound was out of Rudy's (Van Gelder)...he's remastering Blue Note classics now...what a genius...Katy remains my favorite...I thought Roger cleaned it up pretty well on the re- re- master
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynSteely Dan is in the same situation that the novelist Don DeLillo is in now; they singlehandedly invented a genre unto themselves and now, for practicing it to perfection, are criticized with " it's more of the same" with every new work.
Posted by: Man with no face, Re: the tambourine. If the line is voiced by the unnamed studio exec being pitched the movie version of Pixeleen, he's just cynically netting it out to contrast with some other character's (Freddie?) reality-lines-blurred view of it. The movie is just a "girl in girlie trouble" and the requisite MTV music video from the movie (strictly for the profit maximizing marketing purposes the exec is already thinking of) is Pixeleen dancing with gun and tambourine. Why tambourine? I don't know. Because Pixeleen would look sexy? Because she would appear to be part of the band in the video, thus making them look cooler to the teen market and increasing sales? Because it evokes some kind of 1960's Girl from U.N.C.L.E. vibe? (The Slate article makes an interesting point about the Nightfly connection in which Donald reminisces about a future "Symmetrical and clean"). Because it rhymes with "clean"? Anyway, its interesting that the song goes off in a different direction musically, they voice the cynical character (or the realist), then go back to the chorus.
Posted by: handicam dave, uka week or so of familiarity now.....some mo' impressions...
love it to bits.......particularly Don's outrageous solos.Blinding!
The guy can play- no mistake.SERIOUS chops but also huge amounts of humour in his phrasings and tones.
love the way he pronounces "Meat on the bone...." total desperation
followed by a synth solo of huge humour begining with a clarinet like texture.........kosher eh? Superb!!!
Cant stop laaaaaaafin!
Posted by: Sharangadang, MuswellbrookShaun, Mitch, Gina child bride, DACW...
>>>Whoever posted about how they wanted something "groundbreaking" or whatever is missing the point - Steely Dan ITSELF s "groundbreaking". NO ONE ELSE sounds like this NOR has been able to really duplicate it!! THAT in ITSELF is groundbreaking.
No, you missed my point. Steely Dan itself USED TO BE groundbreaking. Every album up to Gaucho was verrry different from the previous. And then Nightfly really showed that Donald is 85% of what makes Steely Dan good. But Kamakiriad, TVN, and EMG provide nothing groundbreaking. They don't. They are just more of the same. They are.
By the way, Walter Becker should never attempt to sing a song again, recorder or not.
For the dude that quoted Everyone's Gone to the Movies, the lyrics "Wish we had 16 or more. Sorry we only have 8." is in reference to film size in milimeters, not the number of people.
-Sharang (still waiting for something groundbreaking from ANYONE) Adang
Posted by: Everything Must Go, Big Noise, NYMy life, my love, my gladstone bag.
Posted by: Clas, Isabeau - oh my sweet little girl, we've been analyzing Steely Dan lyrics now for 8 years, on-line.
And I've been analyzing them since 1976, in-mind.
And you're saying you are having wonderings about this "tambourine"?
Posted by: hoops, Among casual listeners of Steely Dan (ie those within earshot of my office, car, etc where I am playing EMG to death), "Things I Miss The Most" has been getting the nod as the song they like most. I guess the lyrics are pretty straight forward compared to most of the rest of the songs, or something...
Posted by: Big Fan, At work - raining stillGreat review:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2084479/
From Syracuse - are they in the ACC or not that is the question:
http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-6/105592539426924.xml
Since I'm not making a concert until the tail end of the tour, I am expecting those of you making those first Ca shows to give a complete rundown on the setlits and t-shirt and trinket sales. I can't wait. Just over a month away.
Posted by: Isabeau, Yhe NetherlandsMan with no face,
I share your vision about "Pixeleen".
But maybe you can explain me something.
I have a question about the sentence: "Dancing in the video with gun and tambourine"
Why is there a "tambourine" in the lyrics?
I just can't figure it out......
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynYes Junky grrl, I know. The point I was wanting to make was that in the years between 1980 - 2000 SD (on the CDs, anyway) is much more New York centric than they were years ago, and most of the musicians working with them are NYers as opposed to the more chic West Coast cats of Royal Scam and Aja.
Posted by: Junkey grrrl, Peter Q, re: Ben Perowsky, he actually only played on a couple of tunes on 11ToW, the rest were drum machines...
Posted by: hoops, Peter:
This reminds me of that question about "Who sets the table?" at a Steely Dan session. They both do, with each bringing their own talents to the table, was basically the answer D + W contribute.
Not sure how deliberate it was, but Walter soloing presents him more overtly as the co-partner of Steely Dan that we've always known he's been. It's also a logical extension of the new definition of Steely Dan as a core band with Becker and Fagen as it's co-leaders, rather than the old model of inter-changeable session players. I think it makes it more obvious that Steely Dan isn't just Fagen, as so many media articles suggest.
jim
Posted by: Randy, Northern NJ / USA
In regards to the following quote (as it pertains to 'Two Against Nature'):
"Highly polished sound that incorporates some of the techno and acid jazz periods in music that had occured in the intervening years..."
As Becker and Fagen have stated numerous times, they don't listen to current "popular" music, and have never paid attention to (let alone followed) trends in regards to the recording of their own original material; there is little or nothing to indicate they were influenced by any "techno" or "acid jazz"; any influence that could be construed in that way was far more likely to have been in place long before the advent of those two musical "approaches"-
Randy / NIGHTFLY62@aol.com
Posted by: Somebody To Trust, NYCPeter Q- You said it best. Why do I have to hear Chaplap or Herington cut loose on EMG? I can go out to a club on any given night of the week in NYC watch them cut loose.
p.s. That neat little keyboard ending on Pixeleen IS Charlap "cutting loose"
Posted by: enimen, Hoops, Maybe we both need to "be vewy, vewy quiet" and go hunt some wabbits.
But I think we both get A's for class participation today.
Posted by: E. Fudd, Kill Da Wabbit
Hoops - I hope you plan on sharing what ever it is you're smokin'!!
E
Posted by: hoops, Hey, hey, hey! What am I? Chopped liver, Eminem? I think I made some interesting points! LOL!
jim
Posted by: enimen, Mitch, Shaun: I like to praise, I like to criticize, and I do both. Not my fault that nobody picked up my positive threads.
So do we need to find you a color of book where if you can't say something nice, you can't say anything at all?
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynEMG is a good disc, but I'm curious as to why enlist some players with the most serious chops in jazz and not let them solo? Why not let Herington and Charlap cut loose on a song or two????
Posted by: Rob Keil, San FranciscoOn the matter of Steely Dan changing (or not chaning) their style or re-inventing themselves, etc., I started thinking about the ways in which each album in their canon seems to represent an evolutionary step within the development of their sound. This may be overanalyzing, but I thought it would be interesting to try to trace this development based on my own personal opinion of each album. I invite others to comment on my interpretations as well:
"Can't Buy A Thrill" (1972) Steely Dan infancy. Still has the "folk-oriented" rock sound typical of the early 70's bands but with more interesting instrumentation, and experimentaion with extended pieces beyond 3 minutes. Multiple vocalists. Interesting storytelling techniques and cryptic lyrics are already in place.
"Countdown to Ecstacy" (1973) More of a coshesive album with Donald now handling all vocals. Slightly more inventive song structures. Lyrics get a little more cryptic. Still basically within a rock context.
"Pretzel Logic" (1974) Pretty big break from previous albums. Overt references to Jazz like intro to "Rikki" and "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" by Ellington. Sound quality more poilshed. More emphasis on keyboards.
"Katy Lied" (1975) Further movement in the direction of jazz. More horns, nicer more interesting chords in the songs. Songs are more beautiful and less "raw". More use of layering in arranging techniques (Everyone's Gone to the Movies).
"Royal Scam" (1976) Return to a slightly more high-energy direction, a bit of a return back toward guitar emphasis. Thematic similarities among songs related to big business, opression of the average man, etc. Songs are less typical in structure, with interesting breaks and intros.
"Aja" (1977) Most complex and overtly beautiful album yet. Even more well arranged and layered with nuances. Lots of horns and keayboards, generally slower tempos. Features several important jazz and fusion players in spotlight solos (Shorter, Gadd, etc.) At least 2 extended pieces (Aja, Deacon Blues). Even more improvement in recording quality. An obvious extension of the direction the band was leading in.
"Gaucho" (1980) More overt influence of jazz. Features more jazz players like Michael Brecker, Joe Sample, etc. Very keyboard oriented, tons of horns, even more complex jazz arrangements, although no truly extended pieces. Highly polished, ultra "clean" sound, less smooth and natural sounding than "Aja" Lots of vocal choruses mixed in and arranged in more complex ways.
"2 Against Nature" (2000) Similar to Gaucho, with emphasis on horns and keyboards, with all the same basic lyrical traits that Dan fans expect. More interesting bridges, breaks, and embellishments than any previous album. Highly polished sound that incorporates some of the techno and acid jazz periods in music that had occured in the intervening years. Overtly long and Jazz-oriented sax solo on "West of Hollywood" is the first of it's kind since Shorter's on"Aja"
"Everything Must Go" (2003) Incoroprates the interesting bridges,connective passages and song structures of "2VN" but with a distinctly looser feel. Becker's first vocal, and an emphasis more on his playing and guitar and bass in general. Less emphasis on horns. Several songs have instrumental references to early 60's rhythm sections. More "live" sound due to analog recording and less multi-tracking. Most coshesive band personnel in since 1973. Thematic similarity across several songs.
I'm sure that there will be many differences of opinion on this list, but I would be interested to see how other people view these albums in terms of Steely Dan's evolution and the refinement of their sound.
Posted by: hoops, What's great is all the interpretations of SD lyrics. With all these takes about God and Bush and all on "Godwhacker," I started asking, where's the Steely Dan humor that permeates every song?
Here's another tangent, hopefully a little different. Because of the sorta campy line "step back son, give the man some whackin' space," which I found very funny, I'm thinking of this song like it's "in some ol' cartoon," not unlike Roadrunner and Coyote or Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. Hey, why not? Heck, they're even on Warners ;-) !
So I'm picturing Godwhacker running around like Elmer Fudd or Coyote, but instead of using a giant rifle or string-rigged rocks propped up with sticks, I'm picturing this Godwhaker guy running around the heavens chasing God around on a space scooter (sorta like how I envision Leonard Cohen escorted by babes in rocket bras, flying ten stories-up along Madison Avenue in "First We Take Manhattan") with this huge mega whacking device that's like a pastel purple grey 10-ton hammer that floats. Only the hammer keeps missing. He has other whacking devices too like a giant pastel teal green fly swatter (I'm borrowing the Looney Tunes color pallette) that also can be used side ways in a slicing action like a machetti (sp?).
Hey, it's my fantasy and thanks Donny and Walty for suggesting it.
jim
Posted by: mike mishura, lbi, njboth the who and pearl jam have done/are doing this as well.
i would LOVE to have all the 2k3 shows on disc by the end of this
tour- esp the 2/3 shows i'm planning to see!
mikem->>lbi, nj
<b>-----------beg orig msg----------------------
Date: Tues, June 17, 2003, 11:14:37 ET
Posted by: Nu2Blu, Motown
Go to www.dead.net and look at what they are doing with their live shows.
It is a CD on demand process. You can literally buy a soundboard mixed CD right after the show is over.
This is the future of live music. </b>
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Mitch, you are right on. These two knuckleheads have never missed, never disappointed, have retained this unique musical vision for all these years, never sold out. Let's keep going with your analogy: none of their contemporaries are able to write songs as good as these thirty plus years down the road, not McCartney, not Bowie, not Springsteen, certainly not the Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zep, CSN&Y, on and on. The superstars' later work product pales in comparison to Don & Walt's.
Posted by: Bill, re WB and JGYes, Walter's Green Book solo is reminiscent of Garcia in one respect, its use of one of Jerry's favorite effects, the envelope follower (used heavily in Estimate Profit, Fire on the Mountain, and many other Dead songs and also in Edie Brickell's "What I Am" among others). It makes a characteristic "bwaawp" depending on how hard you pick. Not used too much by others except the jam-band crowd, occasionally appears in reggae and by some funk bassists. Jerry favored the Mu-Tron, still being made. Walter used some variation of this effect to mimic the talkbox on East St. Louis Toodle-Oo in 1996.
I hear some of Bob Weir's gnarlier recent chord structures in Green Book too (Victim or the Crime in particular) but SDs are smoother and more sinister sounding. Yeah, Bobby would do a nice job on this one.
Posted by: DACW-oops, trick
used
probably more...
Posted by: DACW, Delia: I like it....that has a very-Gibson like stream... The narrator seems to convey mentor-like qualities. Either he is a real-life writer/producer or possibly another character like the Professor on Power Puff Girls "stepping out of the box," which has become more of a common narrative hip trcik common in cartoons, first sued effectively by Bugs Bunny abd the Looney Tunes gang.
"...dancing in the video with gun and tambourine..."
here, the versatile and ultra modern hip Josie and the Pussycats thing...a hybrid virtual cartoon character indistinguishable visually from the real thing...PIXAR in 5 years...
Howard: Yes, I hear a lot of some of kinds of thoughts articulated on Negative Girl and Almost Gothic, a few iterations later. Negative Girl as you know was the Only live-tracked recording on TvN and probably my favorite track on TvN with West of Hollywood and Almost Gothic immediately behind - all classic recordings. I think they've moved forward and combined expansions of musical themes from the Nightfly with the live sound of Plush. Thus we have a tight, pumping, danceable rhythm section The songs and lyrics are considerably better than TvN (and I like TvN muchos). Kamakiriad and especially TvN and now involve more complex interactions between the instruments than CBAT through Gaucho. While all of those ablums feature specatacular songs and playing, they more in a LINEAR fashion from one them to the next.
EMG sacrifices slightly on the complexity, but more than makes up for it in groove, live interactions between the instruments, open space, better mixing, balanced soundscape, spectacular vocals...
Pardon my Fina, but how the f** can a live-tracked album be overproduced?? What, because they don't sound drunk or incompetent while they're playing?
Like great Science, Steely Dan builds upon work of previous masters and their own recordings, expanding it in some interesting directions...it's not just growing, it's moving. Each album is like a new study of a little different area and draws upon different sources. While TvN drew heavily from 50s Miles Davis (Kind of Blue) and other cool jazz giants, EMG draws more from the 1940s: Charles Brown, Birth of the Cool, sprinkles in a little 50s nascent rock and roll with R&B and funk backbeat...Imagine that rock and roll never existed and instead of being coopted by television, hype, fashion, show biz kids, naive political ideas...Imagine all the people listeining to decent music...was this a next step? it's intelligent, catchy, interesting, sophisticated...why should we ask for more? to paraphrase (was it Walter?)...if music went the way of technology, we would all be listening to Debussy.
If this were Steely Dan's first album - anyone who heard it would be floored...preconceived notions surely kill open-minded perspective and original thought...and my experience in life had taught me that intelligent people are at least as susceptible...the problem is that it is more obvious than ever that Steely Dan is in a Galaxy by itself in post-post-modern times. Each album released is distinctly different from the last in tone, sound, and ideas...but as our pop culture Galaxy slides farther into oblivion and chaos and away from the Steely Dan galaxy, significant chenges and progression on Steely Dan albums appear smaller and smaller, when in reality the Steely Dan train has left everyone else in their stardust.
Doing some needed home improvement over the last week which gave me an excuse fro playing hooky for the first time in 12 years...I've listend to EMG on DVD-A and CD about 15 times in the past week. In plain English it KICKS MAJOR ASS! IMHO the classic cuts are Things I Miss the Most, Godwhacker, Greenbook, Pixeleen (a masterpiece), Lunch with Gina, and the title track...not bad
Posted by: Man with no face, Apparently, not too many people have heard of Maroon 5 either, even though the boys made a very oblique reference to them in "GodWhacker". They make some oblique Dan references too. http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1472335/060503/maroon_5.jhtml
Posted by: hoops, I hear you Shaun (not Sean) and Mitch in a way, but I don't in another. Hey, we most all know I think EMG is second in the Steely Dan collection only to "Aja, although, of course, "Katy Lied" is my personal fav. Still, I remember being really sick and out of it the first time I heard "The Last Mall" and thinking, "Huh?" And stopped listening half way through. Next morning played it again and got it. Who knows why these other SD fans have negative opinions of EMG. Sure, thanks to the pundit Danfans, they make me reconsider why I like it and in the process I like EMG more. On the other hand, maybe some of these people need a dog to kick, or at least want to be different or are playing the CD on a $29.99 Emerson box. Point is, you just gotta say, some of these naysayers make legit points worth debating and others naysayer's posts are worth the time of day or giving them even more power with a few extra posts courtesy of moi. I bet Shaun and Mitch just brought more attention to the minority giving a thumbs down. Take what you like and leave the rest, nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile about EMG in my Book.
Speaking of "nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile," who else thinks Becker plays like Garcia on his "Green Book" solo? I said this a few weeks ago and am still wondering if I'm the only one. With Steely Dan in rotation from the soundboard during intermission at Dead shows in past--Kama was played at intermission on many '93 tour shows--I can hear this one already wafting through the crowd this year. Were Jer and Brent still here, I can even picture Jerry and the guys covering "Green Book" with Bob on vocals and Brent on keys. It's not too much a stretch from "Estimated Prophet" or "Feel Like A Stranger," if you ask me...in the same ball park. I think "Green Book" is Steely Dan at their Deadliest.
jim
Posted by: Gina, The Child Bride, Central StationI will also have to agree with Mitch's post here (scroll down about 4 messages). Although I can see the need some people have for their favorite artists tyo re-invent themselves, Steely Dan is to me already completely different than any other band out there. And EMG, though within their style, is excellent, and distinctly different from any of their other records. True, I would loved to have heard another extended piece (like Aja) on this album, but for them to go in a completely different direction at this point would be to lose what is great about them in the first place.
If you listen to the Marian McPartland Piano Jazz program (on Andy Metzger's great site), Donald and Walter basically say that they are doing essentially the same thing they have always done, but with more or less successful results on any given day. This tells me their objective is not to re-invent themselves with each new album, but to improve what they are doing within the context of their own personal objectives. And I do see an evolution in their work, albeit within the basic framework of the Dan sound. For example, compare Can't Buy A Thrill to EMG, or even 2VN to EMG. These records are certainly similar in some respects but sound pretty different to me. Actully, I feel that every Dan album os pretty distinct from every other Dan album.
Posted by: Bill, over the proverbial hillDamn, I'm getting old. I have never heard of the following recording artists:
Justin Guarini
Heather Headley
Maroon 5
Bonecrusher
Lonestar
The others I am mainly aware of from media overexposure, not from their music itself. Christina A. is from my hometown of Wexford PA!
Posted by: hoops, Yo! PoC Babe! Great to hear from you. Glad your back safe and sound for the tour.
The No. Cal/Tahoe shows are being organized as the "Gold Rush Trifecta" (Thanks for the name Ed_Beatty! Pronounce that "Ed Underscore Beatty"). Look for more details in 48 hours.
Posted by: Man with no face, Re: Soaked through. If Pixeleen is a manga/graphic novel/comicbook, she could be both literally "dropped on the streets...", and "soaked thru on the floor...". A noodle shop being the asian equivalent of fast food. I'm sure they have plenty of them in Hawaii.
This is becoming one of my favorite songs on EMG both musically and lyrically. I love the way that it can be interpreted differently based on who the narrator is and who the various points of view are coming from, One can come up with a huge cast of characters to voice the lines, each one adding information for the next interpretation of the lyrics. For example, in verses one and two what if its a teenage girl playing a computer game, and its her cellphone that rings and her pager that goes off, not Pixeleen's. The narrator is a teenage boy (Freddy), smitten with the young lady (and perhaps the character Pixeleen too) and its above his garage that they play. Unfortunately, all she wants to do is "cut to the chase" (in the game, meaning restore it to a certain point that she likes playing). So Pixeleen is a comic book, a computer game (which would explain being shot in all digital for a million and change) and a big budget movie screened at Sundance. Thus she's "three times perfect".
Posted by: princessofcairo, san franciscofinally got the new one! let me put it this way, y'all, now i can pay attention to posts and read the digests!
who's going to tahoe (harvey's)? and konochti? where are the danfests? bring them on! i might even go to paso robles, too! laws, yes, three dan shows in four days!
if someone is organising something, please send me an email!
chillin' at the manatee bar,
poc
Posted by: Shaun, waiting for the second show at Roseland to go on saleMitch- Amen brother! That's right! All you people bitching about EMG...read Mitch's post again! He's SPOT on!
Posted by: Scotty, Red Bank, NJGood news....Donald will be singing like he needs to sell some albums. Also they may skew the playlist to the new stuff. Should have sold about 125,000 the first week.
RE: Soundscan
Artist Current Sales
Rank wk end 6/15
Luther Vandross (1) 441,856
Justin Guarini (20) 57,104
Kelly Clarkson (13) 81,163
Christina Aguilera (41) 29,518
Heather Headley (78) 15,508
Maroon 5 (180) 6,565
Busta Rhymes (119) 10,534
Bonecrusher (53) 23,144
Lonestar (18) 62,434
Steely Dan (9) 90,643
Posted by: Mitch, Enimen,
Obviously, what you want isn't what Steely Dan wanted.
I tell ya...some of the posts I see on this board bug me. It seems that Steely Dan fans are sometimes no different from fans of so-called "alternative" bands that complain when their favorite band makes it that they have "sold-out".
Let's take a step back for a minute - we have a BRAND NEW ALBUM by STEELY DAN!! If that were all we could say, we would still have something to hang out hats on! However...that's NOT all we have! We have a FANTASTIC album of catchy songs. Not just songs - STEELY DAN songs! That means that they are a cut above anything else in the pop/rock world today!
Whoever posted about how they wanted something "groundbreaking" or whatever is missing the point - Steely Dan ITSELF is "groundbreaking". NO ONE ELSE sounds like this NOR has been able to really duplicate it!! THAT in ITSELF is groundbreaking.
Imagine how you'd feel if you were a huge Santana fan. You want the Santana of old and on his big comeback record you get him with Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 and various other hip guest stars.
What did we get when The Dan came back? We got a Steely Dan record. What did we get three years later? Another Steely Dan record! No guests. No Rob Thomas (these days it would be Jon Mayer). No new technology. Nothing but songs like no one else would ever write.
Crimany...imagine if you were as much of a Stevie Wonder fan. You think he's EVER going to do anything remotely like "Songs In The Key Of Life"??
But we got an album that can honestly be compared to the peak of Steely Dan's career. It may or may not surpass "Aja" or "The Royal Scam" but it can sit right beside them. It is a killer album, period.
What other fans can really say that their old heros are still cranking it out??
Sting's? Not hardly.
Prince's? Once in a while the purple one gives us a taste of the real deal (anyone see is last appearance on Leno? Killer) but more often than not he's a shadow of his former badness.
Yes? No.
Springsteen? "Born To Run" was a long time ago.
I could go on but I think you see my point. EMG is Steely Dan in all it's glory. Let's face it...these guys invented a style that could EASILY go stale. (Dear God, listen to some of the imitators. Overwarmed cheese.) But in the hands of Becker and Fagen, it has stayed fresh and vital.
There are some people who will constantly harp and find something to complain about. Fine. If that's part of your process, so be it. But I, for one, am glad they didn't write another "Aja". If they did, the same people would be complaining that the drummer wasn't as good as Gadd or that the sax solo sounded stilted compared to Wayne.
I, for one, trust Donald and Walter completely. They have yet to let me down.
Posted by: Don Breithaupt, TorontoCarlock grooves his ass off throughout, and the drum kit sounds like a drum kit. As far as guitar ostinatos that quit on beat three: seems like a minor gripe at best. B&F are not about constant activity. Quite the opposite. And how about the way "Gina" sneaks back to the original key after the solo? Genius. ~20 listenings in, and everything's growing except track two ("These Foolish Things").
Posted by: mike mishura, lbi, njTHIS JUST IN,
re: the borgata date, 8/30/03, in Atlantic City:
Tickets on sale June 29
Call: 800.736.1420
or Book Online at:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/16751
check here for more details:
http://www.theborgata.com/main.cfm?Section=entertain01&TabType=A&SideNav=eventcal&Content=entertain01
regards,
mikem-->>lbi, nj
Posted by: Delia, Damned if I know?Abu, Re: "soaked through on the floor of a noodle shop" I think it refers to him eating at a Asian restaurant and the concept of Pixeleen came to him almost by osmosis.
Posted by: enimen, Howard and Earl-
The frustrating thing about that guitar riff is what it could be. It's a great tone and it meets the basic requirements of funk...but it's a one-measure cliche that stops the flow of the song dead in its tracks on the third beat. I go back to Nile Rodgers, who could find a non-stop scratch riff that would run all over the map, keep the listener guessing and keep the dancers on the floor.
I just want more.
Posted by: clock 'n spiel, I think the word "clock" in Godwhacker can be interpreted to mean "take note of" or "observe" especially as our (U.S.) government, in its zeal to protect us, subjects its citizens to ever-increasing scrutiny.
Posted by: Howard,
Earl - just because a guitar part is relatively simple, doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. I think the single-note-riff part that McCracken came up with on Gina is perfect. Take that out, and a lot of the drive in the song (not to mention the funk) would be lost.
And his "Gina" part doesn't actually repeat much at all. On "Godwhacker" he does repeat the main riff a lot, but boy would that riff be missed if it was taken out from that song! It's the main thing that initially attracted me to the song. The amazing thing is how the same riff works throughout several chord changes - it seems to have a different flavour when it's played in each new harmonic context.
Simplicity of beauty, beauty of simplicity...
Sharang - I still think D+W *are* breaking boundaries. Negative Girl was a bit of a shock when I first heard it - I've never heard a melody like that, over chords like that in any Steely Dan record before. I don't think I'd heard much like that from anyone before (except perhaps Zappa). They are still trying new melodic and harmonic ideas, and coming up with great music in the process.
Howard
Posted by: Peter Q, Brooklyn...too, the use of historical personages as narrators (Christopher Columbus in Night by Night, Ulysses in Home At Last) is actually somewhat less effective than that of "lifelike", but not real, people from the news of the day (Columbine types narrate Don't Take Me Alive and Third World Man) although the appearance of the hiply intellectual loser (Caves of Altamira, What A Shame About Me, Things I Miss The Most) is now starting to border on self-parody, like Weird Al Yankovic does Steely Dan. Many of the lyrics seem to be based on the novelist Paul Auster's comment that "the reader writes the work as much as the author does."
Posted by: Matt, London UKJIMHO - after about 50 listens.... EMG is indeed a great album, but I feel there's slightly less under the surface - somewhat of a sad, and most unexpected dissapointment. Admittedly, the standards are high!
Although it was recorded with a live studio band, it still has a rather mechanical feel to it on all but the title track. While I applaud this, ironically, perhaps this meant the band took less risks, keen to get it right first time? The band doesn't seem to take chances, and the overall drum sound (while in the pocket), is just a little to flat for my tastes. Overall - a tad *too* tight and over-produced for my liking.
The subject matter, while engaging, seems less resonant and accessible ...like it's one big 'in-joke'.
Sure, they're really catchy tunes (can this be said for Slang of Ages?), but aside from the title track and Lunch with Gina- two outstanding tunes -in my very humble view, this isn't on a par with TvN and before. Close, but not quite.
Matt
Posted by: Peter Q, Brooklyn...for example, the shifting away from slick West Coast drummers that appear on Aja and Katy Lied (Hal Blaine, Rick Marotta - which, by the way, see what happened to them in a recent article in the LA Times archives) or the use of the drum machine Wendel on almost every track on Gaucho (read the credits closely) and then still crediting a live human on each song anyway and towards more New York types (the drummer on 11TOW, Ben Porowsky, is an archetypical ubiquitis NY jazz fusion drummer) and is indicative in general of a shift away fro the LA scene and a more New York centric view of the world (the Strand Bookstore, the double AA down to Sheridan Square, the train by Fordham Road). Etc.
Posted by: Clas @ W, Earl - the fact EMG was recorded analog doesn't mean it couldn't be edited in Pro Tools.
Posted by: Andy, DCThe charts aren't out yet, but early estimates don't have EMG cracking the top 5:
1. Luther Vandross
2. Metallica
3. Radiohead
4. George Strait
5. Annie Lennox
See http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2003/20030618_luthervandross.html for an article saying basically what I just wrote.
Posted by: Willie, babs- Yeah, the new one sucks. Nobody here likes it.
Posted by: babs, love the greenroom - and all the people - not so sure about the new CD, however. Anyone else think it's not the best?
Posted by: Mr LaPage, This is Where I get OffThe tell-tale line of "Green Book" has got to be "This is where I get off."
Anyone notice how Donald said on KMTT that most Steely Dan fans are male?
Wish we had 16 or more. Sorry we only have 8.
Posted by: bwaySteve, ny metro areaThe crispy snare hasn't gotten old yet.I thought it would get old fast. I think that might have to do with the metronomic playing on EMG.A lazier snare just would not do.Lots of high end on the kick too.
The drums are so spare and simplistic. I guess when you obsess on each groove like that, subtraction is the best math to use.
It sounds like a freakin' drum machine to me.
Posted by: John, Re: "noodle shop"
Hmm, dunno. Evokes Asian imagery. As does the anime-like heroine of Pixeleen. Child labor? (I'm just free-associating here, don't mind me.)
All best,
John
Posted by: John, Re: Hidey-ho.
Is there anyone here (Hoops for sure, and StAl, perhaps others?) who attended the PBS tapings at the Sony studio in NY? During that session, during one song there was a misstart, and Cornelius started saying some funny line about "Hold on, Boss," (referring to Donald). I have a faint memory that in the very brief interplay between them, the phrase "hidey-ho" came out a few times and that the band all laughed as if this were an inside joke.
Or maybe I'm imagining it.
All best,
John
Posted by: Abu, Roppongi"soaked through on the floor of a noodle shop"
what's it mean???
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynBesides, you can see virtually any of these guys - Keith Carlock, Jon Herington, Ted Baker - playing in clubs almost all year round in NY, you could just ask them between sets about anything you want to know about SD. If I'm not mistaken Carlock played numerous gigs at the 55 Bar with Wayne Krantz on guitar and Tim Lefebevre last year.
Posted by: , From today's Dandom Digest, http://www.dandom.com/dandomdigest:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: KMTT-FM: D + W Breakup AND Re-Unite on Air
Date: Tue 17 Jun 2003
As StAl kindly gave us a heads up, Becker and Fagen were interviewed this morning on Seattle Dan-friendly radio KMTT-FM 103.7 FM, "The Mountan," by morning DJs/Danfans John Fisher and Mike West.
A lot of great quewstions were asked, and D + W 's responses were even greater. One of the most intriguing parts of the interview was when it was confirmed that additional songs are still around for future use on an album. When asked if one of the meanings that "Everything Must Go" is that this album is Steely Dan's swan song, our heroes handled it in their always humorous fashion...Donald happened to get off the radio. Walter pretty much dismissed it and because Donald had disappeared for a minute, they dubbed it as Steely Dan breaking up AND reuniting on KMTT.
Other topics discussed real drummers versus drum machines, further confirmation there will be no SD European tour (Walter just completed his), Annie Lennox's photo on her new album, vocals on "Slang" and a special SD Atlantic City concert contest. Of course, they way they explained it was all much more funnier than I just described.
To hear the interviews, go over to
http://www.kmtt.com/people/fisher_west/fisher_west_new.htm and checkout the Real files.
For Details on the Atlantic City contest (you need to be in KMTT's listening range to win), just head to http://www.kmtt.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by: Bye Bye Dallas, The PalaceDallas Show goes on sale 7/11.
Posted by: Randy, Northern NJ / USA
In reference to session musicians and their respective parts on Steely Dan recordings:
(a) PART of what takes so long in terms of the time spent on the completion of Steely Dan recordings is the fact that Becker and Fagen want all the parts to be played perfectly (and LATER edited perfectly). Many musicians who have played with them have indicated that what they are actually after is BEYOND perfection, i.e. they want the players to get the parts down perfectly and then play it in such a way as to have it sound tight but natural, with a proverbial off-the-cuff feeling. Dean Parks indicated exactly that in the video, 'Classic Albums - Steely Dan: Aja' (1999);
(b) The reason the players that appear on Steely Dan's recordings are hired is because they can (quickly and accurately) facilitate Becker and Fagen's requirements for any given song; I would doubt highly that any given player would appear on the respective finished product if Becker and Fagen were not pleased firstly with that player's skills as a musician, and secondly that player's performance on any given track.
Many fans have indicated one type of (relative) disappointment or another concerning any given album; with 'Two Against Nature' (2000), some felt that the approach to drumming was too strident and devoid of inventive fills and accents; when 'Gaucho' (1980) was released the complaint bandied about was that it was "too slick" or thematically cold and resigned.
But the result of the end product is entirely due to Becker and Fagen (both Gary Katz and Roger Nichols have indicated this over the years - they simply help[ed] deliver what the leaders are after); and knowing the time they spend on the most minute details of the music, it's safe to surmise that things turn out the way they do because that's exactly how Becker and Fagen wanted it-
"It's your own fault daddy / Godwhacker's on the case..."
- Steely Dan, 'Godwhacker'
Randy / NIGHTFLY**@aol.com
Posted by: Sharangadang, MuswellbrookEMG is great sounding and has some catchy tunes, but how come everything D&W have done since Gaucho pretty much sounds the same? I know the songs sound different from one another, but I'm talking about really doing something new. How come they aren't breaking boundaries left and right? How come most of their tunes feature many of the same chords, changes and in some cases identical bridges (Gina + Shame)? How come they haven't put out a rippin' 45 minute song a la thick as a brick meets Aja meets king crimson meets willie nelson, or come up with a rare beat and make it work, or messed up time signature, and completely turn music on it's head, even if it didn't have mass appeal? D&W, if you're reading this, why can't you try to reeeeallly do something different and shake up the world? You're in a better position to do it than most artists.
I guess I'm looking to you because no one else is doing a damn thing different (that's any good anyway).
Come on, don't be afraid.
-Sharang
Posted by: Joey, " Nile Rodgers, call your office: this guitar part was made for you. (Wouldn't mind hearing all of Chic on this, for that matter )"
Well , you ain't going to hear Benard Edwards as he has been taking quite a looooooong " Dirt Nap " now for seven years .
But I would kill to hear Tony Thompson's snare thunderstorm just once this tour . Hug Me .
Developing .............................
Joey !
Posted by: bill, pittsburghAnother basis for the ongoing affinity between our boys and Wm. Gibson - from his bio on his website:
>>I had stumbled, in my ceaseless quest for more and/or better science fiction, on a writer named Burroughs -- not Edgar Rice but William S., and with him had come his colleagues Kerouac and Ginsberg.
Posted by: Peter Q, BrooklynActually, Herington is much more prevalent on EMG than McCracken; if you've ever heard the albums he plays on by Bill Evans and Jim Beard, you know how recognizable his sound is.
Posted by: John, HOB Concerts emailed me that no password is needed for tomorrow's presale for the second Universal Amphitheatre show on Oct. 2.
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghBut of course we had a great one the last time around in the title track of 2VN, which also reminded me a bit of Ghostbusters, at least the concept. At the time there was talk of a tricked out van with the two titular heroes driving around investigating and removing poltergeists and other supernatural spooks with their trusty "firemop" like so many occult exterminators and bragging about their prowess against the unseen ghosties. So with Godwhacker we are now up to three songs in this mini-genre, and Ray Parker Jr. had to borrow the tune to his from Huey Lewis, or so the courts ruled as I recall.
>Not too many songs these days are about some sort of legion formed to attack the supernatural.
Posted by: Mitch, You might want to look up Hugh McCracken's discography on AllMusic.com.
Posted by: Mitch, PUH-LEEZE!! They hired Hugh because of EXACTLY what he did on that track. If you honestly think he could play a rhythm part that is solid and dead on like that...and not be able to play ANY OTHER RHYTHM PART, then you really are missing the boat.
We all should know Donald and Walter well enough by know to know that they like their rhythm parts solid and static (why else would they utilize Wendell?). That's what Hugh played on this track and I just about guarantee that his part is what they wanted and asked him to do.
Lay off the session players. They do what they are told. If there is a part on this record that you don't like, blame the authors.
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareEnema-en: I agree with your assessment of Lunch W/ Gina's rhythm guitar. In my honest opinion, at times, Hugh McCracken's guitar sounds like Pro Tools magic. In other words, he plays four measures, and they cut and paste it throughout the album. It's analog, so that is pretty much impossible without a tape loop, but sometimes I think being workmanlike (nice term for repetitious IMO) and a musician can be a little boring. The horns make up for the dull guitar part, but McCracken sounds like he can only play one type of rhythm part. WB has tried to talk him up in interviews, but I think he's just being nice. C'mon D+W, admit it: Hugh "Don't Call Me Phil" McCracken was the only guitar player you could find on short notice to play additional rhythm.
Earl
Posted by: enimen, Coupla musical comments.
"Pixeleen" is the star so far for me.
-A cornucopia of mu chords.
-Love the toms on the intro--good drummers know how to use toms, and bad ones either can't fit them in or use them cartoonishly
-The way Carolyn sings the word "chase" in the bridge is so pure and erotic, so nurturing and lascivious, I just cry. The kind of "chase" we're talking about is not "The French Connection"--no, this is a different kind of French connection. (But still highly cinematic).
"Lunch with Gina" is coming on fast.
-They appropriated some very funky 70s sounds--sounds whose funkiness has, in many ways, never been equalled.
-I do hear lots of Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer, especially with the souped-up keyboards
-The little Rhodes fill after the first line after the key change is downright delicious--very Jan Hammer
-But damn it, I want this a little looser! The guitar part is a tiny bit stilted and cliched. I want a riff master effortlessly gliding up and down the fingerboard dropping funk chords all over the place. McCracken is workmanlike, but...
-Nile Rodgers, call your office: this guitar part was made for you. (Wouldn't mind hearing all of Chic on this, for that matter.)
Posted by: Firemop, LMAO In TexasI was reading this article on CNN.COM about Digital Rights Management (DRM):
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/06/17/copyright.drm.reut/index.html
In the article I ran across this little nugget regarding EMG:
"Meanwhile, Warner Music, a division of CNN's parent company AOL Time Warner, released the new Steely Dan album "Everything Must Go" on CD and DVD Audio, the latter being an encrypted, "rip-proof" format."
Where do writers come up with some of this stuff? Well, you probably already know - If the player will play it, it is not "rip-proof". I bought the CD, CD-DVD Bonus Pack and the DVD-A and all of the aforementioned could be "ripped". I certainly do not condone piracy, but I also believe that I have a right under the Home Recording Act to make backups and put recordings that I buy on my portable device. It does require a little know-how, but I am really enjoying those high-resolution stereo tracks on my Nomad Jukebox. :)
Oh, and one more thing...
Angel - I wouldn't be so "sure the Bush's use 'Poppy' as a term of endearment" just because they have a ranch 300 mi. from the Mexican border. I grew up in Midland (same town as "W") and as a native Texan I have never heard of 'Poppy' used in that context. Don't forget, "W" is an Ivy Leaguer (barely) and his daddy's ranch is in Kennebunkport ME.
Posted by: Man with no face, "Poppy" is also what heroin is made from, the trade of which purportedly finances al queda and other unfriendly organizations.
Posted by: angel, I am sure the Bush's use Poppy as a term of endearment. It is probably due to the fact that they live in Texas, not far from the Mexican Border. I was looking for Father's Day cards on Saturday and noticed the Hispanic ones all said Poppy (as in Father).
Air Force 1 is known as Angel? The Horror! ;-)
Posted by: newtwobleu, DetroitWow! The analyzing of lyrics on this site is obsessive. I have never even thought of some of the ideas you guys/gals come up with let alone do I have the time.
cheers,
d.
Posted by: Shaun, Boston"Poppy" in spanish Is a term of endearment "Hi poppy","Come here poppy". Donald and Walter I believe, are just using it as a "play on words". I don't think it has anything to do with Geogre Bush Sr. I don't believe this song is about anything other then sending out a hit man to whack God.
Posted by: db, DOE
brilliant post, not to long & probably right.
dvd-a turned up today WOW !!!
Posted by: father william, Slinky redfoot - I posted the same observation about poppy being the elder Bush laast week, but since then, I've heard an interview where Donald, I think, said that they had been asked about this and said that they hadn't thought of that connection to godwacker.
Posted by: Mitch, I highly doubt that the guys wrote a song from the standpoint of Osama Bin Laden.
I know people love to analyze the lyrics to death but remember...sometimes "Is there gas in the car?" means "Is there gas in the car?"
M
Posted by: mt, Interesting relativistic thoughts about godwhacker, but I interpret "clock" in the lyric to be "clean someone's clock" or in other words, "whack". Also, of course, with the double meaning of the time sort of clock.
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareI'm sure Don and Walt would be appreciative of the comparison to the wonderfully-talented Ray Parker, Jr.
To further expand on my Wilson/Home Improvement theory, Wilson (played by Earl Hindman) never showed his face, and the writers actually came up with strange ways to keep his face hidden from the camera. The only episode where he showed his face was the final episode.
Thus, showing the world your mighty hidey-ho face means that the show is over, as the song indicates has happened for the company the narrator's employer.
DOE
Posted by: suedave, @workHi all,
I listened to the interview with Walter & Donald on KMTT this morning on my way to work - the radio station even played Pixeleen in the middle of the interview. Great for people to hear that one! Yes I do feel fortunate to live in a beautiful place surrounded by snow-capped mountains and water, and where Steely Dan is played on the radio but I don't want to just brag about that.....
KMTT has posted the interview on their website - kmtt.com - you can find it off the People & Programs/Fisher & West page - it's a hoot!
One last mention before I go - Join us at the Seattle Danfest August 1st - sign up to find out more at http://www.dandom.com/danfests/ one day I'll have a moment to send out a note about the plans, I'm still a week behind in reading the posts and I'm enjoying every interview and every minute of the interpretations of the lyrics
....and now back to the grind...
Susan
Posted by: Slinky redfoot, Who is GodWhacker? The song certainly has both George Bushes in mind. And although Walter has voiced his criticism of George Bush Sr. in the past, (in the song “Fall of ‘92” he refers to him as a Nazi) could it be that GodWhacker is hunting the likes of George Bush Sr.? Remember that it was Bush Sr. who placed US troops on sacred Saudi Arabian soil that more or less started the Osama rampage on America. It’s lyrics such as “your own fault daddy” and especially the line “you better get gone poppie” that point directly to Bush Sr. (Within the Bush family, “Poppy” is the elder Bush’s nickname.) And line “you better step back son” would of course then refer to George W. Bush. That could make Osama more like the satan (“slinky redfoot”) in the story who “could hang with the dude” in the beginning (while we were their allies in Afghanistan during the Russian invasion), but have taken things into their own hands because of the “stank attitude”. By the way, “Angel” is the nickname of Air Force I.
Lyrics aside, was anyone else reminded (ever so slightly) of the song “Ghost Busters” upon hearing “GodWhacker”? Musically and lyrically “Ghost” is of course certainly inferior, and I am sure that Donald and Walter could care less about that little ditty of a tune - but the line “GodWhacker’s on the case” brought back memories to me of the line “Who ya gonna call? – Ghost Busters!” Not too many songs these days are about some sort of legion formed to attack the supernatural.
Posted by: Nu2Blu, MotownGo to www.dead.net and look at what they are doing with their live shows.
It is a CD on demand process. You can literally buy a soundboard mixed CD right after the show is over.
This is the future of live music.
Imagine if Steely Dan does this for their tour. We need to encourage the Dan to do this by sending a million emails to them begging them, not to mention the amount of money they could make. For $22 you can get the entire dead show you just witnessed or if you couldn't make a show you can still buy every show they do this year.
Regards,
D.
Posted by: On the Hidey-ho tip, Let's not forget Ned Flanders.
Posted by: father william, Occasionally, there are questions about SD and Gibson. See:
http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/blog/blog.asp
June 16, 2003
MAKE YOURSELF A GIBSON IF YOU WANT TO...
Mine's a Red Bull on the rocks.
PIXELEEN
That thread about my chapter titles, a while back? It should be evident to all that it was Steely Dan taught me the art of titling, as witness this fine batch from their new one:
1. The Last Mall
2. Things I Miss The Most
3. Blues Beach
4. Godwhacker
5. Slang of Ages
6. Green Book
7. Pixeleen
8. Lunch With Gina
9. Everything Must Go
Of which, on as yet a single listening, I'm most taken with "Godwhacker", a little deicide ditty with lots of that carbonated guitar they do so well. "Pixeleen" seems to be a Walter Mitty routine about a girl with possibly Molly-like anime-heroine fantasies, ever brought down by the quotidian.
Posted by: fezo, I took "hidey-ho" as a nod to Cab Calloway. Think Minnie The Moocher and Ken Lay or Bernie Ebbers as a possible modern day equivalent.
Just purchased EMG yesterday. Highlight so far "Slang of Ages". Love the slight pause right before the background vocals come in after the first verse and then how they are skillfully mixed with the lead throughout the song. I trust that's a set list must for the summer tour.
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareJoey: Sorry about asking the question, but don't you think it's an interesting oddity? You don't think they intentionally put them a certain way, to at least create some confusion/fun for themselves watching fans try to decipher their patterns?
Regarding similarities between 11TOW and EMG: Lyrically you can really get a feel for the similarities. I think musically they are much, much different. This album is infinitely better from a groove standpoint, and uses harmony much better to convey moods. WB did some of that on 11TOW, but not much.
And finally, I think this album may be even better from a groove standpoint than the albums that they tried to get every beat perfect using overdubs and studio tricks. I'm sure the solos were hashed over pretty thoroughly, but it seems like Fagen drew on confidence received from Becker's soloing on 2VN to step out and throw down some excellent solo parts.
Finally, the absolute best part of the album I think is from the bridge to the end of Pixeleen. I can't get over in the bridge the thoughtful, delicate doubling done by Bill Charlap with the piano. And then at the end, he throws in these very Oriental-sounding chord progressions through the double chorus. No knock on Ted Baker, but I think Charlap shines in Pixeleen, and it would be cool if he went along for the ride on tour w/ the Dan this summer.
Earl
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareSharkdeville: I was thinking the hidey-ho may have been a reference to Wilson on Home Improvement. Wilson never showed his full face (from the nose up), and always said "Hidey-ho neighbor."
Duke of Earl
Posted by: Handicam Dave, UKThis New Album is STUNNING
So rich,dense......never takes an arbitrary polemic, always open and delightfully ambiguous.Been a SERIOUS fan for 20 years and im sure this might be the best yet.
Fave Bit so far?.......The way Don pronounces "give the man some whacking SPACE..."
Can almost see him rolling up his sleeves and looking pointedly at his audience....very focused yet aloof.Brilliant stuff.
Pixeleen is fantastic, as is Slang and Gtreen Book.
Love it all tho'....naturally
Posted by: Handicam Dave, UKThis New Album is STUNNING
So rich,dense......never takes an arbitrary polemic, always open and delightfully ambiguous.Been a SERIOUS fan for 20 years and im sure this might be the best yet.
Fave Bit so far?.......The way Don pronounces "give the man some whacking SPACE..."
Can almost see him rolling up his sleeves and looking pointedly at his audience....very focused yet aloof.Brilliant stuff.
Pixeleen is fantastic, as is Slang and Gtreen Book.
Love it all tho'....naturally
Posted by: DACW , Toth just gets it...the key word is professional
Man sans face: The latest theory is that the so called "dark matter" is enough to push the Universe apart, accelerating the expansion. In the end, the universe will become chaos slipping into a 2 dimensional string of infinite length...
My personal take is that we won't know for certain for eons, if ever, because I believe that the Red Shift on the supra-galactic level is Artifact...it's Bullshit. In other words, the farther a star or galaxy is from the observer, the greater the red shift INDEPENDENT of it's relative speed...If the Hubble could look far enough, it could see it's own ass (or whatever was there) 20 milllion years ago...The Universe is just a mobius Carnival mirror...The Artifact theory would explain why the Universe APPEARS to be expanding in every direction at a uniform rate... Heisenberg on the Macro level...complexity theory would predict that weirdnesses at the subatomic level would be expressed in some fractal way at the macros level...electrons dancing in the frozen crystal dawn...
Posted by: bwaySteve, Have you noticed that after a few choruses of Pixeleen the top third of your body starts to disappear or possibly merge with the room ? What's with that? It like evaporates, except when Lunch with Gina rolls around you have a body again. My friend Sally says this is happening to her too.
Posted by: webdrone, John - thanks. If/when you post a password here, could you also please CC by email to me at sdwebNoSpamWords@steelydan.com as well?
thanks
Posted by: John, Hey gang.
I am on the HOB Mailing list for Universal. I will post password when they send it.
Tonight, Green Book really got me thinking.. The line "Here is where I get off" Yeah, that's the key.
Posted by: Shaun, Boston Webdrone- All I have to say is ROSELAND NEXT!!
Posted by: drone again, oops - that presale set to start 6/18
see
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/090036AE780B1488?brand=&artistid=736195&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1"
Posted by: SD Webdrone, steelydan.comTicketmaster has just posted a presale date for a sceond Universal (LA) Show, set to begin 6/16.
As is frequently the case, there is no information indicating who might be sponsoring the presale and if a password will be needed.
If anyone out there determines the password (as was the case with a HOB presale a while back), please consider sending it to us here at sdwebTakeOutTheseFourWords@steelydan.com, so that we can reply to the scores of inquiries we get over each presale.
thanks
Posted by: sharkdeville, just thinkin'The title track kind of reminds me of Al Gore, too.
?
Posted by: sharkdeville, the double AAre these guys quoting William Blake and Ned Flanders (hidey-ho)on the same album?
TIGER TIGER
Tiger Tiger burning bright,
in the forest of the night,
what immortal hand or eye,
could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant lands or skies
burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire,
what hands dare sieze the fire ?
And what shoulder and what art
could twist the sinews of thy heart ?
And when thy heart began to beat,
what dread hand and what dread feet.
Tiger Tiger burning bright,
in the forest of the night,
what immortal hand or eye,
could frame thy fearful symmetry?
by William Blake
Posted by: afoolnluv, They played "Girlfriend" live in '93?
Posted by: Insect Lover, Green ForestThere is a Katydid or "Mormon Cricket" infestation in some parts of the west, they're eating everything green.
Hmmmmm, perhaps a clever marketing ploy for the DVD-A release of Katy Lied.
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=crickets15&date=20030615&query=mormon+crickets
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghWhile hunting for that last quote I glanced at some 11TOW lyrics and was struck by the similarties and contrasts between the reclusive protagonist of "Girlfriend" and the guy in "Things I Miss The Most." WB's tune is considerably darker in tone and the black humor is mainly conveyed by his delivery and the wisecracks about his faithful companions, TV and liquor.
"Alone in my cave
It's corn flakes and Camels
And the long restless shadows of my life
None but the brave
Jim Beam and Jack Daniels
Channelhopping these empty days and nights
Glued to the screen
Rerun by rerun
At the dark outer limits of my soul
Stranded between
The Green Acres of my good intentions
And the Twilight Zone of zero self-control
***
Dust and despair
Cobwebs and confusion
Collecting in the corners of my room
All of my dreams
Bitter illusions
I just can't be rid of them too soon
Tired of my brain
Tired of this movie
Too tired to get up and shut it off
The time that remains
What good can it do me
Now that I know that too much is not enough"
(Of course the prototype for both songs may be the Statler Brothers' "Flowers on the Wall," [http://www.lyricsmania.com/soundtracks/pulpfiction/008.html] which was used as the basis of an essay by another favorite curmudgeon of mine, Kurt Vonnegut)
And in the same song you get something that sounds a bit like the overarching theme of the entire EMG project:
"I'm pullin' in a picture now
Up off my back pages
And all at once am privy to
The entire grim design
Of a great civilization
In the terminal stages
Of a slow but steady mental moral spiritual decline"
By the way, "Girlfriend" is certainly one of the songs on 11TOW that could have benefited the most from a real drummer and full production values - it was a highlight of the 1993 tour for this WB fan.
Posted by: Joey, " Anyone tried to discombobulate the meaning of why tracks 1, 4, and 7 each use the same clock in the liner notes (while the rest are all different)? It seems to be a pattern, and my hopeful theory is that they represent studio albums. 10 would round out the cycle, and they are on their 9th studio album, so maybe that means that there's one more on their to-do list. "
When I read something like this on a message board , I begin to realize why individuals develop serious smack habits .
Slowly I reach for the needle ................................Off I go to Alphabet City . Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !
Smmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaack !
Joey
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghI think WB has been down this road before. In fact, I suspect a lot of the Godwhacker lyric is his work.
"Stars imploding
The long night passing
Electrons dancing in the frozen crystal dawn
Here's one left stranded at the zero crossing
With a hole in its half-life left to carry on"
>Stars and galaxies wink out of existence as they accelerate beyond our event horizon.
Posted by: Man with no face, Godwhacker - Interesting subtexts on cosmology, quantum physics and eschatology. "Be very very quiet Clock everything you see" - two musts for making observations of the quantum world. "Little things might matter later At the start of the end of history." - the idea that non-barayonic dark matter (infinitesimally tiny things like neutrinos) might close the universe and lead to a particular end scenario called "The Big Crunch". "Climb up the glacier" - Fritz Zwicky, who was a renowned alpine climber, first proposed the existence of dark matter. Neutrino detectors are also built in ice. "Across Bridges of Light". Gravitational lensing, supernovae and quasar observations are the basis of much of cosmology, neutrino detectors rely on Cherenkov radiation (light). "We sniff you, Big Tiger In the forest of the night ‘Cause there’s no escape From the Rajahs of Erase". Interesting use of Indian imagery. The chapter on dark matter in Timothy Ferris' "The Whole Shebang" is titled "The Black Taj" for the Shah Jahan's unbuilt mausoleum. If dark matter closes the universe, it will truly be the rajah of erase.
"Yes we are the GodWhackers Who rip and chop and slice" - One other theory is "The Big Rip". Robert Caldwell theorizes that the cosmological constant increases over time. Everything accelerates away from us. Stars and galaxies wink out of existence as they accelerate beyond our event horizon. The stars would red shift or "bleed out" out of existence until our night sky was uniformly black. The ripping force then operates on a smaller and smaller scale until finally our planet explodes, and the very atoms and then subatomic particles of which we are made are shredded out of existence. Time and space cease to exist. Pretty much a GodWhack, eh?
Posted by: angel, Hoops brought up the question of the different colored letters. A quick look at the bunch.
hsll iii
c ock
aae green
x uwin
hso
I could see this stuff meaning something. Cock, definitely. uwin as in you win or x you win. How about 3 eyes for iii?
Check out who did the layout design for the CD. It credits WB.
Posted by: Slinky Godwhacker, etc
dd, I'm pretty sure that's the sheet music book for kamakiriad.
Posted by: Dugan, Sure. The Strand is a discount bookstore on lower Broadway in NYC. So if someone is stacking cutouts there, they're arranging oversold books, literary lemons, etc. A Strand employee is usually (but not always) a bookish middle-aged guy from the Village, much like the one described in the Dan song. It's perhaps where all the failed novelists go to die, or at least catch up on the bills.
Posted by: Cutouts and such, I actually own a cassette "cutout"--Beatles Past Masters--which has a little hole punched out of the plastic cover (no easy feat). But hey, don't knock the cut-out bin. Some of the gems of my collection were found there.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.The Strand is an old Manhattan bookstore, it's north of the Village if memory serves, and sells lots of used books and records. Like vinyl, god I'm old. Anyway, when, say, Capital wanted to sell the backlog of Beatles' ablums in the late sixties, they punched a little hole in the album cover sleeve, not through the disk of course, and sold them cheap, like for about $3.60. That's a cut-out. As we got older, all our favorite music tended to end up -- you guessed it - in the cut-out bin. Stacking cut-outs underscores how mundane the task and what a big loser our narrator is.
Posted by: Marti, Can anyone please share their insight on the meaning of "stacking cutouts at the Strand" from "What a Shame About Me" from 2vN? It would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by: Another One, Not the First timApparently, this Toth guy is a big SD fan. He wrote a couple pieces for 2VN too. Here's one that's still on line.
http://www.steelydan.com/toth.html
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghAnyone else appreciate the great irony in the fact that the most perceptive EMG review I think I have seen yet is from Bill Buckley's National Review, and from an author who serves as an editor of the Wall Street Journal, no less! Not a political comment, just appreciating Robert Toth's writing and analysis - he must be a fan. I think he nails all the major points we have been debating including the identity of Slinky Redfoot and the basic scenario of EMG itself. Although those Enron articles, particulary the ones mentioning Margaritas, are suspiciously close to the lyrics, eh? My take on EMG is the company in question is inspired by Enron as well as plenty of failing startups in the same way Kid Charlemagne was inspired by, but not specifically about, Owsley Stanley.
Posted by: jon, @ his yelow stripeWOW! the National Review--who'd da thunk it! Great review, but I still don't see Walt or Don embracing their "right-wing hooey..."
Posted by: Mitch, Man...that National Review review is probably the best one I have seen! The guy totally nails the difference between how Steely Dan comments on something and on how everyone else does!
Great review!
Posted by: Bob 3.2, Bug ReportI'm upgraded to v 3.2 Hoops, could you take down my post? I just realized that someone else had posted the same thing earlier.
Bob
Posted by: Bob 3.1, Green BookI think this is the same review that Andy mentions below but in a different news site. Maybe it was editted differently so what the hell.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-toth061603.asp
Posted by: Dave, not from AcquisitionsGood move, Hoops. I hold most all of Dave from Acquisitions political beliefs about Enron and all. Sure, EMG is about Enron, etc, But, gepoyelt, enough aleady! I stopped posting at other Guest books because I had to wade through exactly all the political noise. Thanks for limiting the shit.
Not having a particularly fast computer or modem, I finally was able to enjoy the Steely Dan Confessions over the weekend. Funny! Anyone know where they got these women?
Dave
Posted by: Slinky Godwhacker, etc
dd, I'm pretty sure that's the sheet music book for kamakiriad.
Posted by: hoops, ATTN DAVE FROM ACQUISITIONS:
Please email hoops@dandom.com ASAP--you've not posted with an andress or at least given me your address privately. There's a misunderstanding we need to clear up.
Thanks.
---
Clearly, the title track from the newest album is about Enron and the like. But one huge reason this place was requested, and why I fork over every month to pay for it, is that it became too weighted on political discussion way remote from Steely Dan. Furthermore, copyright articles from other websites, espcecially too many hops from discussion of Steely Dan should not be reposted here and will be removed..
jim
Posted by: Dave From Acquisitions, Right Wing Hooeyvillehttp://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-toth061603.asp
Steely Message
A new album in a different world.
By Robert J. Toth
The last time Steely Dan put out an album, Bill Clinton was in the White House, the Dow was north of 10,000, and the biggest global issue was what a yawner Y2K turned out to be. The record, their first studio effort in 20 years, was a smash, and for good reason: The world had turned into a Steely Dan song. The band's biggest hits, from "Babylon Sisters" to "Deacon Blues to Kid Charlemange," were about fast-talking losers living the high life off iffy businesses and lying their way from bedroom to bedroom. If that's not the '90s in a nutshell, I don't know what is.
Needless to say, the other shoe has dropped on that decade, not to mention its entertainment scene, whose biggest preoccupation at the time was another fast-talking loser, Eminem. The world has fractured along any number of fault lines — and, possibly even worse, musicians are desperate to Make a Statement about that fact.
Now we have Steely Dan's statement. And, as usual, they've outclassed the field. Everything Must Go offers a thoughtful look at what was lost on 9/11 and an acid take on where we're heading. Its nine songs map out a world haunted by lost love, ruined by a market crash and desperate to grab canned goods as the Parousia looms.
It's also the wittiest, funkiest collection of songs you'll hear all year. No matter how stormy or caustic the subject matter gets, songwriters Walter Becker and Donald Fagen keep their lyrics hip and snappy, and couch them with smooth, soulful backing vocals — the same formula the duo used to slip unsavory stories onto the easy-listening airwaves. You find yourself singing along even if you can't figure out what the words mean, or if you realize they're about, say, a hipster Satan ("Me, slinky redfoot") leading a search party to take down the Almighty. The same goes for the musical settings, which stay sleek, jazzy, and masterful regardless of how much anger and hurt is bubbling under the surface.
Call it balancing truth and beauty, or just being a professional. Either way, it's a lesson lost on most songwriters since 9/11. In the wake of the attacks, lots of tunesmiths have recorded songs with a capital-M message — and, almost to a one, they're awful, because the song is an afterthought to the statement. If you don't care for the politics, there's absolutely nothing appealing about the music.
The classic in this category is Steve Earle, a fine songwriter whose stock in trade is tart tales about lowlifes and their foibles. But when he wrote a tune about Johnny Walker Lindh, it was about as pointed and satirical as a Secretary's Day card. Even if you overlook the whole traitor thing, Walker clearly is not the sharpest scimitar in the drawer; painting him as a Taliban Candide is not only dishonest, but more or less alienates anybody who thinks otherwise.
What's worse is that Mr. Earle is probably the most appealing "message" artist out there. What is the average listener supposed to make of Public Enemy's "Son of a Bush" or Radiohead's "Hail to the Thief"? You can't listen to stuff like that unless you're a true believer. Does that serve the ideas the songwriters are trying to get across?
Which is not to excuse artists on the right, all five of them. I'm grateful, for example, that Darryl Worley wrote the flag-waver "Have You Forgotten?," and I'm glad that so many people have taken it to heart. But musically it's about as expansive as Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler and his "Ballad of the Green Berets," a song that makes me want to join a commune and do some gardening in the closet. Even Neil Young, who had the best idea for a 9/11 tribute song — a paean to the passengers of Flight 93 — fell down in the execution. "Let's Roll" has no tune, and the lyrics are afterthoughts. In a word, unmemorable. What good does that do Young, the heroes of his song or the cause they died for?
Of course, comparing those tunes to Everything Must Go isn't entirely fair. Steve Earle and Co. couldn't be plainer about the heroes and villains in their pieces, but with Becker and Fagen, you can never be sure. Maybe they're criticizing the people they write about; maybe they're celebrating them; maybe they're simply acknowledging them as three-dimensional human beings, a bit of grace political songwriters usually can't manage. Then there's the issue of what the duo are talking about in the first place. I'll put it this way: The website devoted to deconstructing their lyrics is called "Fever Dreams," and if anything that's an understatement.
Whatever the specifics, it's clear that the world of Everything Must Go has seen better days. The dream is dead, and nobody's doing much to revive it.
The opening number, "The Last Mall," sets the tone. A bouncy beat and a summery melody almost make you forget that the narrator is a P.A. announcer giving last-minute shopping advice as the apocalypse approaches. It's hard not to hear duct tape and surgical masks pasted behind the lines:
You'll need the tools for survival
And the medicine for the blues
Sweet treats and surprises
For the little buckaroos
Be sure to stock up on that second item — there's not a lot of community unity to fall back on during "the Big Adios." On "that gospel morning," Fagen observes soulfully, "you'll have to do for yourself when the going gets tough."
Smirking at the Big Adios, and the culture mushrooming in its shadow, is the album's big theme. Everything Must Go presents a gleefully seedy world of digital fun and goatish longing — but there's a sewer running under those neon streets. Technology can give our heroes just about anything, including virtual lovers, but it leaves them feeling desperate and disconnected.
Even the straightforward love songs hint that the center isn't holding. After a few listens to "Things I Miss the Most," you stop hearing the post-breakup jokes ("I'm learning to meditate, so far so good/I'm building the Andrea Doria out of balsa wood") and realize the narrator didn't just lose a lover, but a world and a way of life.
The record wraps up in grand style with the title song, a bluesy number set at a farewell bash for a tanking company:
It's high time for a walk on the real side
Let's admit the bastards beat us
I move to dissolve the corporation
In a pool of margaritas
As the verses roll on everybody gets drunker, and decidedly less corporate, the subtext becomes unmistakable.
Talk about your major pain and suffering
Now our self-esteem is shattered
Show the world our mighty heigh-di-ho face
As we go sliding down the ladder
It was sweet up at the top
Till that ill wind started blowing
Now it's cozy down below
Something more than a company has been lost here. The song is a sigh for the '90s and the world we lost on Sept. 11. The good guys, the pillars of that carefree decade, have lost the fight for the future; we might as well pack up and go home. (And maybe stop off at the Last Mall on the way.) Even if you don't agree with the assessment, it's impossible not to get seduced by the music, which is as simple, sad, and elegant as anything the duo have done; and the lyrics, which find a strikingly original and timely metaphor for loss, then unpack it with world-weary humor.
Not to mention hope. Becker and Fagen think we're "sliding down the ladder," but they crafted nine marvelous songs nonetheless, which must leave some room for optimism. Everything Must Go — just not the music. Never the music.
— Robert J. Toth is an editor at the Wall Street Journal.
Posted by: dd, ddhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0897240227/qid=1055779006/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/104-8896052-4965506?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
What the fuck is this???????????
Posted by: father william, Why do Don and & Walt do ....?
Quoting Churchill, "It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."
Posted by: Carol Bobolts, Earl- To find the answer on why the liner notes use the same clock on track 1, 4 and 7 you must play Godwhacker backwards. The answer is there. Just listen.
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareJesse: I know what you're saying...waiting for a Steely Dan song to be played on that station would drive you to listen to a station they are already played on.
Anyone tried to discombobulate the meaning of why tracks 1, 4, and 7 each use the same clock in the liner notes (while the rest are all different)? It seems to be a pattern, and my hopeful theory is that they represent studio albums. 10 would round out the cycle, and they are on their 9th studio album, so maybe that means that there's one more on their to-do list.
Also, does anyone think there is a rhyme or reason to the highlighted letters throughout the album cover?
Earl
Posted by: Andy, DCI just finished reading this very interesting article about the demise of the LA session drummer from yesterday's LA Times. It's basically about Hal Blaine's and Rick Marotta's tough adaptation to the current music scene.
http://www.calendarlive.com/music/pop/cl-ca-boucher15jun15,0,2091384.story?coll=cl-home-more-channels
Posted by: afoolnluv, I'd give give anything to be on that plane with Frank, Don, and Walt...
thanks 4 tha wordz
Posted by: Little Wild One, The Tilted "E"Dave from Acq., it's all sordid but true. You'd think for all that salacious imagery, D+W could at least pay us poor Houstonians back with a tour stop, huh?
I guess that answers the get lucky twice inquiry....
Posted by: Bill Rodgers, Hey everybody, the Kamakiriad DVD-A is actually available right nowe. I ordeered mine from Rhino.com this week and I was surprised to see it in my mailbox yesterday! The bonus interview material with D&W is priceless. These are interviews done at the time Kama was released 10 years ago and, well, let's just say D&W look and sound a little bit different now. In fact Walt is quite a bit slimmer. Some of the footage is at Walt's Hawaii home/studio which looks beautiful, with Roger Nichols engineering too.
There are also the music videos of Tomorrow's Girls and Snowbound. Rick Moranis acted in Tomorrow's Girls, and he is also interviewed about how he met Don at a NYC restaurant one day and told him what a fan he was and basically volunteered his acting services for any videos he would be doing. Great stuff.
Posted by: SouthOfHollywood, Joey'sJust an aside, but "fugazy" is an urban slang term meaning fake or phony...Can you dig it, Miss Fugazy?...Let's roll with the homeys!...SOH
Posted by: Dave From Acquisitions, I See AllEnron's Dirty Laundry
HOUSTON, March 3, 2002
Enron parties were suitably imperial, with Tiffany glassware as door prizes and waiters standing by at all times with flutes of champagne. Some of the informal partying was less classy. At one catered affair, Enronites opened wide for "luge shots," cocktails poured over a block of ice straight into their mouths. At Treasures, a "gentleman's club" in Houston, the strippers began to look for the flash of an Enron credit card. "That's like having a platinum card," one stripper told Newsweek. "If it's an Enron guy, they got money." (Or did.) In the high-rolling days, Enron traders on their lunch break would buy a bottle of Cristal champagne (up to $575) and repair upstairs to the "VIP Room." The Treasures manager, who identified himself as "Mitch," said he was "unaware" of sexual favors being bestowed in the VIP Room. Said a stripper: "If a guy's going to pay you $1,000, use your imagination."
Sex suffused the Enron atmosphere. Skilling divorced his wife and became engaged to an Enron secretary, whom he promoted to a $600,000 job and whom insiders immediately dubbed "Va Voom!" One top executive, Lou Pai, divorced his wife and married a former stripper. Several women who were believed to be sleeping with their bosses were called "The French Lieutenants' Women."
Staffers fearful of the next rank-and-yank session worried that these women were acting as spies. The most celebrated affair was between two top executives, Ken Rice and Amanda Martin. Their affection, described by Enron staffers to Newsweek as "touchy feely" and "obscene," was visible through the windows of Martin's office.
Mark apparently had her own intramural affair. In the late '80s, after she was divorced, she had a relation-ship with an Enron consultant, John Wing. Some of Mark's colleagues believed their relationship continued after Wing joined Enron. Some employees found the office romances and salacious gossip so disturbing that they proposed the company adopt a formal policy against fraternization, according to a former personnel executive. The company let the suggestion drop.
Posted by: Shaun, BDave- Thank you! Ahhhh, so "face time" is about getting a blow job. Just what I thought.
Posted by: Shaun, BostonQ- I believe your analogy/notion of the opening horn part on EMG is right on. From the first second I heard this song I had no doubt it was about the rise and fall of Enron. Makes sense.
I think this might have discussed before. I was wondering about the line "face time in the service elevator". Is it "face time" as in "give me head"? Or is it "just let me show my face"? Well, with Dave from acquisitions, with his "handy cam" in tow, I think he wants oral sex. The narrator doesn't really seem to care about his sex act being filmed by Dave. Any thoughts? Again, sorry if this was already discussed.
Posted by: Q, I'm sure this notion has been posited already, but would anyone agree that the opening instrumental to EMG a pure musical metaphor for the rise and fall of Enron?
Note the way it initially explodes gloriously-then it goes completely frenetic, and finally fades into oblivion - much like Enron itself.
Then, of course, the complete silence before... the opening sax leading to the subsequent "discussion" among the Enron executives as they slide on down the ladder with their mighty hidey-ho faces...
Q
Posted by: CrellMoset, It's 6th in the Amazon sales rankings . . . now all I'm waiting for are the Billboard #'s. (Ten years ago on today's date, Kamakiriad started coming down from it's peak at #10)
CrellMoset
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoDuke Of Earl, is it really worth it to sit through said crap just to hear tunes that you already own on CD? I'm all for more exposure for the Dan, but I would never listen to a smooth jazz radio station. Not all smooth jazz is terrible, but all of the music played on smooth jazz radio (except Steely Dan, of course) is SHIT! Marcus Miller, electric Wayne Shorter, George Benson, etc., (according to what I've heard) never get played on smooth jazz radio.
Posted by: chris, clinging to the roof of the speeding train, the AA to Sheridan SqWARW-FM 94.7, the Washington, DC, classic-rock station just played 'My Old School,' 'Do It Again,' and . . . ta da . . . 'Blues Beach' in a row (1:30am Sunday) . . . it's great to hear EMG tunes seeping onto mainstream radio, not relegated to few-and-far-between rotation on smooth-jazz stations and arcane university programs.
First time I've heard the EMG tunes played on any radio station other than online, actually.
chris
Posted by: bwaySteve, I was so anxious to start playing a few of these songs but immediatly realized the foolishness of it.I had not expected the darkness of EMG.The mature surrealism of this one continues to haunt me.And the cover... I pass these guys as I walk through Times Sq daily. I wear those watches and am fascinated by their cheapness, shine and accuracy for the short time they last.A walk through a heavy rain will waste one.
Posted by: Kid Clean,
Big Fan - Is it ever not raining where you are??
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareFez: They have never been great at interviews. I think they may have been sick of answering the same questions over and over again. They've always been known for their lack of cooperation with interviewers.
I agree with whoever said that their lyrical style seems to have shifted back to elusive from borderline interpretable. The most cryptic songs on 2VN were the title track, Almost Gothic, and Negative Girl. Then you had tracks like Cousin Dupree, Jack of Speed, What a Shame, and Janie that all were relatively straightforward. I think on this one that EMG, Last Mall, and possibly Things I Miss are more accessible, but they are more cryptic by far than Cousin and What a Shame.
I'm tempted to start calling into the Philly smooth jazz station (WJJZ) to start requesting Pixeleen. The tracks on EMG are jazzier and fresher than any of the smooth crap that they normally play.
Duke of Earl
Posted by: doctorwu51, Things I Miss The Most is not about the end of a relationship, IMHO, but is a reprise of "King Of The World". The narrator misses human companionship because he is the only person left alive on the planet, as far as he knows. His extensive material things have been destroyed by global war. There is a real effort in the lyrics to get across an impression of someone who is totally alone and who has sufferd great material loss. One impression I had, at first,was of someone who was in prison or solitary confinement, but that didn't really fit. Then I thought of the situation of the narrator of KOTW & it seemed to make sense. There was also the line about reading the Post which correlates with "I'm reading last years papers, although I don't know why".
Much of EMG seems to be about the end of civilization as we know it. I agree with those who think GodWhacker is a critical comment about GW's crusades. The Last Mall, Things I Miss The Most, GodWhacker and Everything Must Go talk about this in one way or another; probably some of the other tracks, as well. All of the artwork being focused on a time related theme seems to fit.
Brilliant recording. The more I listen, the more I appreciate just how good this is. Great music...great sound...great lyrics...
Thank you, D&W...
Posted by: THEFEZ98, BostonThey just sound like they mighta done a few 'V's before the 'World' interview. As smart-alecky as ever, but alot of 'ah's and 'yaknows' all over the place. Just sounded very strange to these ears.
As far as nuggets, for one Donald indicated there wer 'several' (?) tunes that didn't make the cut.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.In that same vain, let's say it's a studio exec's office, there's pitch going on. The guy pitching the idea speaks in the first verse to the exec and everyone else who might be in the room. It also happens our star, the gal who is to play Pixeleen is also present. The guy pitching then adresses this lady as "you" to emphasize and sell some of the neat action scenes she gets to do. Nez pas?
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9Pixeleen:
Has anybody noticed the difference between the first two paragraphs of lyrics? In the first...the narrator refers to the chick as she and her while the second is you and your. Curious as to see if that reveals anything about this little story.
1.
Our man Abu squeezes off 20 tracer rounds
And that’s when she jumps the turnstile
And as she clings to the roof of the speeding train
The Double A down to Sheridan Square
Her cell phone rings
It’s, like, her stupid father
Be in the door by ten—again
2.
And when Abu rams the clip in the miniglock
Up on the catwalk inside the warehouse
You whip a knife from the top of your go-go boot
With just a flash of spectacular thigh
Your pager starts to throb
It’s your as-if boyfriend Randall
Better keep it real—or whatever
Love the song and all the mysteries that surround it!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: hoops, All these varied and valid interpretations just serve as a reminder of how Steely Dan really is a "musical rubix cube" and Marian McPartland said in her "Piano Jazz" intro a few months ago. (And yes, PJ is still going strong here in Chicago at 11 Sunday mornings.)
Sometimes, I forget if I post things here, chat, the newsgroup or Digest, so excuse me if I am repeating myself.
I agree with South of Hollywood's take that Marilyn 4.0 is a software upgrade of a VR avatar/droid/drone. And Marilyn Monroe is what pops first into my head as the most famous Marilyn. But Chambers works really well--very cool! Not to mention it could mean something else.
Like LWO, I too think the Lunch with Gina/heroin comparison is pretty amazing.
Thanks Big Fan and others, as always, for the links. I need to print these things out and put them in a notebook. I know they are at Andy's and so forth, but I sure wish I had the 2000 interviews from the web like the Plain Dealer interview with Fagen's Dad.
Thanks to all for the provocative reading.
Streaming Audio interview tomorrow (below appears in the Dandom Digest):
-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Superfly"
Subject: REDUX: RADIO/STREAMING AUDIO ALERT: Radio interview this Sunday
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 00:13:18 -0500
From Austin's KGSR's website:
Listen this Sunday night between 8-10 as KGSR airs Jody Denberg's interview
with Steely Dan conducted in Santa Monica last March!
That's 8-10pm Central Time. The good news is that they stream their
broadcasts live. For more info, visit http://www.kgsr.com
For what it's worth, after one listen to EMG, I am convinced it may be their
best and most consistent album. Ever. Usually it takes me a few listens to
discover their greatness; this time out, I'm utterly speechless and
astonished. Talk about shock and awe.
Summer again belongs to the Dan,
Rick
----------------------------------------------------------
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Don't leave us hanging, what DID they say about left-over tracks?
Posted by: Somebody To Trust, THEFEZ98- Then don't say it.
Posted by: THEFEZ98, BostonHate to say it, but despite a few informative nuggets (left over tracks from EMG, etc.)., they sound horrible on thw 'World' interview. Every other word is 'ya know'. They don't sound intelligent at all. Maybe they were out partying the night before???
Posted by: chillin at the manatee bar, Butler, PaCHECK OUT CAROLYN LEONHART ON THE COVER OF THE JULY ISSUE OF JAZZIZ MAGAZINE.
This issue is devoted to women in music, and features a lot of up and coming
female artists.
DON'T MISS IT...
THIS SUNDAY, JUNE 15TH
SEE
CAROLYN LEONHART
AT
SMOKE JAZZ CLUB
2 SETS FROM 6:15 - 8:30 PM
no cover
1 drink minimum
band - tba
Smoke is located at 2751 Broadway at West 106 St.
Posted by: angel, Make that line, "Hey, is that a horseshoe crab?"
Posted by: angel, Slinky Godwacker: Thanks for the info on Green Book.
I was thinking again about that Hermit Crab line that never turned up on any song. The thought hit me that, maybe a song was removed from EMG just before the final release. That would explain that the entire CD is only 46 minutes (or so). Anyone know anything?
Good work on Pixeleen. I caught that Sundance reference. Film is used for movies and even HD stuff. Some TV shows were done in Digital, but most are still shot on film. It is cheaper, I believe.
Posted by: Randy, Northern NJ / USA
It's interesting how various fans interpret the lyrical "facts," particularly in relation to Steely Dan; it seems to have eluded most at this early date that "Pixeleen"'s central issues may not revolve around a "film" specifically, but perhaps something I see as a bit more "interactive." The main "clue" (as Andy astutely noted) is the line concerning the "festival in Utah" (Redford's 'Sundance Film Festival,' or one like it), which COULD lead one to surmise the medium of film; it should not escape various Steely Dan-o-Philes that there is rarely a specific scenario indicated; in this case there is the distinct possibility that Becker and Fagen are inferring something in the not-too-distant future that is somewhere between a "film" per se, and some sort of virtual reality experience (which the film industry is working towards). One might not want to draw such clearly defined lines, as ambiguity and the proverbial "holes" that Becker and Fagen leave in their lyrical storylines are what fire the imagination in the first place. Suffice it to say there are other indications and ambiguities in the lyrics that support this possibility.
Someone else on one of these guestbooks noted that they enjoyed Steely Dan's irony and their "romanticism" (!?); The brunt of the lyrical content with Steely Dan has to be the least ingratiating (and therefore least romantic) in all of rock; their work is also virtually devoid of sentiment (though some semblance of regret has creeped into their lyrical lexicon, which is frequently mistaken for sentiment). Again the issue(s) of interpretation are, shall we say, "entertaining." I personally enjoy the near impenetrability of "Green Book" and "Slang of Ages" myself. 'Everything Must Go' appears to be somewhat more of a return to their cryptic lyrical approach than the less opaque 'Two Against Nature,' but it all makes for an engaging debating session though I suppose-
"I remember when life made more sense..." - Van Morrison, 'Take Me Back'
Randy / NIGHTFLY**@aol.com
Posted by: SouthOfHollywood, Joey'sPerhaps this is way too obvious, but "Marilyn 4.0" seems to me to be a reference to the original beta version of Marilyn (Monroe) now updated, like software, to the newest, slickest "4.0" version of those thighs...Or maybe I need more coffee...Or sleep...SOH
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareOne other think: I think the 2nd chorus is also showing the problems after the movie got big. "Penned by a hack in the Palisades, backed by some guys from Columbia" shows me that the creative reins were taken from his in the 2nd movie. The Palisades could mean Jersey or California, and Columbia could mean University or Pictures. I think it's obvious in this part of the song it means "Hack from California, backed by some guys from the motion picture studio."
Another possibility that I've started to ponder is...all porn movies seem to have an underlying theme, right? What if Pixeleen is a porn movie character? Notice in the 1st chorus that loving hard is first (and possibly more important) than spying hard. How about soaking through the floor meaning that she ended up on the floor of a noodle shop? Digital video makes you think maybe of a cheap digital camera being used to make this movie. A million and change is pretty cheap for a movie production.
Anyway, just throwing out food for thought.
Earl
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareAndy: Your take was my take exactly, except you did a better job of substantiating it. I was still listening to Pixeleen trying to tie up the loose ends, but you did it pretty well. The reference to Sundance, the changing descriptions of the character's beginnings, etc. I also thought that maybe that thinking back to the cool summer nights was a reference to the narrator's character. I thought maybe he was the inventor of this movie character, and how he became romantically involved with the actress playing the ultrateen (who undoubtedly isn't a teen at all). "Cut to the chase" is a definite double reference, one to cutting to the chase scene, but also, let's get to the nitty gritty of what's up with our relationship. I think she realizes that he's only screwing her because he's in love with Pixeleen. The "Be good" reference could be more like "Do as I say, stay with me."
The observation about the movement from low-budget to high-budget I had decided as well. I'm still trying to understand the "soaked through" line, as well as the full meaning of why the lines are different in the final chorus. I'm leaning towards after she leaves him, he either a) fesses up to the truth in an interview, b) tries to slander the star (pitched in a trailer could mean sex with a company boss), or c) realizes Pixeleen will never mean the same to him now that the actress who played her is gone, so now he comes up with a new character and starts from scratch.
In any case, I think the videogame theory is weak, since the only indicative lyric for that would be "cyberqueen," which I could envision meaning that she's had her pictures spread all over the internet, and nowadays any good-looking teenage star is going to be all over the internet. As far as the fatherhood story goes, if it's her father, a) he talks about himself in the third person, b) never talks as if she is his daughter, and c) he talks about the movie in a way that is tough to envision a father talking about it. More like a person involved in the writing or production of the movie.
Just my $0.02.
Earl
Posted by: Big Fan, At home - raining againChristian Science Monitor:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0613/p17s02-almp.html
This reviewer likeed the CD:
http://www.heraldnet.com/ae/story.cfm?sectionname=MUSIC&file=03061417062727.cfm
Posted by: Little Wild One, insomniacs-r-usThat "lunch = heroin" introspection is certainly enlightening. Sometimes you learn amazing things at 3 a.m....and the bonus is that the crowd usually looks much better then, too!
I'm with the bunch who are hoping for at least 5 tracks off EMG on tour this summer. It was kinda hard to predict the tour setlist before the release, knowing that they would play some, but not knowing which ones stack just right.
Name that setlist, anyone?
Posted by: KD, ChiThen again, also, anything could take on a new meaning after substituting the word "Lunch."
"Mud-wrasslin', with Gina ..."
Whoa!
Andy, great take.
Shot for a million and change?
Sure, movies cost nine-figures to make these days (including marketing), so for a million and change, this has to be a syndicated wonderwaif.
I'm not too hip on Buffy's tip (that show came out when I was still a senior in HS, and yet I still think of the 1992 movie when I hear the word 'Buffy'), but it seems that this WB production would clear waivers at or under 'a million and change.'
The 'nerd' aspect, I can see. I don't agree with it, but I can totally see it. Some comic book freak talking about his ideal gal, all parts sass, perky teen-tits, and weaponry, but we could go further.
As always, there's less than meets the eye.
At this early stage, I'm taking this tune as a "bad" (seriously, "bad") promo or theme song. Something to roll over credits.
I don't know how the intro/outro themes to 'Buffy,' the Jessica Alba/James Cameron, or Jennifer Garner shows go, but I have to imagine (even in these post-90's, "post-ironic" times) these shows have to be really unintentionally hilarious. In spite of how much their hipper-than-thou writers and producers try to disarm the viewer with dozens of "we're aware that we're cheesy" bits.
So, imagine how funny these TV themes must be. With, or without lyrics.
Don and Walt create these absurd characters, and surround this "theme" with absurd things. "Abu?" An obvious, whether he's on Pix's side or not, Middle Eastern character. Roppongi? A town that's too _out_ there. Flying on top of a subway car? Clips, knives, catwalks? Nuts!
And, just as absurd, her teen-ish language. This isn't Don and Walt "trying" to ape what the kids say, or making fun of what the kids say. This is written by a hack in the Palisades, I'm convinced. Someone who's oblivious, and doesn't cringe at giving his character this sort of language.
I just think it's in the middle of ev'rything, plenty of voiced, sang by an oblivious narrator. Just Don and Walt, having fun with us.
And, of course, it's Donald and Walter. So we're way off.
Just like Andy, so far, "Pixeleen"'s the one. I hadn't heard EMG more than a half-dozen times (five of those coming that first night during that third week of May) before 6-10, because my computer doesn't have speakers.
Even though other songs have made me (literally) dance, play air guitar, play guitar, cry, moan, laugh, and fall to my knees since 6-10 -- "Pixeleen" is the one. And that, I'm guessing (just like I thought about "Shame" from TvN) it will be my favorite three years down the line.
A song you can't listen to while you're getting dressed or washing dishes. Something you have to listen to in the correct frame of mine.
Wait, scratch that. It's Don and Walt.
Correct "frames" of mind, I should say.
Right, Andy?
Posted by: Big Tiger, In The Green JungleIn Green Book the narrator says "Now where'd we sample those thighs?" "I'm thinking Marilyn 4.0"
Perhaps he's thinking of the movie Behind the Green Door starring Marilyn Chambers?
Connection?
http://www.moviefolio.com/movies/Behind_the_Green_Door_1972.cfm
After all is said and done, the guy in Lunch With Gina ends up with her. The last verse is weeks, months, years down the road. Gina got what she wanted and he just wants a drink. Remember, lunch with Gina is forever.
Posted by: Killeavy in Toronto, Toronto!!I am ashamed that a magazine that many non-torontoers view as being somewhat indicative of this city published a review that is as mind-bogglingly ill-informed and biased as the one in Now Magazine that was referenced by Jesse..... If this is the sort of claptrap that the world sees coming out of my wonderful city, I fear new travel advisories from the UN....... As a member of the local advertising community, I will be able within the next week to undoubtedly make Brett Rayner's acquaintance at various functions wherein I will congratulate him on the collection of sentences in question. Specifically, at the MuchMusic Video Awards next Sunday, I am frightfully convinced that he will be one of the banal morons following around Our Lady Peace or Our Sum 41waiting for them to bestow their punk rock credibility (sic) upon him..... Rest assured, loyal dandomers, that I will attempt to jam some monkey into his soul.
In conclusion, I run to the second arrangement.
Posted by: DACW , Andy,
Great analysis..perhaps the narrator is a mentor director watching this character come to life...it seems like a paternal-type relationship
re; digital video: CSI initially and now other major network shows shot in digital video. The last Star Wars Movie Attack of the Clones was filmed in digital video as well...because of (a) ease of editing in special effects, (b) the omcreasing memory and clarity of the CCDs, and (b) low cost of filming and production - we'll see more and more
Posted by: Gretchen Lupkas, CTEMG is another brilliant effort!! Whereas 2VN was essentially a relief, hearing SD together after so many years, the new one is more soulful, sophisticated, and hip. If the mainstream rock stations aren't playing this one, it's their loss! I love the fusion influence and the Coltrane-like intro to the title track. I've been playing Pixeleen over and over and it's really a dance in the aisles masterpiece. The musical arrangement throughout the album is genius and Don's vocals are downright loveable!! Walt's vocals were quite a surprise in a JJ Cale meets Keb Mo kind of way. The Last Mall will stay in your head and you'll find yourself singing "The last call..."!
You've gotta love the way Don enuciates "sweet treats and surprises for the little buckaroos." As far as EMG being a swan song, I think not. I think it's the guys' wry commentary on the state of corporate corruption. With an album like this, I know my favorite duo will be around for a long, long time. Love them!!
Posted by: John, You know, someone wrote earlier "lunch=heroin"...
Lunch With Gina certainly takes on an entirely different meaning when one views "lunch with Gina" as a metaphor for heroin. "She's leaning on my bell" = withdrawal symtoms kicking in. "I'm nailed to the floor in the no-option zone"... "She's right in my face"... "I crouch on the carpet, Not breathing just being, Like meat on the bone"... all of these are various snapshots in the process.
Lunch with Gina is forever... addicting, irresistable.
Posted by: Whackedby11traxand/orGod, Review in this week's Time Out New York by Ken Micallef
Phallic imagery, lecherous lyrics and a slick jazz-pop sound are unlikely tools to seduce the American heartland, but for Steely Dan, wry characters and “hot licks and rhetoric” have resulted in 30-plus years of popularity. Now, three years after their Grammy winning triumph, Two Against Nature, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker return with their most soulful album since 1976’s Royal Scam.
Recorded on old-fashioned analog tape, Everything Must Go has a natural warmth and flow missing from today’s Pro Tools- enabled radio fodder; and new Dan characters such as supercyberchick Pixeleen, the fearsome Godwhacker and “psychotic” Gina prove that the aging hipster duo is still dangerous. Using a single quintet(which includes jazz pianist Bill Charlap) instead of a battery of studio musicians, the CD is musically concise and comically rewarding. The opening three tracks are pure MOR, but the spiteful “Godwhacker” and the end-of-the-world-firestorm “Greenbook” are lyrical hoots. The hilarious “Lunch With Gina” revisits un-PC themes found in earlier Dan hits: The song’s hero has the hots for a girl-woman who puts him through “sinless”, nooky-free lunches, leaving him frazzled and alcoholic. Eventually, he hides at home, “crouch[ing] n the carpet, not breathing,” screaming “God help me!” Like Woody Allen running away from Monica Bellucci, it’s a deliciously impossible fantasy.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Hey Andy, this is the new SD. They've told us so. EMG,bro. You wrote: "I don't sense any of the love or paternal caring that people have been writing about--this is a Steely Dan tune! There's not going to be any loving or caring going on." Ok, well, be in the door by ten again. Be good. Whom do you imagine is the voice behind these lines? Father or video-game creator or somebody who cares, real or imagined, spring to my mind. Help me on this. The damn tune is such an upper that way. It informs and pervades the vibe. Doesn't it make you wanna dance for joy? Whether she is a kid - and she is cause she's got to be home by ten- of the virtual or real world, she got the words of wisdom from somewhere. Maybe the cyberqueen. Maybe just from within herself. Whatever, both those girls (whom, taken together, are Pixeleen, maybe) are very strong and capable. But I do agree with your movie-pitch interpretation, absolutely. I went so nuts for this tune and got so close to it that, the more I begin to back away from it now, the more windows open. It's like a freakin' Faberge egg: Freddie's movie pitch, the studio exec ("...this is what I see, just a girl in girlie trouble..."), video game creator, that incredibly evocative video game itself, the real kid, her stupid real father, her real but as-if boyfriend, with Abu and the exquisite cyberqueen in the center. Rave on.
Posted by: mike mishura, lbi, njhi,
i noticed the tix link at the emgtour page for the
8/30 AC borgata show is gone- any news or ideas what
is going on with this show?
mike m-->>lbi, nj
Posted by: Jaydubz, LANice take on Pixeleen, Andy!
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.You know, Jesse, what really sticks in my craw over that NOW review is the dig on SD spawning Punk. As if a repulsed reaction to it, no doubt. We've heard this tripe for years now but I gotta admit, that's a new one. Doesn't that SOB remember the ravages of Disco? SD is decidedly NOT not for people with short attention spans, no great students of music and no frame of reference for things topical and literary. Tell the world-class moron who wrote that steaming turban of doo-doo for me that all we had before SD in 1972 was early metal and country-fied rock. SD was something very new and very American, steeped as it is in be-bop. And it was FUNNY, my god, so funny. Still is, the crazy world of EMG cracks me up. Face it, the great unwashed hoards will never get. Pisses me off so much though, wonder why that is.
Posted by: Andy, DCPixelene, to me, is by far the best track on the record, both musically and lyrically. After much contemplation, I've decided to offer my take on the story.
The key to understanding Pixeleen is figuring out who the narrator is and who Pixeleen is. This is not an easy task given that Donald and Walter offer few clues about the exact nature of either party. However, I’ll take a shot:
First off, let me dispel some of the opinions I’ve seen offered about this tune. The tune is not about a video game character. It's about a movie--"Screened at a festival in Utah" is about as concrete a reference as is found in the entire song--the Sundance film festival. "Pitched in a trailer in Burbank" and "Cast by a cool enough yes man" all indicate we're talking movie here.
So who is Pixeleen? Tough question, but I see her as a Buffy the Vampire Slayer type character—a hot, popular and sassy teenage girl by day, and hot, sassy superhero by night. She has to put up with the typical teenage girl bullshit--her like, stupid father and as-if boyfriend Randall--but when she’s transformed into her alter ego she's fighting evil in Roppongi or whipping a knife from her go-go boot battling Abu. Donald and Walter even give us the back story about when she acquired her mystical powers:
Flash back to cool summer nights...
In a room above your garage
Everything about me is different
Symmetrical and clean.
Now who's the narrator? There are two possibilities here. He's either a show biz insider or a middle-aged man enthralled with the movie he's watching. Despite all the show biz bullshit babble, I'm inclined to believe the latter. The guy is captivated by Pixeleen's stunning charm, good looks and aura, but he's smart enough to know what he's watching is relatively full of shit. What he's caught up in is like any of those TV shows on the WB--a mind numbingly formulaic medium to peddle the wares of a comely 18-year-old girl. In the verses, he's caught up in the movie, caught up in Pixeleen, but by the second chorus, he sees the movie for exactly what it is—mediocre fluff:
Penned by a hack in the Palisades
Backed by some guys from Columbia
Shot all in digital video
For a million and change.
In fact, the details begin to change as the song progresses. In the first chorus she was born in the bogs of Jersey and dropped on the streets of Roppongi, but by the end of the song she is born on the floor of a noodle shop and dropped in the bogs of Jersey. Is this the show biz dude acknowledging a rewrite of the script or the middle-aged enthusiast realizing that the plot is irrelevant and all he really cares about is seeing more of Pixeleen?
I get the sense that the story might actually shift coasts somewhere in the middle of the song. The action sounds like it starts in New York--Penned by a hack from the Palisades [NY]/Backed from some guys from Columbia [University]. But this could also take place in LA-- Pacific Palisades and Columbia Pictures. By the end of the song, it's pretty clear that the Columbia in question is the Columbia Pictures movie studio (pitched in a trailer in Burbank), however I'm inclined to believe the story starts in New York.
The film was shot in digital video for a million and change. Major studio movies are always shot on film (not digital video) and cost way more than a million and change to film and produce. Digital video is the medium of amateurs and small-timers. My take is that the original Pixelene was a cheap, b-type movie put together by some college kids in New York. Then we switch coasts to see it get pitched in a trailer in Burbank and made into the big time flick that the guy is watching.
I don’t think we’ll ever pin down the exact details, but regardless, it's a phenomenal tune. There’s so much going on in such an economy of words. I don't sense any of the love or paternal caring that people have been writing about--this is a Steely Dan tune! There's not going to be any loving or caring going on. This is Donald and Walter's take on the trashy teen movies coming out of Hollywood, the people who make them, and the middle-aged men who watch them.
Posted by: YGK, NYCJesse: Just take heart in the fact that Now will soon be Then. "New Steely?!?!?!"
Wrong.
New DAN!
ygk
Posted by: bill, another Pixelene prototypeCouldn't think of this one until I saw it mentioned a moment ago on, of all places, a Zevon fan site. I know D&W are big William Gibson fans so Gibson is the most likely inspiration, but here is another one involving an entirely virtual movie star - Al Pacino's recent movie "Simone."
see http://www.s1m0ne.com/
Posted by: sharkd, unmerciful raysthat's great about ol' Warren Z.
guess his ride's been thankfully delayed...
would love to hear his thoughts on emg!
Posted by: Bill, re Warren ZevonAlas, he still has cancer. Rolling Stone had a short piece recently that said he has completed his album and outlived his doctors' predictions. He was said to be weak but hanging in there. His web site www.warrenzevon.com has not been updated in a long time but has a great photo of him being examined by his personal physician, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Also shots of the all-star recording sessions.
Glad that he made it to see his grandchildren as well as the Bond flick. Here's hoping he continues to exceed medical expectations. I always thought there was some similarity between his dark, sardonic wise-guy lyrics and miniture musical short stories and SDs despite very different musical settings.
Enjoy every sandwich.
Posted by: sharkdeville, sizzlinthis album is so great.
Fagen's solos are from Netherworld!!! loud, fun, and tight as hell! the man most certainly has chops out the wazoo.
The traded 4s in "GreenBook" are a blast and Donald's got that over-the-top overdrive on. Wiggy shit indeed. These guys are gonna TEAR UP live!!!
I find the bridge on "Things I Miss the Most" to be the highlight of the song and one of the more beautiful passages in their vast works.(similar to the bridge on "What a Shame About Me")
The sheer bitterwsweet joy of those 4 bars or so lets you know this dude is a person too and can experience beauty and sadness too.
EMG complements 2vN very well, and I draw direct correlations between many of the tunes.
Walter's vocal is laidback and funny and a killer tune. I gotta say, I'd like to hear how Donald would've sounded on it, but I think you can hear a lot of Donald in Walt on the choruses.
"Pixeleen", "Lunch with Gina", and "Godwhacker" are the f***ing shiznat, baby!!!
...more to come...
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoIs Warren okay? I heard he had a terminal illness. I heard that he just wanted to be alive to see the new Bond movie, and that 7 months ago. It's good to see him so active.
Posted by: Werewolve, I realize that we are mostly focussed on EMG these days and rightfully so. However, harkening back to a thread from several months go, Warren Zevon has just become a grandfather of twins and has a new album, "The Wind," due Aug. 26.
Back to EMG.
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoHere's a review that has made me pretty angry. It's from Now magazine, a free, independent, weekly newspaper in Toronto. They wouldn't know good music if it bit them in the ass. They are the type of magazine that thinks the White Stripes are the greatest rock band in the world. They look for style, not substance. EMG got 1 N out of 5, but it's obvious from reading that a) he doesn't know very much about Steely Dan, as if one thinks that the Dan are pretentious, then Rikki, and Reelin' are the least pretentious songs they did, and b) he knew he would give it 1 out of 5 before he listened to the disc. Anyway, here's the review:
"Steely Dan's career started self-indulgently in the 70s, and they outdid themselves in the pretension department with each subsequent album. Do It Again, Reeling In The Years, and Rikki Don't Lose That Number may just be the reason punk was born. Twenty years later, their Two Against Nature reunion won four Grammys, including album of the year, largely because fans were stoked to hear some new Steely, and because the boys delivered an album full of the jazzy, catchy songs they were famous for. On their new Everything Must Go, they sound bored and out of ideas. Fagen hasn't much to say lyrically, and Becker has nothing engaging to play. Where are the funky rhythms and contagious solos that made Steely Dan FM radio staples? Save the $18 and head to the nearest elevator."
Rest assured, I will be writing in blasting this reviewer. Now magazine is already a shit newspaper, so, just like Rolling Stone, we shouldn't care.
Posted by: sharkdeville, sedonagreat stuff, thanks Andy!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Backpages Interview: Steely Dan
Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, June 2003
This week sees the release of Everything Must Go, the follow-up to Steely Dan's Grammy-grabbing Two Against Nature. BARNEY HOSKYNS discusses war, economics and online smut with WALTER BECKER and DONALD FAGEN.
RBP: It's ironic that you're now on Reprise. Shouldn't you have been on that label from the start?
WB: Well, in fact we did make a deal to be on that label in 1976 or '77, but we had to play out our ABC deal.
Was Everything Must Go easier to make than Two Against Nature? I'm thinking it may have been the fastest record since The Royal Scam.
WB: Yeah, especially since we took big chunks of time off within that time frame.
And all done in New York?
WB: All except for a couple of weeks in Hawaii, in the winter.
DF: And a weekend at Bearsville up in Woodstock.
Where you still have a house, Donald?
DF: Yes.
How did you end up on Reprise?
WB: Well, Giant Records was absorbed into Warner-Reprise, and simultaneously Irving Azoff decided it would be much more fun to be a manager again anyway.
DF: At any rate, just as we were about to return from our triumphant 2000 tour, the label dropped us.
WB: They failed to pick up our option.
DF: Also, Kamakiriad was on Reprise – I always thought because they were ashamed to put me on Warner Brothers. Like they wanted to keep us out of that Joni/Randy thing.
WB: Well, I don't know that they were not on Reprise, for that matter…
They were.
DF: Oh well, wrong again.
WB: You know, at different times you would sort of get different explanations of what it meant to be on Warner versus what it meant to be on Reprise. And I think right now that Reprise has an independent promotion staff and so on.
You were obviously at one remove from the whole Warner-Reprise singer-songwriter scene. What was your view of it at the time?
WB: Well, to say that we were on the fringes of it would be to exaggerate our closeness to it. Once we had Gary Katz hire Richie Furay, but that was about as close as we got. And we hired Tim Schmidt to do some high parts on our records, before he was in the Eagles.
DF: We had already known Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman [the Turtles] a little bit, and I think my vision of LA was coloured by them before we even moved there, because of those Frank Zappa parodies of hippie culture in LA. So I already knew about the Whisky a Go Go and what it represented –
WB: And Ben Frank's on the Strip –
Did you ever meet Zappa?
DF: We opened for him on a run in the Midwest in the '70s, so I talked to him a little bit on the plane a couple of times. He was great.
You must have overlapped with the world of the Eagles back in the '70s, since you shared a manager in Irv Azoff.
DF: But we were pretty isolated, socially speaking.
Everything Must Go is bookended by songs of capitalist crisis – it's like The Royal Scam redux.
WB: In a way –
DF: Just on a much more global level.
WB: Whatever was under way then is more or less being mopped up now. So we wanna throw in our two cents' worth before it's too late.
The title track, on one level, is about a small business going belly up, but on another it could be a swan song for Kenneth Lay and Bernie Ebbers.
WB: "Going Out Of Business, Everything Must Go" is a real New York cliché. But as we ended up writing the song, and it became not guys with a little shop but a more corporate sort of thing, there was an element of liberation to it as well. There's an explosion of sexual energy that's released by the event, and there's a whimsical embrace of some of the more enduring elements of life – an attempt to reach out to them, anyway. And all this is in the context of where they knocked down the buildings in New York just a couple of weeks after we started the record.
'Things I Miss The Most' reminded more than anything of The Nightfly. In the song you sing about houses on the Vineyard and the Gold Coast – it's a kind of rich man's blues. Is it fair to say that Steely Dan has for some time been associated with expensive taste?
DF: Well, first of all I don't think with any song that we should be taken as the protagonists ourselves. I don't have houses on Martha's Vineyard or the Gold Coast. But I think that as the whole house of cards is starting to come down, people at the top are beginning to feel it as well as the other economic classes.
WB: That was the most fun part about writing the song. Though if anyone out there has my '54 Strat, I'm willing to take it back, no questions asked. There's a small reward.
'Blues Beach' could be an outtake from Kamakiriad. Are you still smitten with that "faux-luxe" vision of a Utopian future?
WB: I think that particular song to me, rather than being about a possible future, was more of a world of imagination and constructs.
DF: To me it had a lot more in common with 'Deacon Blues' and the idea of a sort of bohemian utopia. In 'Blues Beach', the guy definitely has mixed feelings about the place once he gets there – hence the line "the long sad Sunday of the early resigned".
Is 'Godwhacker' George W. Bush?
WB: Somebody else asked us that, but no, we didn't think of that.
DF: We were just thinking of the Western deity –
WB: Mr. Big –
What's your view of the current polarisation of the U.S. versus the World?
WB: My fear is that this is analogous to the buildup to the First World War. Even what's happened already has changed the rules by which international conflicts are addressed. A lot of the restraints on the system have been loosened now.
DF: Very similar to 1914, which was preceded by a long era of peace.
WB: Although in that war, part of what happened was a domino effect of people coming into the war because of treaties and alliances and deals that they had made. And now, in a way, what you're seeing is that all the deals are being undone, and that's the scary thing. I fear that it's the beginning of an era of real lawlessness.
Why was 'Slang of Ages' earmarked for you, Walter?
WB: Well, uh, I always want to help out with the vocals, because it's a lot of work.
[Fagen sniggers.]
WB: Well, it is –
DF: No, yeah –
WB: I always do wanna pitch in, but happily until now I've been able to avoid actually having to do anything except offer. This time out, y'know, we got down to the end and here was a song – unlike almost any other song we've ever done – that I actually could sing, even in the key that it was cut in.
DF: And I was extremely delighted to oh-blige. One less nightmare for me.
Is it fair to say that 'Green Book' may be the most urbane song yet written about online pornography?
WB: Not exactly. We imagine a pornography beyond online pornography – a pornography involving some sort of magical remote viewing, that flirts somewhere on the borderline between jealousy and intense arousal.
DF: With things like virtual sex, you get this sense that reality itself has become kind of fugitive. Which is part of what's created the problem we have now, because commercial reality is really a kind of virtual reality.
Isn't it a little ironic that some people think that Steely Dan are a pair of old farts – the Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau of jazz-funk – when actually you're writing more trenchantly about this fucked-up virtual world we live in than almost anyone?
WB: Well, I think part of the reason that we were able to slip through the cracks or get in the door in the first place was because you could see what we did at that level and it was mildly humorous yet palatable. It wasn't necessary to know or be troubled by anything beyond that level.
Gina in 'Lunch With Gina' seems to be cast from the same mould as, say, Janie Runaway? Do you both have this fixation with difficult women?
DF: Well, y'know…
[Laughter]
DF: I think it's true that most of the people I am attracted to, male or female… it's not that I'm attracted to people with mental illness, but people who have a certain kind of creative energy that's attractive also have certain problems which manifest themselves in different ways.
Steely Dan have become so friendly in recent years. For so long you erected this kind of shield of enigma around you – could you have been this approachable and cheery back in, say, 1975?
DF: Well, depending on our mood…
WB: Some of the sort of rough edges have been worn off, certainly in my case.
For an act that sold millions of records, you didn't appear to have much interest in stardom.
DF: Well, maybe. We may have been a little disingenuous about that, I think because we came from the jazz world originally. I think we were probably as arrogant as anyone else in those days, but the emphasis on actual music and composition maybe outweighed some of the other stuff.
I saw you at Wembley a couple of years ago, and you were having a lot of fun.
DF: Yeah, the last couple of years… because we have a good band…
WB: You can even stop playing and they just keep going.
So touring is a far more pleasant experience than it ever used to be.
WB: Well, it wasn't a pleasant experience before, for a variety of reasons.
DF: That's why we got off the road, because it was too depressing. It wasn't all because of the players, and there were good nights in the '70s.
WB: There was an astonishing gap between our pretensions and the reality of our performances in those days, and it didn't make us feel any better about what we were trying to do.
DF: We wanted Duke Ellington men behind us, and we wanted to be Duke Ellington men, but we weren't and they weren't –
WB: Absolutely –
DF: And we still aren't, but at least we have some hope.
Which old songs do you most enjoy playing live?
DF: We only do the ones we like onstage. Some of them seem to mean something different now.
You didn't play 'Reelin' In The Years', and I didn't particularly mind.
WB: Neither did we.
You didn't even play 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number'.
WB: We very rarely do.
DF: That's one of our least favourites.
Thank you, gentlemen. That will be all.
© Barney Hoskyns 2003
Posted by: Andy, DCI'm working on updating the audio interviews on my web site. Should be done by the end of the weekend. In the meantime, here is the World Cafe show that just aired on NPR in Philly:
Windows Media stream: http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/audio/worldcafe.asx
Download MP3:
http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/audio/worldcafe.mp3
Also came across this review from the Oregonian- http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1055419389322500.xml
Posted by: Danwhacker, hey Nietzsche,
i think that D&W may have been poking fun at you.
DW
Posted by: Nietzsche, hey I liked that World Cafe thingy. Didja catch that point Walter made about not using all the songs they recorded for EMG?? So there are leftovers,, hopefully to turn up on some future recording..
And remember everyone: God is already dead so the Whackers don't have to bother going after Himm
Nietzsche
Posted by: Pam Dummitt, Richmond, VAHey Hoops,
A friend in Boulder just called to tell me about a broadcast going out today on radio stations carrying NPR's "World Cafe" program.
You can check out their website at worldcafe.org. It includes a link to find stations boradcasting the program, organized by state,then city.
Unfortunately, Richmond, VA is not one of them. Maybe some other Danfans out there can catch it and pass on their reviews to the rest of us.
Today's programming will feature host David Dye interviewing Steely Dan, and includes a live version of Bodhisattva.
Posted by: Hank Silvers, WXPN streams at www.xpn.org.
Posted by: lucky henry, hello,
An interview with Donald and Walter will be airing on World Cafe with David Dye, WXPN 88.5 FM (Philadelphia) at 2:00 PM Eastern. There is a list of a stations that broadcast the show via http://www.worldcafe.org/. Should make for a yummy playback.
lh
Posted by: Joe M, Fellow Danizens,
Roll your carts back up the aisle!
Announcing the latest version of the Complete Digital Steely Dan...
When you get a chance, flash on over to StAl's most excellent Steely Dan page and download this puppy.
http://www.banyantrees.net/software/cdsd.exe
Revision 3.00 CDSD includes an updated slide show - additional sideman bio's including Dean Parks, Hugh McCracken, Keith Carlock, Jay Graydon and Rick Marotta - a STEELY search engine of the lyrics and periodicals database - lot's of new (and old) articles - new sound files and pictures - and tons of material related to the new Steely Dan CLASSIC "Everything Must Go."
And what a great record EMG is, huh? Green Book is mind blowing, Godwhacker is a full-fledged smoker and the title track? Well, does it get any better than the tile track? A GREAT record, another great summer tour to follow... Life is damn good right about now!
Let me know if you have any suggestions regarding content, new features, etc for the CDSD... I'm always looking to improve this thing in any way that I can.
Thanks for listening folks,
Joe
Posted by: Moebius, Urbane Urbana
Random:
Bought mine at 10am at Best Buy, cracked the seal and shoved it into the car player in the parking lot. Another car pulls in to the next space, dude jumps out, " Is that the new Steely Dan , no shit?" I acknowledged. He was one of us. Gave me a thumbs up on the way in for his copy.
My parents spent part of their honeymoon on the Andrea Doria.
Recieved a DVD interview/concert of the current Ambrosia. They interviewed Royce Jones, singer in both groups. He said he learned more from his time with Becker/Fagen than anywhere else.
I think Gina knows the Negative girl, but they don't get along.
Having heard "Things I miss" within days of seeing "About Schmidt", I can't help picturing Jack Nicholson building that damn boat, carefully exacto-knifing his way through the balsa.....
I feel smarter when I listen to the Dan. I also feel dumber.
My fave - Lunch with Gina
Need more time - Blues Beach
Bruce
Posted by: Dave From Acquistions, Nino'shttp://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0613/p17s02-almp.html
Posted by: merciful ray, im dyinEMG Supporting Characters:
All Shoppers
Little Buckaroos
Checkout Girls
Adorable Ghost
Birdy Friend
Trina-The Child Bride
My Hypothetical Friend
Big Dog
Your Roommate Yyvonne
The Dude
GodWhacker
Slinky Redfoot
Trusty Angel-Girls
Poppy
Big Tiger
The Rajahs of Erase
The Doll
Duke of Earl
Old Girl
Cashier
Jill St. John
Marilyn 4.0
The Lovers
Pixeleen
Abu
Stupid Father
Three-Times Perfect Ultrateen
As-if Boyfriend Randall
Sleek And Souful Cyberqueen
Hack In The Pallisades
Guys From Columbia
Girl In Girlie Trouble
Girl With The Sweet Backstory
Cool-Enough Yes-Man
Gina
Nino
The Waiter
The Bastards
The Corporation
Miss Fugazy
Dave From Aquisitions
Posted by: Slinky Godwhacker from Acquisitions, oyez oyez
I'm thinking the song "Everything Must Go" could be an alternative soundtrack for the movie "Startup.com" : http://us.imdb.com/Title?0256408
Sort of like "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wizard of Oz."
Start the track on your CD player when the third venture capitalist roars...
Posted by: wbk,
Miss Fugazi: "Number One in Acquistions,
That is on foreign shores..."
Posted by: Kid Clean,
Review from my local rag -
http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/music/jun03/147719.asp
KC
Posted by: Dave From Aquisitions, Nino'sMiss Fugazi is probably his secretary
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareOne observation about the chorus from Pixeleen. It very much reminds me of the interview with D+W regarding West of Hollywood. I remember them saying that they came up with "Riding the crest of a wave breaking just West of Hollywood" after having a number of other phrases that could have filled that chorus, but the one in the song worked best. It seems like in Pixeleen they came up with several lines that would work with the chorus, and they liked them all, so they used them. Just an observation.
Earl
Posted by: royalscammer, re: Nichols article/Green BookMore enlightenment from the Immortal:
>>If it takes a day and a half for a chicken and a half to lay an egg and a half, how long does it take for a rooster to hatch a hardware store out of a door knob?
Posted by: bill, pittsburghI believe the narrator of Godwhacker has identified HIMSELF with that line, not a co-conspirator as I previously thought:
>Yes, it clearly says "ME, Slinky Red Foot...", right?
Hmmm, slinky, red feet ...
"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste."
As for the service elevator, I am now convinced that the tryst w/Ms. F (and a spectator) explanation is correct. I was just reporting on the arson angle cause I saw it somewhere. It does sound like an office party out of control, and with the company folding, who cares anymore.
Posted by: Big Fan, More rain can you believe it?Orange County Review:
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=43498§ion=SHOW&subsection=MUSIC&year=2003&month=6&day=13
The Clevland Plain dealer is supposed to have a review here later:
http://www.cleveland.com/music/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/friday/1055497081109870.xml
Listening to Things I Miss the Most coming into work today - I couldn't help think that this would be a perfect background to HBO's Soprano's this fall as Tony reminisces about Carmela.
Posted by: Slinky Godwhacker from Acquisitions, thumbs up on EMG!
angel, you're right about there being something in the recording industry regarding a Green Book.
A certain well-known audio engineer has even dropped us a clue:
" Just to round out the Rainbow of Books, next came the Green Book which described CD-I, the interactive CD designed for the dedicated player introduced by Phillips."
article here: http://www.rogernichols.com/EQ/EQ_95-01.html
Standards are used to formally describe something that lots of people want to access:
Music in the Red Book
Computer data in the Yellow Book
I'm thinking Marilyn 4.0 in the Green Book
Posted by: gawdwhacka, on the caseNow if the Things narrator is into building scale models, there's no saying the Audi and the houses in question are anymore real than the ship.
Hey, it's about me. I'm even directly mentioned in the song somewhere. Yes, it clearly says "ME, Slinky Red Foot...", right?
So there you go.
Posted by: Here's how the Frog newspaper review would, have read if America hadn't saved their cowardly ass in WWII"Der Nachfolger multiplatiné des Albums von vor drei Jahren Two Against Nature, die fans von Steely Dan nicht wirklich überraschen wird. Die hier vorgeschlagene Musik erweist sich als immer kostbar cool auf halbem Wege zwischen Salonjazz und r' hochentwickeltes b. Mit anderen Worten ideal in einem mit aufklappbarem Dach zu hören, während eine leichte Brise Ihnen die Haare zerzaust. Walter Becker führt dort eine seltene Stimmleistung auf lascif Slang of Ages aus, bevor es in den Schatten zurückkehrt, um seinen Partner Donald Fagen zu lassen die neuen Lieder des Tandems mit seinen üblichen hämischen Betonungen singen. Auf den ersten Blick kann die Gesamtheit etwas enttäuschend scheinen, als ob Becker und Fagen sich darauf beschränkten, ihre alten amortisierten Formeln zu wiederholen, aber nach und nach von diesem auftauchenden Album der verheimlichten Gefühle insbesondere jenes der Verletzbarkeit und unmittelbar bevorstehender Katastrophe, die fest in Amerika "post- post-11. September" vgl. infiltriert wurde, die Lieder sans.ambiguïté The Last Mall und jener, die dem Album seinen Titel gibt. Einschreiben."
Posted by: Sylvain, Montréal, Québec, CanadaIf you are able to read French, here's a review from the daily newspaper "Libération" from Paris (France) about the new Steely Dan album. Positive critic.
Steely Dan
Everything Must Go (WEA).
"Le successeur de l'album multiplatiné d'il y a trois ans, Two Against Nature, ne surprendra pas vraiment les fans de Steely Dan. La musique ici proposée s'avère toujours somptueusement cool à mi-chemin entre jazz de salon et r'n'b sophistiqué. Autrement dit, idéale à écouter dans une décapotable tandis qu'une légère brise vous ébouriffe les cheveux. Walter Becker y exécute une rare performance vocale sur le lascif Slang of Ages avant de rentrer dans l'ombre pour laisser son partenaire Donald Fagen chanter les nouvelles chansons du tandem avec ses habituelles intonations sardoniques. De prime abord, l'ensemble peut paraître quelque peu décevant, comme si Becker et Fagen se contentaient de répéter leurs vieilles formules amorties, mais, peu à peu, de cet album émergent des sentiments cachés, en particulier celui de vulnérabilité et de désastre imminent solidement infiltré dans l'Amérique «post-11 septembre» cf. les chansons sans ambiguïté The Last Mall, et celle qui donne son titre à l'album. Recommandé."
Posted by: Clas, Someone was asking for the URL to the GBook Compilation CD:
http://www.ateljelundkvist.se/z/sketchesandstrangeloops
Everyone is welcome to join.
Posted by: Duncan, 4 out of 5 stars in the UK Times.
---------------------
STEELY DAN
Everything Must Go (Reprise)
REVIVED a decade ago, Steely Dan made a mint touring and produced 2001’s Grammy winning album Two Against Nature. The new album will delight Dan fans — Walter Becker’s basslines, Hugh McCracken on guitar, Walt Weiskopf’s tenor sax — but it could also bring the band a younger audience. Musically, Becker and Fagen have loosened up since their Seventies heyday, there’s less jazz, and dark lyrics about globalisation and terrorism suggest that they’re on the money in more ways than one.
--------------------
Posted by: DEAFINITELY, DEFINITELY
Posted by: SouthOfHollywood, Nino'sPixel=Heroine
Lunch=Heroin
Posted by: Slinky Redfoot, San DiegoWow interesting analysis of the fact time verse in EMG. The arson fraud I thought no way this is DEFINATELY the narrator trying to get some head in the elevator. I picked up on the "service" elevator as well. And its late going on later is a reference to the way things can get after you've been drinking all night - he's a bit shitfaced and its late - why not? I think Miss fugazi may be his secretary - she's hot and he's wanted her for all these years but as a professional he could never go there. Now that its all over and he's got a bit of the old liquid courage why not? And for the hell of it lets get real nasty and kinky with it and if Dave wants to join in that's fine! - get some 3 way goin and video tape to boot.
That's my take.
However, I do like the idea that the dissolve may not neccessarily be a corporation - it could very well be a relationship in disguise. Very nice observation! I'll have to listen and read the rest of lyrics and see how that fits but good idea nonetheless.
Oh, and Green Book is DEFINATELY about spanking it!
Ole - what is the URL to your meanings page?
And are there any sites that have all the lyrics to EMG? Steelydan.com doesn't have it posted yet...
-Slinky
Posted by: Shaun, BostonOk everyone, this is the deal. When the September 12th Roseland show goes on sale, I want everybody reading this to call up Ticket Master and buy at least four tickets. Even if you're not going! This is the only way Steely Dan will add another show the next night. You must do this! Pretty please?
EMG is so good, I'm hoping the band plays every song from it this tour. At this point, I wouldn't care if they didn't play one song from the 70's. I can't believe I'm saying this!
Peg's post reminded me of a review I had read back in late February /early March. This review really got me excited. I remember thinking this reviewer was full of beans. Number one: how could this cat have gotten the record so early?!... and number two, his review sounded to good to be true. I publicly accused this reviewer of making the whole thing up. He never answered back. When I came back across the same review tonite, I realized this guy was DEAD ON! I cut and pasted the review below. Remember, it was written three-four months ago. Pretty cool.
Rate Your Music is an online community of people who love music.
2003.
Review by DDalton:
Rated: 5 Stars
Upon my very first listen, I almost fell out of my easy chair. This is vintage Steely Dan, folks! Donald's attitude that was MIA on Two Against Nature is back in full force. The overall feel of Everything Must Go is very warm and inviting, again a contrast to their previous Grammy winning effort. I don't know if it is because they went back to analog, but this is one of the best sounding recordings I have ever heard. This album has so much going on you will be discovering new things for years. The drumming is full and hypnotic, yet not mechanical. The guitars and keyboards are so intricate and abundant, I don't know how they will be able to pull this off live. The horn arrangements are vintage Fagen, and the sax on the title track is going to be many fans' all-time favorite, right up there with Christlieb, Woods and Shorter. Becker's bass playing makes me want to see him on the 4-string this summer, but that only lasts until his tasty guitar licks come into play. The songs themselves sound like they could be long forgotten remnants from their mid to late 70's era. In fact if somebody told me these were Katy Lied or Gaucho outakes, I'd believe it. The grooves are so infectious, you'd have to tie yourself down to keep from moving. You know it's a great album when every song on it has at some point been your favorite track. This one is up there with the best stuff the Dan has ever done.... maybe even better.
Posted by: Andy, DCFound a new review in the Guardian which apparently reviews SD albums when it's not busy embarrassing the Bush administration
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,976040,00.html
Also - there is an interview in today's Times of London but I can't access it here in the U.S. without paying a ridiculous subscription fee. I think access to the Times site (www.times.co.uk) is free for UK residents, so I'm sure everyone here would appreciate it someone from the other side of the sea could post the article here.
Posted by: DACW, Nietzsche: Yes, if there was ever any doubt - they are back!
joey - no, sounds more like the Beacon to me
Jesse: Contemporary Jazz is a good Branford album - I don't own it, but have heard it twice on the local NPR station with their "morsels of jazz" every other afternoon. Tain really rules on that one...I still dig the themes and ideas on Renaissance though...it's funny - I think of Contemporary Jazz as much a Musical Period of time rather than simply meaning "current," ...like a "contemporary style home." ...although fortunately no hideous like contemporary home architecture
The Contemporary Jazz period connotes the IGY/New Frontier years with joe Henderson, Kenny Droham, Horace Silver, Dave Brubeck...stuff that could bop a little or slide to cool, but not the hard bop stuff...recordings that could be heard on many levels, like Steely Dan from the idealistic 50s hopemaker listening to the radio while using the lastest technological advances around the house...at the same time, good enough for the purists...
Branford shares an affinity for that musical period...even in the Balck Codes of the Underground days with brother Wynton, keeping it real...or whatever...
Just letting EMG flow over me as we deconstruct/reconstruct florring at the house - new tile...It is simply a CLASSIC...it's all good, although I have a special affinity for Pixeleen as well...Lunch with Gina, Green Book, Godwhacker, and Things i Miss the Most follow not far behind...The title track is beautiful...it's just hard to believe that at least 5 songs are just as good or better...
Posted by: Luckless Pedestrian, @bedtimerandy - was that you in the green room?
Posted by: Philly, Philly paper has a review of the new one:
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/6034949.htm
Posted by: Me, You nailed it dead on, Man without a face. That's what's going on, although for the Wal-Mart crowd, they could think it just means a kiss. But I'm thinking one last blow job. If were just a kiss they wouldn't need the *service* elevator and believe me, service like that would get my spirits and a certain bodily member elevated.
Posted by: Good King John, Does anyone else out there think that "Slang of Ages" sounds like a slightly sped up version of the old gem "Ida Lee"?
"Good King" John
Posted by: moray eel, chiFor those in Chicago, XRT (93.1) played Godwhacker at 11:30am this morning. New noise at nine starts at 9pm central. New Dan is sure to be pumped out to the masses.
m.e.
Posted by: Man without a face, In a caveQuote: The narrator is asking Miss Fugazi to join him for a little "face time" in the service elevator, and wants to know if Dave from aquisitions wants to get in on the action with his handicam in tow. To me this is clearly the narrator coaxing Miss Fugazi to give him a "job" in the elevator, and Dave gets off on this sort of thing and wants to videotape it. And hey, why not? They're going out of business.
I read Everything Must Go as a breakup song and the Miss Fugazi verse is full of bitter irony and sarcasm. "Gone from late to later" as in from her being late out cheating on him to "later..." as a dismissive goodbye. Dave "from Acquisitions" (not from any other possible department in a business they could have randomly picked) is who Miss Fake has replaced the narrator with. So he thinks of something hurtful to say to her like "maybe your new boyfriend would like to videotape you blowin' me (face time) for the road."
Posted by: Peg, Home at lastGreetings, fellow Danites. My meanderings follow.
First, a news flash for those not into magazine reading: Carolyn Leonhart is given a nice bio and briefly comments on the crossover between pop and jazz in the July issue of Jazziz. She lists her mentors as "Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Chaka Khan, Sarah Vaughan...."
And now to EMG. Should be OMG for Oh My God(whacker)! Amazingly consistent throughout, much more accessible than 2VN, overall impression is that the guys had FUN making this one! The recording quality/sound is so much more warm and inviting.
I've been passing around my CD player to folks at work..So far, all listeners have decided to go out and buy it.
There are some fine details in various songs...note the bell-type sound (to sound like a phone) used by Keith Carlock in Lunch With Gina...listen closely to the verse, "Now I'm in my apartment, The blinds down the lights out, The phone rings..." It is used only on that verse. I reminded me of the police whistle in Aja...Okay, not quite as obvious and loud as the whistle but still such a cool detail..Fagen's vocal are awesome and strong and perfect throughout this album.
To me, Pixeleen is about Kim Possible, her dad, her boyfriend Ron Stoppable (who ya never really figure is a boyfriend on the cartoon, either), at least in the beginning...then it shifts a bit. Everything Must Go could be about a breakup of any type, not necessarily a business..Ah! Slang of Ages is great and Walter's voice is also....Slang me!!!
Green Book and Godwhacker are my faves. Green Book's delicious slinky melody is so Mancini-ish. Godwhacker is the fave of all male types I have given the CD to...Well I will stop here because I don't want to hog any more of Hoopsie's space. Song meanings are fully handled on Ole's pages anyway.
Yay! "OMG" it is soooo great! THANKS to Donald and Walter for proving AGAIN that there is such a thing as kickin musical ass and being over 50...what an inspiration to an over-40 musician like me. Now I must go kick out some Latin tunes...inspired and never givin up......~Peg
Posted by: angel, I definitely see the Walter to Sayan connection. Yes, there are other things going on in Pixeleen, but there is definite LOVE involved, too. Maybe I feel it more because I am visiting my father and that song brings back the whole curfew/boyfriend thing and the feelings one has at that age, but it is definitely in there. Donald also mentioned in one of the articles that Walter had a lot do bring to that song, due to the fact that he has, or just recently had, a teenage girl.
Green Book: I noticed the connection to the Blue and Yellow books. I also think there is something in the recording industry regarding a Green Book. I do see some musical terms in the song, which might go either way.
Posted by: Kid Clean, Crossing a bridge of light
DVD-A came in today.
Aural Ecstasy.
getting light headed......
KC
Posted by: Miss Fugazi, Service ElevatorQuote:
"I have seen a few suggestions that what the narrator is up to in the service elevator is a bit of insurance-fraud arson to get a few bucks out of the corporate carcass. Is Dave videotaping this scam for blackmail purposes? "
____________
I actually have my own idea as to what is going on in the "service elevator" in "Everything Must Go"
The narrator is asking Miss Fugazi to join him for a little "face time" in the service elevator, and wants to know if Dave from aquisitions wants to get in on the action with his handicam in tow. To me this is clearly the narrator coaxing Miss Fugazi to give him a "job" in the elevator, and Dave gets off on this sort of thing and wants to videotape it. And hey, why not? They're going out of business.
Posted by: Bill/Pgh, re: World Cafe!!Somebody please record this show! David Dye is a perceptive and knowledgeable interviewer with a mischievous streak (he recently did a great show with the members of the "Folksmen" (aka acoustic Spinal Tap) from the movie A Mighty Wind, in full character and going along with the gag that they were a reunited legendary 60's folk trio. This should be very entertaining! I assume there won't be any live music, just cuts from the CD. Of course, I could be wrong.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.I love it! The kid Pixeleen day-dreaming of her metamorphosis into a grown-up hot lookin' cyberspy gal one day. So Pixeleen is partly teenage girl and partly prohibitively stunning cyberqueen. How bout Lizzie Maguire as the kid and, you guessed it, an incredibly tricked-out Carolyn for the cyberqueen.
Posted by: Jim Kauffman, PAInterview Alert!
The World Cafe interview with D & W will be broadcast tomorrow, Friday the 13th, at least in the Philadelphia area from whence the Cafe originates on WXPN.
Sometime between 2:00 and 4:00.
-Jim K.
Posted by: Bill, againOK, I'm getting obsessed with this song, too. I believe the quote "Be in the door by ten," the pager, the boyfriend, Abu, the train, the guns, etc. are all elements of the plotline of the movie our man Freddy is pitching, It works your way, too, since Donald may be giving voice to multiple characters in this little drama. Perhaps it's the "hack from the Palisades" writer doing the serenading.
So far this one has me thinking the most, since it has so many layers, vivid images, and shifting points of view. Very cinematic in its own way. A video for this could be very interesting with Walter as Freddy, gold chains and all, making the pitch to Donald as the sneering studio exec -- first we're watching the CGI video chick, then the hollywood guys, then back again, "now we dolly back, now we fade to black ..."
Whoever compared D&W to the Coen Bros was on to something. If they're really going out of business as musicians (we all assume not) they could have second careers as filmmakers.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Now I'm as much of a pervert as anybody, but the first and third Pixeleen chori are definitely directed toward the ultrateen, the daughter; the second is directed toward the cyberqueen. "Be in the door by ten" and "be good my 3x perfect ultrateen" sound paternal to me. By the way, do you think maybe Carolyn will sport some kind kinky cyberspy catsuit with thigh-high boots at the shows? Carolyn if you're out there, it's worth some consideration. Just to flesh out the number, you understand.
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghNah, I think those chorus sections are a little too lecherous to be fatherly. More like the creator of this digital heroine and soon-to-be commercial goldmine serenading his creation, with whom he has become rather smitten. A little Pygmalion theme, I think
>if you read Pixeleen's "Be good my three-times perfect ultrateen" as a valentine from Walter to his teenage daughter
Posted by: PostBobGorilla, Faceless Man,
I'm with ya'. I'm convinced Lunch With Gina is a heroin song disguised as yet another psychotic-chick song. That idea makes the album sequencing even more interesting...if you read Pixeleen's "Be good my three-times perfect ultrateen" as a valentine from Walter to his teenage daughter, then Lunch With Gina has to be absolutely the coolest "Just Say No" message any Dad has sent his kid. And just in time for Father's Day too.
PBG
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, re: variousI thinkg the business scoundrels in the title track are of the small-time variety, perhaps dot.com startup guys who lived high on IPO money for a while and lost their shirt when the bubble burst. Anyone follow "Doonsebury" over the past few years when some of the main characters went through similar stuff? I have seen a few suggestions that what the narrator is up to in the service elevator is a bit of insurance-fraud arson to get a few bucks out of the corporate carcass. Is Dave videotaping this scam for blackmail purposes? There are certainly parallels to the big leagues of Enron, WorldCom, etc. as well.
I am fairly certain that the "holy f--k" guitar solo on Gold Teeth II is Denny Dias. Not sure that has ever been officially confirmed. It's also a favorite of mine.
Mick Taylor is rather inconsistent. He did a solo LP shortly after leaving the Stones which I really liked when it came out, but I'm not sure if it would still hold up. Haven't heard it in a long time. It was largely instrumental, and if you like his solos on Knockin' or Time Waits for No One you'd probably like it. More in the Jeff Beck/Santana vein than Stones, and he sang a couple songs semi-competently. One instrumental featured my all-time slide guitar hero Lowell George. I saw him a couple times in the 80s in bars doing a fairly standard set of blues. His bassist did all the singing at the time. He has put out a couple blues-oriented CDs with a singer-gutarist named Carla Olson. I have a live recording of his with Carla Olson where he does a couple Stones covers, including a very underrated song called Sway from Sticky Fingers - his cover is just OK but that's a great song. He plays some nice stuff on Joe Henry's debut CD and has worked with Dylan a bit. And yes, he has put on a few pounds over the years.
Posted by: Don Breithaupt, TorontoFor the record, it sounds to me like the title track is B&F's take on Enron and high-level corporate scoundrels in general; not a thinly veiled confession that they're about to check out on us again.
Posted by: Man with no face, Anybody else think Lunch With Gina is about somebody's... ah... "relationship" with opiates?
Posted by: diludin, Speaking of Fagen solo's, one of my favorite SD solos is the keyboard on Gold Teeth (as well as my all-time fave guitar solo, on Gold Teeth II). I always assumed it was DF on YGT. I also kinda thought it was Denny on YGT II. Anyone know.
BTW, "Gina" makes me feel the same as when I listen to King of the World.
Posted by: Joey, " the great Mick Taylor has a CD coming out on June 24. "
Speaking of " Bloated Toads "
{{ CA - RACK }}
Base Hit !
Seriously , I have seen Taylor in concert and he is superb.
Joey !
Posted by: Boston Rag, .shyster - I have a very open mind musically. One rap artist I really loved was Everlast and his band House of Pain. I believed that kid's raps and the gospel he preached. I just find Marhall Mathers to be a kid who has not paid his dues. There's just a real phony quality I find with him. And yes, I have listened to his records.
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Rob Keil, in that comfy Eames hairI'm just going to be an unapologetic elitist here:
1. I've heard the album about 6 times through now. I simply can't pick a favorite because it's so consistently good. The songs are starting to feel like old friends already.
2. I also don't care if EMG wins any Grammys or not. I honestly don't think that the masses and people in the music business necessarily "get" Steely Dan, and when it really comes down to it, what a critic thinks or what other people think isn't that important. I love the new album, it's great music to me, period.
3. I've been listening to my local "rock/pop" station, something I don't do that often, to see if they are playing any more tracks from EMG. I hate to sound stuffy, but there is nothing else on the airwaves like Steely Dan. Don't get me wrong, there is other good popular music out there, but the average songs on the radio are just that - average songs that I can digest in 3 minutes, and maybe I'll hear it a second or third time and like it. There's so much more to an average Steely Dan song than a cachy tune. Not only is their sound totally unique, but their music can be enjoyed on so many levels, and stands the test of time. There are few figures in pop music who stand out like that.
I guess what I'm saying in a long-winded way is that I admire Donald & Walter for creating their own unique sound that goes beyond the obvious, and for doing it so well for so long.
Posted by: Joey, Hello Again my Steelian Kin ......................
Well , I absolutely MUST share with you what happened to me here at the office over the lunch hour .
You see my Steely Brothers and Sisters , it has been a very busy day here at work , so I decided to eat lunch at my desk whilst listening to EMG on the Computer . In between bites of a sandwich , I accidentally cut myself on a staple that was sticking out in between a stack of papers and I bled a bit on my mouse pad . It was then that I noticed something very very strange -- the blood was an unusually bright red and I could actually see my little red blood cells swaying back and forth to the beat of " Blues Beach " .
I KID YOU NOT ! --- I was completely dumbfounded and just sat there watching the little guys standing up on their hind legs moving back and forth to the rhythm of the song ..............................................and what a catchy tune it is , huh ? Definitely begininng to grow on me more and more .
If the entire disc continues to get better and better and BETTER with each additional listening , I MAY just have to up my rating of EMG from an " A - " to an " A " .
Damn Straight
JOEY !
Posted by: babylon shyster, Boston Rag...
I think you're really dating yourself w/ your comments on eminem. like him or not, I don't think you can deny his rhythmic mastery..to completely dismis him as a punk is no different than me labeling D&W as old, rich white jazz hacks.
Anyways, just found out there's going to be a opening act on leg one...Clay Aiken.
Keep it real or whatever open minded Dan fans.
the Shyster
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Sting...that bloated toad! He couldn't carry SD's ball-sack supporter. After a couple OK forays into jazz-pop, he has settled into the slough of his own despond. My advice: make up with those two knuckleheads and see if they can still rock. Pitiful. I'm so proud Don and Walt got it back together so brilliantly. It gives all us middle-aged mastodons hope. I guess you CAN get lucky twice.
Posted by: Boston Rag, Jesse - And speaking of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", the great Mick Taylor has a CD coming out on June 24.
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoBill, it was "Sticky Fingers" in 71, "Exile" in 72, and "Goat's Head Soup" in 73 (and "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" in 74). Contrary to popular belief, I think "Sticky Fingers" is their best, hands down. It's got my favourite Stones tune on it: "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", and well as other classics like "Sister Morphine", "Dead Flowers", and the crowd favourite "Brown Sugar".
And, yes, I also like the Stones and Coltrane. I think most Dan fans, at least most diehard Dan fans, are usually open to many kinds of music, as we know Don and Walt are.
Posted by: royalscammer, re: StingIf you believe his Tantric claims, it would have to be a boxed set.
>>Yea, Sting, that bastard would ruin it. He could release a record of him bangin' his model wife and everyone would buy it.
Posted by: newtwoblue, dtownYea, Sting, that bastard would ruin it. He could release a record of him bangin' his model wife and everyone would buy it.
..and what the fuck his name is a verb for crissakes....
He is talented but soooooooooooooo overrated.
ROCK ON> I am really diggin' Pixeleen.
Posted by: Dean Blagden, London EnglandI don't care whether EMG wins any Grammys. The people who make these awards are not qualified to pass judgement on a band as great as Steely Dan, so their opinions (and those of the music critics) don't add up to a row of beans.
I don't know whether EMG is as good as, better than, or inferior to, 2vN, and I'm not sure I care about this either. Both records are masterpieces. What else matters?
For thirty years, this band has consistently made the most interesting, original and sophisticated popular music since Duke Ellington. Let's just be grateful for that.
Posted by: snakehips,
JM - yes, the "magnificent" Walt Weiskopf will be touring with SD this summer...can't wait to hear that *gorgeous* sax live!
see www.waltweiskopf.com
his work on the whole cd is awesome and his solo work on the title track is BLOWING ME AWAY!
as with all SD albums, i'm getting to know this one better every day, but i need some headphones...i just know i'm not hearing everything...lol
and i'm a Stones fan too ;-)
Posted by: Jon, Regarding "sad Sundays": I'm put in the mind of the Doobies' tune "Another Lonely Park, Another Sunday," which for me always evoked sad imagery.
Could the Sunday of "Blues Beach" be sad because our hero is merely bored, being early resigned (retired) and all? Help us, Ole Wan-Kenobi, you're our only hope!
Posted by: Dave from Acquisitions, Blues BeachThe Grammy voters are all 40+ year old men who don't give a rat's ass about Eminem. Steely Dan will win, unless Sting new one spoils it.
Posted by: Boston Rag, Oh Please
"Trust me , Eminenim ( Sic ) has no worry at this February's Grammys ."
Well I guess the phony little punk will have to get his ass kicked again like he did in 2001.
Would that make JOEY's nipples shrivel????
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghI agree if by that you mean that like "Exile" it sounds live, like all the players and singers were recorded in real time (even though there were overdubs). Exile was the most live-sounding album the Stones had done during that era, compared with Goat's Head Soup and Sticky Fingers, much slicker studio efforts. I think it's one of their best. I forget the order in which they were released.
Yes, some SD fans actually like the Stones AND Coltrane. Go figure.
Posted by: Joey, " I see no reason the Academy would stop with EMG. Also, is there really any other competition these days??? "
Trust me , Eminenim ( Sic ) has no worry at this February's Grammys . Where was Gary Katz ( a REAL Producer ) on EMG ? This new disc sounds like it was recorded inside the United Center -- In fact , I personally consider EMG to be to Steely Dan what " Exile on Main Street " was to the Rolling Stones -- and that is not necessarily such a bad thing .
Developing ...........................
Shiver ...............................
Joey !
Posted by: Bill, again, PittsburghAnother one:
Countermoon (Sampled tenor sax solo credited to "Illinois Elohainu" - I thought this was a real, if kinda clumsy, tenor solo at first. The credit is a combined reference to Illinois Jacquet and a Hebrew pun that I have seen explained but I forget the explanation, being Catholic and all).
Posted by: Nietzsche, Has anyone else noticed the "Monkey in Your Soul" horn reference on the fadeout to "Slang of Ages"? Seems fitting somehow.
Posted by: Bill , PittsburghMore Fagen solos:
Dirty Work (organ)
Everyone's Gone to the Movies (Wurlitzer piano - not sure, sounds like him)
Chain Lightning / NYRSR version (melodica)
Madison Time / NYRSR (piano)
(he also did piano solos on Green Earrings and some other peoples' tunes on that tour as I recall - maybe one of Boz Scaggs' tunes)
Hey 19 (synth blues harp)
Reflection (Monk cover on "That's the Way I Feel Now" duet with Steve Kahn - DF plays great synth blues harp)
Still think I'm missing some.
Posted by: Boston Rag, 48 hours later....KD - Hang in there brother. You are a great writer and incredibly knowledgeable about basketball. You'll land on your feet!
Slinky - 2vN, Kamakiriad, The Nightfly, Gaucho and Aja were all nominated for Album of the Year Grammys. I see no reason the Academy would stop with EMG. Also, is there really any other competition these days???
Earl - The only vocal I would do over is on Godwhacker when Donald sings "Give the man some whacking space". Sounds like Fagen swallowed his tonsils on that line. Either they wanted to leave the emotion in the delivery or they were committed to recording fast and loose.
Hope the sun comes out this weekend so I can sit poolside with EMG on the earphones!!!
Mark in Boston
Posted by: NUtwoBlu, MotownHey I am in Detroit and they are playing....Lunch with Gina and Godwhacker on our local station:
Check it out: http://www.wdetfm.org/music/playlist_search.php
I would have thought they would have played Pixeleen instead of LWG??
Posted by: jbeeching, ...an Eames Chair...http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=gramorder.structureinteractive.com/images/design/eames-lounge-chair.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gramorder.structureinteractive.com/desig_hm.htm%3Fcid%3D6&h=170&w=160&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEames%2Bchair%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG
...And the next single- hands down- is gotta be "Pixeleen"
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareHoward and others:
Glad to know that I'm not just hearing things. Especially the bridge in "Things I Miss The Most" is a little rough IMO.
Earl
Posted by: Howard, Earl - there are a few places where Donald's double-tracked vocals are not quite as tight as they usually are. There are a couple of these on 2VN as well.
In a way, I am surprised they didn't try and get a closer match for the second track, but having tried to do this in the studio, I know how hard it is to sing that second line and get it to match well! When you've got to go through the complete song and get TWO great vocal takes, instead of just one, I can understand them not pursuing every last phrase to the nth degree...
I think I probably prefer the vocals on the songs where they just use a single vocal track (EMG, Godwhacker)
Howard
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawareOle: When you start up your interpretations page, do a chrono of the "paranymph" thread back to April and see who started it.
DOE
Posted by: Big Fan, Gotta get to work nowPeople have no taste:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/entertainment/6064635.htm
Here's that NY Times link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/arts/music/12POPL.html?ex=1055995200&en=4708253d8fc220cc&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
More sales numbers:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=18192
Posted by: KD, ChiI'm not sure what I want to say about the events of the last few days.
This is a bit of a problem for a kid that's been trying to pay his rent for five years based on things he wants to say.
Like some other cats, I haven't left my room much since getting home with "Everything Must Go" about three hours after it was released. Sure, there was a trip for beer and pizza, a shower or two, and an NBA Finals quickie; but I'm always back for a walk on the real side.
I'd like to give everyone a good 3500-word breakdown on the first song on this album, then a solid 3500-word breakdown on the next eight, but I'll pass, for now at least.
This is why I haven't been on the BlueBook much since June of 2001. Not enough bandwidth.
This is also why I haven't sent anything to ole's site in a while, I don't know where to start, or where to end. Oleander, I'm still working on that missive on 2vN that I started in March of 2000. How's the outside world been since then? Anything new?
All I can say is I'm happy to be around, and happy to be alive in a time where these Two are around. So many stories (I didn't exactly experience my first EMG listening party over my stereo, in my apartment), so little patience. I gots to get back to listening.
Donald and Walter have turned us into very lucky people. I have $474 bucks in my bank account and a hole in the purple shirt I'm wearing, but I'm the luckiest cat on Earth.
I've gotten autographs from Dave Edmunds, Mike Watt, and Graham Parker over the last few months, and I was able to buy a new Steely Dan minutes after it came out. It's only the Pyrric accomplishments you need to care about, now that this world is day-to-day. Like most of you, I was making 25-times what I'm making now in late 2000, and like most of you, Dave from Acquisitions is borrowing my purple shirts.
But I couldn't be happier.
I wish I could give back more than a tiny post on the BlueBook.
For now, at least, this feels great.
It's growing.
Posted by: Beerberian, @work sortaNY Times …
And now comes Steely Dan's new album, "Everything Must Go" (Reprise), on which the band returns to its roots as a working band, as opposed to a studio project. This week, Steely Dan's core members, Walter Becker, 53, and Donald Fagen, 55, were interviewed individually by telephone from their homes in New York. Here are excerpts from the two separate interviews.
Were you surprised, after making all those jokes about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to actually get voted in?
DONALD FAGEN That was really the happy ending we were looking forward to. And we did end up sending a case of honey mustard over to Jann Wenner. So I wanted you to know that he was properly paid off.
Is it strange that, 30 years after the bulk of your work, suddenly you're getting so many awards and accolades?
WALTER BECKER I think that's a pretty typical pattern. We're getting a lot of credit just for surviving and for persisting in doing more or less the same kind of music, which depending on who you talk to is either considered a kind of integrity or a failure of imagination or both.
But for you, your style came out of nothing except yourselves and your specific musical backgrounds and tastes, so it makes sense that you'd stay in that pocket you invented.
BECKER That's true. It's such an unusual kind of music. It's an indicator of how much music has become like fashion that people genuinely expect that you'll have some whole new approach every time out.
You do, however, sing, "Let's roll with the homies" on the new album.
BECKER That's exactly right. We may not be in the mainstream of musical thought, but we're willing to co-opt any catchy expression that comes along, however silly.
What made you decide to sing for the first time on the album?
BECKER I've been offering to sing for years. But the songs that we write have too great a range for me. So this time through, as we were getting to the end, I realized that we had a song that I could sing. So I called my own bluff and did it.
Did anyone try to stop you?
BECKER Well it certainly wasn't anything they were expecting, and it was an easy song to sing.
Have you ever heard a popular band that you felt was a Steely Dan rip-off?
FAGEN Not really. Sometimes people remark that we had a big influence, but I don't really hear it — at least not in pop music. I think we're more of an influence on composers of advertising jingles and perhaps smooth jazz groups.
And how does that feel?
FAGEN Well, "I shot an arrow in the air. Where it lands, I know not where."
Do you find it strange that your music has been so popular and original, yet it hasn't influenced many imitators or created its own sub-genre.
BECKER I've always imagined that it has something to do with the fact that our music is such a diversion off the main avenue of rock 'n' roll styles that you almost can't imitate it without it coming off badly. Or maybe people just don't want to. The fact remains, and this is more true than ever, that jazz is considered some sort of bizarre alien influence in rock 'n' roll.
One of my favorite Grammy moments was when you both came to the press room after winning the Grammy for "Two Against Nature." People who weren't familiar with you expected you to be gracious, and instead they got stand-up comedy.
FAGEN We think of our records as comedy records to some degree. There wasn't really any model for that sort of thing, with the possible exception of Frank Zappa. But when we first started, people thought our style belied the actual content of the lyrics. So they thought we were just some sort of sincere California band. I guess that's the secret of subversion.
The Grammys were also interesting because "Two Against Nature" was just as taboo in parts as the Eminem record, but because the lyrics were cloaked in a more adult-sounding music, nobody really noticed it.
FAGEN It's easier for us to sneak it in, I guess because of the various pop forms we use — and the fact that we're so old — nobody cares.
The previous question was asked of Mr. Becker.
BECKER I think also it didn't have the adolescent in-yo-face kind of flaunting of aggressively presented subject matter.
But the subject matter can be even scarier coming from adults, rather than younger artists, because kids will be kids.
BECKER I think using the word adults in regard to Donald and I always should have a footnote of some sort. Clearly some of the processes have taken place, but not others. I don't know why that is.
And for some reason, being in the music world tends to keep people looking younger. Somehow, you two are the only exceptions to that.
BECKER I think that's probably true although it keeps us thinking younger.
I was kidding.
BECKER But it is true that when you get to be our age, it produces a not too desirable effect of wondering why are you still in a rock 'n' roll band.
Posted by: Lester, SpainMaybe, someone's told about it but the song EMG and Big Noise, New York... well, the record is IMPRESIONANTE: funky (GodWhacker!!!!), jazzy, pure SD but in another way. In my opinion the greatest since The Nightfly, breaking the clean sound of Kamakiriad/2vsN and turnin' into a fresh, immediate and proud SD sound. They did it again and the engineers too, I like this sound and I know you too ;-)
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoDACW, "Renaissance" is an interesting choice. "The Peacocks" is one of Branford's finest moments, and it has Herbie Hancock and Buster Williams on it, so it would have to be great. I just think that the level of group interaction that the band has (which is staggerinly high!) is shown in full on "Contemporary Jazz". Do you have that record?
Another thing about "Contemporary Jazz", I love the title. Contemporary jazz these days is associated with the smooth jazz or instrumental pop musicians like Kenny G, Dave Koz, Boney James, etc., except what they are doing isn't jazz, it's pop. Also, it's not even contemporary pop. What Branford, and other bands like Keith Jarrett, Dave Holland, etc., are doing is real contemporary jazz, as it is very fresh. I can't believe that people think that Kenny G is contemporary jazz and someone like Branford is traditional jazz. That's ridiculous, and that's why it was such a great album title.
Posted by: Slinky Redfoot, San DiegoMy choice for single should be Godwacker - I think that tune is just nasty nasty nasty! I had a little listening party and the people that aren't hardcore Steely dan fans were really into it. I think Godwacker has some serious potential and mass appeal where a lot of the lighter, jazzier stuff is hard for a lot of listeners to digest. A lot of listeners don't dig beneath the surface and break down lyrics like a lot of us do and while the lyrics to Godwacker are defininately deep and though provoking the highlight of the song is really the jam segments. Just really kicks some serious ass. I don't see how anyone could listen to it and not get their groove on! really!
And as far as thinking about grammy's - I think the voters are going to have to really like it even more so than 2vN. I think 2vN was a great album but it also got a bit of the lifetime achievement award as well... I think EMG is a higher quality album than 2vN and should be given serious consideration for album of the year again but I think the fact that 2vN already won makes it difficult for EMG to win - kinda stacks the odds against it. They like to spread the wealth ya know...
SR
Posted by: DACW, Fagen solos:
Do it Again (plastic organ)
Fire in the Hole (Monk-like piano)
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again (organ)
Your Gold Teeth I (organ)
Home At Last (synth blues harp)
IGY (synth blues harp)
Walk Between Raindrops (organ)
Century's End (synth blues harp)
On the Dunes (piano outtro - that's a reach)
Godwhacker (synth blues harp)
Greenbook (synth)
Lunch with Gina (synth)
Seems like I missed a few...
Pixeleen should be the single...
Fagen really does hit those high ones!!
Posted by: DACW - does anyone get lucky twice, draped over the shoulders of giantsOle: Absolutely, and undoubtably an expansion on the Phillip K. Dick story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" which was morphed into Blade Runner, the Ridley Scott classic...how about the opening montage? all without digital video...then Gibson used a typewriter, not a computer when composing Neuromancer , Count Zero, etc..."life imitates art" as Oscar Wilde first quipped, who's Picture of Dorian Gray was of course hugely influenced by the JK Huysmans absurdist novel "Against Nature" [Au Rebors]...Finnegan begin again...
Renaissance is Branford's best hands down...The Peacocks and Stone Love are amazing...Kirkland's finest hour...
...yes, Steely Dan is in its own universe of RAZZ as each CD is a new solar system
Posted by: oleander, and another thingAndy--nice nab! and love the article. Hurry up and dream.
Posted by: oleander, still foamingOoh, yeah, thanx Kid.
BookWorm on the GB (Guestbook, not Green Book) posited that Pixeleen is out of Gibson. I posted: BINGO!! I was thinking exactly that. Where do all these people think Lara Croft, Kim Possible, et al. came from? I would argue they largely grew out of "Neuromancer." Molly Millions was the original cyberpunk girl samurai. This song feels like an hommage a Gibson. Actually, the Idoru started out in "Idoru" and made another appearance in "All Tomorrow’s Parties." In "Idoru," one member of a band suspiciously reminiscent of Steely Dan falls in love with an AI construct, Rei Toei, the idoru. (Steely refs abound in this book.) There already have been computer-generated girl pop entities in Japan; Rei Toei is on a whole nother technological level. Much intrigue ensues re nanotech, love with the abstract, fandom, stardom, international theft, Japanese cultural weirdnesses, etc. But what I think Pixeleen has to do with it is: what if Rei Toei had been a teenager? What could she have been like? If she were a teenager now, as opposed to ’96, when the book was released, I think she’d be a lot like Pixeleen. A regular adolescent with parents, pager, and cell, but able to do or be literally anything, informed with video gaming and action movies. And talk about bankable! Thus the movie chat…. There is a big scene, in "Neuromancer" I think, where Molly does this gladiator thing on a catwalk in a warehouse. And in Gibson, somebody is always landing in Roppongi and getting in trouble, most recently Cayce in "Pattern Recognition."
Now Blues Beach: Interesting structure, as someone pointed out, with the progression of what’s happening in the merciful rays and the rain. This sounds like a guy who is growing old (sound familiar?), fleeing the bad scene that his life has soured into, heading to a combo that would be heaven for me—Blues Beach. Clicked his heels like Dorothy; there’s no place like the Manatee Bar. He missed the bus in many senses, but his luck didn’t entirely run out, thanks to Trina. "Stoned Soul Picnic," nod to Laura Nyro, as I believe has been mentioned. Now the "paranymphic glider"—riding in those parasail gliders is the kind of thing you do at a beach, a briefly diverting and not very dangerous adventure. Yes, "paranymph" means bridesmaid/ groomsman, an archaic usage, but Jive Miguel astutely pointed out that "Paranymph" is also a Baudelaire poem. You know him, the dark, dark syphilitic French poet who wrote "Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil)." Persecuted genius, died at 46. Anyway, "Le Monstre, ou le Paranymphe d’une nymphe macabre" is a dark lust-poem to an older woman. He both craves and is repelled by her "carcass." "What lasciviousness! And what disdain!" He tells her she’s going to the Devil, and apologizes dryly for not accompanying her—an echo of "Junkie Girl"? So this is the perfect reference in a song with a crusty punk who’s past his prime, still hustling, still trying to find a place he can stay warm and chillin’. Is Blues Beach his last stop before the end? Is he really resigning early, dying, cold despite the merciful rays? Sunday seems to be a tough time. There it is: the weekend’s nearly over, wasted again, and the work week looms. The guy in "Janie Runaway" finds Sundays dreary too…. When I was in Florida in April, there was an old guy who would stroll out to the beach every day about 11 in a neon-colored thong, dig a custom hole to recline in, and chill all day long. He’s the one I picture in this song.
Posted by: Kid Clean, Fevering away
Great stuff here everyone, lots of meaty reading.
Ole - The brits used to refer to women as 'birds', I believe. The little birdie friend was a pick up, to get back one of the things he misses the most (the sex) and come morning light, she's gone.
I'm along with Pixie being a real teen, living in her partly real, partly imaginary (and more exciting) world. What teen hasn't done that? Walter, adopt me! Please!
The feel of Green Book keeps getting darker and darker, gotta love it. I think we're probably more twisted they are, look at what were writing about it. They squeezed it into one tight, twisting, turning song.
Ole - Love your dissection of GW. I've had this Osama theme about it running around in my head but can't seem to really put it together. What you laid out looks pretty good to me.
More later...
Peace, Love and THE DAN are back with a f#*king vengence!
KC
Posted by: Jive Miguel (in from Bogata), Speechless in DCJust took the headphones off...again, after the second time through.
This is a masterpiece.
9 pitches, 9 tape measure Ruthian blasts out of the park.
At this point, there is much to say, but we're still in that "soaking in" phase that is unique to SD. So many layers, so many rich textures, so many sub-plots. Simply amazing.
I found myself keying on the ever-infectious Carlock, arguably the most intuitive and talented drummer on any Dan recording.
Does anybody know:
Will the magnificent Walt Weiskopf be touring with the band?
Posted by: Andy, DCJust came across an interview with the duo from tomorrow's NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/arts/music/12POPL.html?ex=1055995200&en=4708253d8fc220cc&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9I have to share this cool thing that happened to me today....
I was at a red light jammin' to GodWhacker. This Blazer was in the left lane. I thought I heard a "hey", but thought nothing of it...heck...my stereo was pumpin'! Then I heard a honk of the horn. I turned down the tune and looked to my left. This couple, late 30's early 40's, was in the Blazer. The guy said "What are you listening to"? I said, "Steely Dan". He had that look of surprise and then said, "Don't turn it down....turn it up!" Of course I did...only after I told him that the album came out yesterday, that it was called Everything Must Go and that he go gets it right away!
I just thought it was a really cool thing. It's not everyday that someone asks about a tune coming from your car...unless they complain that they want you to turn it down.
By the way...it was during the instrumental part of GodWhacker.
Good stuff!!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: Andy, Way down in Washington DCPossibly an inside joke about the Eames chair on "Things." Here is a quote from a 1993 review of Kamakiriad by the late Timothy White from Billboard:
As produced by bass-playing former Steely Dan partner Walter Becker, the album's fluctuant fantasy environment overflows with bantering horns, beckoning female backing harmonies, and a tremulant keyboard sound that sustains Fagen's amorphous vocals with the ease of an Eames chair. (http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/archive3.php?id=56)
Then again, maybe not...but Eames just seems too obscure a reference.
I will fever dream some more very soon...right now I've got to cook up some dinner.
Posted by: PostBopGorilla, SR,
I also find it interesting that nobody's tackled the Green Book lyric...
John Tabacco and Nigey Lennon enlightened me on this during their radio show today.
Lessee....blue+yellow room=?....hmmm....GREEN Room! (Also note that the Everything Must Go cover art is done in blue and green lettering, the same shade of blue as the background of this message. And the folks Under the Banyan Tree??)
"Just you and me in a *room*
*Double* dreaming a *page at a time* in the GB."
(emphasis added)
Joey's thumbs-down on this tune is especially amusing, considering he just got himself a shout-out on it. St. Al on the yellow side got only half a shout-out. ("cashier looks like Jill St. John, can that be right?")
Not the first time I've seen the web fan stuff feed back into an artist's work, but the Dan's recycling is certainly the most creative. Kevin Smith had fun with this idea at the end of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Aaron Sorkin wrote a whole subplot on a West Wing episode commenting obliquely on one of his fan sites.
Wacky lyric or no, this is my 2nd favorite cut, after the title track. Very dense, a great jammin' tune, guranteed they do this one on tour.
PBG
Posted by: oleander, foaming at the brainOK, as MOJO says, "This is some rich shit"!
Also, it is completely clear from repeated experiments that my brain is riddled with Steely-specific receptors, from cortex to amygdala. Like chocolate, alcohol, or speed receptors—I can feel them getting occupied and the urgent sense of relief as I listen....
The album cover—the watches listing the song numbers are great. And the last one, within the jewel case at the back—5 o’clock, quitting time. Pix on the back: just the axe, ma’am. And inside an actual picture of themselves—but weird—looks like 2 different photos fused.
Last album, I mostly sat & waited to hear what other people said about the lyrics. Now—I can’t wait! I'm barging in!
TLM: I love this song from that first guitar note. It says, "Hi! This is Walter Becker, and I’m going to play on every fucking tune, so GET USED TO IT." And then your feet get knocked out from under you by that uprush hook…. OK, so it’s not about the Rapture. Or, maybe, but I’ll buy simple apocalypse, with culturally dead Americans unable to think of anything to do with their last hours but shop. "Gospel morning"—when the trumpets sound. I already talked about how flippin’ brilliant the blood orange image is.
Things I Miss: Hilarious song about a pretty clueless yuppie divorced guy. Wonderful lyrics: the poker-faced chorus. You start to feel a little bad for him, and then "...the Audi TT." "My sad cuisine"—speaks volumes. "Adorable ghost." "And then ba-boom…." Mr. F’s delivery is so deadpan. Best line: "I’m learning how to meditate/So far so good." Yes, the Andrea Doria was a famous wrecked ocean liner a la Titanic, but more recent. It was a lavish Italian luxe liner, which fits superbly in the imagery of the song. In 1956 it made a wrong turn in the fog and another liner smashed into it amidships. Within 20 minutes it was clear the AD was going to go down. Most passengers were saved; about 50 died from the collision. So here’s our hero, a guy floating aimlessly in the fog just waiting to get broadsided by something big, building (while he’s falling apart) a pointless model of a doomed 50’s luxury icon, out of balsa wood, which floats spectacularly but is quite brittle and extremely lightweight. Now is there ANYBODY else who could invest an apparent throwaway line with so many layers of meaning?… I don’t get the birdie part, especially that last little offkey bit…. The song is chockablock with yuppie semiotics. Everyone probably knows what an Eames chair is—a modernist icon, now considered by jaded youth to be campy. The Eameses, Charles & Ray, were a brilliant design couple for whom furniture was only one creative outlet. Depending how much of a completist you are, Eames chairs are still available (as are copper pans).
GodWhacker: Let me tell you how brilliantly these guys evoke a period and a mood without being obvious, and also how hip Number Two Son is. He comes in during the intro, first listen, and says, "I’m gonna get you, sucka!" He immediately got that Shaftoid feel, which seamlessly melds music & lyrics.... First off, they start a song about God with "In the beginning...." Do they EVER miss a beat?? Someone mentioned the ref to Blake’s "The Tiger." "Rajahs of Erase"--terrific. They always come up with some inimitable neologisms.... Is this the closest thing we have to a Steely theology? Are they holding God responsible for the bad things that happen? "For crimes beyond imagining"? Or is this a comment on the hatred organized religions harbor for each other’s God? Well, if you’re going to have apocalypse, I guess it makes sense to whack the Maker so this mistake of a world doesn’t happen again. Slinky Redfoot-—Satan? I hate to say it, but the "angel girls" bring to mind Charlie’s Angels, fallen as they are.... Great lines: "And when the stars bleed out/ That be the fever of the chase" (I can see it); "Give the man some whackin’ space."
OK, too long post. Back after other tunes.
...but oh yes, Green Book, endorphin FACTORY!!
blaise--you SLAY me.
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CARe: Pixeleen
I read it as 2 seperate intertwining narratives with the tituar character (no pun intended) being the point of intersection.
#1:[The verses- Teen] A young girl/teenager lost in a game (like Tomb Raider/No one lives forever) at an arcade with occasional interruptions from her father and boyfriend.
#2:[The choruses/bridge- Pixel] The same video game character is pitched and made into a big budget blockbuster movie.
#1 + #2 = Pixeleen
Posted by: Slinky Redfoot, San DiegoHey all - I LOVE the new album! It's the bomb! Its killing me over here!! Have listneed to it 4 times since last night - the DVD-Audio sounds really great. My thoughts so far:
EMG vs. TvN: I think EMG is definately in the same vein as 2vN - more so than Nightfly like many others have mentioned. It is clearly an extention of that album but I think its much better. EMG has a cohesiveness as an album - has a dark apocolyptic feel frim first note to last and I love the Last Mall/Everything Must Go bookends. A mini-concept album of sorts... 2vN feels more scattered in my opinion - a collection of songs - no interrelation between them. also, Godwacker straight up rules! It is really funky and jammy and has some really cool guitar action - 2vN has nothing like this. I love Coz Dupree, Jack of Speed, and especially almost gothic but they definately are the Steely 2k sound - very jazzy (like EMG) but godwacker is a bit different - definately the most funky and guitar drvien track on either album.
Lyrics: I love the lyrics on this album! so sly, so under the surface... example: green book - no commentary yet about green book on this forum. I've concluded the green book is one of those green macintosh ibook laptops and the song is about spanking it to cyber porn. "This is where I get off", "The third hand rises". Listen to it with this in mind and all of a sudden the tune becomes much more dark and creepy. At first its a haha- he's spanking but then you realize its serious - this guy has a serious porn addiction. He brings his laptop with him and even hides in dark corners in public places to get his fix. The girls in the background and eerie.
Just an example of the great mood and color on every track of this Cd. They really provide some great imagery on this Cd.
My other favorite tune is 'Everything Must Go'. I love the third verse! First 2 verses set the climate - party commemorating the failed business. They rode the wave to the top and now it has all come crashing down and its over. The CEO/founder is getting all drunk - drowning himself in a pool of margaritas. As the party dwindles on he drunkely askes his secretary? to screw him in the eleveator. "Fuck it! If Dave from acquisitions wants to join in tell him to bring the videocamera!" I love the way they add these little perversities into the story. Good stuff.
Okay - I've babbled long enough - I'm just in heaven right now and can't get those crazy godwackers outta my head!
Can't wait for Orange county fair in 6 weeks!
-SR
Posted by: Mitch, I studied with one of his teachers - Richie Beirach.
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoBy the way, speaking of Joey Calderazzo, he is taking students for piano lessons. Here's his number: 914-921-0316. If I was a piano player, I'd jump at the chance to learn from Joey. By the way, he won't mind me putting his number up, as he does want new students.
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoDoctone was one of a kind, and it's a damn shame what happened to him. However, I think that none of Branford's records he was on come close to "Contemporary Jazz", which I think is in the top 5 best jazz records since the 60's. Still, "Requiem" and "Random Abstract" are KILLIN' records, as are "Crazy People Music", and pretty much all of them.
Posted by: Mitch, Jesse,
Cool, man. As I said, no hard feelings!
(As much as I respect Joey Calderazzo...the group isn't the same without Kenny Kirkland!)
Mitch
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, PianismYeah, Hornsby can play a good bit of jazz, he does some Bud Powell and I think Bill Evans on his live CD and he's likely to do just about anything on stage - even some Dan. Not sure if most jazz purists would appreciate it and I doubt if he'd call himself a jazz player. Bill Payne of Little Feat can play, too - just saw him last night. He often sneaks some Bill Evans references into his solos. SD is an acknowledged influence on him, and you can hear it in his tunes Gringo and Representing the Mambo.
I've posted enough for one day. Got to go home and fire up EMG.
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoMitch, you are right. I don't know what I was thinking calling Joey or Uri average, as they, especially Joey, are two of the absolute best on the scene. I was in a hurry, and those were the first piano players that popped into my head. Listen to Joey's solo on Branford's "Elysium" from his "Contemporary Jazz" record, and you'll see what a stupid comment that was. Sorry Joey. By the way, Joey has a solo piano record coming out this year on Marsalis Music records!!
As for your comment about me thinking that "being able to burn in all 12 keys" is what makes a good jazz player, couldn't be farther from the truth. I'm actually somewhat against practising something in all 12 keys. Tchaikovsky (spelling?) said that each key had its own unique characteristics, and that's why certain things that sound good in D minor wouldn't necessarily sound good in E minor, etc. I do practise certain things in all 12 keys, just to get my technique up, but certainly don't think that someone who can do an uptempo "Cherokee" in all 12 keys is automatically a great jazz musician.
Bill, you are absolutely right about that. As far as groups popular on pop radio (ie, not jazz radio), Don and Walt do know a hell of a lot, and I'd bet Donald could cut Elton John, Billy Joel, and other pop piano players (not so sure about Bruce Hornsby, I heard a recording of him sitting in with Branford, and they played Chick Corea's "Matrix"!). I used to think that the guys in Phish had decent jazz chops, as they used to have Ellington tunes in their regular repertoire. I went awhile without listening to the recordings of those tunes, and when I brought them back out, I had significantly more knowledge of jazz. When I listened to them again, I kicked myself for ever thinking something so stupid.
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, Michael OmartianI was wondering what ever happened to him. Guess there's a good reason they didn't book him for the Godwhacker session:
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=1927167249&clink=dmmu.artist&a=b
(hint: CCM = Contemporary Christian Music)
Michael Omartian Bio:
A solo artist, producer, and composer who enjoyed success in both the secular and CCM arenas, Michael Omartian first surfaced during the early '70s as a top session keyboardist, playing on albums by artists ranging from Steely Dan to the Four Tops to Loggins Messina before making his solo debut with 1974's Myrrh label release White Horse. In 1975, he and producer Steve Barri formed the Los Angeles studio group Rhythm Heritage, topping the pop charts early the following year with their theme to the ABC television series S.W.A.T.; "Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow)" appeared in 1976, but was the unit's last effort of note. After helming Alan O'Day's 1977 chart-topper "Undercover Angel," Omartian graduated to the top ranks of producers through his work with singer/songwriter Christopher Cross, collaborating on a series of hits including the Grammy winning "Sailing," "Ride Like the Wind," and "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)." From there, he produced sessions for Rod Stewart and Donna Summer, focusing increasingly on CCM projects in the years to follow through work with Gary Chapman, Kathy Troccoli, and 4 Him. In addition to his solo releases, Omartian also recorded several albums with his wife, Stormie. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Posted by: Bill/Pittsburgh, re: Donald's chopsJesse: Point well taken. I did not mean suggest Donald was in the league of jazz pianists like Oscar Peterson or Keith Jarrett, nor would he. That's clearly why he and Walter hire guys like Ted Baker, Bill Charlap, Warren Bernhardt, etc. for tours and have used Michael Omartian, Joe Sample, the late Victor Feldman, Greg Phillanganes etc. in the studio. I didn't want to reopen that ugly debate, just to note some tasty playing from DF that would have been farmed out to someone else in the past. He doesn't even play the synth solos on Hey 19 in concert, after all.
I just think for a guy who is known as a singer and composer/lyricist/arranger first, instrumentalist second, and who has tended to avoid solos altogether for a a number of CDs and tours now, he ain't too bad. Who in the pop world would compare? Joe Jackson - nah. Bruce Hornsby? Not really. Ben Folds? Never heard him try this kind of stuff. Dr. John? Maybe, in a limited genre. Elton/Billy? - forget it. Can any of those guys write and arrange music anywhere close to the quality of SD's? (And I actually like several of those guys, which may brand me as a philistine, I suppose:>).
I like Donald's Hammond organ work on this CD a whole lot too - that hasn't been heard in a long time and never this much of it. I suspect that if Michael Leonhart is the trumpeter again on this tour he will double on some organ here and there as he did in 2000.
I have some idea what it would take to become an average jazz piano player and that's why I know I'll never be one, so I stick to R&B and the like - I'm a weekend bar band keyboardist. Learning SD tunes is as close as I've ever gotten to jazz despite how much I like to listen to it.
Also, as for the Coltrane comment, I still haven't dug out my copy of SSF but it just clicked in my head this morning. I agree it was probably unintentional - one of the many ingredeients in D&W's repertoire that they draw on, which so few of their contemporaries (are there any?) have access to.
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Pixeleen is someone's young teenage daughter, maybe 14 to 16, tops. She's heavy into video games and the concomitant fantasy world kids get caught up in. She packs a cell and a pager. And it's Dad (what kid that age doesn't think all us dads are stupid?) telling her to be home by 10- again. She's very realistic about her relationship with Randall, her "as-if" boyfriend. This shows she has a good head on her shoulders and is not fixating on some boy at too-early an age. This kid gets guidance from home, what a novel idea. Finally, the third pass at the chorus, "be good my three-times perfect ultrateen" iterates a father's directive to watch out and be careful while also declaring how great he thinks she is. He let's her have her fun until ten - he trusts her and the values he's tried to imbue in her, namely, independence and responsibility. It's Walter all the way, he's got young kids, and if this is any indication, he's a helluva dad. This perhaps the most touching and uplifting song SD has ever tendered to us. Wow, they're human. It is truly, truly beautiful.
Carolyn is the cyberbabe in the kid's videogame, a super-spy gal a la the ALIAS chick (remember the 2VN Plush video stuff with her positing to the other ladies that they could all be secret agents?) who could one minute give you a woodie seeing the top of her go-go boot then put a shiv in your gut the next. "Taught how to love and spy hard"
I simply cannot wait to see the Donald and Ms. Leonhart render this one. Shhhwing!
Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful dads.
Posted by: Mitch, Jesse, et al,
Sorry - my last post was a tad on the harsh side. It was just that the comments about the piano players rubbed me the wrong way.
Jesse, your opinion is just that - your opinion. Obviously, Walt Weiskoff (sp?) was quite good enough for Donald and Walter. Joey C. holds down one of the most high profile gigs in jazz - the piano chair with Branford Marsalis. Uri Caine is one of the most versitile musicians in the business today.
You are carrying that "jazz" attitude that I once had. Then I got a little older and learned that there is so much more to music than being able to burn in all 12 keys. I suppose I react to your posts because you remind me a lot of me when I was in college (not really that long ago).
I guess what I am saying is that voicing what could be considered inflamatory opinions about well established players does nothing but affect people's opinion of you and not favorably.
No hard feelings, hopefully.
Mitch
Posted by: Joey, After another listen through the entire CD during the lunch hour , I have determined that Pixeleen is by FAR the most illuminating , compelling and dare I say vital and coherent track on the entire disc . The interplay of Donald and the " Featured background vocal of one Ms. Carolyn Leonhart " is liquid , life affirming and pure sonic joy -- Salute .
" Pixeleen " is a gorgeous tune that literally rescues the record from the vapid mediocrity of " Green Book " and accordingly , I hearby up my rating of EMG from B+ to an A- .
Thank You
The Joey !
Posted by: stupid father, Ajo, AZI have a regular CD player.
My 2 speakers are 23 years old, but work as well now as they did then.
The volume knob on my receiver goes all the way up to 10.
I have a CD player in my car.
I am a former first-chair clarinet player, drum major and member of the Baltimore Colts (now in Indy) halftime band.
Not a professional musician, but not a dolt.
This CD is amazing. Makes Aja (which I'm sick of anyway) sound like a demo. Thanks, guys. Don't listen to the criticism. This one didn't take too long and has energy. Do it like this one again next time.
Posted by: Mitch Towne, Jesse,
You have a lot of balls to call Joey Calderazzo or Uri Caine "average" players.
I guess Branford must not know as many piano players as you do.
Mitch
Posted by: Duke of Earl, DelawarePixeleen IMO is about the rise of a teenage superstar, and the ultimate selling-out, from the eyes of her manager or other authority figure (director?).
Duke of Earl
Posted by: C @ W, It is? Just when I had second thoughts.
I think it's Josie.
Posted by: Meg Ryan, HollywoodIt's Janie Runaway.
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoAs for "Syeeda's Song Flute", I just busted out my Coltrane Atlantic box set, and listened. The EMG chord progression definitely resembles "Syeeda's Song Flute", but not like the Rikki/Song For My Father or Gaucho/Long As You're Living Yours connection. EMG is more major and "Syeeda's Song Flute" is more minor. I'll bet that they both have and love "Giant Steps", as every jazz fan does, but I doubt this was a conscious thing.
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoI don't mean to get into a whole big thing, but I'll just say that "Lunch With Gina" is not a jazz tune, it's a funk tune. That's not at all a criticism, as it's probably in the top 3 tunes either of them have written since "Gaucho". I LOVE "Lunch With Gina", and I LOVE Donald's solo on it, but when you say that people doubting Donald's jazz chops should listen to "Lunch With Gina", it's not like that solo makes him a better jazz piano player. It's a funk solo, and a fantastic funk solo (it makes me say "yeah"!), but if you think that Donald has the chops to hang with any average New York jazz piano players, like, for example, Bill Charlap, Bruce Barth, Joey Calderazzo, or Uri Caine (these are all average players, not the best), then you are just wrong. It's not my opinion, it's an objective fact. I LOVE Donald's playing, but like Donald said in Brian Sweet's book, "I play good enough for what we do, but I wouldn't like to get into a blowing contest with Rick Wakeman." Once again, I'm not saying that anyone shouldn't like Donald's playing, but you shouldn't think that he's on the level of any of those guys I mentioned AS A PIANO PLAYER. Donald is still a total genius, I think, but a genius SONGWRITER, which is completely different. Also, I liked hearing Donald play all of those Duke tunes, but the other day I listened to an Oscar Peterson record where he does a solo medley of Duke tunes, and there really is no comparison. I still like listening to "Piano Jazz", and I'm not saying that anyone is wrong if they like it, but just listen to Oscar Peterson and then listen to Donald, and you'll hear the difference. Before you flame me, please go out to any jazz club and listen to a jazz piano player, or listen to a record, such as any of Bill Charlap's records ("Stardust" is beautiful) and then listen to Donald. Once again, I'm not criticizing him, and I would bet anyone $1000 that Donald would completely agree with everything I'm saying, as Donald is still a great player for the type of music he plays, but most people don't realize just how much practise it takes to become even an average jazz player.
Again, I love Donald's playing, but I don't think he's some great jazz player. He's a great keyboard player of jazz-rock, jazz-pop, or whatever you want to call the Dan. I'm not criticizing Donald Fagen, I'm criticizing the people who put his jazz playing on a pedestal.
I hope nobody starts posting as "Jesse" and insults Hoops like a few months ago, because that was just plain immature. If you disagree, then say why, and give examples, and we can argue like mature people.
Posted by: C @ W, Hell no, maybe that was Janine Runaway...
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghI think this song works on multiple levels - either a video/film/game/multimedia combo with a teen heroine fighting the bad guys and dealing with her day-to-day life; as a Walter Mitty-like fantasy that a regular teenager is having as you suggest; or as a pitch made by entertainment industry weasels to a studio or network exec (Freddy? In the trailer?) - hence all the commentary provided by Carolyn's background vocal. The bit beginning with "cut to the chase" seems like the studio exec's reaction, i.e. "yadda yadda yadda, another girl in girly trouble, this has all been done before, it's a lame idea." That part reminds me of the great movie "The Player."
How about the variations in Carolyn's lines with each chorus? What do you make of that, other than just Don and Walt goofing around?
>>Pixeleen is a teenager. No video game character. She is in a fantasy world and then she gets interupted by things like her cell phone ringing or her pager going off and she is brought back to harsh reality. Be home at 10 - again, or her as/if boyfriend Randal trying to get her and interupting her video game fantasy.
Posted by: Clas @ Work , No, she's not. This is Pixeleen:
"The third person watching the video is the person who lives in this
apartment, MELANIE RALSTON. Melanie, thirty-three, is a tanned, blonde, California beach bunny. Like the kind you se in the old Crown
International movies from the seventies like "Pom Pom Girls" "Malibu
Beach" and "Beach Girls," except Melanie is older than any of those
girls ever are. She's dressed in her Melanie-uniform of stringy Levis
cutoffs and a stringy bra top. So far Melanie has been able to make a
living out of lying in the sun, always finding a generous, wealthy man
more than willing to pay her rent and pick up her tabs. In her prime
(twenty two) it was Japanese industrialists, film production guys, and
Middle Eastern businessmen who kept Melanie. And it was places like the Bahamas, Acapulco, and the Virgin Islands where they kept her.
But now, at thirty three, she lives in an apartment in Hermosa Beach,
California that Ordell pays for and drops in and out of. She's curled up in a reclining chair, smoking weed from a pipe, reading Movieline
Magazine and paying no attention to the video."
"Jackie Brown"
Screenplay written by Quentin Tarantino
Posted by: Dave from Acquisitions, Blues BeachPixeleen is a video game character/movie character created by a computer programmer from New Jersey.
Pixeleen
Born in the bogs of Jersey
Trained to love and spy hard
Dropped on the streets of Roppongi
Soaked through on the floor of a noodle shop
Penned by a hack in the Palisades
Backed by some guys from Columbia
Shot all in digital video
For a million and change
Born on the floor of a noodle shop
Dropped in the bogs of Jersey
Shot by a guy from Columbia
Soaked through all in digital video
Girl with the sweet backstory
Pitched in a trailer in Burbank
Cast by a cool-enough yes man
Screened at a festival in Utah
Posted by: angel, Pixeleen is a teenager. No video game character. She is in a fantasy world and then she gets interupted by things like her cell phone ringing or her pager going off and she is brought back to harsh reality. Be home at 10 - again, or her as/if boyfriend Randal trying to get her and interupting her video game fantasy.
Is anyone else really getting into seeing Donald and Carolyn going at it in concert this summer? Hot stuff!
Great album, great listening.
Posted by: Michelle SF, Okay then. I am in love with this record! It sounds so fabulous. I love Walter's singing, it's just perfect on Slang of Ages, just perfect.
Life is very good...happy day!
Posted by: RoyalScammer, Slangin'Thoughts on Slang of Ages - the verb "to slang" means to deal in, i.e. sling, some illicit substance, product or service, doesn't it? [See "Fall of 92"] So could our narrator be trying to score some particularly potent drug from the mysterious and possibly alien lady dealer - that explains the "iffy tabs" - and trying to appear hip all the time, giving a double meaning to the term "slang." Which would make a "slang of ages" the drug score of all time.
Posted by: Shaun, BBill- The 5.1 is AMAZING! If you think Godwhacker is great on the regular cd, wait till you hear it on DVD-A!
Posted by: nu2blu, MotownYes. I do believe Fagen's vocals are a bit off on some tunes and could have been cleaned up a bit.
In the beginning of the title track his vocals sound a bit muffled at higher volumes.
I am speaking of the CD version. I have noticed it on Godwhacker as well.
Regards,
D.
Posted by: Bill, some jazz observationsFirst off, everyone who was slamming Donald's jazz keyboard chops a while back after Piano Jazz should take a good listen to his synth solo in Lunch with Gina. Yeah, it's not traditional jazz piano, it's more a single note horn line, but he's no slouch. Cool retro synth patch, too - sounds like one of those Nord quasi-analog solo synths that came out a few years back.
Also, the chord progression at the beginning of the verses of EMG was haunting me as familiar. I suddenly recalled John Coltrane's classic "Syeeda's Song Flute" from Giant Steps. It really kicks in during the outro. I may be imagining things - check it out at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002I4S/104-7049179-2023137
and see if I'm nuts. I can't listen here at work, so I am going from memory. Coltrane's tune is much faster but there is a harmonic resemblence, and you know Donald and Walter would be familiar with it as Giant Steps is up there with Kind of Blue as a jazz milestone. Not as much of a direct nick as Rikki/Song for My Father or the Jarrett tune that influenced Gaucho.
Finally heard the CD turned up loud and although the stream gave us a nice taste of the material, this is one damn good production and recording job - possibly their best. And that's just regular stereo - 5.1 must be amazing!
Posted by: Royal Scammer, Gina ...Yup. In fact she accompanied me to my 1st SD show in 1993 - at the time I thought of her as one of Tomorrow's Girls.
>>I have known plenty of guys who have dated "Gina" and thought that exact way!
Posted by: Gina The Child Bride, Central StationOkay, I've heard the whole DVD-Audio now and am floored. This is one of those really rare moments in music history when someone has created a recording that truly makes you feel like you are in the room with the performers.
Regarding an earlier post on "Pixeleen", I didn't like this track the first time I heard it, but now I am hooked and can't believe I didn't love it before. Chills indeed. The whole song is so slick, but the part that gets me the most is the end of the chorus where Donald Fagen and Carolyn Leonhart both sing "Symmetrical and cleaaaaaaaaaaan", and then the sax (Roger Rosenberg?) comes in, backed by a building horn figure. And the great pulsing beat is going on under the whole thing. Damn! This to me is what Steely Dan is all about: the combination of beauty and slick funkiness.
Some people will never warm up to this album, although I think time and exposure help a lot. Those who see this album as a "B+" should spend some more time with "Pixeleen" and "Things I Miss the Most". I hear similarities to the classics like "Deacon Blues" in these 2 tracks in particular.
Posted by: Earl, DelawareWell, a morning more of listening has changed my mind. This album is special, some great songs. I would love to see Pixeleen out as a single...it's probably the neatest song on the album in my opinion.
Does anyone else think that they could have cleaned up Fagen's vox a bit on a couple of songs?
Earl
Posted by: Big Fan, just musingThe beauty of now having the lyrics ceratinly creates some interesting questions. Not only in the meaning of the songs but also what some of the words actually mean.
How many of you knew what a "paranymph" was? I didn't. My wife looked it up - a friend of the groom who helps him escort his bride home (to do what?) or the bridesmaid who escorts the bride to the bridegroom. So a "paranymphical glider" is sort of a modern limo perhaps.
Learning more about our native tongue through Steely Dan.
Posted by: Dave from Acquisitions, Nino'shttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42389-2003Jun10.html
Posted by: Mitch, Only a fool,
I disagree. I think that at the end, the narrator shows his true colors as a typical guy stereotype - "Well...she's a total nut job...but she's hot!!"
I have known plenty of guys who have dated "Gina" and thought that exact way!
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.Hey, whatever happened to the lyric alluded to in the Jan.'03 press release, "is that the horseshoe crab" or whatever? What happened between then and now?
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CARegarding "Lunch With Gina":
My intepretation is that Gina is always the stalker. There is no turning of tables in the last verse. That is merely how he met Gina (along with his feelings at that time).
This makes it even more ironic. We have already seen his terror at being stalked by Gina. Now we flashback to the time when he met her Here he seems all happy to meet Gina and is infact almost losing it when she shows up a little late! Its really funny as we know that inb a few hours he will be on the run (as referenced earlier "It started on the day I met her").
Posted by: D, Top of the WorldCan we stop this "Joey" this and "joey" that shit. How old are you guys anyway.
Who gives a fuck about any of that?
Let's try to keep it on topic.
Later,
DwB
Posted by: Joey, " Me thinks Joey is a moron. "
YOU MAKE JOEY CRY LIKE BABY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jacky !
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.B+ my kiester. This is the poo, folks. Does anybody else out there get chills when DF croons, "Rave on my sleek and soulful cyberqueen"? Yikes, what a thrill, give that man some whackin space
Posted by: Shaun, BostonMe thinks Joey is a moron.
Posted by: Mitch, That's funny Joey. I remember when 2VN came out, I was thinking, "Wow...this is great...but where are tunes like Pixeleen and Lunch With Gina - songs that just floor you with their beauty and their groove and their lyrics?"
2VN - B
EMG - A
Mitch
Posted by: Joey, Well My Steely Brothers and Sisters .............................
I have just finished listening to EMG all the way through and I must admit , If there EVER was a B+ Album THIS is IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where are the tracks like " Jack of Speed " and " Cousin Dupree " from 2VN ? -- Songs that kick you up the A## with a Steel toed Boot and make you say , " WTF ????????????????????? "
Where is the sheer beauty of numbers like " Almost Gothic " ( Young Joey's favorite from the last disc by the way ) .
Then again , what does it REALLY matter what the new disc sounds like , huh ????? I mean , all of us are NOT paying $150.00 per ticket to hear " GodWhacker " live in concert . The album provides a nice excuse to tour and send Walter and Don home with a sweet payday this year -- The way it was MEANT to be !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Six Weeks to Fiddler's --- Oh , Lord --- I got seats right in front of Donald too ....five rows back --- Damn I'm Lucky !!
JACKY !
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9Robin...hope you can make it down 71 to see the Dan in CBus...should be an amazing night!
Went to work this morning and listened to EMG...great car disc!
The Fever Dreams website should start having some interpretations of the lyrics...I hope anyway! I'm interested to see how people figure out this set of tunes!
The campaign for the Grammy's starts now!!! EMG
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: , oh and...... slinky red is the worm.
But Matt's got something better, huh?
Let's see it.
Come on now, don't be afraid. Put it to the test.
Green Book onwards to the end + Godwhacker = what I'm into right now.
Very cool walter solo on Things too.
That's for those of you keeping score at home.
And Carolyn, can we cut to the chase? Will you be my girl? I be your man.
My bird sings sweetly, flies high, soars, baby... aww...
lol
b
Posted by: Big Fan, workingI got my Oakdale tickets today from my friend who pays to buy tickets in advance of the general public. mid orchestra Center which is the second section - right side of stage, ten rows back. Only $211.50 for two tickets - face value. Not the best seats, but what are you going to do?
Should get Mohegun Sun tickets next week.
Can't wait to get home and listen to the DVD-A again. Amazon.com has taken down their streams, so I can't listen at work anymore.
Posted by: , You see, the grrl, she made a derogatory website featuring the asshole amigo. And I remember that the guy got so pissed, he collapsed the guestbook unto itself by cut and pasting a good month of archives and posting it (don't try this at home).
It was hilarious.
Yep those were the days when it was mad and wiggy.
But most of you guys are too "green" to remember that. I'm here giving you the heads up, is all.
Have fun with the record.
It's fabulous.
b
Posted by: hoops, chicagoI was listening to NPR this morning when they, as usual, segué between segments, with a short music clip of 10 seconds or so. In fact, many times in the past, they have played the intro to "Rikki" or "Babylon Sisters" or an outro from "Glam Prof." So at 7:28 am they play a 10-second snippet of the intro to "Green Book!" How cool! Was that national or just here in Chicago on WBEZ? This was the first time I had heard anything off the album on a standard radio (as opposed to audio stream).
laters,
jim
Posted by: ß, more insights available on a pay per basisIn my (not so) humble opinion:
Godwhacker is about me slamming God and the big poppies coming around Dandom at the start of the end of History (fyi, that started a few years ago). All this with a little help from my angel grrls, of course (where's lisa now?). And "almighty ass" refers to the "asshole amigo" (aa) and his giant buttocks. That's one of the daddies we took care of, a while back, in between godwhacking sessions. It's all on record.
Lunch With Gina is about me stalking Gina and the other way around. Gina later hooked up with a guy named Nino. I'm shitting you not.
So those two are merely chronicling my online stance and exploits of the past, as exposed in StAl's archives.
And I don't care who knows it.
Prove otherwise, big people.
And it's why you guys can't figure it out. You didn't pay attention back then. They did. Glad I could be of inspiration.
And "I can tell by the planes on your face that you're from out of State" carries on the "I can see by what you carry that you come from Barrytown", tolerance theme.
Many other little things I picked up but can't recall right now...
Posted by: JJ, On Freud's CouchGangrene Shock
My leg is black and the fluid’s yellow
Should it stop jerking off?
As you can see for yourself Miss Nurse
I’m in Gangrene Shock
You did go down in my smoky lobby
Your eyes were kept from its sight
A poor excuse for a Jilted John
Can that be right?
I’m signing in for this rehab program
Wanna help finding clues?
Do me in, singing goodbye daddy
Your life, your health
Your black leg moves
Flashing head when still young and playful
Just them and me in the room
Double dating sure had its time
Left in Gangrene Shock
They toss for blood and a glass of Chivas
Makes me envy those legs
I’m thinking metal before point blank
Share my Gangrene Shock
I like the neon I love the music
In this corridor’s ride
It seems you guide me from fun to fever
What sweet delight
I’m so afraid of this amputation
Crazy fears and desire
The best of luck can’t erase my doubts
The boots drop dead
My limbs on fire
They toss for blood and a glass of Chivas
Makes me envy those legs
I’m thinking metal before point blank
Share my Gangrene Shock
It’s kinda scary to be right here
In Gangrene Shock
[JJ]
Posted by: balise, baliYou're right about one thing, Pixelene is Lara Croft or better yet, a young Angelina Jolie. Which would explain the "as if boyfriend" (Billy Bob Thornton) and the stupid father (Jon Voigt) references in there.
Fits like a good old gogo boot.
Posted by: Earl, DelawareOne other thing: I should trust my ears. When I heard Blues Beach for the first time, I heard "Medicine Park." Then I listened a couple other times, and I decided he must be saying "Madison Park" cuz that sounds more logical than Medicine. Well guess what?
Earl
Posted by: Earl, DelawareFavs: Things I Miss The Most, BB, Slang of Ages, Pixeleen, and Lunch With Gina.
In the middle: Last Mall, Everything Must Go
Need time w/: Godwhacker and Green Book.
Some thoughts after one day w/ EMG:
-I'm trying to use the logic that Hugh McCracken is the reason Godwhacker sounds so much like Green Flower Street. I like Green Flower Street, but GW sounds too much like it from a rhythm standpoint. Killer groove though.
-Fagen's vox are pretty crisp. Becker's may be better.
-Becker + harmonies = sweet. He doesn't give himself quite enough credit, although on 11TOW he sings songs that make him sound worse than he really is. Slang is probably my favorite at this point.
-Carolyn Leonhart's vox on Pixeleen and Blues Beach are perfect.
-This album actually sounds more like the Nightfly than 2VN. A lot of synth and Hugh (don't call me Phil) McCracken give it the feel of Fagen's first solo.
-I don't get Through W/ Buzz from Things I Miss the Most.
This album will get much more listening for sure, but my first impression: Two Against Nature is better.
Earl
Posted by: Big Fan, up all nightThis is weird:
http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2003/06/1009.cfm
Posted by: Jilted John, On the CouchThe talk, the sex. Somebody to trust.
This CD's a must.
Their history breathes in each track.
Not just the previous albums.
The demos as well.
Rave on.
[JJ]
Posted by: Scotty, Sydney
'"Everything Must Go" displays those smarty-pants Fagen and Becker at the top of their snarky game.'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42389-2003Jun10.html
Posted by: moray eel, emgAnyone else hear a similarity between the endings of Things I Miss The Most and Through With Buzz?
m.e.
Posted by: Firemop, The Listening RoomWow. I just finished listening to the DVD-A high-resolution stereo tracks with a pair of high-end headphones. Now I fully understand what D&W were saying about "detail" in one of the interviews. No detail is obscured in this recording. I suspect I will be discovering and enjoying new details for a long time.
Congratulations to Steely Dan on raising the bar for audio excellence once again.
-fm
Posted by: Thelonious, Mondo, MTEMG is perfect. A true classic right up there with Aja annd Gaucho.
I smell grammy all over it.
Even the baby food music lovers will have to acknowledge the geniuus of this work. It'll be interesting to see what gets the most airplay out there in commercial radio land.
I agree that they should play the entire album on tour this summer.
Simply blissed out.
Thank you D&W!
Posted by: Rajah of Erase, L.A.It is ....PIXELEEEEN!
Posted by: Kid Clean, Top of the World, Ma
Attention Walter Becker and Donald Fagen:
Thank you for another wonderful piece of musical history.
You guys ROCK!!!!!! or JAZZ as they case may be.
KC
Posted by: John, DallasLuckless,
Pixelene is probably based more on Kate Archer (a female James Bond-type character from the video game "No One Lives Forever.") The lyric refers to spy exploits, etc., which would distinguish her from the equally pixelish Laura Croft.
More broadly, Pixelene could be any character of the becomingly female persuasion on any screen... "pitched in a trailer in Burbank... screened at a festival in Utah."
Tabs have *gotta* be drugs. Tab of acid, etc.
I sure agree with "Bill" from earlier today that "time" is an important subtext. Running out of time and the strong stand against time (aging) and the deterioration of our capacities was also key in "Two Against Nature."
All best,
John
Posted by: Boston Rag, CD + DVD Special Edition Chris - The DVD content is 24 minutes. About 12 more than the web clips. (The DVD-A has the same content as the SD web site). There are at least 3 or 4 new passengers in the extended version. My favorite are two teens (in pajamas!) from Essex, England. It's also a pleasure watching it on a large screen TV instead of the postage stamp web player.
What a day! It's rare that two musical masterworks are released on the same day. Everything Must Go and Fountains Of Wayne's "Welcome Interstate Managers" are 2 discs that will reveal layers of genius on every listen for weeks and months to come!
Mark in Boston
Posted by: hoops, 1) Not sure how they connected with Harvey.
2) The Andrea Doria was a doomed ship. So he's so morbid and down, that he's making a model of a doomed ship.
3) Yes, but Catherine Russell is even more pleasing. Lot of amazing back ups with SD but Catherine is my fav.
4) I vote for drugs, but from outterspace. The song is with an alien--literally or figuratively
5) Pixelene is pretty damn close to Laura Croft, femme cybergame heroine of massive popularity.
6) Not sure
7) Carolyn sounded like Frankie Valli on the MSN version. Silly but that's how it sounded at first.
8) All the horns are perfect, yes.
Everything is perfect. Not an ounce of filler. I think the two "singles" are actually the lightest if that could be said. All great.
jim
Posted by: Luckless Pedestrian, @ deep thoughtsjust a few questions for discussion:
who is michael harvey and how did they hook up with him?
the andrea doria out of balsa wood is a kit, right angel - didn't we talk about this before?
great to see gordon and brenda again, no?
what is the following reference in slang of ages: "these tabs look iffy you say they're good"? drugs? apparel?
is pixelene a hot video game? a cyber-porn star? an updated janie runaway?
if gina is a stalker as someone posted before, then doesn't he come around in the last stanza?
doesn't carolyn take it up a notch on this release or what?
and the trumpet - is that perfect?
my top 3: things i miss the most, pixelene and slang of ages
see you in massachusetts!
Posted by: Robin, NE OhioKenny,
Better late than never! You have certainly shown your excellent taste in music. :-)
I might see you there in Cbus on 8/9--if certain planets come into alignment...at the very least, I will be at the Cleveland show. As long as Donald's family graces NE Ohio with their presence, I can be assured of my fix whenever it's tour time!
Oh happy happy day!!!!
Robin
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9WOW! I just got done listening to EMG and watching the DVD and I am in awe! These guys keep doing it right! They make music that not only sounds good, but will keep you entertained for years! It is so clean and full!
Back when I first started listening to Steely Dan in 1990 ( I'm only 27 years old...so that's why I was a late blooomer!), my thought was that they will never be heard from again...being 10 years since an album. But these last couple of albums makes me glad I've been a fan all this time! Most people I know "don't get it", but in the end they are missing some of the best music ever made (in my opinion) period!!!
Seeing Don + Walt being so in the public now is really a treat! With concerts and the funny DVD, it's about as much as this fan could ask for!
Here's hoping to see and hear Steely Dan for many years to come!
By the way...Pixeleen and Luch With Gina are my favorite tracks right now....such great grooves!!!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: chillin at the manatee bar, Butler, PaCarolyn is sooooooooo fabulous on Pixeleen and all the others too. But Pixeleen is really one that can conjur up so many images. Hats off to all involved in EMG.
Posted by: Robin, So--doya think Rolfe the CD Promo Dog is what Donald is carrying out of Sal's Furniture store????
I didn't notice it in the original viewing of the SD Confessions, but caught it on the DVD version. Checking out the video via the DVD is far superior to the online versions. And I was watching it on broadband. Rita had to have totally enjoyed herself--she sure
looks it.
I write this as I am watching the DVD version the first time--I could be wrong, but it would seem that there are additional minutes on the DVD over the website.
Okay--I've seen enough! If you're on the fence about whether to buy the CD+DVD--do it!!!! Worth it. Go there.
Posted by: Big Fan, At HomeTo my surprise Amazon.com came through and had all three versions on my doorstep when I got home. Glad I didn't have to drive all over half the state. Just finished listening to the DVD-A - wow. Cool to have the lyrics up like a karaoke machine while the songs playing from all directions. OK I had most of them wrong in my head. Now I understand their meaning completely. Had to go get the Plush DVD and play that in DTS 5.1 - wow. I paid less than $125 for my DVD-A player and it works fine for me. It's going to be a great tour. Can't wait for that first setlist post!!!!!
Posted by: danfiend, I finally got my copy of the CD/DVD. I LOVE the Taxicab Confessions. It's great. I also loved hearing EMG all over the morning newscasts in Chicago today. Remember when we all longed for today? I still can't believe it's finally here. Now there's the concerts that start in 5 weeks.
I've got only one thing to say:
LIFE IS GREAT!!!!
DF/EMGF
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoI guess I'm the only Dan fan listening to "The Royal Scam" today. My EMG CD/DVD has not yet arrived from cdplus.com. Let me tell you, I feel so left out right now. It's like junior high all over again. Still, "The Royal Scam" is a killin' record. "The Caves Of Altamira" is brilliant.
Posted by: Joey, " Joey:
Maybe it is a complement, and I do dig "Eminence Front" but I just don't sense a comparison with "Gina,"
Hoopsie ............................
You make Joey sad .
Posted by: Sylvain, MontréalWhat a great day!
a) Found in my mailbox this morning my two tickets for the August 14Th concert in Toronto. August 14th is also my birthday!!!
b) Went to HMV store, downtown Montreal, corner Peel and Sainte-Catherine and found the CD+DVD (for the ones who would like to know, still around ten copies available there).
Isn't it a great day?
Posted by: chris, central stationhoops,
Good points re: minimalist album art in the name of letting the music take center stage. In fact, I do prefer the EMG cover to the more-cluttered 2VN cover (my "staid" referred to EMG's interior pages), and Aja's also my fave SD cover. (Another parallel: both EMG and Aja use Helvetica; none of the other Dan albums do [RS uses Optima, PL uses Times Roman, Gaucho Avant Garde, and so forth].)
Randy, the Borders in DC didn't have the SE combo, either. Must be a chain-wide decision?
People who have the "full" (22-minute) Confessions DVD: is there extra content besides what's online? What are we missing out on?
C
Posted by: Rob Keil, San FranciscoIn case you have been mulling getting the DVD-Audio release but are reluctant because you don't want to shell out big bucks for a DVD-Audio player (to gain maxiumim value from the EMG disc), you might want to consider the Panasonic DVD-S55S or DVD-S55K. These are DVD-audio/video players that only cost around $125, while most others are at least twice that price. A friend of mine just got one and it sounds great. Hope this info is useful to those on the fence. But if you have a regular DVD player it will still work fine too.
Personally I think the DVD-Audio of 2VN was a significant step up from the already amazing-sounding CD release. Tonight I'll have EMG DVD-A in my hot little hands too.
I'm on my sencond play through of the album now, and it just keeps getting better. Thanks Donald and Walter!
Posted by: Mitch, The Onion AV Club weighs in:
It's closing time in the land of Steely Dan, but Walter Becker and Donald Fagen sound like they made peace with the apocalypse years ago on the new Everything Must Go. The shops may all be shutting down for good in "The Last Mall," but on a cosmic scale, is that really so different from divorce? That's the subject of "Things I Miss The Most," in which Fagen's newly liberated swinger takes inventory of what he's left behind (which ranges from "someone to trust" to "the Audi TT") before concluding, "Days really don't last forever / it's getting pretty damn close." No wonder the end of the world seems like a break from the tedium. Three years ago, Steely Dan marked the end of a 20-year recording hiatus by releasing Two Against Nature, resuming a long-term project of hiding perverse, cranky sentiments in music so smoothly ingratiating that it operates almost subliminally. So it goes with Everything Must Go, which, with the Dan's famed meticulousness, resumes Nature's tales of doomed love and pleasures that turn bitter almost as they take place. There might not even be a real woman at the center of "Pixeleen," a winning pop song on the order of Aja's "Peg," but with what sounds like a video-game heroine taking the place of a naïve starlet. (Maybe the group's longstanding interests in technology and exploitation have finally caught up with each other.) Apart from Becker's first lead vocals on a Steely Dan album (on "Slang Of Ages"), Everything Must Go doesn't offer any significant departures. Fagen and Becker perfected their airless craftsmanship years ago, and it works as well now as ever, whether the songs detail the ersatz funkiness of "Blues Beach," consider an affair that's sure to end badly ("Lunch With Gina"), or put a commercial spin on the end of it all (the bookend tracks "The Last Mall" and "Everything Must Go"). If it did all end tomorrow, chances are Steely Dan would find a way to offer a wry comment on that, too, assuming that enough backup singers and session musicians survived.
Posted by: Randy, Northern NJ / USA
So at 10 a.m. this morning we take the obligatory 15-minute ride down Route 23 South to head to Borders Books & Music at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne; strolling through the book section to the music department, who is there perusing through the jazz compact discs but Walter Becker...
No you dolts; not really. You fell right into that one didn't you?
So I head to the "New Arrivals" display which contains a promotional poster for Steely Dan's 'Everything Must Go,' and there among the other undistinguished discs are...
EMPTY SPACES.
Sure, there are ample copies of the standard CD, but NOT A SINGLE COPY OF THE SPECIAL EDITION WITH THE BONUS DVD OF 'STEELY DAN: CONFESSIONS.'
Needless to say I accosted multiple employees, NONE of whom even knew of any purported "special edition" (let alone anything else)...
With a 1 p.m. appointment this was going to be tight if I was going to still have time to get home for at least a perfunctory listen on the home stereo downstairs in my rehearsal studio, once I'd managed to land a copy of the fucking disc, that is.
Quick thinking led me across the parking lot of said last mall to a less patronized and pointedly anonymous commercial CD shop (name irrelevant), the employees of which had no awareness of any new Steely Dan recording (!); a quick flip through the "S" section just before "Rod Stewart" and "Stephen Stills" finds us with a pristine copy of the special edition in your humble narrator's hands. Out to the car (yes, we did pay, but do you need such petty details?) and into the CD player goes our CD, and we're back on Route 23 (North this time), and "Godwhacker" is even more brilliant than via the net, "Lunch with Gina" supreme, "Green Book" dark and hip... Though I'd heard it all weeks before, it was still cool to head out on the day of release and pick it up.
Reviewing the CD booklet, one sees that the background clock and watch graphics on the lyric pages correlate to the track numbers, i.e. track 5 ("Slang of Ages") has a clock which reads 5 a.m./p.m., etc. Even the graphics are intelligently done.
Once home, the sound is staggering, as per usual; great bass, great stereo imaging, nice spatial separation... but enough already.
Another stellar album and the only thing I've been able to muster any enthusiasm for so far this year-
Randy / NIGHTFLY**@aol.com
Posted by: db, please do go on
Posted by: h, The color schemes are:
CD version:
black CD with blue and lime print; blue and lime rings around the center hole
Cover: blue and ivory print with two watches highlighted in ivory
CD+DVD version:
All of the artwork has this monochrome sepia/gold tint to it with no blue. The audio CD is gold with white and black print with white and black rings around the center hole and the DVD is a very dark sepia brown, almost black with gold and silver print.
DVD-A:
Printed Artwork pretty much the same except the booklet is a little larger. The CD is a very dark shade of turquoise that is almost black. No rings around the center hole; print is silver and lime.
Anyone trying making words out of the colored letters? I keep thinking it must be some puzzle and then again it could be arbitrary. You gotta wonder.
jim
Posted by: Bill , PittsburghI have played the CD on my office computer at low volume, but my first
real listen will be on the drive home tonight. Various hooks are lodged
in my head, particularly the chorus to Pixeleen and Lunch with Gina, two
early favorites, as are Green Book, Slang and EMG. I think the two
"singles" are comparatively the weakest tunes on the CD despite their
high quality (still like em a lot). I suspect this is a continuation of
their singles strategy leaning toward the pop side going back to
Reelin', Rikki, Peg, Hey 19, Dupree, etc, and I also suspect that Donald
and Walter don't choose the singles. The synth solos are great, very
reminiscent of some of Donald's early live takes on Do It Again but with
gnarlier patches. Walter is at the top of his game and has rediscovered
some guitar crunch (not to the level of his Black Friday or Pretzel
solos, though), plus his bass playing is nimble and in the pocket - I
love the little melodic bit he does on bass in Green Book, kinda like a
similar bit in Green Earrings. Things I Miss is melodically reminiscent
of Deacon Blues, especially in the chorus - another hook that gets stuck
in your ear.
In some odd way I am kinda glad that the mainstream is unlikely to jump
all over this one. The success of an album as complex as Aja in the
musical wasteland of the mid 70s is a continuing mystery - maybe it was
the strength of Peg, a song that was a bit out of the rest of the
album's style, maybe it was Irving Azoff's aggressive promotion. I
think they have settled back into being a cult favorite as they were for
many years in the pre-Aja days, three U.S. hit singles notwithstanding.
I could go on all day, but I have work to do.
Bill
Posted by: steelydoubt, herewell i just picked up the cd+dvd at the circut city. they did not have may other versions. what are the diffrent color schemes?
Posted by: Ben, San FranciscoDennis/Nobody, it's like the radio. If you don't like it, change the station (i.e. go on to the next post). No one's forcing you to listen. Out of the 10 people that did manage to listen and give me their thoughts, I was so thrilled at their generosity that I gave one dude in L.A. a ticket to the mid-state fair show.
And I'm NOT trying to promote the band. I'm looking for helpful feedback. The same helpfullness I provided when I posted early mp3s of Blues Beach and The Last Mall on my server for a bunch of you to download.
Anyhoo, I purposefully bought the new album from Target (v.s. a mom n' pop) this morning to roll with the theme of the album. It was great, the place was very clean and deserted, and when I bought the CD I leaned over and kissed the checkout girl. Good thing she was cuter than not.
Man, the difference between the preview stream and the CD are like night and day. It's like a different album.
Glad to finally get some closure on the lyrics, especially Big Dog and the Pixeleen backups.
-Ben
Posted by: Mitch, Right. The comparison isn't valid. The riffs are really nothing a like.
Posted by: h, Joey:
Maybe it is a complement, and I do dig "Eminence Front" but I just don't sense a comparison with "Gina," except like all songs on EMG, there is a great groove.
jim
Posted by: Joey, " The review in the Boston globe says,
"Most of the piquant riffs are quintessential Steely Dan, though the duo do nick The Who's ''Eminence Front'' for a recurring guitar figure in ''Lunch with Gina'" "
Actually , THAT'S a Compliment !
" Eminence Front " is Pete Townshend's last great classic creative masterpiece .
Posted by: h, againChris:
Here's my thought about why the artwork seemed relatively minimal compared to some elaborate efforts. I think the artwork keeps the literal imagery to a relative minimum, leaving more room to for the listener to create their own imagery. As someone who detests videos and "imagery pollution," I think this is really great and subtle. That's not to say that baroque detailing and elborate illustrations can't contribute to the overal album experience, it's just I think this is perfect for this album. And then of course, there is "Aja" which is my favorite SD album cover and even more minimal but sublime. I also like how they chose to do "Steely Dan Confessions" rather than create videos for songs. It gives one a sense of Donald and Walter's
spirit in which they made EMG without creating a literal experience of the songs.
All my 2 piasters.
jim
Posted by: hoops, Well! HOW ABOUT IT!?!!?? It's great to hear it with all the nuances and more. Hoooo Weeee!
For you completists, all three versions have different color schemes on the Discs. And through a quirk I got the DVD + CD combo for $10.99. I went to Best Buy and the CD + DVD was $19.99! (Circus City was lowest at $14.99 for that, as far as I can tell.) So I have my little ad sheet to get the Circus City price. And then I notice they have no standard version at Best Buy. Make a long story short, I convinced them to give me the DVD + CD version for the CC sale price of $10.99 since they were out of standard CDs. Great since I was buying 5 copies. So maybe this strategy will BTW; Both Circus Cities I went to were sold out of the DVD + CD editions.
Now that I have a copy that is lightyears above the MSN version, the thing that strikes me most is the "bleed" at the end of each song and the subtles, etc. I'm especially floored by all the extra percussion and sounds I was missing on "Slang of Ages."
I've been SLANGED! SLANG ME!
jim
Posted by: Bird Lives, Toronto
Checked the credits. Once again my horn of choice is to be heard on "the new one". That's 2 albums in a row with Clarinet!
Pixeleen Clarinet, Ken Hitchcock
http://www.realmutoartists.com/nysq.htm
Scroll down about 2/3rds down the page for a bio.
Posted by: chris, the house on the vineyard, the house on the gulfcoastJust ran out to Borders to pick up EMG and Hail to the Thief. Bliss! Popped it into the car stereo on the way home -- it's great to hear it at full resolution after those tinny web-streams.
I'm not sure I'll concede it's No. 2 after Aja just yet, but it's certainly up there. A damn fine album!
Also interesting to see the lyrics and credits -- the album design (Helvetica ad nauseam) is pretty staid compared to 2VN, but that's a minor quibble.
C
Posted by: Shaun, BostonI just finished blasting the 5.1 DVD-A version of EMG. All I can say is that this record is incredibly wiggy!!
Posted by: Peg, Last CubicleOH! BLISS! Okay, I listened to it only once through so far (on my lunch hour) and do not have time to write full comments yet, but I just had to check in real quick and write:
"Hallelujah! Amen!"
Posted by: TheFez, Richmond,VAJust got the DVD/CD. Listening through now for the second time..
Don and Walt have done it again..
When are the grammy's?
Posted by: Rob Keil, San FranciscoI've been listening to the webstreams on and off for 2 months, and it's about time the real thing is finally in my CD player.
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker continue to kick ass as expected: Great melodies, beautifully funky arrangements, great intrumental performances, smart lyrics, impeccable sound quality.
This album delivers. My initial hearings put this album in the same class as anything else they've done, at least to these ears. Probably most similar to "Gaucho" and "Nightfly" if I had to pick, but with it's own distinctive flavor.
I can't wairt for the tour.
Enjoy, fellow Dan fans. The Dynamic Duo has done it again.
Posted by: NOBODY, ?Dennis- Be careful. Ben can't handle the truth!
Posted by: Dennis, ChicagoSure, the guitar line in Lunch could be compared to that of the one in Eminence Front but why the fuck would anyone even want to make that comparison? What an idiot.
Let's see, rehashed old Dan tunes by a tribute band or Everything Must Go, what to listen to?
Posted by: Bill, It's About TimeIt's all about time, ain't it. Check out the watch faces in the CD booklet for tracks 1 - 9 as 1:00 - 9:00, the two yellow watch faces among the otherwise monochrome cover photo (representing D&W?). Time running out on the planet (Last Mall, Blues Beach), a relationship (Things I Miss...), a business/the economy (EMG), sobriety (Slang), even the Almighty (GW - isn't this sort of an updated "Sympathy for the Devil?").
Some revelations from the lyric sheet - especially Pixeleen, where a description of the adventures of some computer-animated teen action heroine (Lara Croft meets Kim Possible?)is juxtaposed with show-biz insider babble about her creation, probably from leisure-suited Hollywood types like Doonesbury's "Sid." I bought my copy today from a red-haired twenty-something clerk who could have been the prototype.
I think I missed the boat altogether about the plot line of Gina - the girl is the stalker, not the narrator, then the tables turn. I think.
This CD is already so familiar from the repeated listenings to the stream. It's on my computer now, low office volume. Can't wait to get it into the car for the drive home tonight.
Posted by: John, DallasPicked up mine at midnight at Tower Records in Dallas. I was surprised to see 75 other people lingering in the store, but it was soon apparent that 2/3 of them were there for Radiohead (which I also bought, and which is also good, although a departure from their last two -- Kid A and Amnesiac).
I bought the DVD-A for the house and the CD for the car.
The sound is simply awesome. One motif that was even more influential on the DVD-A than on the streaming audio we've all heard the last week or two: Walter's guitar. It's omnipresent and -- except for the solos, which step out very tastefully -- it lurks just under the surface, providing a real connective link from song to song. It brought to mind Katy Lied, when the combination of the studio and the rich sounds of the piano carried that album in much the same way.
What a joy that the rich and productive artistic collaboration of Walter and Donald continues onward.
All best,
John
Posted by: gayray, soho"Eminence Front" ???
um....er...sure, whatever.
That is laughable. That sounds nothing like it. I guess if we tried really hard every song could sound like a Who song.
Later,
GR
Posted by: Nice Guy, MontrealPicked up the CD today.
Seems that Montreal retailers are stocking only the ordinary CD version--no DVD-A, no CD+DVD. That's a shame. Same for Canadian websites, or so it appears--with the exception of the Japanese CD+DVD.
Oh well. Maybe later.
Posted by: Ben, San FranciscoNOBODY, there are other people on the planet besides you. Mind your own business.
Posted by: Mitch, The review in the Boston globe says,
"Most of the piquant riffs are quintessential Steely Dan, though the duo do nick The Who's ''Eminence Front'' for a recurring guitar figure in ''Lunch with Gina'"
Ok...that is a TOTAL reach on the part of the reviewer!!!
Posted by: Joey, " Joey, tell me, what are you doing with your hands then?
No, I don't wanna know. "
C......................You make young Joey sniggle .
Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo Joey
Joey !
Posted by: Hank Silvers, one stereo listen laterThey've done it. After several releases without him, SD has finally made an album that sounds like it was produced by Gary Katz. Sweet...
Posted by: Dave From Aquistions, HandyCamsRUs.comhttp://www.usatoday.com/life/music/listen-up.htm
Posted by: HeyMike, These Suburban StreetsI've been avoiding any downloads for the past few months just for this day. I picked up EMG at the Barnes and Noble. Goosebumps still, this thing is very sweet all the way through! EMG will certainly reshuffle everyones deck for fave Dan songs and Cds!! We'll hear last mall,BB and Godwhacker live im sure.
Cheers Donny and Wally!!
Posted by: EMG WUSB , While we realize that by tomorrow everybody in the Greater Dandom will probably have EMG in every imaginable format...for that infinitesimal minority who actually may not have heard it by then, and for anybody who just has to hear it again...
John Tabacco and Nigey Lennon would like to invite you to join them for an Everything Must Go Listening Orgy and Discussion tomorrow, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time, on WUSB. It's netcast at
www.wusb.org/
or, if you happen to be in the general vicinity of Stony Brook, Long Island, New York, you can tune in at 90.1 FM.
We'll be playing and discussing EMG track by track...not to mention spinning selections from our Dan rarities collections. Think of it as a Danfest without walls...you supply the libations, we'll provide the sensations.
Posted by: dd, ddhttp://launch.yahoo.com/spin/content.asp?id=263
Liz Phair's new album has a song that apparently is like Hey Nineteen read the above review...
Posted by: Nu2Blue, Detroit Rock CityI just bought it from Target.
I got into my Jaguar, opened the moonroof and turned it all the way up for my 30 minute drive to work.
This is their best piece of work since AJA. Period.
Regards,
D.
Posted by: Andy, Way downJust pulled this off the AP wire. Can't link to it because I haven't seen it pop up on any web sites yet.
"Everything Must Go" (Reprise Records, $18.98) - Steely Dan
First track to last, "Everything Must Go" is classic Steely
Dan: arch lyrics, exquisite musicianship, and a seamless sound.
Sure, you expect that from Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (and
their ever-changing corps of sidemen and backup singers). But what
you don't expect is that they'd be back just a couple years after
"Two Against Nature" - their first studio release in 20 years,
which won a long-overdue "Album of the Year" Grammy. (Maybe they
were inspired by their also-overdue induction into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame after a campaign chronicled in hysterical detail
at http://www.steelydan.com).
Yet here they are. Three tracks in particular stand out. "The
Last Mall," which kicks off the disk, is a hip and jazzy nod to
the Apocalypse. "Blues Beach" is notable for its infectious
keyboard line and Fagen's lovable loser lyrics. And the title
track, the last of nine, is a bluesy breakup ballad cast as a
going-out-of-business sale. It includes this wry rhyme: "Let's
admit the bastards beat us/I move to dissolve the corporation in a
pool of margaritas."
- Rich Harris, AP Writer
Posted by: June 10th, IS HERE!!!!Ben- I don't think today is the best day out of the year to try and promote your band.
Clas- Do you know who likes you?
NOBODY
Posted by: Joey, I plan to go buy the new disc at Best Buy over my lunch hour today .
I can hardly wait .......................In fact , I am so excited about the new Dan Album that I am typing this with my Penis .
Joey !
Posted by: Big Fan, not at homehttp://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/161/living/Sonic_boom+.shtml
http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-dero10.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/125805_steelydan.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/10/arts/music/10CHOI.html?ex=1055908800&en=debb7607f0823427&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,88983,00.html
Posted by: Scotty, Sydney
Another Review
'Not quite smooth jazz but certainly not rock or pop, Steely Dan continues to explore a genre that can only be called "Steely Dan music."'
http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-dero10.html
Posted by: suedave, on my way to bed
I'm a regular at my local indie record shop and stopped by this evening to see about getting Guitar Player - finally on the shelves! And there it was, in the back, in a stack. After I cruised around the store and found a couple of other CD's of interest, I picked it up - it was Gold & Black (the CD/DVD version). I went to pay, and I was told I couldn't by Steely Dan today, it was illegal and all sorts of bad things could happen, but I could come back at midnight or the next day....as she rung up my entire order - support your local CD store all throughout the year!!!!
Chillin,
Susanzzzzzzzzzzzz
Posted by: Ben, San FranciscoSteely Wonder rough demo tracks out June 10th (today!).
Please check 'em out and be as critical as you can (they still need to be mixed and mastered)...
http://www.steelywonder.com/mp3/Steely_Wonder_Reeling_In_The_Years.mp3
http://www.steelywonder.com/mp3/Steely_Wonder_Green_Earrings.mp3
http://www.steelywonder.com/mp3/Steely_Wonder_My_Old_School.mp3
Thanks,
Ben
Posted by: moray eel, trOne more thing, best sounding album I've ever heard.
Thanks Donald and Walter.
m.e.
Posted by: moray eel, midniteI did the midnight thing at Tower in Chicago.
They were really pushing the Radiohead album. Trivia contest, bumper stickers, etc. They weren't selling the EMG CD+DVD or the DVD-A disc, but they had the regular CD for $11.99.
The changes in Green Book really kick my ass. They throw everything at you, but somehow it all sticks together. Best Fagen solo ever?
As far as radio tracks, I think that Godwhacker has the most potential. It's a good candidate for XRT. Now I have to find that request website...
m.e.
Posted by: hoops, Well, I tried a couple of Borders before closing to see if they would sell early and nother said, "whooaa nooo...won't do it, we could be fined." I was very encouraged that both Borders had a massive rack devoted to EMG. They have a very cool EMG/Borders poster about 24" X 36" and then maybe 20 or more rack slots, which of course were empty since they weren't on sale yet. Glad to see it get its due!
The local inde store down the street sold me the DVD-A version of the album just a few minutes before they closed at midnight. I might point out that it's where I bought my first Steely Dan LP when I was a kid and also they were the only store that had this huge 20' long banner in front outside when 2vN came out.
Whooaaaa! What a great album!
So far I'm taking in as much as I can. The credits are interesting. Carlock plays on ALL of the tracks (Is this the first Steely Dan album where they have the same drummer on all tracks?). Also, Tony Kadleck, who filled in for the ill Michael Leonhart on some dates in 2000 appears on "The Last Mall." And then coolest of all is that Catherine Russell is back on vocals (which was pointed out earlier). She's great! And Chris Potter is on "Lunch With Gina." Jim Pugh is also on som tracks.
Who's this Michael Harvey guy who sings vox on "Lunch With Gina"? What are his credits before this? I thought I've heard of him.
Well, see you in chat periodically through the next few days.
It's like Xmas eve and I just opened a gift!
jim
Posted by: Killeavy in Toronto, Toronto!!Luckily, there is some british combo of dubious distinction who are also releasing an album today. As such, our
local record shop -- the always amenable HMV Superstore -- opened at midnight in order for the fans of this
radiohead to get their fix immediament..... Luckily I called earlier in the day and arranged for EMG to also be
afforded the same treatment. I now own the first 7 retail copies sold in the continental toronto....Although work
commitments call, I suspect I will stay up all night listening to one of the most amazing albums I have ever heard...
God bless concurrent release dates !
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoAnyone see Leno tonight? I suffered through boring chit-chat with John Corbett, and then the original American Idol winners, but it was worth it, because the musical guest was the Marsalis Family. It was KILLIN!! The tune was really short (about three minutes), but they all got in great solos, so it was still great. Ellis, the dad, and piano player, was especially hot tonight. I think I might have to get that DVD.
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoI ordered the CD/DVD from the same site. When did you order it? I ordered on Thursday, along with the Louis Armstrong Complete Hot Fives & Hot Sevens box set. I sure as hell hope it comes tomorrow, or else I will be pissed (even though I should have just ordered it earlier).
Posted by: Chimpy, NirvanaI happened to see my mailman when he came came today, I thought, Nawww, I've got one more day......So I see him put a plain brown paper package in the mailbox, I couldn't believe it!!! Could it be??
I ordered the DVD/CD from a Canadian site, CDplus, I guess the mail works in funny ways, it was the CD/DVD, a day early. The rest of the day was shot, forget focusing on anything else. No more streaming for me!!! I've listened about 5 times through, whew!!
I've only listened in stereo, 5.1 is going to be a thrill, you'll see, it's even better than you think.
Someone asked about the age of Jeff Porcaro when he did Pretzel Logic; he was 19 in 1973 when it was recorded, I was 18 and had just graduated High School with Mike Porcaro, Steve P. was one year younger. I have fond memories of High School dances and battle of the bands with Jeff playing his ass off, a year or so later he was with the Dan. God, 30 year reunion this year. He was one hell of a musician.
Jeff got some of us into the Sopwith Camel (they had a Sopwith Camel airplane hanging from the ceiling) in March 1974 to hear some warm up gigs for the 74 tour, we ended up there the next night too for 2 more sets! But that's another story.
Sorry, but I'm going to watch the DVD now.
Mark
Posted by: whackedby11traxand/orGod, Got my copy of EMG, as promised by Warner Bros. in the mail today...
On first hearing, I loved it.
On second hearing, I liked it.
Me thinks it needs more banjo.
Just my humble opinion.
Posted by: steelydoubt, in the room atop the garagehttp://www.amcorner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1562
kinda funny
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/920 minutes 'til the release date!!! Ca't wait!!!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: John, Credits are up on the official site.
Posted by: John, Stopped at my local record store at 8 p.m. and no sign of the CDs. I asked what time they closed and they said midnight. I asked what would happen if I showed at 5 before midnight and they said I could stay in the store until after midnight and buy both the CD for my car and the DVD-A for my den.... 2 hours and 44 minutes to go!
Posted by: Skeevie Wonder, The Service ElevatorHey-
Actually saw a short TV promo for EMG at Target on ESPN at about 7:45 PM in Fla.
Posted by: Joey, I can hardly wait to go out and buy the new CD tomorrow -- Might even run up to Best Buy this evening and see if they have it for sale a " a little early " .
In fact , I am so excited that I am typing this with my nipples .
Joey !
Posted by: sharif, ChicagoEMG got a B-plus in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. I sure can't wait until tomorrow.
Posted by: Andy, Way downHere are some links to some stories, reviews, etc popping up about EMG. I haven't had the time to put them up on my site yet, but I will. I have a favor to ask all you loyal bluebookers. Tomorrow there will doubtlessly be tons of SD press. I'd appreciate it if you would e-mail me a link to any press you might come across so I can include it on my site (for those not in the know I have a big collection of SD articles on my site--http://www.andymetzger.com/archive/)
Here are those stories:
Rock's Back Pages - probably the best EMG interview yet
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/news/0606_hoskyns_dan.html
USA Today review - characteristically terse
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/listen-up.htm
Independent (London) interview - posted a couple of days ago but without a title or attribution
(http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/interviews/story.jsp?story=412754
Independent album review -http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/story.jsp?story=412757
LA Times review - http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-ca-racka8jun08.story
And finally, my brief synopsis of the album on my EMG album info page (with lyrics, credits, etc):
http://www.andymetzger.com/album/emg.htm
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoSorry, I didn't record it. Another funny thing I think Donald said about Pro Tools: "Pro Tools embarreses you in public. You'll go to a deli with Pro Tools, and it'll order extra mayonaise". I'm paraphrasing, but they said something like that. I really wish I had taped it, as I was cracking up laughing for much of it.
Posted by: P-G E, 125 km from my copy of EMG!!!Jesse: You doidn't happen to press rec & play or the computer equivalent when the interview aired on Q107?
Is/was it the same that has a couple of snipets of it at the official steelydan.com site? Who'll be kind enough to share the complete fun of that interview?
On a slightly sadder note I would like to warn people not to do what I did; bring EMG along on a trip and pick it out of the portable CD player just to make the breakfast even more beautiful by playing it on a stationary player at the place I stayed ... just to forget it there and end up a two hour ride from my copy of EMG.
The punishment for buying it ahead of the official release date?
Posted by: Warren, njlast friday night i was at a target store in the middle of nj. i was looking to buy the new tower of power disc. i looked over at the "s" section and there it was! emg! i've been listening to it non stop. just fantastic!
i just finished watching that short clip of carlock doing this amazing solo! now i want to see the boys play the song aja on this tour. keith would rip it up! just like steve gadd did!
Posted by: Joey, " Man...when your favorite band puts out an album...it's a good day."
Amen Brother ........................
Amen !
Posted by: Mitch, One thing I have noticed since the first streams...this record sounds way more "old school" sonically than 2VN did. I especially hear it in the how the Rhodes was recorded. (Being a Rhodes player it's probably no surprise that I would be sensitive to that!) It sounds way better on this record than on 2VN. It sounds more like the "Gaucho" Rhodes sound which is just pristine.
Also, I notice the boys using the organ quite a bit on this record. Hammond organ was one thing that really didn't show up much on past records.
Man...when your favorite band puts out an album...it's a good day.
Posted by: Mitch, OmahaTo quote the great Tommy Tutone - "I got it! I got it!"
It's good to have a buddy who works at a record store!
Man...what a fantastic record. What more can I say?
Mitch
Posted by: Dean Blagden, LondonBought EMG earlier today in London. All I can say is Wow!!!! Rock music simply does not get any better than this. I read a review in the UK press the other day which compared EMG unfavourably with 2vN, claiming there was nothing on it as impressive as "Gaslighting Abbie" or "Jack of Speed". Why do rock critics always miss the point? EMG is not better than, or inferior to, 2vN, it's just different, but just as brilliant in its own way. The recorded sound is absolutely fantastic (more dynamic and spacious than 2vN, more like the sound on Royal Scam and Nightfly), and completely vindicates Becker and Fagen's decision to use analogue. There is an incredibly exciting vibe to the whole album which places it on a par with the very best of Steely Dan's earlier work (including 2vN).
It's just a pity they're not going to be touring the UK in 2003.
Posted by: Pete, I put up a couple more videos of Keith Carlock playing with Will Lee and the Oz Noy Trio. For more info on Oz, check out http://www.OzNoy.com.
Here's the first one, "Damn this Groove", in case you missed it -- http://lebarbat.com/oz1.wmv
Another full song, "Say What" -- http://lebarbat.com/oz2.wmv
A short clip of Keith on "Steroids" -- http://lebarbat.com/oz3.wmv
Should be a fun summer!
Posted by: Dept of Mis-Information Management:, The bonus dvd is 24 minutes, not 2 hours.
Posted by: Shaun, BostonMark- When I was living in NYC in 2000 I went to Tower records at midnite. 2VN was to be released. They didn't have it! They told me to come back at 9:00am. Boy, was I upset! I hope it's a different story here in Boston.
I don't think Will Lee could, or would, want to leave his day time gig to go on tour with anybody. He would most likely loose a lot of money.
Posted by: Boston Rag, .
Pete - Thanks for the Oz Noy Trio video. In the pocket groove!
Carlock will rock this summer.
I've been saying for a couple of months that Will Lee should be the bass player for the SD 2003 tour. I was just on his web site and found this picture of him and Donald. Looks to be an early 80's picture. Or perhaps later on during the Lonestar days.
http://www.willlee.com/scrapbook.php?os=36&ti=51&next=1
Tower at Midnight!
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Warren, Cherry Hill, NJfirst time poster!
green book!!!!!!!!! and title track are sticking out right now.i love every tune and it and it only gets better and better. karlock is killin, perfect ... he's got just enough grease, that sarcastic swing and grooves his ass off. my only criticism is that i would love to hear some of those grooves with tom barney or chuck rainey or the like. the bass starts sounding like a synth bass after a while. keith and walter never really "get married" on any track. walter really doesn't have the pocketed grease factor. it sounds like he's using a pick on everything. his playing is impeccable but ... almost too ...
love it regardless....pete! anymore video of carlock? i'd love to see more!
w
Posted by: nu2blu, detroitNew Billboard.com review/preview:
http://www.billboard.com/bb/hotprod/index.jsp
They seem to like it. I believe this isn't the full review but worth a look.
Posted by: Big Fan, Still rainingI think there is a possibility that no less than 6 songs from EMG will be played live this year. Godwhaker, Lunch with Gina, Slang (Walter has always sung a song or two live – this is a natural), Pixleen, EMG are definites – they just have that live sound to them – much more than some of the songs on 2VN. And then how can they not play one of the singles – either Blues Beach or Last Mall.
I wanted to try and win those front row tickets Friday - unfortunatly when the question was asked I was in a very rural area about 1300 feet above sea level with no cell coverage. I had told my wife the day before the answer would be Bard College or Chevy Chase - sure enough the question was what college - bummer.
My son likes a girl in school named Genna. Fridy night was the big end of the year dance - and he got to dance with her - so we were teasing him - Lunch with Genna, dance forever...
Posted by: Beerberian, Dropped off in GroovetimeGodwhacker is in his heaven ... So much detail on the tracks but none of it contrived or fill Heavenly Backing vocs on "Pixeleen" - Ms Leonhart should be heartily congratulated - No Girl in Girlie trouble for sure !!
I was prompted into finding out Where/what/who the hell is Roppongi ... shoulda known - sleazey does it boys LOL
Roppongi is Tokyo's current active nexus of sin where the highest concentration of foreigners can be found any night after 6pm. An unusual plethora of Nigerian men work the doors of bars and work the street - "you, what kind of ladies are you looking for tonight?"
Posted by: Scotty, Sydney
"Steely Dan can't lose for winning"
But the reporter cant win for losing !! DF singing Slang ? I dont think so
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/music/article/0,1299,DRMN_54_2019102,00.html
Posted by: Nigel, UKJust got my copy of EMG from my local Virgin Records (UK).
Absolutely BRILLIANT the cd sounds SUPERB.
Godwhacker & Lunch with Gina is right up their with the very best of Dan
Thank you so much Donald & Walter for such a wonderful album PLEASE keep on going for ever!
I've got the day off and it feels like my birthday
:)
N
Posted by: CrellMoset, So now that we've come this far, let's look back and reflect on this - see if we can find any of 'em!
"Listeners anticipating Steely Dan's patented amalgam of sonic perfection, sinuous musicality, and subversive storytelling will not be disappointed by the new release, whose musical allusions range from Pharaoh Sanders to Tommy James, and whose literary echoes bound from William Gibson to Burmashave. Featured lyrics include such catchy phrases as 'and that's when she jumped the turnstile' and 'hey -- is that a horseshoe crab'?"
Any guesses as to these allusions, literary echoes, and where that horseshoe crab lyric could have possibly disappeared to?
CrellMoset
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoKMITB, I think it's called sarcasm, and I'm not sure, but I believe Steely Dan are familiar with it. Obviously Walter was joking when he said that.
Posted by: Shaun, BostonIf 2VN won 5 grammy's, EMG should win 50!
Should be good with Carlock on drums this summer. I haven't heard Tom Barney's named mentioned anywhere yet. Is he playing bass this tour? I wonder how the Carlock/Barney combo will work together. From the video clip I just viewed, it seems like Carlock will at least be a lot more fun to watch than Rickey Lawson. Does Carlock have a website? How about that Oz guy? Nice little trio.
Posted by: CrellMoset, I hope they keep on making albums. Not that "EMG" wouldn't make a fantastic send-off, but I'm certain the same thing can be said about every album they'll make in the future!!! DAN FOREVER!
CrellMoset
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9Who cares about looks??? It's about the music!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can't wait another day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EMG
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoIn the interview, they were asked if they are going to stop any time soon, and their answer was pretty much no, as long as people still keep coming to see them, and they don't get any injuries that compromise their star-quality looks, as there's a fine line between love and hate with their fans, and if they don't look their best, then their fans won't appreciate it. Remember, that's what Walter said.
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9I believe that these guys, Don and Walt, don't take themselves seriously! Unlike a lot of bands...they don't want nor need the fame! They'd rather make the music...let the public digest it...and be on their way! They are so cool that I dare the public to name
another band that has this much swagger! These guys are genius and that's all there is to it! I hope they make a couple more before it's all said and done! Because I honestly believe there will never, ever be another group or individuals like Steely Dan!
I have Home At Last blaring in my speakers...God what a tune!!!
And again...whoever has the missing tapes to AJA...please give them back...it's only the right thing to do!!!
Peace,
Kenny
8/9 I'll be there!!!
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoMan, these guys are hilarious!
They started out talking about the whole Grammy thing, and D&W said that it was like being on Neptune. After they won the awards, they went backstage to be interviewed by newspaper journalists who seemed like they were on some sort of punishment assignments. The journalists were disappointed to see them because they had their entire Eminem stories already written, and now had to learn who Steely Dan was.
Then they played "Blues Beach".
They then talked about how recording EMG was more like their first records as they had a real band that played on all the tracks, and they used analog. They said that it was a lot of fun having a real band again, as they would get into a groove of recording a track, hanging out, ordering greasy takeout from Times Square, and things like that. Then they talked about Pro Tools and why they didn't use it. That's when they got silly.
"Pro Tools has no sense of humour."
"Pro Tools doesn't wear its lucky shoes to a date like Keith Carlock did."
Now they're playing "Reelin' In The Years".
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoIt's on right now! It's weird, Q107 only plays "Do It Again" and "Reelin' In The Years", but on the commercial for the show, they have clips of tunes from every record. Anyway, everyone should listen right now! www.q107.com
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoHello everyone. Toronto's classic rock radio station, Q107, is broadcasting a recent interview and sort of preview for EMG in about 11 minutes. Go to www.q107.com to listen.
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9I think I have been spoiled by listening to the whole album streamed!!! It makes me want the album even more!!!!!!!!!! Damn...can Tuesday come any sooner????
If anyone is going to the concert in Columbus on 8/9 let me know....I'd like to have a get together before the show!!!!
Pixeleen still has me in it's grasp!!!!!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: h, Great footage, Pete! The Jeff/Keith thing also crossed my mind. Prior to this, having based my imagination on his great. mature playing, I pictured Keith Carlock as being some guy in his 30s or 40s.
This guy Chris wrote this majorly extensive review of EMG for the Dandom Digest. It's really interesting.
Must put a "Grant Green" CD on my shopping list when I buy my copies and versions of EMG.
Maggi McCoy and I caught "Smokey Joe's" in St Louis. It was a lot of fun and I am pretty sure Drew was in that production back in 1997. Drew's brother runs a record store in Rhode Island. He pops in off and on in the Dandom Digest. Drew is so amazing since he playing is so fast and dense. In certain ways he is the opposite of Walter's playing which playes and squeezes every note for all it's worth.
Looking for a midnight sale tomorrow! Although the stream and MSN has relieved me a bit, I'm eager to read the lyrics, credits, etc.
jim
Posted by: hoops, Excerpt from today's Dandom Digest, http://www.dandom.com/dandomdigest :
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: hoops@dandom.com
Subject: Attn All Shoppers: EMG Sales in the USA
A quick scan of today's Sunday USA Newspaper advertisements shows several chains with EMG on sale. Some of the big chains (Target, Kmart, Best Buy, etc) are offering the EMG standard CD for $11.99. Circuit City advertises the standard CD issue of EMG for $10.99 (limit 3), as well as the special version with the bonus DVD Confession. for $14.99. Coconuts advertises the CD for $9.99, but the fine print reveals you must pay $12.99 and mail-in for a $3.00 rebate. And, despite that it might cost more, it's not a bad idea to support your local inde record store by purchasing EMG from them.
Once again, if you are trying to decide which format and bundling of EMG to buy--CD, CD with DVD-V bundle, DVD-A--head on over to Steely Dan's guide which gives their take/suggestions on which package to buy.
http://www.steelydan.com/emgversions.html
The site includes links to some on-line retailers, and don't forget the retail chains I mentioned above, not to mention some inde's also take on-line orders.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by: danfiend, Well,
I know who they are, what I meant to ask is what label do they belong to, if any? I wanna hear more.
Posted by: danfiend, Damn
Keith Carlock is amazing. Who are those guys? Do they have a cd out? They all sound great. I think it's time for me to move out of the midwest and go to NYC. That's where the action is!
I'm even more psyched to get to August now. The 2003 lineup could be the best so far.
Also thanks for the link, Scotty. That's a great interview.
Posted by: Mr. Sam, Speaking of Idle MomentsWhile I got a few here (idle moments, that is) been listening again to Grant Green's Idle Moments album.
(Why, you may ask, am I not listening to the EMG stream instead? Several reasons really. Among the most prominent ones, though, are ... no sound card in MY PC ... a super slow internet connection on the only soundcard-equipped machine in the house ... a desire to have the lyrics handy ... and a nagging sense that the compressed format isn't doing EMG true justice -- kind of like trying to examine the Mona Lisa in semi-darkness while wearing a pair of sunglasses. But I digress.)
Having only heard the EMG stream once so far, I may be way off base here, but I'm struck by the strong sense that they are almost directly quoting the song "Idle Moments" in "The Things I Miss the Most." Anybody else around here notice this, too?
Mind you, I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but it would totally make sense in light of Walter's recent references to Grant Green. There is also precedent for this in the SD catalog (notably, the "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" quote in "Black Friday.")
Posted by: Boston Rag, Zingg on BroadwayFor a couple of years Drew was the guitarist in the Broadway show:
Smokey Joe's Cafe - The Songs of Lieber & Stoller. The last original cast performance was filmed and shown on HBO. If you watch the end of the show, Drew and the band are brought out and featured in a number. It's on this Friday, the 13th on HBO Signature. Fagen, as you know, covered Ruby Baby on The Nightfly.
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Zingg fan, right hereBob,
i have no idea what ever happened to Drew Zingg. For those who don't know, Drew was the AMAZING guitarist who toured with SD in 1993. he also played on a couple of tracks on "Alive in America", most notably "Third World Man". every few months or so, for several years, i get curious and search google. the closest i ever got, was finding his brother, Christopher Zingg, who owns a record store called "In Your Ear Records". I also hear that Drew is active in the New York area, and is well known there locally. I asked Chris if he would contact Drew and get him in touch with me. a few years ago, I wanted to write a profile on Drew and send it to Guitar Player to help spread the gospel about Drew - that he is the hottest thing since Larry Carlton. Chris said that he was too busy, or just hadn't responded. something like that, i don't remember. anybody know anything more about Drew?
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9Checked the ads this morning for EMG.....
Best Buy $11.99
Circuit City $10.99 with the DVD $14.99
All is looking good for Tuesday!!!
EMG,
Kenny
Posted by: Bill, Rich Man's Blues?Now that I think of it, there is a bit of the Rich Man's Blues of Fall of '92 in this one too.
>>'Things I Miss The Most' reminded more than anything of The Nightfly. In the song you sing about houses on the Vineyard and the Gold Coast – it's a kind of rich man's blues. Is it fair to say that Steely Dan has for some time been associated with expensive taste?
DF: Well, first of all I don't think with any song that we should be taken as the protagonists ourselves. I don't have houses on Martha's Vineyard or the Gold Coast. But I think that as the whole house of cards is starting to come down, people at the top are beginning to feel it as well as the other economic classes.
WB: That was the most fun part about writing the song. Though if anyone out there has my '54 Strat, I'm willing to take it back, no questions asked. There's a small reward.
Posted by: Mme Erzulie, OverseasThe album is growing on me... I'll wait before voicing my opinions.
Shaun: Porcaro was 19 years old
And about getting facts straight (from that long, unauthored interview):
Midnight Cruiser is on CBAT, not CTE or PL.
And it wasn't Baxter who played the mindblowing solo on Reelin', it was Elliot Randall.
Mme Erzulie
Posted by: Robin, No Peers, IndeedScotty,
Thanks for the link! Great interview.
Yes, the big release, is just a few hours away . . .
Posted by: Scotty, Sydney
.."Then again, does Steely Dan have any peers?"
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/90112p-81967c.html
Posted by: Shaun, BeantownPete- Thanks for the vid! Man, Keith Carlock looks like he's 10 years old. Oh yeah, the boy can play!
How old was Jeff Porcaro when he played on Pretzel Logic?
Posted by: chillin at the manatee bar, Butler, PaWow what a great sound on this record. There isn't one song I won't want to hear on the EMG Tour 2003. Hats and hooters.
Posted by: Robin, I've finally made my decision as to my fave cut from EMG.
The one I'm currently listening to or have last listened to (and is still playing in my head, most likely). Plain and simple.
This album has totally invaded my head. I'm hearing different things every time I listen to it. Familiarities and totally new things. It was very much worth the wait. I am so pumped about this year's live show. I think the title cut would be a great opening. The guys sauntering out during the opening sax solo.
Thank goodness my coworkers don't mind the Dan. They're going to hear a lot of the new album at work very soon . . .
Pixeleen = Pixel + teen? Cyberteen?
Posted by: Dave, Wow! I didn't realize that Keith Carlock was so young! What an amazing player. This will be an incredible tour. Thanks for the footage, Pete.
Dave
Posted by: Pete, As you know, Keith Carlock plays drums on every cut on EMG and will be the touring drummer this year. I figured a lot of people may not be familiar with him, so I put up a video clip taken from a gig he did a couple of weeks ago.
This was taken at the Bitter End in NY when Keith played with the Oz Noy Trio... and Will Lee is on bass. Oz, originally form Israel, is quickly becoming one of the hottest guitar players in NYC, and with Keith and Will, it's a monster trio!
Here's a broadband version of Oz's "Damn this Groove" -- http://www.lebarbat.com/oz1.wmv
Posted by: hoops, Yeah, it's only Rolling Stone, but what does this reviewer in Rolling Stone got against Walt Weiskopf? And oh, if can name other sax players he'd rather hear, why doesn't he name one and explain why he would rather someone else? Vote? Yeah, vote "no" at renewal time.
Tomorrow's Best Buy circular adverstises EMG for $11.99 with a note that DVD-A is also available. But they devote 4 times the space to the Eagles' new DVD single. Gimme a break.
growl...
Posted by: Bob, NYCHey, speaking of drew zingg does anybody know what happened to him? Who is is working with? Too bad he aint still with the Dan. zingg added that superb, crisp lead guitar work to the band.
Posted by: gypsyqueeninafairytale, You know,vocal coach,the time you wasted here insulting Ms.Leonhart,you could've went to the following websites and took the time to listen to her sang:
http://www.carolynleonhart.com
http://www.lynleon.com
Posted by: P-G E, Northern hemisphereLars: Great weekend! We're on Steely Dan time ...
Gotta say the the album works like any other Steely Dan album; grows and changes with each listen. The favorite songs change but it's all good. My toes tapping as i type this. Hey! Try to sit still to this record.
As a fan of Walter's "11TOW" I really like "Slang Of Ages". Faves right now "Pixeleen", "Things I Miss The Most", "Lunch With Gina" as well. But as I said it changes from listen to listen.
Walter and Donald: Thanks for a job well done!
:-)
Posted by: P-G E, Schweden, mein herrDid my thing for Steely Dan by voting at rollingstone.com finding Clay Aiken still in the lead with 93% of the votes ... I asked myself "who the f**k is Clay Aiken?!?!"
Checked it out and decided that this type of shows must be to music what SARS is to life. Perhaps even just a tad more evil and sneaky.
Or am I overreacting?
"Hey, it's just some harmless pop!"
American Idol. Over here they're called "Pop Stars" and "Fame Factory" and seem to release a new CD of "product" every month. Not only that; they fill the airwaves and top the charts as well.
OD:ing on junk like that is there anyway a young mind can anything but rot? Whenever I hear the stuff my whole being acts like someone's trying to give me a transplant. The natural reaction is to reject it.
Signed,
Grumpy Old Fart
Que sera sera, whatever will be will be ... and Everything must go
Posted by: Lars, P-GE . They played 'The Last Mall'at your store - well, at mine they played 'Blues Beach'! Nice weeekend this one!
L
Posted by: nu2blu, utopiaInteresting interview!
Any chance you would like to give details as to where it was from, who did it etc..
The title track is infectious.
I love pixeleen.
Green book is going to take some time. I hated almost gothic initially now I fuckin love it.
I have already beat blues beach to death. Just like cousin dupree.
Last mall rules.
Godwhacker will be turned up incredibly loud in my car with the moonroof open.
Regards,
D.
Posted by: sabette01, June 10th can't come soon enough, but I am so grateful to D&W for putting the stream on their site for all the die hards. I am stuck on Things I Miss the Most, at the moment. Jazzy and tight, yet reminiscient of some older work in style and lyrics - even Kamakiriad to some extent.
Clay Aiken has 93% of the Rolling Stone vote? Good reason not to read the magazine . . . not that I needed another.
Posted by: , Thanks for the interview. But next time try and give us a link instead.
Posted by: ,
It is late afternoon before Walter Becker and Don Fagen greet their first interviewer of the day. The two men, who first fronted a band called Steely Dan in 1972, are lounging in a fifth-floor suite of the ocean-front Fairmont Miramar hotel in Santa Monica, California. The venue, midway between Becker's home in Hawaii and Donald's upstate New York residence, has a faded grandeur perfectly in keeping with the Steely Dan canon, in which musical opulence and a longing for a distant past are so often intertwined.
Sat on the couch in front of me, Becker, at 53 the younger by two years, momentarily stops reading the morning paper to offer an amiable welcome. Fagen hovers uncertainly behind my chair; slurping from a bowl of raspberry sorbet, the singer/ pianist has the most painfully ill-at-ease body language of any interviewee I've ever encountered. Like Becker, Fagen has a rapidly receding hairline, and middle-age spread, visible beneath his rumpled sweatshirt. But his head has all but vanished deep into hunched shoulders and his eyes dart furtively round the room, as if he were a trapped animal.
The new Steely Dan album Everything Must Go was made in a comparatively short space of time. Mostly recorded live it is a stark and punchy counterpart to its predecessor the Grammy Award-winning album Two Against Nature, released three years ago. Though Steely Dan have seldom been considered an overtly political band, from its opening "The Last Mall" to the closing title track, Everything Must Go is an unflinching look at venal greed, mindless consumption and ersatz realities. The album's recurring concerns are the debris of the capitalist dream (the impoverished divorcee of "Things I Miss the Most") and the victims of counter-culture utopia (the junkies of "Blues Beach"). Neither Fagen nor Becker it transpires is aware that the Welsh agitpoppers Manic Street Preachers have already used the record's title. "So what? Every set of words has been used by someone somewhere already, it's a common phrase. Anyway I think capitalism has got everybody's goat, don't you?" grins Becker.
"Only for the last 50 years or so. Actually, I think you will find these same themes on our very first record," argues Fagen. After further consideration, Becker decides: "If it wasn't capitalism it would be something else - we'd be complaining about whatever system was calling the shots." As Donald continues to slurp his sorbet, Walter returns to the paper to brief his partner on the issues of the day, namely current uneasiness in Europe over US foreign policy. "The actor Vince Vaughn says we just have to try to remind Europeans about the Marshall Plan."
"Oh I see, so he's just like all the other scumbags," moans Fagen noticeably relaxing as he sits down at the opposite end of the couch to his pal. Becker shrugs, "Well I suppose you can take historical details and twist them whatever way you want."
Indeed. In the late 1960s Becker and Fagan were two smart, jazzy, savvy kids fresh out of Bard's College, New York. When their attempt to establish themselves in The Brill Building song-writing stable met with meagre success, they set about rewriting the pop rule book as Steely Dan, a hastily convened group named after a steam-powered dildo in William Burroughs' junk-fuelled amalgam of sci-fi and Beat-era prose, The Naked Lunch - though the author never became a fan. "I think he found we were marginally less unpleasant than other popular music but no more than that," says Becker.
Apart from the striking appendage, did Burroughs' writing particularly inspire them? "He brought something new into literature - but most of his work is unreadable," says Fagen. "The way he influenced us was through his use of science fiction and the erotic, though his flavour of the erotic was not the same as ours."
"And the use of addiction as a metaphor for existence was very interesting. He wasn't just a Bohemian joker: he had points to make," says Becker.
And so of course did the Dan. Between 1972 and 1980 Walter and Don were the unassailable hepcats of East Coast Cool, subverting the West Coast mainstream with lyrical intrigue and dazzling crafted intelligence, their twitchy finger on the pulse of popular taste.
They wrote about gambling addicts ("Do It Again"), a stock-market crash ("Black Friday"), cruel decadence ("Showbiz Kids"), drug dealers ("Kid Charlemagne"), fugitive gunmen ("With a Gun" and "Don't Take Me Alive"). Albums such as Pretzel Logic and Countdown to Ecstasy presented a quintessential American songbook filled with characters that ranged from the seedy and desperate to vengeful dreamers ("My Old School") and lost romantics ("Midnight Cruiser").
Steely Dan has always been the duo supplemented by an ever-changing line- up of the finest musicians money and talent can buy. "As musicians we have had dream careers, just being in the studio or in the control room with those guys was all you could ask for really," reflects Becker.
Looming large in Dan mythology is Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, the moustachioed guitarist responsible for jaw-dropping solos on "Reeling in the Years" among others. Bizarrely, as Becker explains how their former associate is now "a self-instructed expert on numerous weapons systems", a military helicopter thunders up the coast rattling the windows of the hotel as it passes. "See what you get when you mess with The Skunk. Don't fuck with him," exclaims Becker. "His U2 plane will be along in a minute," warns Fagen.
In 1974, before they'd recorded their biggest hits, Steely Dan ceased to function as a live band, and by 1981 signs of studio exhaustion were evident beneath the meticulous design of Gaucho. Shortly after it was released they ceased operations completely. For the rest of the decade they engaged in fitful solo careers and waged personal battles against tragedy and depression. Becker's girlfriend OD'd in his New York apartment and he struggled to conquer heroin addiction, Fagen had a breakdown and suffered a long period of writer's block.
Their comeback took time to blossom after the 1993 reunion tour, but they are now on a creative roll, which even their deeply imbued cynicism can't stop. Listening to their repartee it is hard to imagine how they coped with being apart from each other during their extended separation. Did the duo each feel they were only half there without their sparring partner? "By that time I was only half there," laughs Becker, alluding to his drug problem, "but I managed to get about 30 per cent of it back."
The comment causes Fagen to guffaw uncontrollably - a weird whinnying sound that resembles a mule in traction. Other artists who have undergone trauma and recovery favour personalised songs of survival and anguished confessional interviews. That is not the Dan style: gallows humour has been an essential part of their survival mechanism, although past personal experience does feed into their lyrics, however obliquely. "We are constantly competing with the monsters from the id," as Becker puts it. "The unseen reptiles within," Fagan adds. Becker: "All of the good things we tried to do and all the bad things we tried not to do, as James Brown once said."
Becker and Fagen are many things - laconic revolutionaries, mischief- makers who seem irrevocably altered by past chemical intake, jazz buffs with a still bright pop sensibility and, perhaps most surprisingly, concerned parents too. On the new album, "Pixeleen" is born out of unease with present- day teenage reality.
"I have step-kids but Walter has had experience of parenting teenagers, he contributed his knowledge of teenage mores," says Fagan.
Becker: "I think what television and video games do is reminiscent of drug addiction. There's a measure of reinforcement and a behavioural loop. Even from a metabolic point of view, a person sitting on a couch watching television burns fewer calories than a person sitting on a couch. Though far be it from me to preach."
"You mean you can lose weight just by turning off the TV?" says Fagen, "that sounds like a good diet."
Posted by: Boston Rag, .Earl - It's no joke. I thought it was a joke too until I asked my daughter who is Clay Aiken? He's the kid on American Idol.
Less than 72 hours until some supreme sonic sound stylings!!!Ssss!
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Earl, DelawareLooks like that Rolling Stone poll is some sort of joke/phony. Not that it really matters anyway.
I apologize for the Mizelle comments, although they were rather facetious in nature. I am entirely aware of Don and Walt's previous gigs, as well as working with another pop loser, Barbra Streisand.
Can't wait to hear the new one on CD/DVD. Been listening to the stream from steelydan.com. Definitely sounds like a winner, but it's tough to gauge too much through a cheap pair of computer speakers. A few of the songs are very funky, reminiscent of Gaslighting Abbie. I was also surprised by the vocal range that Don displays on the album. He sounds awesome!
Earl
Posted by: doubledd, oklahomieGo vote for steely dan at rollingstone.com!http://www.rollingstone.com/
They ask for the cd that you are waiting for on june 10th....a word of caution that clay aiken fag has the most votes with steely and metallica tied for 2nd.....Rock the vote..
Posted by: Stan Farley, From the latest issue of the "Smooth Jazz USA" e-newsletter:
STEELY DAN'S NEW ALBUM TO BE FEATURED on the June 8 Sunday Jazz Brunch, hosted by Steve Bauer at
http://www.smoothjazzusa.net
The Sunday Jazz Brunch airs live from 14-16 Universal, (9-11 a.m. Central, 10-noon Eastern, 8-10 a.m. Mountain and 7-9 a.m. Pacific Time).
Cheers,
Stan F.
Posted by: Now, Few seas awayLunch with Gina's groovy guitar sounds like Shalamar's "A night 2 remember" and has the same sound and feel. EMG - Great classic in its own time.
Posted by: Beerberian DVDA spinnin , in heavenDon't know why? or how? BUT I got the DVDA in this morns post !!! F****** Awesome sound Masterpiece Assembled from so many levels angles and directions ... Small comp for blowin' out the UK guys
Posted by: Clas, I don't blame you, I would have done the same, taking a cab, or sent a delivery service van.
Posted by: P-G E, Still in SwedenClas ... what can you do when the record store phones you up telling you that you have to come get your copy? Like a zombie I did obey.
(Just one more reason to support your local small record seller. I am pretty sure the Mega-Super-Whatever-CD-Palace won't sell you your records ahead of release date)
EMG? Grooves!
Posted by: suedave, in listening heavenI LOVE Pixeleen! TIMTM! Godwhacker! EMG! Three days! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3!
will have to catch up later, it's good to know most of you feel just like I do about this <big smile> <big yawn>
susan zzzzzzzzzzz
Posted by: Clas, Stockholm, SwedenP-G E, Sweden - hey there, cheater!
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoI also like Carolyn. The part on the DVD where she sings "Man gave me the news" in "Pretzel Logic", is great. They're all totally hot (the backup singers, that is), but they can still sing.
Posted by: W1P, LAHeck Ronnie Montrose once toured as Van Morrison's guitarist
Posted by: David Di Giannantonio, Los AngelesHey Vocal Coach: Carolyn Leonhart is an exquisite vocalist and more than holds her own. Your criticism of her is SO unfair. As for range, as a back-up, she is only called on to fulfill a very limited role; her timbre, please listen close, is truly impeccable; and as far as projection, a back up is supposed to BLEND in, not stick out. C'mon what's your agenda? Just because she happens to be a very attractive young woman doesn't mean she's not a capable pro. Fess up.
Posted by: Actually, Excellent point about Walter, Yawning. But do check back to about 2-3 weeks ago when the MSN stream of the album came out. Lots of posts about WB taking command on this one. Among the points: Walter's guitar solos "duet" with Fagen's vox and/or keys; Walter screams on Godwhacker and Greenbook especially, and quite a few other points. But yes, it bears repeating.
Posted by: yawning, no longer
holy bejeezus i love this band and i love this message board! i'm addicted to this thing while i wait for the disc to come out, even though i've got my cdr with my captured reprise.com streams going 24/7.
no-one yet has much made a very great big deal about walter's splendid guitar work on EMG. man, he has really improved, even since 2VN. that keys/guitar exchange on "Green Book" IS really TOO MUCH. on the 1993 tour, when drew zingg was in the band, there was this thing that the boys did, fagen/becker/zingg, where they traded licks during "teahouse on the tracks". it was kinda strange because zingg was sounding sooper badass and fagen and becker sounded, um, kinda like blowing was NOT their primary focus or forte. the stuff they play on "green book" is almost totally in a league with zingg now. jeez, way to go guys. we worship you.
Posted by: Trading Places, HI & NYCMy favorite part of the NY Post article was where DF (not Danfiend) +WB said they
traded residences--DF in HI & WB in Manhattan. What a loving duo! They even swap houses! Right.
Did relate to the line where they said some people love to
hate Steely Dan. Wish it weren't true but it's how it feels.
I guess I am a Steely Dan fan with a persecution complex.
Posted by: In the know, more or lessSources close to the source say that the writer of the NY POst article got over half of the attributions (Becker vs Fagen) backwards. It was a phone interview and it appears he didn't know which voice was which most of the time. Critical example: it was becker who said "Blow me". Other examples, obvious.
Posted by: Godflowerwhacker Street, Slinky Chang Burns With RageLivewire should look no further than Greenflower Street to compare melodica solos and urgent tempo and general mood.
Posted by: Bill, PittsburghSo, is Walter still married, divorced and remarried, or what? Or did the interviewer mix up D quotes with W quotes? There was much speculation that West of Hollywood was somewhat autobiographical on Walter's part, and a whole lot of doomed-marriage themes on 11TOW. Inquiring obsessive fanatics want to know.
>>Becker: Close observers of my behavior assure me it's there. My wife complains about that all the time. Judging from the intensity with which some young people hold on to their views, I would say we're younger than they are
Posted by: LiveWire, Stevie Wonderland"Godwhacker's on the case."
"Superstition ain't the way."
Did the synthy-harmonica solo lead me into this?
:-)
Posted by: P-G E, Sweden a.k.a. No-Tour-Country-2003Thanks to the Whitsun holiday with most things closed on Monday 10th here in Sweden, the record company managed to get EMG to my locla record shop today Friday 6th.
Got a phonecall from the shop saying my copy was waiting for me even though the official street date is June 10 (now that's service!)
I sneaked away from work for 30 min to go downtown and pick it up.
TLM was playing as I walked in the front door. I was one big smile...
Just back home and about to give EMG a first spin. One hap-hap-happy weekend coming up!! :-)
P-G E
Posted by: Shaun, BostonMikey- Highly unlikely McDonald will show at the SD Nasville gig. He's on the road at the same time doing a tour of his own.
Does anyone else here find themselves waking up in the morning with Godwhacker running around there brain?
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9Apology accepted my man...no harm done! I still think Pixeleen has potential to be the next big tune!!! Is there a place that has the lyrics to EMG yet? I know the official site says coming soon!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: from the Norwalk new release mailer:, "How we do it: First we hook of a sequence of sleek & Slinky musical cells over which we sprinkle the most amusing lyrics. Immediately we get on the horn and round up our swinging sidemen, including but not limited to Keith Carlock (drums), Jon Herrington (guitar), Hugh McCracken (guitar),Ted Baker (keyboards), and yrs. truly, Mssrs. Becker and Fagen, on our respective axes. Elliot Scheiner, who is not for nothing the Godfather of 5.1 Surround, does the tracking chores. Next thing you kow, the wiggy vocals and stellar solo work are stacked atop the now-realized grooves and harmonies. After mixdown, the finished album reveals to its makers deep subterranean themes and powerful emotional undercurrents that satisfy and surprise at the same time."
- Walter Becker and Donald Fagen
Posted by: Stupid Jaco, UKHoly Crap
How stupid am I?
Apologies to those concerned!
On a different note, I thought I'd throw in my $0.2 on EMG
I love it! The tracking is awesome, the groove is stronger than on any other album, and is a perfect bedfellow for 2vN. [Slightly incestious, perhaps, but hey, it's the dan] Standout tracks for me include Godwhacker, Green Book, Lunch with Gina. I've already been laying down some funky basslines with it, and it lends itself so well to open jams. I think the guys really have moved away from their 70s stuff, even though I've heard people say it's like their back. I dont agree that Fagen's vox are back to 70s era form, but I love them anyway, he always sounds great.
Overall , 11/10. Couldnt be happier. Already pre-ordered three copies, I WILL be distributing rest assured, EVERYTHING MUST GO!
Hope everyone's well and excited about the release
Kind regards
Jaco
Sorry again for my silliness, I was a tired boy!
Posted by: Mikey Not Mike, Ricky Lawson plays drums on Michael McDonald's new album, "Motown." Since McDonald has a place in Nashville, I wonder if he will come to the TN show on the Steely Dan tour.
Posted by: Denton, iowaI think KAMTV knows it's WB...reread post.
Thanks
Posted by: kate, Are we stoked for the Dan release yet for next week cant wait.
Saw a great site on the net http://www.abstractlogix.com
that has great prices on the new Dan and lots of other great cds.
good luck, happy tunes
Posted by: Jaco, KIMTBKIMV: It's actually Mr Becker singing on "Slang of Ages" .... his first official credit :)
Regards
Jaco
Posted by: loafing_pines, I hear a decent MP3 rip of EMG has shown up on the newsgroups, for anyone who can't wait till Tuesday...
Posted by: ES, And Elliot Scheiner still works with Olivia Newton John, incuding surround versions of her albums. And Elliot doesn't have rent due. What's wrong with pop stars of arguably varying degrees of talent, at least getting smart enough to want to work with real talent and those talents maybe wanting to help them at least have a little more quality. Or least maybe they want to pay the rent.
Ted Baker, Herington, and Tom Barney have played in the pit orchestra of either The Lion King or Aida. Are they supposed to starve until the next SD tour?
Posted by: Boston Rag, Trivia not trivialJim Hodder never played with Captain & Tenille, however Ed Greene who did some great playing on "I Got The News" has played with them.
And I'm assuming you're being sarcastic with the Bay City Rollers.
The point is that a lot of session players probably don't concern themselves with how hip or great an artist is that hires them. If you're getting paid a couple of grand for a session and the rent is due, you do the gig and go home.
Mark in Boston
Posted by: More, trivia for youFYI, Denny Dias played with the Bay City Rollers. And Jim Hodder was the drummer on the Captain and Tennille albums.
Posted by: Little Wild One, workOh, now I I know why I love Michael McDonald so much. I had the biggest crush on David Cassidy and watched the PF religiously. Loved that magic bus!
That's why I love coming here....
Posted by: x, yThe Boston Globe is own by the NY Times Company.
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus 8/9/03 SD is here"In ''Slang of Ages,'' Fagen sings, ''Did you say you were from the Netherlands, or was that netherworld?'' "
Ummm...nice article in the Boston Globe...but how hard was it to tell that it wasn't Fagen's voice on "Slang of Ages"....oh...I don't know.....maybe if they heard the whole album they could tell the difference between D + W!!!!!!
Sorry....but if you are going to do reviews..get your stuff straight! Like someone mentioned earlier...the article about Becker and Fagen living far apart these days and having the places flip-flopped.....just plain sloppy! Also a little slap to the boys! Some respect people.....I'd expect this kind of mess from the NY Post.....what with facts getting in the way and stuff!!!!!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: the vocal coach , Weighing in on the backup singer topic...Catherine Russell is, imho, one of the best backup singers Becker and/or Fagen have used in the past ten years or so. I'm unfamiliar with Ms. Mizell, so I can't comment on her voice, but if she's been backing up singers like Christina Aguilera, it might be that she's a very good singer who's hired to make the other singers sound better.
I will admit that when I saw several shows on the 2000 Steely Dan tour, I found myself wondering what B & F were thinking in a strictly musical sense when they hired the "midriff section." Yes, the girls had good teeth, good hair, trim midsections. Yes, they were young, hip, and much easier on the eyes than the motley collection of males they shared the stage with. However, when compared to the other backup singers Becker and Fagen had worked with during the '90s, they seemed somehow to lack the punch and authority of previous vocalists (including Catherine Russell). Knowing the twisted sense of humor evinced by Becker and Fagen, there may have been extramusical reasons for recruiting those particular three ladies. (And that may also explain why they continue to employ Carolyn Leonhart, who may have been the weakest of the three, in terms of range, timbre, and projection.) At any rate, it's good to know the new CD, and hopefully the tour, will feature at least one backup vocal veteran.
Posted by: TrueBlue, Nice to see it on line now too. Thanks.
As discussed a couple of weeks ago, the full article is in the print edition of ICE. Becker talks frankly about surround sound, the Gaucho SACD and EMG DVD-A and the endless MCA reissues.
Posted by: Nu2Bleau, NirvanaIce, Ice, baby!!
http://www.icemagazine.com/stories/195/steely.shtm
Nice jacket Don. Hope to see it on tour.
Have a great weekend everyone!
D.
Posted by: Boston Rag, Also, I remember reading that Donald and Walter discovered Michael McDonald "down the hall" at ABC Studios when he was laying down backing vocals for David Cassidy.
Mark in Boston
Posted by: hoops, Even more shocking is that Steely Dan uses Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. How could Steely Dan hire those two after having worked for Jay and the Americans?
Posted by: Oh Yeah, ...Fezo- C. Russell was on the '93/'94 SD tour and also sang back up with the New York Rock & Soul revue back in '92. I believe she sang on Kamakiriad as well as 11TOW. About a year ago I saw her on tv backing up David Bowie. She's only like 5 feet tall but sings like a mother fucker!
Posted by: Shaun, It's about the $Earl- Tom Barney played with Kenney G. What's your point jerk off?
Posted by: Slick Rick, El DoradoIf it wasn't Walter who posted the review on the Barnes & Noble site, I'll eat my hat.
Posted by: from the, cleveland plain dealerhttp://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/friday/105490410357240.xml
Posted by: another SD , article from bostonhttp://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/157/living/Steely_Dan_does_it_again_with_new_disc+.shtml
Posted by: fezo, Catherine Russell did background duties on two of the tours in the '90's, correct?
Posted by: blech, with the Mizelle fanHey lazy earl - every heard of google?
Mizell is obviously used by some pretty demanding vocalists. "Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Dave Matthews, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Brandy, Debra Cox, and many more." Producers for projects like Amer Idol etc use the pros. Just like herington was picked to play in the band for various tv specials you woulod have considered lame. But with your narrow and laughable view of how the music/recording business works, you probably would rather see norah jones sing backup, yeah right
Posted by: Mizelle fan, at the studioearl your ignorance is stunning.
Posted by: Earl, DelawareUgh...looking at those credits, I clicked on "Cindy Mizelle." She sang backup for Kelly Clarkson. You would think that D+W would be a little more picky for their singers than to get a chick who's singing on pop garbage. Maybe they can get AJ from the Backstreet Boys to help them out on tour, or possibly Taylor Hansen.
Earl
Posted by: maddrobb, New one sounds great...
Maybe i'll start posting here instead of the celine dion fanclub site...
Posted by: Babylon Shyster, catwalk inside the warehouseCome on people...that's a brilliant fan review from B&N (I believe it was actually left by WB). For being SD fans of great Dandom stature, I would assume said fans would have a little more appreciation for such sarcasms.
What's up w/ the anti-Godwhackers? "Are they going for shock value?"....are you kidding me? Just cuz' these guys is intelligence n stuff doesn't matter nothing. Didn't you know these SD guys are with the Laci Peterson Satanic Cult faction, not to mention they produced all off Pablo Escobar's albums. They're hittin' big on the Christian charts. Don't make me get all min/Maj 7 w/ a 9 and #11 on your ass.
Anyways...mad props and big ups to WB on Slang
Lovin EMG....definately up there with their hit "Stuck in the Middle w/ You"
Keep it real or whatever....
the Shyster
Posted by: Big Fan, Can't I get some more sleep?Nice interview in today's NY Post:
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/58373.htm
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/06/04/eye.ent.awards/
Ah, San Diego in Sept.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/citysearch/feature/351/
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoHere's that Barnes & Noble review:
If this album is anything like the songs I heard on the 2002 tour, this cd could be their best one yet. A bunch of co-workers and I went out to see the band last summer and we really had a blast. I finished off a pint of El Toro beforehand and was in prime form. I nailed our intern in the back of my 89 Tempo outside in the parking lot and she gave me a wicked case of crabs. That was the only highlight and bummer of the night. The funniest thing was that our boss came along and when he went to the bathroom, I stuck my tongue in his wife's ear and spit in his coke. Nobody likes that prikk. Afterwards, I volunteered to drive home and took the sidewalks the whole way back. It was awesome, we had AC/DC jamming the whole way. I actually hit some lady's shopping cart that she was pushing around the neighborhood. Stupid bag lady. Some of the songs that they played live featured saxophonist Michael Brecker, who is an excellent Altoist. Their new drummer is phenominal, too. He really adds a jazzy feel to the music
Man, the bag lady, and the crabs are the least of his problems. Michael Brecker? He is neither an alto player, nor was he on the tour (although that certainly would have been cool!). Also, 2002 tour? Wow! That's a stupid fan!
Posted by: , Lunch with Gina...........is forever.......
Posted by: Gina, Sliding down the Ladder MountainHowdy Shaun, maybe this growing thing can be explained by the way we were introduced to this new CD. We now benefit from the wonders of internet, being able to post here and stream this cd in better quality now since it's been up on their own site ... made me aware of the fact it's major to be able to listen to music knowing everything sounds like it is supposed to etc. i am not speaking on behalf of anyone else btw, this just my bid :-)
And yes, maybe a bit shellshocked as well, the craze going on ever since the first information on this particular cd reached its audience. Also tend to think this growing thing is typical for this whole Steely Dan vibe ... The music, the concept, the founders, it's both passion and uncommon sense on this ship sailing seas of borderlined rituals regardless of what's obvious in a way. SD music for most fans, isn't something they just like to be served as a chocolate chip cookie along with their coffee. It strikes at once, appeals to the utmost and there nature plays a trick or two ... it makes us step backwards, analyze instead of just reel it in LOL and risk going bazurk on a natural high. Too high to handle, perhaps?
State of mind also has a lot to do with it. One has to be totally "free" to absorb fully, enjoy etc etc.
Having had these pre-internet treats i'd say when i finally get the cd it'll mean more to me than 2VN. Familiar with the overall sound of the various tracks and spheres and lyrics .. and now ready to focus on the details and it's like having saved the olives or cherries or whatever for last :-)
Back to the stream ....
Posted by: Boston Rag, EMG Album CreditsJust noticed at Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com) they have the album credits for Everything Must Go. The great background vocalists are: Carolyn Leonhart, Catherine Russell, Cindy Mizelle, Tawatha Agee and Ada Dyer.
You must go to the BN site and check out the totally whacked review of EMG posted by some jerk. He gives EMG 4 stars but talks about putting the moves on the wife of his boss at a Steely Dan concert and then almost running over a bag lady on the way home. Too bad the first listener review has to be by a fucking moron.
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Scotty @ Work, Sydney
"cool, loose and more than a little crazy."
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/58373.htm
Posted by: Boston Rag, 4 days and counting....Finally found the June issue of ICE with Donald and Walter on the cover. Fagen looking sharp with his cranberry jacket! I noticed the thumb and pinky finger on his left hand were bandaged. Must be from those steaming synth solos.
The streams have been great. I still feel like we won't appreciate how great this CD is until we get the high fidelity CD. I'm doing the Tower at midnight trip on Monday and taking the long way home so I can crank it! Also being released on June 10 is the new Fountains Of Wayne CD. One of my fave non-Steely bands, I've heard their new one is also a 5 star masterpiece. How will I get any work done next week???
Mark in Boston
Posted by: Robert, ChicagoLookin' for a little help from the Dandom, BB King and Jeff Beck are having a pre-sale on 06/06/03 for their show at the Arie Crown, and I can't find any passwords anywhere, it's an XRT show, any info anybody?
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoMr. Sam, I was just listening to "Idle Moments" yesterday. What a great record. I'd have to disagree with what you said about how Grant doesn't repeat himself. My only beef with Grant's playing is that he sometimes does repeat licks, and it becomes somewhat predictable. However, I still love his tone, and his snaky lines. Joe Henderson is a total motherfucker on that session. His playing is the definite highlight of this record. "Jean De Fleur" is such a great tune. Shows that Grant was also a great composer. Also, Bobby Hutcherson is such a great player, and it's interesting to see him playing in this setting (he usually did more advanced stuff such as Eric Dolphy's "Out To Lunch"). I'm seeing Bobby on the 27th in a quartet with Herbie Hancock (!!) at the Montreal jazz festival (it's a double bill with Charlie Haden's American Dreams, which includes Dan session man and tenor sax extraordinaire Michael Brecker!). Anyway, it's great to see other Dan fans listening to 60's Blue Note music.
Posted by: Big Fan, Home at lastSo I leave work today and go to the credit union off site because it’s open later. I’m leaving the parking lot listening to River 105.9 – a feel good station that plays old favorites and new pop stuff like Avril and Nora Jones. Next thing I know they are giving away second row seats to Mohegan Sun if you can answer the Steely Dan trivia question. I pull over and dial on the cell as the guy gives the number – the question, what book did Steely Dan take their name from? So it’s busy. I dial about 10 times and it starts ringing, I’m thinking I won, I won and I’m starting to get pretty excited. Then a young ladies voice comes on. It’s so monotone that I figure it’s a recording. “I’m sorry but we’ve already gotten a winner…” A string of obscenities emanated from my mouth. The voice on the other end starts to giggle. Ooops. She says try tomorrow for front row seats. We’ll maybe I’ll get lucky. Darn I wanted those tickets. They are really starting to push the new album on this station.
The US Amazon.com site has the DVD-A now. I added it to my order to make life easier.
Posted by: noquarter, torontoReview:http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/classicpop/
Those europeans love the dan.
Posted by: Denton, iowaThe Audi TT!!
I've been trying to figure out the lyric there since it was 1st streamed.
The RS review did serve a purpose after all...
Posted by: KMITB, ColumbusTry Grant Green's "Alive!". On it is one of my favs..."Down Here On The Ground". A nice groove and one you can drive to as well.
Any other reviews pouring in on EMG? So far, no excellent ratings...like I expected anything different! EMG will stand the test of time...unlike 99% of the albums coming out now!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: Mr. Sam, Ooops!Make that "alternately",
NOT "alternatively"
Posted by: Mr. Sam, Thanks a Bunch Dr. Walter!While patiently waiting for June 10th to arrive (NOT!), I've been grooving on a jazz classic that came my way courtesy of a Dr. Becker blurb on Piano Jazz. That album, my friends, is Grant Green's Idle Moments on the Blue Note label. I recommend it highly. Give it a listen . . . or two . . . or twenty, and I think you will, too. It's alternatively cool, swinging, propulsive, contemplative, seductive, and sublime, and yet still very accessible for all you faux jazz fans. [A word of caution, though, to the orally fixated out there: There are no vocals on this one. Sorry.]
Oh, and BTW, if you listen real closely, you can even hear hints of the West of Hollywood outro in Grant's interpretation of John Lewis's classic "Django" (especially, the track #4 version.)
As many of you who've head W+D on Piano Jazz may recall, Walter mentioned that Grant Green is his favorite jazz guitarist. After enjoying this gem for the last 10 days, I can see why. Much as with Walter, there are very few chords in Grant's playing. His melodic phrasing and delivery are as toneful and tasty, though, as anything you're likely to find in the musical universe! He also rarely, if ever, repeats himself. All I can say is AMAZING! You da man Grant!
The lineup on this stellar album all deserve major kudos, starting with Duke Pearson (piano), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes) and Joe Henderson (tenor sax). The rhythm section, composed of Al Harewood (drums) and Bob Cranshaw (bass), is tight, explosive and propulsive (reminding me a bit of Art Blakey & his Jazz Messenger bassists.)
Oh well, that's my contribution to our little Music Appreciation seminar here today. Now, can anybody out there in the Blue yonder recommend another Grant Green title? Also, anybody got a good Jazz Messenger title with Bobby Timmons to recommend?
Now back to your regularly scheduled musings about all things EMG.
Mr. Sam
Posted by: Not my Chloe, any other world????????? Scratching my head in bewilderment here, with each loop of the stream.. wondering with a causious optimism?? Is this album as good as I think it is?? Are we sitting on gold yet again?
My God! I think we are!
Posted by: Duke, Duke Duke
Duke of Earl.
CD Universe has EMG DVD-A plus a host of others.
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=5896434&cart=147413574&style=music
KC
Posted by: Dennis , ChicagoI was taking a closer listen to the songs this morning. In Things I Miss the Most Donald says "My '54 Strat". Walter must have had a hand in that one. I'd hate to lose one of those in a Divorce! 1954 was the first year of production for the Fender Stratocaster. They are worth about $15k now. She'd have to pry it from my cold dead hands!
Posted by: Big Fan, not at homeDTS is a company and a trade name who makes end DVD's CD's etc amd electronic eqipment - like Dolby who is their competitor. DTS was into 5.1 before other companies - they make DVD-A now themselves:
http://www.dtstech.com/company/
Dolby Labs:
http://www.dolby.com/dvd/
THX is another - although they don't make DVD-A's yet
http://www.thx.com/
My new DVD-A has the DVD-A, Dolby and DTS symbols on it
Posted by: Steelyfan, nirvanaWhat is the difference between DTS and DVD-A?
Was Gaucho released in DTS becasue DVD-A didn't exist?
Thank you,
Jeff
Posted by: Big Fan, at work - still rainingSOH - thanks. Circuit City is about 45 minutes from me - which is close compared to the alternatives. I'm definitely going to let my fingers do the walking next Tuesday to find the DVD-A in stock - CC, Best Buy, Media Play. First one who says they have it gets the nod.
Posted by: DACW, amazon.com DVD-A link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000942R1/102-2059363-6019320
Hastings Music outlets can also order the DVD-A EMG in your area
Posted by: Nu2Blu, Bloomfield Hills, MichiganYeah, that's it!
Hearing this live will be the real treat and hopefully they will release another Live CD after this tour. I couldn't imagine why they wouldn't.
Posted by: Shaun, BostonIt's hard for me to understand why almost all of the Steely Dan fans that post here are saying that EMG still has to grow on them. It didn't take me more than two listens before I realized this record was up there with the very best the Dan have done. May be it's so good, everyone is in shock or something. Anyway, I can't wait to hear this shit live!
Posted by: SouthOfHollywood, BigFan...The DVD-A is available on the Amazon UK site but not on their USA site...However, Circuit City says they'll have the DVD-A in stock, in their stores on the release date...SoHo
Posted by: Firemop, @work
Big Fan - Instead of putting a CD player in the boat or making a cassette yourself, you can shell out twenty bucks for one of those cassette adapter thingies that let you play a portable CD, minidisc or MP3 device through a cassette player. If you already have a portable, its a cheap alternative that sounds pretty good.
-fmop
Posted by: newtoblue, DetroitMovin' up the charts.....
http://www.radioandrecords.com/Charts/trpa_Home.htm
They need to release Godwhacker or Everything must go...
Posted by: Howard, @lunch
Bill/Clas - yes, "temperament" is the key word for piano tuning. Equal temperament - so all chords/keys are equally in (or out of) tune.
The additional problem with acoustic pianos is that the octaves are stretched - the high notes are "a bit higher than they should be" and the bass notes "a bit lower than they should be". Normally an octave is either an exact doubling or halving of frequency, but the piano octaves are stretched a little. This is due to the way that the piano strings behave...
... and this is why mixing acoustic pianos and synths has cause Donald headaches in the past - the way the synth tuning behaves at the low and high ends is different to what happens with the piano, so things start sounding out of tune (if you've got sharp enough ears to hear it that is!).
I think Bill's is a valid question - why use synths on EMG if the tuning is a problem? As Clas said, the tuning becomes a bigger headache with chords (not just single notes) so this is part of the answer. Also, if you don't go to the extreme pitches too much, you can probably get away with it more.
And anyway, who's to say they didn't record the synth parts in small chunks, retuning between takes, which is apparently what Donald did on the Nightfly. That's some serious dedication: record notes 1-6, retune, record notes 7-11, retune, record notes 12-19, retune...
Howard
Posted by: Big Fan, Sorry for the double link postNot awake yet. Did I see someone say that Amazon.com had the DVD-A for pre order? I can only find the CD and the CD/DVD combo there. Thanks to whoever for the link to the ODP explaining the three different releases in detail, because I must admit I was confused by what I was seeing at Amaxon.com. My boat the "Steely Dan" only has a cassette player. 2VN was put out on cassette but it doesn't look like EMG will be. I guess it's back to the old days of making a cassette. If I can only remember how. Which side goes in first? I may have to upgrade to a CD player for the boat I guess.
Posted by: Big Fan, do I have to get up already?Very nice interview:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,970517,00.html
SD at the PAC - anyone else going?
http://www.pressconnects.com/entertainment/stories/060503s74005.shtml
Posted by: Gina, Sun Stream MountainThe wiggy woman very funny yes!
Love the energetic vibe reigning Godwhacker.
The little ditties spicing it up.
This album full of spice.
Has to grow on ya, though. Growing fast!
But now the sound is better if not best, the vibes are clearer as well :-)
Stream on ...
Banyan Tree Bow in Blue,
G.
Posted by: Eric, San Diego, CAAwhile back, there was a discussion about favorite "steely moments". I am sure my moments will continue to change as I continue to listen to the webstreams, and then the cd. But for now, one of my favorite moments is right when the sax solo starts in the song "Pixeleen". Gives me goosebumps..
Eric...
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoI'd say to Joey, recycle away, as that simile made me crack up.
While smooth jazz does sound like an aural version of urine that's been on the toilet for weeks, I disagree that it is "hardly ever seen", as bullshit, jive-ass sax players like Dave Koz, sell more records than Wayne Shorter, Branford Marsalis, and Joe Lovano combined. Can you believe that?
Posted by: Firemop, Uptown, Baby! Uptown, Baby!"Agreed . Rolling Stone Magazine is akin to the off - yellow , sticky film of weeks old urine that collects under the toilet seat: Hardly ever seen and quite disturbing when discovered." (Wed, June 04, 2003, 17:50:02 ET)
"Smooth Jazz " is akin to the off-yellow , sticky film of weeks old urine that collects under the toilet seat : Hardly ever seen and disturbing when discovered ." (Fri, March 28, 2003, 18:36:52 ET)
Joey ! -
While I agree with your sentiments re: Rolling Stone and "Smooth Jazz", in my opinion it is a bit too early to recycle that "sticky film of weeks old urine" simile.
-fm
Posted by: eggheads?, UKhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,970517,00.html
Posted by: KMITB, ColumbusI'm not going to come down on the Rolling Stone review for one reason....he's only one person. Not everybody is going to "get it". That's like somebody who loves country music and trying to tell me why it is soooooooooo great. I hate the stuff and I don't care what someone says about it one way or the other. It could be a really good album...to their ears...but I hate the sound....the draw...the slide guitar...the message...you get my drift. This guy from RS thought AJA was empty...that's his choice.
If you like the Dan...then who gives a crap what he thinks. I have a friend who doesn't like Fagen's voice at all and will turn off the Dan anytime he hears it. That's his opinion. I won't call him an idiot because of it. His brain processes the sounds different then mine does.
It's ok if someone bashes the record. That's what America is all about...to be able to voice your opinion. So let this guy go...no skin off our back anyway.
And Pixeleen is my favorite tune off EMG so far...catchy as hell!
Peace,
KMITB
Posted by: John, Slinky,
For a surround system, I got Bose Acoustimass 15 speakers and a Pioneer DV-45A DVD player, because it can play both DVD-A and SACD format disks. Very few DVD players appear to play both, so I thought I would hedge my bet on any future format wars by getting the Pioneer, even though it was pricey at $375.
And of course, I made the purchase entirely because the Big Event six days hence.
I must say, having combed the online sites, there are precious few titles for these formats, but the three I've gotten over the last week (Miles Smiles, American Beauty, New Favorite) all sound great!
Good luck,
John
Posted by: jbeeching, ...that's "DIG sneaky-sweet..." blah blah blah...
Posted by: DACW, Crell:
"...So as with Aja -- the duo's biggest and very nearly emptiest record -- its value ultimately reduces to textured dimensionality and tasty licks..."
- in plain English: Sounds like Aja - 3 Stars...what a f*ing idiot!! Ironically, the original review by RS for Aja credited SD with only 3 stars!!! I remeber the title "Dazed at the Dude Ranch" Believe it or not, Gaucho garnered 4 1/2 stars in its initial RS review. However, the revisionist historians have decided this reduced their coolness, and the website list Gaucho as 3 starts...proper humility has force RS to upgrade Aja to 5 stars on the web...
more irony - those are exactly the same comments the Houston Chronicle critic had for TvN: Sounds like Aja - 3 stars...bet Christigau plagarized...
Rob, you write the same boring review over and over - there's ONE star in the Book of Liars by your name...
Posted by: jbeeching, A long-time critic's venom from the past... Rob Christgau is the one who gave middling reviews of most of the Dan's albums in his Record Guide published in the 80's, but giving "Gaucho" a 1 of 5 star-rating was the cruelest cut of all. I do agree it's the weakest album of them all, but COME ON...
Oh, and a first favorite from the new one is "Pixeleen"- I did sneaky-sweet love songs...
Posted by: BD, nah, I'm not Earl. That was my first post actually. I think the changes and phrasing are out of control on Godwhacker. I'm just not sure what they mean by the lyrics. It's just kind of sad for me that's all. Were they just doing it for shock value? Has anyone heard anything from Don or Walt on what it's about.. It seems to be about the fallen angels. It really would have been a much better and more accesible song if it told a different story
Posted by: Joey, " We should all rejoice in the fact that Rolling Stone no longer makes any money. Also, they are a stupid-ass, lame teen magazine "
Agreed . Rolling Stone Magazine is akin to the off - yellow , sticky film of weeks old urine that collects under the toilet seat: Hardly ever seen and quite disturbing when discovered .
-- Thank You
Joey !
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoWe should all rejoice in the fact that Rolling Stone no longer makes any money. Also, they are a stupid-ass, lame teen magazine. I recall reading a "what's cool" issue about a year ago, and they tried giving some pathetic excuse as to why Britney Spears is now cool, and not just a bubblegum queen. Can you believe that?
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoThelonious, that's a very vague list, as while Duke was probably the best composer of the 20th century, he wasn't the piano player that, say, Oscar Peterson is/was.
Posted by: Mitch, What do you expect Christgau to say? That the Dan are great and should be revered? No way...because he would lose any "hip" credibilty by saying that.
Most rock critics have bought into the fallacy that if something is well done and expertly executed that it's "cold" and "sterile", etc. Most of whatever they consider "edgy" is basically crap from a technical standpoint, but it has the "passion" that makes them think that it's really getting something across. While I agree that passion can really carry something...most often that's an excuse to suck.
I'm not really making sense here, probably. If I had more time I'd think this out and try to get it across better. Hopefully it made some sense.
Mitch
Posted by: YGK, NYCColumbus: here, here.
Nu2Blu: the backup singers are the ones in the back.......
ygk
Posted by: CrellMoset, God I hate critics . . .
Posted by: CrellMoset, Rolling Stone's review - anyone seen this? 3 out of 5 stars
Of course, the new Steely Dan album sounds great. Try downloading this sucker, the grizzled grouches mutter. We dare you. Even a deaf dolt like you, Mr. 80GB Information Thief, can discern how much textured dimensionality the conjoined soul thrushes and tasty licks that trick up "Godwhacker" lose in MP3 form. If the world is headed for a fall, as is foreseen here from "The Last Mall" to "Everything Must Go," it might as well go down in the most luscious live-tracked stereo civilization has ever achieved.
But though it's tempting to read apocalyptic premonitions into Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's suave pessimism, this is the same worldview they've purveyed since 1972's "Do It Again." The main difference is the sci-fi that came on board as of Fagen's 1993 Kamakiriad. And as with their Grammy-winning comeback, Two Against Nature, sexual contretemps dominate. Some tread old ground: "Things I Miss the Most" catalogs the ruins of a divorce ("The talk/The sex/Somebody to trust," and then immediately, "The Audi TT/The house on the Vineyard/The house on the Gulf Coast"), and "Lunch With Gina" examines another of the obsessive relationships that pervaded Two Against Nature. But the sour "Blues Beach," the "cyberqueen" fantasy "Pixeleen," the sex grid of "Green Book" and the Becker come-on "Slang of Ages" all sample dystopian futurism.
As premonitions go, Everything Must Go is well-turned but overfamiliar. So as with Aja -- the duo's biggest and very nearly emptiest record -- its value ultimately reduces to textured dimensionality and tasty licks. Me, I can name many saxophonists I'd rather hear 100 seconds of than Walt Weiskopf, who plays the inflated intro to the climactic title tune.
ROB CHRISTGAU
(RS 925, June 26, 2003)
Posted by: hoops, This new streaming version is incredible. You can make out a lot more lyrics and, well, it's all incredible. Second only to "Aja" and an instant classic.
I went down to the CD/DVD store that had the Fleetwood Mac DVD-A a week before it was to be out. No such luck for the EMG DVD-A.
jim
Posted by: NEW2Bluebook, MotownThis is off-topic but it is piss your pants funny.
Click on the link below and read the review of Train's new album as well as Sugar Ray's by Rolling Stone:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=18141
That is some funny shit!!!
Posted by: Nu2blu, Detroit Rock CityDoes anybody know who the backup singers might be?
As always they seem to really fill out most every classic dan song.
Their work on blues beach is delightful.
Just curious...
Posted by: KMITB, Columbus YGK, NYC: By the sounds of it...Pixeleen might be another song they should release as another single...or even Lunch With Gina! It's all good to me!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: ., .BD = Earl.....Got to be
Posted by: Joey, Here is the link again to " Lunch with Gina " . Please scroll about 1/2 way down and look for the EMG cover .
http://www.freemyheart.com/ysaeeb.html
Joey !
Posted by: BD, EMG is awesome. Too bad they ruined Godwhacker with the lyrics and title, it could have really been something. Anyone know what the idea was behind it?
Posted by: Abu, sheridan squareQuestion: Is this record as good as I think it is?
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CAThanks Angel
I had missed that link to dvdempire.com on my first read!
Posted by: angel, From the latest Steely Dan Newsletter.
http://www.steelydan.com/emgversions.html#dvda
Posted by: Only a fool, San Jose, CAWhere can I buy DVD-Audio discs online?
None of my local stores seem to have 2vN and I don't think they will have EMG on June 10th either.
Thanks!
Posted by: YGK, NYCKMITB, Columbus: Pixeleen is FAB! Pristine! But Love Godwhacker, Lunch, Green Room..........
This is the Cool Part of the Summer......
ygk
Posted by: Joey, " EMG is incredible - rich and funky, imaginative and sardonic. Donald's voice in fine form. This is modern classic dan with a twist.
and all perfectly blended. I'm really glad they opted for live tracking again. "
Matt ......................when you write like this I get more and more MOIST !
Joey !
Posted by: Beerberian, @work justDACW;
1/ "rock music critic" is an oxymoron ... Just drop the "oxy"
2/ Is your first name Michelle ?
3/ Astube? ... see critic again ?
4/ "Rock Critics rarely actually finish...."
5/ "critic circle" - they like to be in a circle so they can even shaft each other..
6/ "Screw the critics" - see above
7/ Maybe ... need 28 yrs more to confirm
8/ " right up his alley" - see 5
9/ " it's really shining with the purer streaming" Shoulda been a Dan lyric
10/ I love lists
Campaign for the EuroDanTour begins now .....Was it the French & Germans fault ? please tell us ...
Posted by: Lady Bayside, NYOkay. I *know* the album is available on the website, and I can just click and hear it. I've heard Blues Beach once, partially, on the radio, and I bought it on the website.
I've decided to wait for the cd in just 6 (count 'em, SIX) days. Aside from hearing one cut, I'm abstaining from downloads and soforth until then.
Is this weird? I just don't think my dinky computer speakers can do justice to EMG, and I'd rather wait than be disappointed in inferior sound. Well, that sounds snobbish, but I hope you know what I mean.
In the meantime, I've been looping TVN, and really enjoying it.
Lady B
Posted by: DACW, somewhere in Arkansas(1) "rock music critic" is an oxymoron
(2) I'm shocked, shocked!! that a member of the post-modern media is just "making stuff up" Promote him to the NY Times!!!
(3) EVen the Confession video demonstrates what we have always know - the Dan are astube *observers* and commentators on life and the human condition and not so much participants...they even "stepped back" to comment on their own lives in a sense in the solo albums mixing story-telling, memories, fantasies, and experiences seamlessly...
(4) Rock Critics rarely actually finish an album before slapping something down
(5) There are still those in the critic cricle that (a) are willing to pen part of a backlash psychology against the Grammy 2001 Awards and (b) a certain faction of the entertainment/critic media hates music that sounds professional, is as deep in musical structure and clever as EMG, music that takes from the masters with respect. For many, the masters are American Idol 2002!
(6) Screw the critics and even early sales. We know that EMG ranks up there among SDs finest releases, and that's saying something
(7) I think that EMGs tunes are more interesting and maybe better than even Katy...as a whole
(8) Carlock's great - I just wish Jeff Porcaro had been with us to participate - these songs are right up his alley
(9) Pixeleen is a killer! Don't understimate that Things I Miss the most either - it's really shining with the purer streaming...I don't hear a loser in the bunch...while I like TvN a lot...only Almost Gothic, Negative Girl, and West of Hollywood are up to EMG standards IMHO
Posted by: Big Fan, at work inthe rainI think those Aja masters sold on ebay about three years ago - a bargain - long now gone I'm sure.
This AP article appeared in about a dozen papers and news sites a couple of days ago:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/02/sprj.cas03.wkd.70s.tours.ap/
D&W called geezers - that doesnt sound that flattering:
"Geezers will continue to rule next Tuesday as Annie Lennox's Bare album and Steely Dan's Everything Must Go hit stores."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,88439,00.html
Posted by: KMITB, ColumbusWhoever has the missing AJA masters...please give them back to Don + Walt. That album has to see the light of DVD-A day! I gotta believe it'll happen some day....that album, more than any other, needs that treatment.
EMG is just 6 days away....I still have it looping on my computer!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: jason, sunny ukreally fecking dissapointed there's gonna be no euro dates....
Posted by: Beerberian, @workTHINGS I MISS THE MOST ...... A UK DATE ?????
It's official ...
"We regret to inform DanFans abroad that there are no plans at this time to add international dates to Steely Dan's '03 tour"
Posted by: Matt, LondonEMG is incredible - rich and funky, imaginative and sardonic. Donald's voice in fine form. This is modern classic dan with a twist.
and all perfectly blended. I'm really glad they opted for live tracking again.
Walter's solos have grown on me, and the whole album is one sublime rythmn guitar track after another. Fine drumming too, nice one Mr Carlock.
Standout tracks, IMHO: Godwhacker, Lunch With Gina and Everything Must Go. Simply outstanding. Slang of Ages only minor dissapointment (though I hope that'll grow on me with repeated listens).
Chill folks, way too many agressive posts on here by people seemingly taking it - and themselves - a tad too seriously...
-Matt
Posted by: Mark b, UniverseHey SlinkyRedfoot -- amusing to see yet another dan fan taking themselves way too seriously, taking things way out of context, and acting like a petulant idiot. Get a life! :-)
Posted by: Thelonious, Mondo, MontanaUnfortunately, Mike Meyers is funnier than Woody Allen these days and I prefer Yes Prime Minister and the Life and Times of Reginald Perrin to Fawlty Towers.
ta ta
Posted by: Thelonious, Mondo, MontanaYes, I am proudly saying that.
That's the problem with subjective "best of" lists its obviously a relativity thing. (e.g. it depends where you're standing and what your general frame of refence is).
Posted by: C, Thelonious - are you saying that Fagen is a "better" musician than, for example, Keith Jarrett? Or Phillinganes?
It's like saying Mike Myers is funnier than Woody Allen, or that Police Academy IV is funnier than all episodes of Fawlty Towers.
Posted by: Thelonious, Mondo,. MontanaOkay here it is...
My list for the top five best musicians of the last hundred years...
Louis Armstrong
Duke Ellington
Miles Davis
Donald Fagen
Frank Zappa
Comments?
I have just come home from a great jam night at the local pub where I played "Sign in Stanger" and "Only a Fool" with great giutar synthesizer soloes from a friend and I may be a little toasted. The Ken Burns Jazz thing was on PBS when I walked in.
"Please forgive me if you will, I live the life I love and I love the life I live" - Willie Dixon
Posted by: Clas @ Work, Bill, ehhh, synth solos are okay, I think Fagen/Becker are a little sensitive to several synths at the same time, playing chords and so, that sounds a little out of tune, it has to do with the temper (is that the English word for "Temperering"?) of acoustic pianos and guitars... I guess Howard can tell you more about that, he's into tuning Pianos nowdays...
...Howard?
Posted by: Leester, I was shocked by how indifferent were my feelings after my first listens to Last Mall and EMG.
Much later, now on my second trip all the way through the album (still a valid term for referring to all of the songs on a CD?), My reversal is exactly 180 degrees, and I am once again captivated by a new work of Danliness.
EMG - cool sax credenza open, a great chord progression, and Donald stretching for the highest note he can hit... the voice strength definitely wanes in his slightly falsetto quality, especially at the apex, but the intonation is right on
Blues Beach - great synth semi-steel drum sound to open, lots of other groovy synth licks of varied nice sounds throughout
Things I Miss The Most - reminiscent of the instrumentation and arrangement of Bad Sneakers... not at all a bad thing
Last Mall - SD continus to re-invent the shuffle beat to everyone's delight. The cut off ending drives me crazy - like playing seven notes of a scale and stopping short of the top tonic.
Green Book - a great "string" sound from Walter. Roundwound strings, I'm guessing
Godwhacker - Stevie Wonder-esque harmonica (synth) solo passages!
Throughout the tunes are fraught with the lush chorded Modernaires type of harmonies I always loved
Pretty nice stuff, once again.
Posted by: wormy, green book wormcouldn't help myself, another tough one to crack
here's a stab at Green Book, feel free to add
hopefully they'll post lyrics in the next few days ;-)
this track is very captivating and has a vampiric vibe
Green Book
My coat is black and the moon is yellow
Here is where I get off
As you can see for yourself old girl
In the green book
I dangle (?) down to the smoky lobby
My eyes adjust to the light
That new cashier looks like Jill St John
In that requite
I’m rolling into the Butter Joey’s
Their getting ready to close
There she comes very kiss so deadly (?)
My life my love my third hand rolls (? Ha ha)
Flash ahead to another playback
Just you and me in the Louve
I’m double dreaming a page at a time
In the green book
Luscious instrumental break
A toss of rocks in the ivory tea glass (? Line)
I then resample those legs
I’m thinking Marilyn 4.0
In the Green Book
I like the neon I love the music
Anachronistic but nice
I’ve seen the segue from fun to fever
It’s a sweeping guise (? line)
I’m so in love with this dirty city
This crazy grid of desire
The festive icons along the way
the boardwalk, the lovers, the house on fire
She’s kinda cute but a little younger
She’s got the mood and the moves
It’s kind of scary to dig yourself
in the green book
instrumental deconstruct
I’m so in love with this dirty city
This crazy grid of desire
The festive icons along the way
the boardwalk, the lovers, the house on fire
She’s kinda cute but a little younger
She’s got the mood and the moves
It’s kind of scary to dig yourself
In the green book
Green book
Posted by: wormy, I tried to deconstruct the lyrics to Lunch with Gina and Green Book
posted this on the yellow also
here's Lunch With Gina
wormy
that must be her again
she's breathing on my bell
that cool psychotic ring, the one I know so well
so I melted afar in the no watching zone
there's a fat zero chance she'll give up and go home
dissemblence afternoon
it started on the day I met her
lunch with Gina, is forever
she's coming round the corner
her body's just a blur
I feel I'd like to flash
it may be new/rude/moot(?) to her (? line)
so a dark el camino she's parked round the place
the minute I walk out she's right in my face
she's got nothing but time
no use in trying to be clever
lunch with Gina is forever
now I'm in my apartment, the blinds down, the lights out,
the phone rings, God help me
there's nobody home
I crouch on the carpet this feeling is being like we're on the phone
guitar break (filtered to sound like a muted trumpet)
I'm in a cozy booth, maybe my watch is fast
another Tangeray, I'll wait till 20 past
I'm about to go postal when she waltzes in,
I guess she's a knockout but where have I been
the waiter never comes, God knows the service could be better
lunch with Gina, is forever
comfy(?) and a kiss
maybe later maybe never
lunch with gina
guitar and horn deconstruction
~ ~ ~ ~
sounds like our protagonist lives in an apartment complex, Gina is a common visitor of his close neighbor (who isn't home a lot - gender not specific). Perhaps she rang his door once by chance to get by the front door. our faithful narrator is fixated on her, overhears neighbors phone calls with her, soon learns her times of stopping in, the car she drives and starts following her out to her lunch haunts. his nerves are on edge as he waits and his fantasies run amuck
a little more subtle than Cousin Dupre
Posted by: Colin, I'd already heard the two singles Blues Beach and Last Mall ("Blues Beach" is good, loved "Last Mall"). Now that I've heard the whole thing, in the words of Forrest Gump "I like it, I like it alot." Some of the tunes are going to have to grow on me as with 2VN, but I really like Green Book, Pixeleen, and Lunch with Gina. Couldn't help but notice the similarity of the horn section in Lunch with Gina to the horn section in "Florida Room." It doesn't seem like they use the horn section as much (at least not as dramatically) as they did in 2VN.
Posted by: Doc Kelly, Here at the Dude Ranch listening roomTotally awesome... SLANG ME!!!!
Posted by: Amy Barrington, Cary, NCWell, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sitting here in a sort of post-orgasmic stupor! I think I need a cigarette, and I've never smoked in my life!
EMG has GRAMMY written all over it.
Godwhacker ROCKS. EMG brings me to tears. Last Mall GROOVES. I'll have to recover a bit more before I can process more thoughts into words!! :-)
Amy
Posted by: Slinky Redfoot, Be there NowHOT DAMN! THE DAN ARE BACK! It's everything they say, GODWHACKER IS IT FOR ME. Green Book too. AWESOME! Instantly likeable.
And Mark, how many times you gonna post??????? We all remember you were all over the place in hyperdrive back then in 2000 with the Stop the Two Against Nature campaign. For weeks you kept telling everyone the album was shit long before it came out. You were wacko then and your are wacko now. Maybe Steely Dan will sell a straight jacket at the shows in your honor.
I have no idea on what surround DVD system to get? What has everyone else been buying? I need stores, model numbers and prices, if it's not too much trouble. Are these package deals any good?
See you.
Slinky
Posted by: KMITB, ColumbusPixleen is great! Most people are reacting to the title track and GodWhacker...but I put my vote in for Pixleen or even Lunch With Gina! Hell....the whole album is nice anyway...but I wonder if anyone else digs Pixleen like I do? And is it me, or does this song sound like an ode to a video game...like Laura Croft or something? Less than a week to go!!!
Peace,
Kenny
Posted by: Bill, pittsburghGotta shut off this stream and go to bed. Initial reactions:
Synth Solos! Several of them! From the guy that hates synths and says they can't be tuned properly!
Green Book has a great sinister groove - reminds me a tiny bit of My Rival.
The sax and drums intro to Everything Must Go is incredible! Could have come from any number of 60s avant garde/progressive jazz recordings from Coltrane to Wayne Shorter. Not to mention its echos of the Shorter/Gadd duel in the middle of Aja. These ain't programmed drums, folks! How about West of Hollywood into this one on the tour?
Slang of Ages is great. As a WB fan, this is what 11TOW should have sounded like, with full production values. Walter - let us fans hear another solo effort one of these days, and please sing "Midnight Cruiser" again on tour this year.
More later as I digest this excellent effort with many repeated listenings. Can't wait to get the real CD in my hands next week.
Posted by: Big Fan, homeThere's lots of news.
Tickets for Mohegan Sun go on sale at 10 AM EDT on Friday!!!! Tickets.com
Well, I've got my DVD-A player and surround speakers hooked up - wow. The movies are cool. I got a copy of 2VN and The Nighfly of course, but I also got Fleetwood Mac Rumours and Hotel California just to check out something else. While I'm brousing today I see a DTS 5.1 recording of Gaucho. I think in the dark recesses of my brain that I bought one years ago. Stricly as a collectors item - never having anything that would play it. Sure enough I found it tucked way away and it plays and sounds great - wow again. With EMG next week and Kama coming out soon, 5 or their last 6 albums solo or together will be on 5.1 (I'm not counting that live thing) which is pretty impressive as artists go so far in terms of selection.
Posted by: Hank Silvers, admittedly smitten
"America's Sexiest Magician, The SnakeBabe", it's Snake Maria from segment 4 of SD Confessions:
http://www.venommagic.com/
Posted by: record and keep, your streamsdanfiend,
if you have a pc
go to http://www.highcriteria.com/
and download and install total recorder.
http://www.highcriteria.com/download/tr42se.exe
you can record any sound played by your soundcard as a wav.
then open the wav with nero or something similar.
track and burn.
it's that easy.
Posted by: Oh Really, Re: Godwhacker- It's "clock everything you see" Not "hug"
Posted by: danfiend, I have no idea how to record these streams from the web. Although it matters little for EMG, as there is only one week until we'll have the real deal, it'll be a good skill to have. I have the RealOne Player. Can someone clue me in on how to record with it? I've been trying for 45 minutes with no dice.
Thanx
DF
Posted by: yawning, while streaminghey hoops,
would you please delete all these posts so we don't have to scroll too far to read about Steely Dan & EMG?
Posted by: Mark b, d@d.comHoops:
Of course you didn't post under the guise of Randall, I believe you!
Yes, you did indeed talk to me. You called me up to try and explain, in some ingenuous, roundabout way, why you were too scared to publish my thoughts on TvN way before others had had a chance to listen.
I had some respect for you (save for the weird nervous disposition coupled with subtle, patronizing remarks I witnessed in person at the Portland danfest) - but certainly, no longer. Indeed, I wish we had the opportunity to discuss this at more length, in person. Because the sheer distortion of your comments begs redress. Even in "defending" myself here - I am confident you will promptly remove this post.
I did indeed express my opinion to you, that after a few listens, TvN was not what I expected it to be. Perhaps i was unecessarily harsh - but I did not use the exagerated language you spew out here.
I am more than prepared to admit, that my reaction was both impetuous and underserved! I grew to greatly appreciate Two Against Nature and remember informing you so, and submitting several posts on the topic to both newsgroups and the digest.
You have quite simply, abused all trust, manipulated the truth.
This is music. My god, so many take it all so seriously - probably way more than Donald and Walter and anyone else does. You, hoops, are the embodiment of this. The important thing is, the music rocks. Whether we love it or hate specific songs, we are all here because we have a common theme: we are passionate about the music Steely Dan plays. Don't let it get to your head hoops.
I'll be talking to you about this over the phone, in due course... where I hope we can reason this out, in good spirit - because you have clearly either got a seriously unreliable memory, or an insecurity the size of the Sears tower.
Posted by: Mark b, LondonHi Hoops
What a shame you seem to have had a bad day and felt the need to slander my name for no good reason simply because i said, earnestly, that I enjoyed my first few listens of EMG.
You have revealed your true colours, by distorting and manipulating the content of a phone conversation, like a tacky journalist seeking a juicy.
Not only is this approach ultimately self-defeating, but trust me, will only loose you lots and lots of friends. And you have a lot more to loose than I because apparently, you take it way more seriously.
Its a fucking album - get a life and keep a grip, my friend!
I do expect an apology from you - I shall certainly be willing to forget this if you do, and there will be no hard feelings. If not, well, I have a great memory (although not the spiteful mentality and insecurities you evidently to have).
Yours, dissapointedly
Mark Buckingham
Posted by: Mark b, LondonHi Hoops
What a shame you seem to have had a bad day and felt the need to slander my name for no good reason simply because i said, earnestly, that I enjoyed my first few listens of EMG.
You have revealed your true colours, by distorting and manipulating the content of a phone conversation, like a tacky journalist seeking a juicy.
Not only is this approach ultimately self-defeating, but trust me, will only loose you lots and lots of friends. And you have a lot more to loose than I because apparently, you take it way more seriously.
Its a fucking album - get a life and keep a grip, my friend!
I do expect an apology from you - I shall certainly be willing to forget this if you do, and there will be no hard feelings. If not, well, I have a great memory (although not the spiteful mentality and insecurities you evidently to have).
Yours, dissapointedly
Mark Buckingham
Posted by: Mark b, LondonHi Hoops
What a shame you seem to have had a bad day and felt the need to slander my name for no good reason simply because i said, earnestly, that I enjoyed my first few listens of EMG.
You have revealed your true colours, by distorting and manipulating the content of a phone conversation, like a tacky journalist seeking a juicy.
Not only is this approach ultimately self-defeating, but trust me, will only loose you lots and lots of friends. And you have a lot more to loose than I because apparently, you take it way more seriously.
Its a fucking album - get a life and keep a grip, my friend!
I do expect an apology from you - I shall certainly be willing to forget this if you do, and there will be no hard feelings. If not, well, I have a great memory (although not the spiteful mentality and insecurities you evidently to have).
Yours, dissapointedly
Mark Buckingham
Posted by: politics, misunderstandings, and name-callingyawn
Posted by: Mark B, LondonHoops:
Of course you didn't post under the guise of Randall, I believe you!
Yes, you did indeed talk to me. You called me up to try and explain, in some ingenuous, roundabout way, why you were too scared to publish my thoughts on TvN way before others had had a chance to listen.
I had some respect for you (save for the weird nervous disposition coupled with subtle, patronizing remarks I witnessed in person at the Portland danfest) - but certainly, no longer. Indeed, I wish we had the opportunity to discuss this at more length, in person. Because the sheer distortion of your comments begs redress. Even in "defending" myself here - I am confident you will promptly remove this post.
I did indeed express my opinion to you, that after a few listens, TvN was not what I expected it to be. Perhaps i was unecessarily harsh - but I did not use the exagerated language you spew out here.
I am more than prepared to admit, that my reaction was both impetuous and underserved! I grew to greatly appreciate Two Against Nature and remember informing you so, and submitting several posts on the topic to both newsgroups and the digest.
You have quite simply, abused all trust, manipulated the truth.
This is music. My god, so many take it all so seriously - probably way more than Donald and Walter and anyone else does. You, hoops, are the embodiment of this. The important thing is, the music rocks. Whether we love it or hate specific songs, we are all here because we have a common theme: we are passionate about the music Steely Dan plays. Don't let it get to your head hoops.
I'll be talking to you about this over the phone, in due course... where I hope we can reason this out, in good spirit - because you have clearly either got a seriously unreliable memory, or an insecurity the size of the Sears tower.
Posted by: The Dean, While I've been a lurker here at the BlueBook for quite some time, this my first post. Why I chose this time as my first, I don't know, as I have nothing exceptional to say. With that disclaimer out of the way...
1. Finally heard ALL of EMG at the Dan website and I'm (of course) impressed and just plain excited about getting the new release. I'm sure this album (like all the others) will only sound better after repeated listening. The idea of judging a Dan album after only a few listenings (is that a word?) has always confounded me. SD songs take time to "reveal themselves" IMO. As I've been a big fan since Can't Buy a Thrill, I usually like the boys' new work upon my initial listen...but, I know my specific judgements will change down the road. Can't wait to hear EMG (repeatedly) on a real stereo...only 1 week to go!!!
2. What's with the 2vN bashing? I'm shocked (yes, shocked!) to read 2vN is an inferior effort....thin and unemotional...Donald sounds finished (paraphrasing). What up with that? I must be listening to a different album. There are songs on that album (Almost Gothic and West of Hollywood, to name just two) I would rank among SD's best EVER. With that said, my favorite Dan album often changes month-by-month...depending on...well, I don't know what it depends on. (With that said, I probably find Countdown and Katy the best most often...oh, yeah...Aja...see my problem? Someome posted that CBaT and Countdown were "sophmoric"...what the #$%^?)
3. I love the music theory based exchanges...I hope they continue. I'm constantly educated here.
4. I'm a little surprise and disapointed that some Dan fans take themselves so seriously.
5. DF...I get yoou...I'm not quite sure what the problem with th others is.
Anyway...thanks for the info and enetertainment. I probably won't post often, but you can bet I'm watching. (BTW, I've got some nice seats for Toronto. I hope the boys don't cancel.)
Posted by: EARL M. GODWHACKER, HITMAN FOR THE BIG MANYOU ARE WRONG TONY. I AM GODWHACKER.
I WORK FOR THE BIG MAN UPSTAIRS AND YOU ARE ON MY LIST.
A WORD TO ALL YOU ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE DOPE-SMOKING HIPPY EGGHEAD LIBERALS. TIME IS RUNNING OUT. GOD'S PATIENCE IS WEARING THIN. REPENT NOW OR VENGEANCE SHALL SOON BE MINE!!!!!!
GLORY TO GOD. AMEN.
Posted by: EARL M. GODWHACKER, HITMAN FOR THE BIG MANYOU ARE WRONG TONY. I AM GODWHACKER.
I WORK FOR THE BIG MAN UPSTAIRS AND YOU ARE ON MY LIST.
A WORD TO ALL YOU ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE DOPE-SMOKING HIPPY EGGHEAD LIBERALS. TIME IS RUNNING OUT. GOD'S PATIENCE IS WEARING THIN. REPENT NOW OR VENGEANCE SHALL SOON BE MINE!!!!!!
GLORY TO GOD. AMEN.
Posted by: ?, ?Kinda like Ghostbusters?
Posted by: father william, poppy = George Herbert Walker Bush
Posted by: Kid Clean, still@work
Just a thought on Godwhacker lyrics, maybe it's 'godwhackers' (plural) not 'godwhacker's' (possessive). I'm just glad I can listen to it now. I hear alot of Gaucho era in the guitar work on the whole album.
DF - just be glad you're not full of someone else!
Chicago tix are in the mail!!!!!!!!
KC
Posted by: h, applemusic.com / iTunes is now offering "Blues Beach" for $.99 but most interesting is that they are offering EMG, apparently a partial album of three tracks, for $4.97. It includes "Blues Beach," "The Last Mall" and the title track. Or you can down load the other two tracks à la carte for the premium price of $1.99 each. Hey, vote for Steely Dan with your money!
Right now, the SD iTunes top ten are:
Blues Beach
Do It Again
Reelin' In The Years
Dirty Work
Aja
Josie
Peg
Deacon Blues
Everything Must Go
Only a Fool Would Say That
I remember when all of this was under lock and key and I was desparate for even a taste. Hey! That was a just a couple weeks ago!
jim
Posted by: mt, Truly stellar tracks (stand among the finest Dan tunes):
Godwhacker
EMG
Outstanding track:
Blues Beach
The rest of the tracks are worthy, though I would have to say The Last Mall sounds like a DF solo tune that should have been released in the 80's.
Posted by: Another stream, found here at VH1.comhttp://www.vh1.com/artists/az/steely_dan/344653/album.jhtml
Sounds pretty good...
Posted by: Tony, SopranoP.S. Calling God "Poppy" and saying you're tracking his "Almighty Ass" isn't going to get you any brownie points on "Cancellation Day".
Posted by: Godwhacker, Listening to and reading the "Godwhacker" lyrics suggests that the protagonist is not the fallen angel, but God's assistants. They are looking for the Devil (with his snake attitude, cursed name, etc.) to make him pay for his crimes.
So it sounds like the song title biases the listner to think in one way, while the actual lyrics reveal the hand of God in action.
Comments?
Posted by: Tony, SopranoGodwhacker is a hitman who was hired to kill God.
Posted by: db, Nice to see the dogwacker lyrics online.
cheers.
kinda cruel though !!
Posted by: hoops, Mark, I'm truly not sure who Randall is and what context they speak of. However, that post coincides with one of my experiences.
In January 2000, I happened to speak on the telephone with some guy talking from Oregon who had a British accent and identified himself as having the same name as you. (Maybe there is another British-accented Danfan with the same name.) This was before I had ever heard anything from the album, save for "Cuz" and the three clips at SD.com. This guy carried on for a long time about how awful 2vN was, how it wasn't finished, and how myself and the Dandom Digest should do something to stop its release, that Becker and Fagen had to work on the album a lot more since, I quote, it was "not worthy of being a Steely Dan album." (That really stuck in my mind, I was surprised.) This guy especially complained about the guitars. It was like an hour phone call that this guy went on for.
Maybe you can get detectives on the case.
Glad you think EMG and 2vN are amazing. Clears up a lot.
Posted by: YGK, NYCI DO hope they have some funcky GODWHACKER T-Shirts for sale at the shows.......
ygk
Posted by: Dave From Acquisitions, Re: GODWHACKER themes. Agreed Mitch, does seem like a bit of a follow up to TWO AGAINST NATURE, although it's hard to say who the narrator(s) in GODWHACKER is without having read all the lyrics.
With D&W talking about this album having "apocalyptic overtones," my first impression of GODWHACKER was that it's sort of a derivation of the biblical/PARADISE LOST cosmology involving demons caught up in a pre-Eden or end of the world attempt at overthrowing God. (The narrator seems to be one of those demons/fallen angels.)
If so, it gives the title track EVERYTHING MUST GO an added, albeit oblique, layer of meaning about a fall from the heights - especially when you hear the gospel vocals rising in the background. What the handicam has to do with it, I have no idea! :)
Posted by: Mark B, LondonRandall, on the streets of Roppongi - not sure what kind of jerk you are to patronize my candid appreciation of a first listen.
I don't believe I ever said it shouldn't be released although admittedly, my *initial* impression of TvN wasn't commensurate with that of EMG. I don't know what kind trip you are on, perhaps delusions of grandeur? Go, get a life and enjoy it while it lasts...
Posted by: DF, Randall
Thank You. I deserved that.
I apologize to everyone. I call myself being a jokester, but I'm not coming across the way I intend. Being a smartass isn't for everyone.
I'll have to fly a bit lower.
DF is shorthand for Dan Fiend. Nothing else is implied or intended.
Would SDF be better?
Posted by: , In the beginning
We could hang with the dude
But it's been too much of nothing
But that snake attitude
And they curse your name
And there's a bounty on your face
It's your own fault daddy
Godwhacker's on the case
We tracked your almighty ass
Through seven heaven worlds
Me Slinky Redfoot
And the trusty angel girls
When the stars bleed off
They play the theater of the chains [???]
You better get gone poppy
Godwhacker's on the case
Be very very quiet
Hug everything you see
Little things might matter later
At the start of the end of history
Climb up the glacier
Cross bridges of light
Sniff your big tiger
In the forests of the night
'cause there's no escape
From the rushes of the race [???]
You better run run run
Godwhacker's on the case
Be very very quiet
Hug everything you see
Little things might matter later
At the start of the end of history
Yes we are the Godwhackers
Who rip and chop slice
For crimes beyond imagining
It's time to pay the price
You better step back son
Give the man some whacking space
Because this might get messy
Godwhacker's on the case
Posted by: Mitch, Shaun,
No...I meant the song "Two Against Nature". Not the album. In that song they were going after some sort of demons and were going to bash skulls and such. Similar theme in "Godwhacker".
Posted by: Shaun, BostonMitch- That's funny. My initial reaction to "Godwhacker" was that it was better than anything off of 2VN and is one of the coolest songs Donald and Walter have ever written.
Elliott- It's Dave not Bea.
Posted by: Elliot Spitzer, NYPDAlright, what's going on with this "getting face time in the service elevator" and asking "Bea from acquisitions" to join in? This is not appropriate behavior for a corporate mucky muck who just killed a company.
Posted by: Randall, on the streets of RoppongiWell...Sir Mark Buckinham has given his approval to EMG. Afterall, we know how "spot on" his initial review of 2vN was.... he said it should not have been released, and it won the Grammy for Album of the Year!
I think Danfiend being referred to as "DF" is quite pretentious... but then again, so is she.
Posted by: DF, Gosh Dave
I can't joke at all around here without folks thinking I'm offended or full of myself. I was trying to keep it light. I AM trying to keep it light.
To clarify, my sense of humor doesn't make anyone laugh but me. There. I never take anything to heart. I'm not going to begin now.
Let's get back to EMG, shall we?
Posted by: Mitch, My initial reaction to "Godwhacker" is that it seems like "Two Against Nature" part 2. I wonder if the guys have become fascinated with some type of fantasy role playing or something. Thoughts?
Posted by: Dave, Let's give Danfiend, excuse me, "DF," The "I'm So Full Of Myself It's Not Funny" Award.
EMG is incredible in all its glory!
Dave
Posted by: DF, Again, Hoops
No one gets me but me.
Offense? None taken
Posted by: Mark Buckingham, LondonGreat to hear the full stream! It sounds absolutely brilliant! A fine, fine, fine effort boys...
Posted by: Mitch, "To think how many people will read that in Time, shake their heads, and dismiss Steely Dan as a result. "
Nah. I would venture to guess that very few people who read "Time" are unaware of the Dan and have yet to make a judgement about them, pro or con.
Posted by: hoops, Great to hear a final version is available. Whoo-hoo.
'scuse me Dafiend, but my post was in response to Anon's. At the time I was writing I hadn't seen but your first post on the topic. It takes me a bit to write a post. Really. So go ahead and say you don't believe me or whatever. Sorry it wasn't in response to your post, if that offends you.
Posted by: SD Webdrone, EweNoThe Steely Dan Confessions audio/video player has been updated with the full album stream
& the final video clip.
The quality on this stream is probably the best among the online options, IMHO
http://www.repriserecords.com/steelydan/player/
Posted by: streaming, at repriserecords.comand, they sound crystal clear. damn near cd quality!
Posted by: chris, . . . also, all the tracks from EMG are now online, and unlike the MSN stream, they don't have the annoying "audio watermark."
c
Posted by: F, The ODP has been updated.
The wig woman is the funniest of all
Posted by: jon, Seems to me back in the 70s, when the boys were downright contemptuous of the music press establishment, they'd either ignore it or treat it with out-and-out hostility. The music was great and we who "got" it couldn't give a shit whether some shnook from Crawdaddy did or not.
Why all of a sudden does everyone care what the critics think? Those in the know continue to be in the know. Let the rest of listen to Kelly Clarkson.
Posted by: Irony..., can be so subtle.
Posted by: DF, Damn Jim
You know how to spoil someones fun.
Of course this writer jerk wouldn't interested in doing the things I said. That's why I wrote it.
Everyone knows that there was rampant drug use by the duo. That's why I said that there wasn't. Sheesh!
No one gets me but me.
Posted by: hoops, Clearly they did some drugs and that they did gives them even some brownie points amongst at least some of us. But clearly, this is a reviewer who has little interest in giving the album a chance or checking out any webpages to learn more and has something personal against them.
This reminds me of a review that came out about the time of 11TOW which also pretty much focussed on Walter's personal problems from 12-15 years earlier, rather than focussing on the album at hand. Becker wrote a reply as I recall, but it was Donald's letter to the edtor of the publication that was the last word. The whole sequence was in "Metal Leg," leaving us cheering for Walter and Donald.
jim
Posted by: D, Actually it's been widely reported that Donald did few drugs and coke wasn't among them.
And as we all know, Walter did none at all.
Posted by: How dare they, Why it's just unconscionable that ANYone would suggest that Don & Walt did illicit drugs back in the 70s. Where do hey come off?
Now THAT'S sarcasm!
Posted by: Denton, Iowayeah, I always thought those "groovy jazz chords" sounded pretty easy
myself...that's hilarious!
I think most of us could care less about the reviews, but it is still
fun to read them out of curiosity.
Posted by: CrellMoset, Allmusic.com just posted it's Everything Must Go Review - only three stars!?!
Everything Must Go
Steely Dan
3 Stars (Out of 5)
When Steely Dan released Two Against Nature in 2000, their first album in 20 years, it was an unexpected gift, since all odds seemed against Donald Fagen and Walter Becker reteaming for nothing more than the occasional project, let alone a full album. As it turned out, the duo was able to pick up where they left off, with Two Against Nature seamlessly fitting next to Gaucho and earning the band surprise success, including a Grammy for Album of the Year, but the bigger surprise is that the reunion wasn't a one-off -- they released another record, Everything Must Go, a mere three years later. Given the (relatively) short turnaround time between the two records, it comes as little surprise that Everything Must Go is a companion piece to Two Against Nature, and sounds very much like that album's laid-back, catchy jazz-funk, only with an elastic, loose feel -- loose enough to have Walter Becker take the first lead vocal in Steely Dan history, in fact, which sums up the Dan's attitude in a nutshell. This time, they're comfortable and confident enough to let anything happen, and while that doesn't really affect the sound of the record, it does affect the feel. Though it as expertly produced as always, there's less emphasis on production and a focus on the feel, often breathing as much as a live performance, another new wrinkle for Steely Dan. Sometimes, it also sounds as if Becker and Fagen have written the songs quickly; there's nothing that betrays their high standards of craft, but, on a whole, the songs are neither as hooky nor as resonant as the ones unveiled on its predecessor. While it might have been nice to have a song as immediate as, say, "Cousin Dupree," there are no bad songs here and many cuts grow as nicely as those on Two Against Nature. But the real selling point of Everything Must Go is that relaxed, comfortable, live feel. It signals that Steely Dan has indeed entered a new phase, one less fussy and a bit funkier (albeit lite funk). If they can keep turning out a record this solid every three years, we'd all be better off. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine
CrellMoset
Posted by: DF,
"Dirty Old Dan
Jazz hooks, lascivious lyrics, misery. It must be another Steely Dan album"
This is HILARIOUS!
He has NO idea what he's talking about, this "critic." But I love the way he quotes
"Frying up my sad cuisine/Getting in bed and curling up with a girlie magazine." and
"I'm dying, freezing in the merciful rays/And it's the long sad Sunday of the early resigned."
completely out of context.
But Tyrangiel tries to save face in the end with his faint praise:
"They also happen to be spectacular musicians. Those groovy jazz chords and glossy harmonies sound easy, but they're not."
Well, we knew not all the reviews were going to be glowing. There will be others. But as far as this one goes, someone should write this jerk and give a lesson on what SD is REALLY about, and point him to the bleu so he can see how much of a joke he really is.
Later
DF
Posted by: Anon, The way I learned about the Time review was that a family member sent me an email with the link, asking if it was true that Steely Dan are "cocaine-addicted pedophiles."
At least she knows someone to correct the info. To think how many people will read that in Time, shake their heads, and dismiss Steely Dan as a result. Also shocking is not only did someone write this, but an editor or two had to OK it.
If Becker and Fagen don't feel outraged enough to rebut Time for themselves, I hope they will for their fans' sake. This is unbelieveable.
Posted by: Chris, ConnecticutOkay, call me crazy but does Slang of Ages remind anyone else of Beck? Just a little? Maybe I am crazy...ha ha.
Posted by: mt, I love the "Steely Dan - Everything Must Go - Available June 10th" lyric! Self-referencing, and plays in with the title of the disc. Does anyone know the vocalist who does it? Tim Schmidt? Beautiful stuff.
Posted by: Screw, the clueless Time reviewerA critic grabs us
And says without a smile
The work seduces us with light
Eviva laughs and we step out
Into the blue-white night
Posted by: hoops, If a reviewer is going to slander Steely Dan, at least make it funny, not ridiculous.
Someone at the "Time" part of the AOL/Time/Warner must be pissed at the "Warner" part.
Posted by: Dennis, ChicagoLike Don and Walt couldn't afford their own coke in the '70's. The new album is great!
Posted by: Mitch, Yeah...to imply that the Dan would EVER follow the Eagles around is to be totally ignorant as to the attitudes of Donald and Walter in the 70's.
Rock critics - sad little people.
Posted by: nutwoblu, DetroitYeah that part about doing coke is inane if not baseless. That being said, I would like to hear an actual review of the music not the band...we know the band.
Posted by: Mitch, Omaha" Judging from their blithely cynical and mordantly libidinous 1970s songbook, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were guys who would wait until the Eagles checked out of the Chateau Marmont so they could rush in and snort what was left on Glenn Frey's coffee table."
That sentence alone drains the review of any credibility it might have had.
Posted by: Walter Rulz, my initial reaction to hearing that Walt had a lead vocal on the new record is that i wouldn't like it as much as the other tracks. but now that i've heard it, i must say that DAMN, i like it the most! Walt is improving, while Don (i still love him, but he) has lost the 'muscularity' he once had in the 70's.
Posted by: Dirty Old Dan, Time Magazine review
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030609-455797,00.html
Posted by: nu2blu, motownYeah I read that interview in Playboy a few days ago. Playboy typically only gives newer artists great reviews or shit that is insanely quirky.
Their music section holds about as much credibility as if "Sailing" magazine started reviewing music.
They also must only listen to the music "ONCE" because I have found numerous mistakes in prior issues with respect to song titles, and outright lies etc..
...sorry for the rant.....
Posted by: , Rhodes
Posted by: Shaun, BeantownYou say Godwhacker sounds like a Doobies song? GW reminds me more of the way a Pink Flyod song sounds. Especially the run,run,run part. I love the rhoads piano playing. Is that Fagen, Charlap, or Baker at the helm?
Posted by: C again, Absolutely Ange, I am listening to the streamer now, Godwhacker, yes, you're right, Long Train Running.
Posted by: Clas, dr Mu - it was just "Ruby Baby". Not all songs.
Angel - I got it, I thought you meant "Here to love you".
Posted by: angel, Definite nod to the Doobie Brothers in Godwacker call and response section. I think someone mentioned it before, but it was driving me crazy, until I figured it out for myself. Donald does the part in their song "Long Train Runnin" The one that goes: Without Love, where would you be now....
Dying for the lyrics page....
Posted by: Jesse, TorontoI'm somewhat jealous that I haven't yet heard the record, but I think it's cool to wait until I have the liner notes in my hand, and don't have to listen with shitty quality. The 3 tracks I've heard are beautiful, especially the title track, and that's enough for now. I'll listen to "Gaucho" (my temporary favourite of theirs. I must agree that I didn't think songwriting as good as "Glamour Profession" was possible), as well as the many Miles CDs I have, until then. I'm really looking forward to "Godwhacker".
Posted by: DACW, My ten favorite Dan albums
12. 11 Tracks of Whack - the highs are high in this Dan, anti-Dan opus: Book of Liars, Girlfriend, Lucky Henry, but the spare rpoduction loses steam on Waterloo or Down at the Bottom
11. Pretzel Logic - a clever transition album into their studio rat phase. Rikki and the title track are classics. Night By Night, Any Major Dude are catchy, Mnkey in Your Soul is quirky...
10. Can't Buy a Thrill - the hits, the steely knives first thrusting into the LA scene. The lesser emphasized Fire in the Hole and Turn That Heartbeat Over Again stick with me
9. Countdown to Ecstacy - Razor Boy, Bohisattva, and king of the World are worth the price of admission
8. Kamakiriad - Wonderful horn charts - the second half of the album is more embracing...a nice bookend to the Nightfly 11 years earlier
6(tie). Gaucho - easy to underestimate...a real Broadway play about the LA sheen camouflaging dirt darker that the bowery of NYC
6 (tie) Two Against Nature...hell, I LOVE Kind of Blue over Stax with maple syrup
5. Royal Scam - has really benefitted from the re- re-master. Opens up...dig Rainey and Purdie and Carlton rip one after another
4. Aja - sonically elegant and great production and balance. Home At Last and Black Cow...height of the LA jazz influence...I would rate higher
3. Katy Lied - guts, glory and stellar performances highlight some of the most lyrical Dan tunes. Dr. Wu and Your Gold Teeth II have more content than most artists' entire career
2. The Nightfly - perfect balance in expression and performance...can't believe they tuned all instruments from a tension tuned piano
1. Everything Must Go - If Kamakiriad is the bookend, EMG is a true continuation of the musical ideas expressed in The Nightfly while taking the best notion of Kamakiriad, 11 ToW, and TvN integrating them...It's Cole Porter on f***ing Deludin!!...lots of crazy and weird ideas...It's ALIVE!
Posted by: Playboy, you asked for it, you got it, Steely Dan Everything Must Go
If you're not a Dan fan, this album won't convert you. But aficionados will find these songs reminiscent of their Seventies classics. Once again, the duo delivers their staple-a fusion of jazz, pop and slyly disjointed lyrics. Two Against Nature earned a surprise Grammy for Album of the Year in 2000. While that isn't likely to happen again, Everything Must Go is just as good.(Reprise) (3 rabbit heads) - Patty Lamberti
Posted by: Chris, ConnecticutHi everyone, a friend of mine said he just read a rather average review of EMG in Playboy. I'll have to checkit out tomorrow.
Posted by: John, Reese,
For articles from the late, and much missed, drummers site, try:
http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/md1.htm
and
http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/md2.htm
All best,
John
Posted by: Cathy Berberian, I like "Be Very Very Quiet".....Yes, Elmer Fudd!!
LOL
Posted by: CrellMoset, Oh my god - I just listened to Donald Fagen's voice in "Godwhacker" - ladies and gentlemen - we are truly back.
CrellMoset
Posted by: DACW - what a day, the stream is back? Azoff is God!!!
Monkey House - great horn/syth hybrid
Posted by: Streaming, at blues beachLove the Elmer Fudd "Kill The Wabbit" reference in Godwhacker!
Posted by: enalnitram, does the msn.com stream sound as good as the repriserecords.com stream? i played the reprise stream today and captured it as 44.1 khz wavs using total recorder (http://www.highcriteria.com/). it sounds pretty dang hot. according to the reprise page, they say "come back next week for new tracks". and over in the lower right corner it says "episode 5 ... coming 6/3". does this mean the new tracks will be there tomorrow? "tracks plural" means we can have just as many tracks thru reprise as you amazon.com folks, but without having to preorder.
Posted by: angel, Hey, thanks for the stream. Minus the DJ stuff about EMG available June 10, it's great to have it again.
2 hours. Even the Plush was only 90 minutes. Yikes! :-)
Posted by: Found in the Super-D new release mailer:, The picture in the back of the mailer shows a picture of the limited edition version with a sticker that says, "Featuring the single "Blues Beach," DVD is 2 hours of "Steely Dan Confessions"
*2 hours*?!!
Posted by: hi hat, .that drum site disappeared a while ago, but I think I saw pieces of it ended up at the SD Resource site here
http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/
Posted by: Reese, Hey folkss does anyone eremember a Web site from a few years agoo that was a tribute to the "drummers of Steely Dan" ?? I've been ghoing crazy trying to find it and can't. If someone has the URL could you please post it? Thanks alot
Posted by: MSN Streaming Link to EMG, is backhttp://www.msnbc.com/m/mw/mw.asp?0mw=xh68&sk=msn&id=msn/6247&subid=Music&name=cover&pl=
Posted by: DF, oops pt III might as well correct this too:
aficionado
Posted by: DF, oopsI knew I was forgetting about something. 2VN is no. 8 on my list above Kamakiriad.
Posted by: DF, I have always ranked the SD/solo albums in this order:
1- Aja
2- The Nightfly
3- Gaucho
4- Royal Scam
5- Katy Lied
6- Countdown To Ecstasy
7- Can't Buy A Thrill
8- Kamakiriad
9- 11 Tracks of Whack
10- Pretzel Logic
At this point, although it's still too early to tell, EMG will rank 4th or 5th.
Gaucho must be understood in the chronological and psychological contexts it was written in. Steely Dan was dying at that point. In my humble opinion, Gaucho is even better than Aja in some aspects. The harmonies are more intricate, the vibe is more subversive, and the storytelling is above virtuosic. It is the apotheosis of what Steely Dan is all about: the cynicism, carnality, prodigious jazz sensibility, consummate storytelling, etc, etc.
Time Out of Mind is a triumph! It's the very first Steely Dan song I ever heard. Many Dan fans site it as their favorite. Hey 19 has become a staple of FM radio. Babylon Sisters is sublime, mellifluous, and sexy. Glamour Profession is one of those songs that confound me. I still cannot believe that songwriting that perfect is possible. The title track boasts being one of the first songs about homosexuality--proving D&W were(and still is) ahead of their time. Third World Man is the perfect ending to the first phase of Steely Dan. It leaves a pervasive feeling in my soul and a chill up my spine every time I hear it.
I've been told that Donald wrote most of the Gaucho album alone. Is that true? If it is, then that'll add yet another dimension to it for me. I only rank Gaucho third because if it exceeds most songwriting done up to that point. The Nightfly, IMHO however, exceeds human capability. But that discussion is for another time.
Of course, if there is a better album than Aja in existence today, I will give up my Steely Dan fandom to be an afionado of whoever penned it.
My Dan fandom is safe, isn't it?
DF
Posted by: Thelonious, Mondo, MontanaHi All:
Just listened to the EMG Stream again. What an incredible masterpiece.
There's a real sense of even more profound sophistication and maturiiity in it.
I can't wait till June 10!
Gaucho always been one of the very best in my book.
Posted by: Cathy Berberian, ntb....Thanks for the recant. I know what you mean. I have been listening to 2VN again recently and there is just so much there that you do forget until you give it another listen.
On my way to the Right Coast so hang in until next week everyone. We will all have it in our hot little hands by then!!!! The long wait is almost over...Hooray!
CB
Posted by: nu2blu, MotownCathy,
Listened to Gaucho last night (with headphones). I must say I have been away from that album for at least 4 years. You are right. It is better than mediocre, I take it back.
Third world man is stellar with headphones as is the title track.
It's good to revisit music every now and then.
My new ranking
AJA
Scam
Katy
Gaucho
TVN
Pretzel
ECSTacy
Thrill
Regards,
Posted by: Howard, @lunch
EMG solos - my impressions so far:
GodWhacker - solo is Donald on blues harp synth. Superb solo. Walter sounds great on this one too.
Lunch With Gina - the solo is definitely a midi-synth type of thing, but what a sound! I think it probably is Donald. Some parts are very like him - it's the fast bebop runs with that crazy sound that make me wonder, but I'd say it was him.
I think Green Book has a call and answer solo section with Walter and Donald. Walter talks about this in one of the recent interviews (see www.andymetzger.com)
Howard
Posted by: moray eel, towerIt's Monday. One week.
I know what will happen in 7 days. It will be 'Round About Midnight at the record store, and I will be pushing Metalica fans out of my way so I can grab a copy of Everything Must Go.
I've only listened to three of the songs on the album, but I'm convinced that it's going to be a masterpiece. It's going to be brilliant and stunning. It's going to knock all of our socks off (or for the DanFans that are already barefoot, it will make their feet explode).
m.e.
Posted by: C @ W, DanFiend - Greg Phillinganes "Lazy Nina" is great. The song is good, Phillnganes is doing it fine, only thing is I don't like the synth-drums.
Posted by: Cathy Berberian, Well, I would rank Time Magazine music critics over some posts I see here. Gaucho is a disc to play over and over. Classy and soothing. AJA ofcourse amazing and unmatched. All SD music is so layered and complex compared to 99% of what's out there.
CB
Posted by: DACW - your playing in Pittsburgh , Dave: it's explained in Sat, May 31, 2003, 10:50:16 ET ...y'know humor? Steely Dan? Didn't Azoff and Pete have a hand in getting them back together... Azoff was also critical in slipping Aja through the Saturday Night Fever cracks into Billboard Fame
...it's just the whole pre-release process/promotion has seemed a little tense...guarded, and as I said previously not characteristic of Azoff... I have no idea what his current role is, if any, in the band...last I hear he was repp-ing N-Sync or something...when in doubt blame it on AOL Time Warner Withouit Ted Turner Whatever...
Again, the most important thing is the Art, the final product...DVD-A of EMG at $15.99 is a steal. I mean could I get a signed Picasso or even unsigned print whitout adding 3-6 zeros to the end of that?
Family commitments have me tied up for the Dallas show, but it's at the Starplex/Smirnoff which is a cowfield anyway...
Somehow, I'm having trouble convincing my wife that driving 12 hours through barren wasteland to the Abuquerque show at a Casino (amphitheatre) missing 2-3 days of school to see Steely Dan would be a life-enriching educational experience...could be down on the farm in Memphis?
...or how about a second Texas date at the Performing Arts Center in Austin (what a town!) or the Verizon/Aerial Theater in Houston? Both have great acoustics!!!!! Leg III? II and a half??? forget Cynthia Woods(land)...Azoff? anybody?
The new Phoenix site looks really good! acoustics?!
****TAKE XANAX NOW BEFORE READING****
I don't know if this is the Last One or Tour or not...if the Fagen solo rumors are true, I can't imagine another Dan album before they're 60...the Citizen Cane tour?
**************************************
But if my ship comes in, the Southwest Airline $99 or under each way flights look good for a West Coast jump and back this time around...
disclaimer: before anyone else takes more offense - that's a line from a George Burns movie...
Posted by: Lee, At the Razor Boy's PlaceThings I Miss the Most very simplified: after the Razor Boy came and took his fancy things away.......
Gauch I love. I read an interview where the guys said that Gaucho gave them some negative vibes because it was a very bad and trying time for them. It has nothing to do with the music itself. If you want to know how they feel about that album musically, look at how often they have sung its songs on tour over the years. It's got great tunes with very richly drawn stories in the greatest tradition of the Steely Dan oeuvre. The melodies themselves are among their best and of course there is the always present excellent musical craftsmanship.
Posted by: Dave, I happen to think Gaucho is brilliant. However, just saying you like it won't convince anyone that's great. Fagen has called it "icy" and it gives him "shivers." So I guess that could be an argument against it, but I think it is very precise sounding and I like that. Has a very ironic, melancholy sound and those extended songs are compositions, more than simple pop ditties. When I first heard "Gaucho" I didn't realize how many of these songs I had already known. They are just such a part of our culture.
I also don't get that DACW's post that his comments bitching about Irving Azoff was some kind of joke. It pretty much missed the boat and came off as taking shots a guy who has helped Steely Dan's career.
I've heard that amazon.com will deliver a CD on the day of its release. Has anyone had this experience?
Dave
Posted by: Mitch, OmahaWrong wrong wrong. Gaucho is SO UNDERRATED...even by Dan-Fans.
Sad.
Posted by: nu2blu, motownI don't mean mediocre in terms of other music but in the Dan catalogue. Time magazine is hardly credible with respect to music.
Time out of mind is delightful, I will give you that. Third world man grows on you but there is no spark in that album. Sorry, I disagree.
Hey Nineteen...Babylon Sisters those are classic but for some reason the rest of the album falls flat.
Aja, The Scam, Katy Lied: We all know that's the order.
It goes without saying.
EMG will probably be after Katy, I hope. I love the title track. It's delicious.
Later Amigo,
d.
Posted by: Cathy Berberian, What? Gaucho mediocre? No way. Third World Man, Time Out Of Mind and pretty much all of it are truly in a class alone. Even Time Magazine rated it in the year's Top Ten releases....Listen again. You must be wearing earplugs.
Posted by: Joey, " EMG will be great but AJA will forever be the most amazing piece of music ever recorded for the human ear....."
Agreed ! I like the way you think !
Tentative Pre-Party for the August 4th Englewood , CO ( Denver ) " Dan Fest " is at C.B. Potts Big Horn Brewery right across from the venue . Just park your car in one of the lots outside the Amphitheater and walk across the street to the festivities .
YES !
Developing .......................
Joey !
Posted by: nu2blu, motownTHere will never be another PEG. I am convinced after hearing these streams. These songs are remarkable but listen to peg and that tasty solo in the middle. I am reduced to tears. Josie?? C'mon nothing can touch that. ever'
EMG will be great but AJA will forever be the most amazing piece of music ever recorded for the human ear.
TVN was mediocre at best. Gaucho was the same. Katy Lied was perfection. Pretzel Logic was too comercial; 2 minute songs. The Royal Scam and Aja are the prizes to be won.
Countdown and thrill are sophomoric as we all know.
Regards.
d.
Long live the Dan.
Posted by: Shaun, BostonDF- Monkey House (a band from Canada) does a better version of Lazy Nina.
I think I would have liked 11 Tracks of Whack better if it was recorded the same way as EMG. Walter's vocals just sound so much better on Slang of Ages then any song he did off of his solo record. I don't mean the song itself is better, just the sound of the song.
Does anybody know when Roseland tixs go on sale?
Posted by: DF, what do you think?I have just heard Greg Phillinganes recording of Lazy Nina for the first time. How do I feel about it?
I LOVE IT!
It's no wonder. Donald Fagen wrote it.
All I can do is shake my head incredulously.
For once, I'm at a loss for words.
DFfiend.
Posted by: Robin, NE OHAnyone hear if the autographed CD giveaway from the BB digital single will be announced prior to June 10? Not that I'm very lucky, but one can hope!
Posted by: Sue in Chicago, KC---there are 24 rows in the first three sections at the UC. Isn't life grand?
Anyone know where the pre and post danfest gatherings are this year?
Posted by: "Steely", NYaka SteelyT, tex, Dr. Kruger, etc. I know it doesn't work well in this group but my "real" nickname is Steely so . . .
Posted by: "Steely", NYaka SteelyT, tex, Dr. Kruger. I know it doesn't work well in this group but my "real" nickname is Steely so . . .
Posted by: Tim "Steely" S___, temporarily New YorkDoes anyone know of pre- or post- concert events for the Saratoga show?
Posted by: Larry, JerseyCant say the name but EMG will likely be available on Friday at a certain store in central Jersey area.If you know where Im refering to,maybe I will see you there. Yes,,,,5Days and counting
Posted by: db, BBC Radio 2 plays The last Mall !!!!
Sounded great, First time in UK i believe.
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