A love/disdain for Steely Dan?

Of all the coded messages in thier lyrics, the one that left me most nonplussed, was this;

Cold, daring
No flies on me
Sorry, angel
I must take what I see
Green earrings
I remember
The rings of rare design
I remember
The look in your eyes
I don't mind


( wha dah hey? )
 
Abe, my theory is the song's about a stalker who is slobbering over the mementos of the assault he's either fantasising about, has committed or is about to commit - maybe a Picasso thing and it's all three ...

Greek medallion
Sparkles when you smile
Sorry angel,
I get hungry like a child

Musically, Pretty Purdie sooo nails this piece.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
I promise to no longer dislike them if you can make it so that no classic rock radio show will ever play "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" ever again.

And cut back on the number of times they play "Reelin' In the Years" in any given week.

In return, radio can keep "Hey Nineteen" and "Do It Again."

:p
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I get it, as much as I enjoy listening to them I try to avoid Rikki, Reelin' and Do It Again. I guess because they've been played to death. The good news is there are loads of other great Dan creations to groove to.

Enjoying music to me has always been more about the playing not the singing. Give me some catchy groove or rhythm and I don't much care what the lyrics are about. Heck I can remember singing along to the Doobie Bros China Grove and saying Johnny Row for weeks until one of my friends pointed out my mistake...didn't matter...still liked the tune!

With Steely Dan lyrics half the fun becomes trying to figure out what the heck the story is about, if you want, otherwise just enjoy some very fine musicianship.

Very difficult to pick one favorite but since you forced me to, somebody did force me to didn't they?

"The Royal Scam"
And they wandered in
From the city of St. John
Without a dime
Wearing coats that shined
Both red and green
Colors from their sunny island
From their boats of iron
They looked upon the promised land
Where surely life was sweet
On the rising tide
To New York City
Did they ride into the street
See the glory
Of the royal scam

They are hounded down
To the bottom of a bad town
Amid the ruins
Where they learn to fear
An angry race of fallen kings
Their dark companions
While the memory of
Their southern sky was clouded by
A savage winter
Every patron saint
Hung on the wall, shared the room
With twenty sinners

See the glory
Of the royal scam

By the blackened wall
He does it all
He thinks he's died and gone to heaven
Now the tale is told
By the old man back home
He reads the letter
How they are paid in gold
Just to babble in the back room
All night and waste their time
And they wandered in
From the city of St. John without a dime

See the glory
Of the royal scam

Yes Bo, I am glad you started this thread!
 
vegassuper said:
I get it, as much as I enjoy listening to them I try to avoid Rikki, Reelin' and Do It Again. I guess because they've been played to death. The good news is there are loads of other great Dan creations to groove to.
......With Steely Dan lyrics half the fun becomes trying to figure out what the heck the story is about
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Agree totally. Rikki dont lose that number is their YMCA.


....
 
DrumEatDrum....do I let you just smack me down?...............no.

You have a valid point. In return, radio can keep "Hey Nineteen" and "Do It Again."

Valid.....dude, chill out. They are great and you cannot stand it. I dig it, man! If we hung out for an evening together we would understand each other much more! (read Abraham Lincoln's biography)

"Apples and Oranges".......dude, YOU spoke of over producing...not music styles...

WHAT BAND IS NOT DYSFUNCTIONJAL???

Go Rock!
 
It may be one of those muso myths, in fact it probably is, but I have heard that Fagan relied upon the old white-powder inspiration when it came to writing his lyrics.

As I say, probably just a muso myth. Maybe.
 
con struct said:
It may be one of those muso myths, in fact it probably is, but I have heard that Fagan relied upon the old white-powder inspiration when it came to writing his lyrics.

As I say, probably just a muso myth. Maybe.
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Certainly he could afford it ... monetarily ... and the sad loss of Jeff P suggests that it was around at the time. However, I'm pretty sure I could imbibe until I was sneezing blizzards and still not write lyrics of that quality.

KBadd, DED is just a victim of Dan AM Mutilation (DAMM). I'm pretty sure he'd enjoy Show Biz Kids, The Royal Scam, Aja and King of the World.

:)
 
KBadd said:
DrumEatDrum....do I let you just smack me down?...............no.

You have a valid point. In return, radio can keep "Hey Nineteen" and "Do It Again."

Valid.....dude, chill out. They are great and you cannot stand it. I dig it, man! If we hung out for an evening together we would understand each other much more! (read Abraham Lincoln's biography)

"Apples and Oranges".......dude, YOU spoke of over producing...not music styles...

WHAT BAND IS NOT DYSFUNCTIONJAL???

Go Rock!
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You is smacking who? We're just chit-chatting about music. No different than if we were discussing this over a beer at a pub or coffee at the corner coffee shop. I am chilled (which is why I wish Bernard let us use smilies on here, so much tone of vice gets lost in plain text). I'm certainly not smacking you, or Bo, or anyone else in this forum. (well, maybe the milk guy, but that was an exception).

And yes, Apples and Oranges. I don't consider the last few Beatles albums over produced. These used extensive production for sure, but with a different end result in mind than Dan did. Sargent Pepper was all about experimentation with sounds in the studio. Cutting up tape and assembling it random order certainly wasn't about perfection.

I admitted, you had a point with Hall and Oates. I used to have a few of their albums on vinyl back in the early 80's, when I was a kid. Haven't really thought about them in years though. "Private Eyes....they're watching you..."

Anyhow, I'm sure you'd hate a few bands I love, hell, I'd bet money on it. It's the nature of music.

And yes, if you're ever in LA, we'll go get a beer somewhere.

But thanks to this thread, I went to bed with "Hey Nineteen" stuck in my head. And it still won't get out. Arg, and the best way to get a song out of your head is to go listen to it......
So I guess I'm screwed. LOL.
 
DED, I WILL be in LA in less than 2 weeks, Dude. I will be land at LAX then drive to Palm Springs on Sun Nov 14 (I have time) then return to LA Nov 16 for the Red Eye home. I like beer.

BTW, list the bands I may hate! Ha!

You are cool! Thanks for that last post!!
 
DrumEatDrum said:
But thanks to this thread, I went to bed with "Hey Nineteen" stuck in my head. And it still won't get out. Arg, and the best way to get a song out of your head is to go listen to it......
So I guess I'm screwed. LOL.
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Much as I love Rick Marotta's pocket on that track (and everything else he plays), Hey Nineteen isn't the type of Dan a person with your tastes should focus on. Try those more esoteric numbers I mentioned earlier ... in the meantime ...

Hey Nineteen
That's 'Retha Franklin
She don't remember the Queen of Soul
It's hard times befallen
The sole survivors
She thinks I'm crazy
But I'm just growing old

hehehe​
 
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