Steely Dan's "Time Out of Mind"

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The best song ever written about heroin. Forget "Waiting for my Man", which was better when the Vagrants did it as "Respect" - even "Heroin" is a primitive Flintstones version of "TOOM". They get so graphic it's almost excruciating ("Water will change to cherry wine, and the silver will turn to gold" - syringes, tinfoil), and I've never done smack but the lines "It's perfection and grace, and it's the smile on my face" easily are more effective and evocative than "It's my wife and it's my life" because Steely Dan music is of course narcotic itself, pushing Lou's bad acting away like a bad dream like smack apparently does to the rest of the world. Narcotic isn't even the word, this is music with everything music should sort of have in it bleached out and sterilized (the only thing that isn't a smack/analogue production signifier) - that middle eight! It's music for a mid-afternoon DIY show! They even make Mark Knopfler sound spacy and seedy instead of boring.

― dave q, Saturday, 30 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

In the (extraordinarily arcane and inessential) pantheon of 'pampered asshole drug records" (as opposed to 'rebellious drug records', which appeal to music fans and lit fans, but are seen as fake and silly by real-life drug fans), 'Gaucho' ranks right up there with 'Here My Dear', 'Tusk' and 'Black and Blue' IMHO

― dave q, Saturday, 30 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Dan aren't writing about addiction or overdose. Having lost a close friend to a smack OD some five years back, I'm pretty biased. Lou wins.

― J, Saturday, 30 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I really love this song. Although the line 'tonight when I chase the dragon...' always struck me as a druggie line, I never really saw the other lyrics in that light. I can follow your take on the rest of the chorus. I like that guitar solo (I never noticed that it was Knopfler before) - I tried to figure out how to play it and found it difficult to play for a guitar hack like myself. It's a really well plotted out line though. This is definitely my current favorite SD song.

― Ron, Saturday, 30 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I like the Dan, but always hated "Gaucho"... maybe I'll have to play it again.

― Sean, Saturday, 30 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Needle of Death" by Bert Jansch kills all these songs. I'm also biased against songs that celebrate heroin use. Too many dead friends and too many track marks of my own. Sorry.

― Alex in SF, Sunday, 31 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Maybe the division Dave Q suggests between 'pampered' and 'rebellious' drug songs should more accurately be 'drug songs for users,' 'drug songs for ex-users' and 'drug songs for never-users.'

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 31 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Having some pretty nasty narcoskeletons in my closet, I gotta say Dave is completely right. "Heroin" is great and all but "Time Out of Mind" sends freaking chills up my neck. "Glamor Profession" does not fare quite as well as a cocaine song but is still great. What to speak of the pre-narcocorrido "Kid Charlemagne." Christ I love Steely Dan.

― John Darnielle, Sunday, 31 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

nine months pass...

TOOM, production-wise, may be the Dan's greatest song. It's the most pristine, unfettered sound I've ever heard on any of their tunes and they make excellent use of atmosphere on the recording. As for the subject matter...what better a composition than this to hail the more positive feelings that come from illegal drug intake. A facet that is overshadowed by anti-drug PR campaigns as well as those out there who can't handle or use in moderation. Besides, this song makes me feel great without being intoxicated. Knopfler is great as well(check out the sublime volume swells).

― Rommel Cox, Monday, 20 January 2003 20:32 (twenty-three years ago)

three years pass...

Well, Becker did check himself into rehab a couple of months after this...

― Le Baaderonixx de Clignancourt (baaderonixx), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 16:37 (twenty years ago)

Great song.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 16:50 (twenty years ago)

My least favorite song on my favorite SD album.

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 17:34 (twenty years ago)

teh suck

― grant lepeart, Tuesday, 21 February 2006 17:38 (twenty years ago)

"Are you ready for L-O-O-O-V-E?" is as giddy as Fagen got on this album.

My favorite is still "Third World Man."

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 17:56 (twenty years ago)

Never got the love for 3rd World Man. Seems a bit pedant lyrically

― Le Baaderonixx de Clignancourt (baaderonixx), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 19:23 (twenty years ago)

Why do people rag on Steely Dan's "Gaucho" so much?

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 21 February 2006 23:48 (twenty years ago)

seven years pass...

I played this song during a DJ set and two seconds in the girl dancing two feet away asked, "is this michael jackson???" i had never noticed the 'billie jean' resemblance until that moment but the immediate intro is vv similar.

― christmas candy bar (al leong), Friday, 17 May 2013 06:12 (thirteen years ago)

yeah the drums are almost spot on actually

― chilli, Friday, 17 May 2013 07:58 (thirteen years ago)

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