Polled At Last: STEELY DAN - ILM Artist poll #50

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-a2DKIoiaAS4/Uyj1xI4TfkI/AAAAAAAAAAk/6xIhQUPgMe8/w958-h539-no/orig_steely_dan_282341629.jpg

The granddaddy of them all.

77 ballots received (ILM artist poll record)
84 Tracks received votes
16 Albums (12 with more than one vote)
33 Solo Tracks (9 with more than one vote)

HUGE thank you to pplains my co-pilot for doing the pictures, they will debut tomorrow with the countdown.

Thanks to ILX as well, without you none of this is possible.

This is just to throw something out there and get it started. I actually have to go to work so this thing really starts in about 10 hours with some more sub-polls stuff.

I really didn't know how to handle the lyric part of this poll. So I decided to just post it all in one post.

Total points-Lyrics-Number 1’s, Total votes

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-29PuBkS7eVY/Uzwq_BRSD2I/AAAAAAAAAB4/BK-7EE7th8I/w500-h534-no/tumblr_lsutx5JDe31qzol4do1_500.png

148 Is there gas in the car? Yes there’s gas in the car. 1-4
76 Well I should know by now. That it's just a spasm. Like a Sunday in T.J. That it's cheap but it's not free. That I'm not what I used to be. And that love's not a game for three. 1-2
69 They got a name for the winners in the world. I want a name when I lose. 2
40 Driving like a fool out to Hackensack. Drinking his dinner from a paper sack. He says I gotta see a joker. And I'll be right back. 1-1
40 Show Biz Kids, making movies of themselves. you know they don't give a fuck about anybody else. 1-1
40 So outrageous. 1-1
40 Brut and Charisma. Poured from a shadow where he stood 1-1
40 I heard it was you. Talking about a world where all is free. It just couldn't be. And only a fool would say that 1-1
40 Bodacious cowboys. Such as your friend. Will never be welcome here. High in the Custerdome. 1-1
40 That shape is my shade, there where I used to stand 1-1
40 Bring a horn along and you can add to the pure confection. And if you can't fly you'll have to move in with the rhythm section. 1-1
40 I can see the ladies talking how the times are getting hard. and that fearsome excavation on Magnolia Boulevard. 1 -1
40 I crawl like a viper through these suburban streets. Make love to these women. Languid and bittersweet 1-1
36 The Cuervo Gold. The fine Colombian. Make tonight a wonderful thing. 1
36 A just machine to make big decisions. Programmed by fellows with compassion and vision. We'll be clean when their work is done. We'll be eternally free yes and eternally young. 1
36 I never seen you looking so bad my funky one. You tell me that your super-fine mind has come undone. 1
36 At the grotto. In the greasy chair. Sits the charlie with the lotion and the kinky hair. 1
36 I am holding a mystical sphere it's direct from lhasa. Where people are rolling in the snow far from the world we know. 1
36 Double helix in the sky tonight 1
36 Just when it. Seems so clear. That it's. Over now. Drink your big black cow. And get out of here. 1
33 They got the Steely Dan t-shirts. 1
33 Turn up the eagles, The neighbors are listening 1
33 Who is the gaucho amigo. Why is he standing. In your spangled leather poncho. And your elevator shoes? 1
33 The mechanized hum of another world 1
33 Even Cathy Berberian knows. There's one roulade she can't sing 1
33 Rose darling come to me. Snake Mary dreams along. I would guess she's in Detroit. With lots of money in the bank. Although I could be wrong. 1
33 One more expensive kiss-off. Who do you think I am? 1
33 Well I've been around the world and I've been in the Washington Zoo. And in all my travels as the facts unravel I've found this to be true. 1
33 Are you crazy are you high. Or just an ordinary guy 1
33 Drive west on Sunset. Turn that jungle music down. Just until we're out of town. 1
33 Now you swear in kicking Vegas that you’re not a gambling man. Then you find you’re back in Vegas with a handle in your hand 1

12 Lyrics ballots
31 different submissions

almost used Ez Snappin suggestion "Don't Give a Fuck About Anybody Else: The Steely Dan Poll" but ended up using Euler's suggestion for the title of this poll instead.

somehow missed that we did a lyrics poll, oh well, great selections!

77* ballots is a fantastic turnout! But not quite a record -- Bowie got 80.

*evidence of ilx entering the collective whatsit

awesome to see my first place tied for fourth!

gah Big Ears kind of screwed me on getting a ballot in for this one by cutoff date but thats what you get for procrastinating. will root for my picks on the sidelines though, v v stoked for this.

I submitted a lyrics ballot but my picks are not included above, so I just wanted to make a special shout out to my #1:

The milk truck eased into my space
Somebody screamed somewhere

^^^ best lyrics

um...I got a confirmation mail but judging by that list my lyrics ballot wasn't counted

this is an outrage

It looks like the whole of "Gaucho" made the lyrics list.

don't want this great of-the-time post to get buried in the old thread:

My first poll! I couldn't pass this one up. The first six albums came out when I was in high school and college, and the rock radio station in Pittsburgh honestly played every single song from those six albums. It was like those albums were nothing but singles.
I saw them in 1974, they opened for the Beach Boys. Musically, they were tremendous, of course, but what made the biggest impression on me was how grouchy they seemed. I was 17 and a freshman in college, and my university was across the street from the arena and the hotel where all the bands stayed, and we'd always stop over at the hotel after the show to gawk and see if we could get a hello out of the bands, but we didn't go over there to say hello to Steely Dan. We knew that if they said anything to us, it would be mean, lol.
"Can't Buy a Thrill" is so underrated, you have to know what it was like to hear that in 1972 when it first came out, how different it was and what an impact it made, at least on my ears.

[...]
FFS this was hard.

― Sandy, Sunday, March 23, 2014 2:26 AM

Isn't the Do It Again line
"Now you swear and kick and beg us
That you're not a gamblin' man
Then you find you're back in Vegas
With a handle in your hand"

Always liked that he pronounced "beg us" to rhyme with Vegas.

yep, also "Drive west on Sunset, to the sea".

Sandy's post (quoted above) was great. I wouldn't quite rank seeing Steely Dan in '72 with Dylan in '66 or the Velvets in '67 or the Rolling Stones in '72, but--well, you get the idea.

are we getting any track results today

you know that the coming is so close at hand / you feel all right

*vibes solo*

*tomorrow, the razor boy comes for my ballot*

POLLing a fool would say that

Up on the hill
Hurry up Bee OK
That's what we say

haha

what is hungry reggae?

i mean, besides being an aphrodisiac, what is it?

Dem belly not so full?

I'm working an event where a high school choir instructor is getting a music educator award, and the video package about him features a pretty nifty vocal arrangement of "Peg"

Bummed that Bowie (whom I love) beat out SD--don't think I've ever been so jones'd for a poll result!

Dude, it was Bowie. I mean, has Steely Dan even been to outer space?

Weekends on All Things Considered continues its "Why Music Matters" series with music from the heavens, as chosen by astronaut Stan Love.

"In space, every day is an important day of work," Love says. But when he was sent up to the space station to drop off and pick up crew members, the returning station crew member asked, "Dudes, where are the tunes?"

Suddenly, the shuttle mid-deck is filled with Steely Dan and "some other kind of old-guy music, since we're largely old guys here," Love says. All the lights were turned off in the cabin as the shuttle flew across "the cloud tops at 17,000 miles per hour, so [the Earth is] always spinning underneath you, scrolling past.

xp imagining Becker-Fagen floating in a space capsule is makin' me chuckle over here

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/202469main_sl3-jsc2007e21208.jpg

^^ Stan Love

all the stars come out at night

Stteely Dan Love

damn i fucked that up

Can we be shown gauchos + Stan Love?

You'll have to baig us.

sleeve and clemenza, thank you for the shout-out! I am new here and that makes me feel very welcome.

And clemenza, I saw the Stones in 72, too. I was 16. Got my driver's license that morning, went to see the Stones and opening act Stevie Wonder that night. That was a good day.

shocked that 'california! tumbles into the sea!' didn't make the lyrics rundown, this poll has already lost all credibility.

^^We're all too busy smoking with the boys upstairs to notice/vote.

i considered "california tumbles into the sea" but ultimately rejected it after deciding warren zevon had said it better.

Stones and opening act Stevie Wonder

why even go on living after seeing that? i mean, at that point, you're pretty much done, aren't you?

xp otm, with the motel standing and all

And clemenza, I saw the Stones in 72, too. I was 16. Got my driver's license that morning, went to see the Stones and opening act Stevie Wonder that night. That was a good day.

― Sandy, Wednesday, April 2, 2014 5:46 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

welcome Sandy, and I am SO jealous of you! I think if I could time travel to one show it would be '72 Stones and Stevie

That was a good day.

Hall of Fame understatement.

As Bee OK pointed out to me in his confirmation email I accidentally only voted for 19 SD songs, but I never got back to him with my number 20, which was "King of the World". So when the tracks ultimately roll out just imagine it has 12 more points. Wonder if it'll need the boost?

Also, any world that I'm welcome to is one where "Beg us" rhymes with "Vegas". I don't know where y'all come from.

king of the world is a cool song and could have made the bottom of my 20 on a different day

if "Dirty Work" were Steely Dan's only song, Sandy's post about seeing the dan wouldn't be awesome. it wouldn't make sense. "Dirty Work" tears down my entire image of becker and fagen as genius assholes bc I know fagen's not singing due to insecurity. For this and other reasons, I move that "Dirty Work" be stricken from the poll.

Isn't the Do It Again line
"Now you swear and kick and beg us
That you're not a gamblin' man
Then you find you're back in Vegas
With a handle in your hand"

― nickn, Wednesday, April 2, 2014 9:48 AM (6 hours ago)

Thanks. I voted that line and apparently had it wrong this whole time. The real first line is even better! Aside from the badass lyrics themselves I've always loved how they kick straight back into this verse after the solos and windchimes.

dirty work rules

those who voted for "Dirty Work" will be given the option to transfer their vote to either "Your Gold Teeth" or "Your Gold Teeth II." if one already voted for one gold teeth but not the other, the vote shall be automatically given to the gold tooth without a vote. if one already voted for both gold teeth, well this is called money bags. So: copy this to your status and money will arrive within 4 days... based on Chinese Feng Shui. The one who does not copy will be without money.

shut the fuck up already

I foresee terrible trouble, and I stay here just the same

sorry. i'm getting antsy waiting for the roll out.

mb david palmer should post for me

damn, that actually came out kinda pretty.

http://i.imgur.com/5loA6uk.jpg

How high did you rank "Jazzman", Graft?

super stoked for the solo tracks rollout.

xp I like jazzman. I like Palmer and the song Dirty Work to be honest. It just bothers me on the album, and it'd be a small personal tragedy if it makes top 10.

super stoked for the Stones Dirty Work poll

lol I love and voted for "dirty work" but it has no chance in hell of making the top 10, you can chill already

What is Jazzman, like Seals & Crofts? Man, this thread is like delirious with anticipation!

i believe in dirty work for top 10. we can do it.

Jazzman. One of those songs you hear, and you're Ohhhh, that Jazzman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGrSiW7GRHs

Palmer wrote the lyrics.

Oh yeah, thanks-I was thinking of "Summer Breeze" which I always thought went, "blowin' through the jazzman in my mind"

i believe in dirty work for top 10. we can do it.

― Roberto Spiralli, Wednesday, April 2, 2014 5:41 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the wind is driving in my face the smell of prickly pear

are you ready to go? just got home from work. poured me a glass of wine.

let's get this going!

doooooooo it!!

Oh yeah, thanks-I was thinking of "Summer Breeze" which I always thought went, "blowin' through the jazzman in my mind"

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2014/03/tumblr_mmx080f1Kw1qgw79jo1_400.gif

thanks

fist, i want to say that i'm not sure how i missed some lyrics ballots, pretty sure that it really was only a couple. i can say that after tabulating all these ballots it sounds like i slipped a little bit. i'm almost 100% sure everything else is accurate.

second, i looked at a bunch of other polls and it seemed liked this one was the record. i thought i heard that Led Zeppelin had the most and therefore this poll was ahead of that one. i did look at the David Bowie poll but couldn't find the numbers.

While we're talking about misheard lyrics I've always thought "Well I never thought the girl could be so crueeeel" was actually "so ruuuuuuude" and I pretty much like my version better so take that SD

speaking of, i started to edit the lyrics but ran out of time. so as some others have explained their mistakes were transferred over.

starting with the solo stuff

I think the Bowie poll beat the Pavement one, but I forget the numbers

― Flat Of NAGLs (sleeve), Monday, March 26, 2012 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Bowie got 80.

― Mike Love Costume Jewelry on Etsy (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, March 26, 2012 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

77 is a good number of ballots :))

n/a

12. This Moody Bastard
From: Walter Becker - 11 Tracks of Whack
Released: September 27, 1994
36 Points, 1 (2nd place) Vote

exciting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mSk01tWzr0

11. Paging Audrey
From: Walter Becker - Circus Money
Released: 10 June 2008
40 Points, 1 Vote, 1 Number One

Since I don't see any Becker discussion, what are his solo records like, good?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysqdt7iEd4s

10. Circus Money
From: Walter Becker - Circus Money
Released: 10 June 2008
45 Points, 2 Votes

Those are both my votes. Circus Money is my favorite Dan project post-Aja. Xpost

does anyone know how many votes Pavement got?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xk8x4bV8Mc

9. Slinky Thing
From: Donald Fagen - Sunken Condos
Released: October 16, 2012
50 Points, 2 Votes

Almost voted for that one

Pavement got 57 ballots.

thanks William. so i looks like Bowie is King with Steely Dan being second, not bad.

ok, so i'm already screwing up as i started at 12 and didn't adjust:

12. This Moody Bastard
11. Paging Audrey
10. Circus Money
9. Slinky Thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4lCTVFTXCw

8. H Gang
From: Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat
Released: Released March 7, 2006
58 Points, 2 Votes

OH GREAT just as we're getting ready for bed

that was 58 points

xpost

I've not listened to any solo becker and those are great

the reason why i went for 12 was because number 11 got a number 1 vote...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMLDLRSzip8

7. I'm Not the Same Without You
From: Donald Fagen - Sunken Condos
Released: October 16, 2012
64 Points, 2 Votes

i like that song, first time hearing it

that Fagen song is marvelous: his best solo song since 192.

Really taken with Becker's "Circus Money" too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu2eoXzsCMw

6. Morph the Cat
From: Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat
Released: Released March 7, 2006
73 Points, 2 Votes, 1 Number One

yeah, these were great but the remaining 5 are all from the Nightfly right?

Haha I voted for exactly 5 tracks from the Nightfly

i will get the numbering corrected, really wish i had mod powers...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L6L1NbJuIo

5. The Goodbye Look
From Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Released: October 29, 1982
82 Points, 3 Votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nomb3-hIWjA

4. Maxine
From: Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Released: October 29, 1982
94 Points, 3 Votes, 1 Number One

Guess not all of my five are placing then

didn't vote in this subpoll but the nightfly was my number one album. goodbye look and maxine are major favorites as are the top 3 i'm sure.

we actually get a video next

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBruAooXPNU

3. New Frontier
From: Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Released: October 29, 1982
156 Points, 5 Votes

Such a tremendous video. One of the all-time greatest.

^^Wasn't it (along with Springsteen's "Atlantic City" clip) the first major video wherein the artist didn't appear in person* ?

*Fagan is on a poster in his.

Probably, and "Atlantic City" came out around the same time (like, within a month of "New Frontier").

so this next song only beat "New Frontier" by one point, the only reason it did come out on top was because it had a number one vote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cd9YJvoQIg

2. The Nightfly
From: Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Released: October 29, 1982
157 Points, 5 Votes, 1 Number One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k1m9TevgJM

1. I.G.Y. (aka International Geophysical Year)
From: Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Released: October 29, 1982
262 Points, 7 Votes, 4 Number Ones

According to Wikipedia, "the 'I.G.Y.' of the title refers to the 'International Geophysical Year', an event that ran from July 1957 to December 1958. The I.G.Y. was an international scientific project promoting collaboration among the world's scientists. Fagen's lyrics reference futuristic concepts such as solar-powered cities, a transatlantic tunnel, permanent space stations, and spandex jackets."

8 ballots
full results for 33 solo tracks
total points, song, number ones, total votes

262 I.G.Y. 4-7
157 The Nightfly 1-5
156 New Frontier 5
94 Maxine 1-3
82 The Goodbye Look 3
73 Morph the Cat 1-2
64 I'm Not the Same Without You 2
58 H Gang 2
50 Slinky Thing 2
45 Circus Money 2
40 Paging Audrey 1-1
36 This Moody Bastard 1

33 Downtown Canon 1
33 Tomorrow' s Girls 1
33 Brite Nitegown 1
30 Junkie Girl 1
30 Ruby Baby 1
30 Somebody’s Saturday Night 1
30 Magic Smile (Rosie Zaza) 1
30 Walk Between Raindrops 1
28 Countermoon 1
27 Mary Shut the Garden Door 1
26 Miss Marlene 1
26 Security Joan 1
26 Hard Up Case 1
25 Weather In My Head 1
24 Century’s End 1
24 Down In The Bottom 1
23 Book Of Liars 1
23 The New Breed 1
23 Lazy Nina (Greg Philliganes) 1
22 Snowbound 1
25 What I Do 1

really i'm the only asshole who voted for "snowbound"?

didn't have enough time to vote solo but totally would've voted for 'snowbound'

so my personal story, i bought The Nightfly last year and only opened it in January. just about a week ago i read the inside and found out that I.G.Y. has International Geophysical Year written below it. i didn't end up voting for this part of the poll as i figured 8 solo songs was just not quite enough.

i have a big surprise for tomorrow as pplains was able to come through.

We hear you're leaving, Bee OK
I thought our little ILM poll had just begun

nope, i was just talking about tomorrow there.

it really starts next with Albums.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/57/9b/49d8c060ada00c27a582d110.L.jpg

10. Everything Must Go
Released: June 10, 2003
166 Points, 7 Votes

is anyone else up? i know i am.

everyone's gone to the movies
Now we're alone at last

lol

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/9c/72/e0c0024128a0d223c0a2c010.L.jpg

9. Two Against Nature
Released: February 29, 2000
223 Points, 9 Votes

boo, everything must go is definitely > two against nature

is anyone else up? i know i am.

― Bee OK, Wednesday, April 2, 2014 11:16 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

everyone's gone to the movies
Now we're alone at last

― christmas candy bar (al leong), Wednesday, April 2, 2014 11:17 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://images.rapgenius.com/067a548ec48e781dbfdbdbb262ac2fec.396x227x31.gif

(This would've been the time where Autumn Almanac would say, "Hey, it's the middle of Thursday afternoon here!")

glad to turn some people onto the Becker record -- one of my hangups about Fagen solo/later SD is that Donald's voice has been in decline, but Becker seemed to finally find his on Circus Money, kind of a gruff, personable Warren Zevon vibe.

Two Against Nature won the group four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. It has been certified 2× Platinum in the US.

Two Against Nature marked Steely Dan's long-awaited debut for Warner Bros. Records - through a sub-label, Giant Records. They intended to release Gaucho on Warner Bros. after their longtime label ABC Records merged with MCA Records, but MCA claimed ownership of the master recordings.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/39/2b/7e47228348a00b418537e010.L.jpg

8. The Nightfly
Released: October 29, 1982
517 Points, 18 Votes, 2 Number Ones

I thought Nightfly might to overtake one of the first 7, such is its following here.

might manage to

wow me too

damn that's low!!

bee ok, can i put in a request for you to bold the first line of the entry, as most poll runners do? it makes it a lot easier to find when scrolling through the thread

the big seven are up next

sure

xpost

so the big seven

take 517 points and double down, it still can't break into the Top 7.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/618jP%2BYCH-L.jpg

7. Can't Buy a Thrill
Released: November 1972
1063 Points, 37 Votes, 1 Number One

7

Wow really??

i take it the population sleeps tonight, why the West Coast is the best as far as time zone is concerned as other things can just be NEWS.

Yeah let's just stop here for today

I need time to heal

no, i have to go on

Is there gas in the car?

yes there's gas in the caaaaar

龜, are you healing over cbat? Or nightfly?

CBAT

I figured Nightfly wasn't going to place in the top 7

I figured The Royal Scam had a good chance of falling to the last slot of the original 7

Quoting royal scam songs while hoping it slides. That's cold. ;-)

I do expect to see it next though

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61XYYAmBF9L.jpg

6. The Royal Scam
Released: May, 1976
1096 Points, 38 Votes, 5 Number Ones

That's a goddamn tie

Tie breaker = number of votes?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kzL8QdH-1KQ/Uz0LXMKpTHI/AAAAAAAAACk/LtH3giX8gmI/w767-h595-no/oaaa_steelydan1.jpg

Tiebreaker should actually be fewer number of votes since that means the people who voted for it had it placed higher

Royal Scam is my #1. pretty unconscionable that it's rated under Gaucho imo.

Tiebreaker should actually be fewer number of votes since that means the people who voted for it had it placed higher

― 龜, Thursday, April 3, 2014 3:31 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i totally see the logic of this but i could never quite get behind it and usually did tiebreakers just as Bee OK did when i run polls.

boo, everything must go is definitely > two against nature

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson),

my boy

TRS my number one also.

Glad to see someone other than myself voted for Morph the Cat in the solo tracks poll (I was the #1). I think that I.G.Y. and the Nightfly are the proper results for #s 1 and 2. Didn't get around to listening to Circus Money or Kamakiriad. Gave 11 Tracks of Whack a whack, but didn't find it that interesting (love the title "Surf and/or Die" though). Neglected to vote in the albums poll that's currently rolling out, but TRS should be higher.

love the royal scam.

Didn't vote in this. Even though I own all the albums up to and including Gaucho, I still feel I don't really understand the Dan. But Royal Scam is the one I listen to for pleasure.

2nd side is great, 1st side less so

Shame 'Tomorrow's Girls' didn't make it...the only track on 'Kamakiriad' up to 'Nightfly' standards...and possibly 'Snowbound'...

I love the Royal Scam too...it may not have the highs of some of the other records but for me it's probably the most consistent...

TRS, along with Presence and Black and Blue is one of those classic kinda sorta 'forgotten' albums dropped by big artists in '76--IIRC someone on the TRS poll thread called it "an album of just deep cuts", which is really fitting for all three of those lps IMHO.

The "Louie Louie" line in that record ad is funny...but veering close to Zappa-like condescension (guessing they got the idea from him).

what would a band who 'dressed trendy' look like in 1972?

The only solo tracks I voted for were "Maxine", "New Frontier", and "I.G.Y.". I probably need to give the Becker tracks a chance. I saw Fagan and Becker back in the 90s and they played one of Walt's tunes. Didn't make a big impression on me.

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130624174103/peel/images/c/c1/Roxy_Music.jpg

And damn proud of their trendy threads too.

I find side one of The Royal Scam far stronger than side two; "Kid Charlemagne"/"The Caves of Altamira"/"Don't Take Me Alive" are all supreme SD. I still hate myself for leaving "Altamira" off the ballot.

I don't know if "Don't Take Me Alive" is good or if I remember it b/c it has a hook.

Ready to get this going!

http://24.media.tumblr.com/ac1085f6dbe5c49d5f15fe9a23c307b1/tumblr_mgfphs60NP1r9c63ao1_500.gif

There's an unsurprising dearth of Steely Dan gifs on the Internet!

One more from Dan Meth:

http://frederatorblogs.com/danmeth/files/2008/04/1061080327_91f4353876_o7479.jpg

thats cool but idgi

wait, who is Max with a capital M? is this a rebranding of max or a different Max entirely?

A different Max entirely.

ok cool. hey Max

it's confusing, because we already have a max.

― ghost rider, Thursday, September 27, 2007 12:47 PM (6 years ago)

Distinction now made.

Also: Everything Must Go >>>> Two Against Nature.

is there some reference i'm missing to becker eating a deer or is it just supposed to be absurd

It was a picture he made for Halloween with the caption

Halloween Week: STEELY DAN

There’s nothing so terrifying as how smooth they sound.

ok that makes enough sense for me

he drinks the zombie from the coco shell. he feels all right. he eat a deer tonight.

http://go.standard.net/sites/default/files/images/2013/06/06/scrap-metal-sculptor-makes-mane-attraction-at-station-gallery-27682.jpg

Steely Deer, in case anyone was curious.

Damn it, didn't have time to vote on the solo tracks! No love for On the Dunes 8(

i did make a mistake, right order and everything however Can't Buy a Thrill had 1063 points with only 1 number one vote. i was drinking last night.

i love the royal scam too. and can't buy a thrill. i actually placed them in the places they ended up in, but on another day they could have finished much higher for me. like i said before, my favorite steely dan album depends on my mood and sometimes the weather or how good or bad the party i went to the night before.

love how fagen sings 'won't you sign in stranger'

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/ac/80/71a41363ada01100da3de010.L.jpg

5. Gaucho
Released: November 21, 1980
Acclaimed Music ranking: 40 for 1980 with 1804 All Time
1135 Points, 36 Votes, 8 Number Ones

'don't take me alive' was the first steely dan song i heard from TRS and i bought it the next day. it's this perfect steely dan-meets-neil young's "ditch trilogy" album.

damn - eight #1s

xpost

and still only beat The Royal Scam by 39 points.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-BZtgv8w_cCU/Uz2JklPqXSI/AAAAAAAAADQ/NM9Hig4Y6Ns/w426-h516/gaucho_ad.jpg

Three-and-a-half years... and whose fault was that, MCA?

from Becker's wikipedia, it appears that many difficult things occurred between 1978 and 1980.

cocaine happened

Blame Wendel.

too many lost nights at The Regal Beagle

Szechuan DUMPLINGS! from Mr. Chow's can cause damage

Donald Fagan lost two of those years to teaching young women about 'retha Franklin.

it's funny how no one would bat an eye at that space between releases nowadays

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tvxi88E0L.jpg

4. Countdown to Ecstasy
Released: July 1973
Acclaimed Music ranking: 21 for 1972 with 518 All Time
1180 Points, 35 Votes, 7 Number Ones

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ny0gbqIOXIc/Uz2Ob8wK5oI/AAAAAAAAAD4/TTcrcLAf4yw/w599-h595-no/steely-dan-countdown-ecstacy-back-cover.jpg

My favorite back cover of all time.

is that baxter's hand on the console?

either that or someone under the console

that's overall dude's hand on his console

The closest digit doesn't look like a thumb, which is what it would be if it were Baxter's hand.

hmmmm. I wonder who it is.

a bodhisattva?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/roger-nichols-recording-engineer-who-won-six-grammys-for-his-work-with-steely-dan-2309546.html

Nichols' contribution was acknowledged when his disembodied hand appeared from underneath the mixing desk on the back cover of Countdown To Ecstasy, along with his credit as "The Immortal".

oh, awesome. thank you!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51u%2Bh9jdLcL.jpg

3. Katy Lied
Released: March 1975
Acclaimed Music ranking: 25 for 1975 with 1018 All Time
1191 Points, 38 Votes, 3 Number Ones

only 11 more points than Countdown to Ecstasy but 3 more votes.

over CTE? Damn!

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gNn1zx1lHmo/Uz2T7iUF24I/AAAAAAAAAEk/e6eZFTaxVN0/w474-h595-no/oaaa_steelydan.jpg

katie lyd

the pretzel logic crew has done well, and I have to admit that I've been digging the flapamba myself these days.

xp: fixed.

If PL wins this, I'll be truly vexed.

genuinely surprised by these results so far. i thought katy and gaucho would be ILM's 1 and 2. but maybe it's just that their supporters are louder than pretzel logic's old man support contingent (of which i am sometimes a member), and aja's -- actually i'm not sure what to call team aja. but i like all of these albums so it's all good.

No, I mean, I came to Steely Dan through Phish. The Phishheads who turned me on to SD were huge fans of Royal Scam. There is a very obvious influence.

this comment has been haunting me, and explains why The Royal Scam has never sat well with me

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d1/08/6e521363ada0b065d21fe010.L.jpg

2. Pretzel Logic
Released: February 20, 1974
Acclaimed Music ranking: 5 for 1974 with 265 All Time
1198 Points, 39 Votes, 5 Number Ones

you read that right, only 7 more points.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cIcs97HZq1k/Uz2YWQAOOaI/AAAAAAAAAFY/7DQJvgBs5I0/w793-h595-no/2012_90th_st.jpg

I can live with this being #2, though I was hoping for a shock #1.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d9/0c/6809729fd7a000576f3de010.L.jpg

1. Aja
Released: September 23, 1977
Acclaimed Music ranking: 16 for 1977 with 309 All Time
1312 Points, 39 Votes, 9 Number Ones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfT2DtpRUfI

40 ballots
Full results for 16 Albums
Total points, song, number ones, total votes

1312 Aja 9-39
1198 Pretzel Logic 5-39
1191 Katie Lied 3-38
1180 Countdown to Ecstasy 7-35
1135 Gaucho 8-36
1096 The Royal Scam 5-38
1063 Can’t Buy a Trill 1-37
517 The Nightfly 2-18
223 Two Against Nature 9
166 Everything Must Go 7

89 Sunken Condos 4
45 11 Tracks of Whack 2
25 Circus Money 1
20 Alive In America 1
18 Morph The Cat 1
17 Kamakiriad 1

crazy pretzel logic fans, i respect you and your enjoyment of underwritten steely dan

Pretzel Logic at 2? smdh

Yeah, that's a weird sign.

What was on the ballot that didn't place Aja or Pretzel Logic?

I ranked em like this but it'd look different today

1) Gaucho
2) Countdown to Ecstasy
3) Aja
4) Pretzel Logic
5) Katy Lied
6) The Royal Scam
7) Can't Buy a Thrill
8) The Nightfly - Donald Fagen
9) 11 Tracks of Whack - Walter Becker
10) Sunken Condos - Donald Fagen

one person did only vote for two albums and one was a solo album.

xpost

when i did my tracks all of aja was in the top 25, so it seemed like a reasonable #1

i didn't vote in the albums poll, but it would've been:

1) Aja
2) The Royal Scam
3) Gaucho
4) Countdown to Ecstasy
5) Katy Lied
6) The Nightfly - Donald Fagen
7) Can't Buy a Thrill
8) Pretzel Logic

My list:

1.Aja
2.Gaucho
3.Katy Lied
4.The Royal Scam
5.The Nightfly
6.Pretzel Logic

i was going with a Top 50 for poll #50 but asked pplains if he could add 10 more. so we are going to get a bonus and do a Top 60 rundown instead. after we do the bonus 10 i will give the reason. don't want to give away anything right now.

i actually have something to do, so this will kick it off. i should be back in about an hour.

again thanks pplains for these amazing images. i will let him explain his inspiration.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UN7yeQkPAAc/Uz2grtF6HsI/AAAAAAAAAF8/ICcMmOO2KlY/w640-h320-no/Monkey+In+Your+Soul.jpg

60. Monkey In Your Soul
From: Pretzel Logic
Released: February 20, 1974
72 Points, 3 Votes

Countdown being robbed is the only real shock to me

Favorite thing about "Monkey" is the way it opens always makes me think the 1 is on a different beat than it really is and I try to maintain my rhythmic disorientation as far into the song as I can

i'm team pretzel but was never a big fan of "monkey." #60 seems about right. but i am already liking these images very much. based on one image.

I love Monkey, a spirited throwaway saying goodbye to them doing throwaways.

all right i am so psyched for these images ALREADY oh man

also great way to start the countdown

to ecstacy

"Monkey in Your Soul," like "With a Gun" and "Through With Buzz" was so determinedly abstruse on first listen that its oddness was itself attractive. PL is unique in the Dan catalog in that regard.

Little late, but here was my album poll:

Countdown to Ecstasy
Aja
Katy Lied
Pretzel Logic
Can't Buy a Thrill
The Royal Scam
Gaucho

gaucho
aja
cant buy a thrill
the royal scam
countdown to ecstacy
katy lied
pretzel logic

(xp) "with a gun" may have got my vote if we did a "least favorite SD song" subpoll. not sure if it's abstruse or just weirdly generic folk-rock. i think the only thing that's odd about it is how different it sounds than anything else in the SC catalog.

"through with buzz" is definitely abstruse and odd, though. the one-line verse is a good concept.

yeah, "through with buzz" is very strange and awesome.

strings in "through with buzz" are all time

maybe he's a fairy!

what other tracks have strings? there's 'FM'...

yeah i like how they brought out the strings for a track that's 1.5 minutes long

And it hasn't even placed yet!

Bee OK? You out there?

probably checking to see if there's gas in the car

there is

I didn't vote for albums, much more interested in songs, but for what it's worth: Pretzel Logic was a more (maybe much more, not sure) acclaimed album in its day than Aja. I'd like to see the Creem reviews; Christgau and Rolling Stone definitely favor Pretzel Logic, and NME voted Pretzel Logic album of the year. It's not surprising that Pretzel Logic would finish second here; Aja finishing first is the surprise.

Can't Buy A Thrill, Aja, and Pretzel Logic got four stars in the RS Record Guide -- both red and blue editions, both written by Dave Marsh (who, in the red edition, called them "Not the greatest American rock band...but [they] remain unquestionably the weirdest.")

Gaucho got zero stars in the blue guide.

Gaucho had a bad rep for quite a while, basically "Aja gone to rot." It got slowly rehabilitated in the mid-late '90s?

One of my favorite ILM threads: Why do people rag on Steely Dan's "Gaucho" so much?

when I was reading album guides as a teenager it seemed like a unanimous opinion that Gaucho was worthless, I was pleasantly surprised at the existence of a vocal pro-Gaucho faction when I started reading ilx

xp to clemenza. that is very interesting because I only ever encountered the "aja is the best" narrative when getting into SD. I was born in 1985, though. aja has had the doc (which I watched) and the 33 1/3 book (which I just bought) since then.

No, I mean, I came to Steely Dan through Phish. The Phishheads who turned me on to SD were huge fans of Royal Scam. There is a very obvious influence.

this comment has been haunting me, and explains why The Royal Scam has never sat well with me

― Euler, Thursday, April 3, 2014 10:29 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sorry to do this to you Euler, but Umphrey's McGee covered 'Hey Nineteen' when I was in high school. it looks like they also cover 'Peg' now. ;_;

I knew I was home when ILM devoted 6000 posts to Gaucho's genius.

Phil Freeman mentioned it in his introduction the latest Marooned.

I'm sure the 33-1/3 has something to do with, De La Soul also, etc. (The "etc." I don't know about.) I meant the original RS reviews--Bud Scoppa, another name I didn't recognize--which I just checked. I remember the Marsh entry now...as with his Neil Young entry, he seemed like a weird choice to write about them; they just don't strike me as his kind of band.

one person did only vote for two albums and one was a solo album.

xpost

― Bee OK, Thursday, April 3, 2014 1:11 PM (1 hour ago)

That was me. Voted for Nightfly first, Royal Scam second. The rest of the initial run I hold roughly equal.

i think in the '70s a lot of people who had seen them as a weird/dark/jazzy/beatnik rock group, both for better and for worse, were put off by the slick studio sheen of aja, perhaps not quite noticing that they had been slick studio guys all along, and also perhaps put off by their sudden ascension to pop stardom. critics can we weird about that. and then gaucho kept going even further in that direction, plus, cocaine. rockcrits hate cocaine.

Aja having longer/fewer songs kind of puts me off it tbh. It is still great, but in my mind it's their least great.

it's a less realized Gaucho, although I like it.

rockcrits hate cocaine

and yet think about how many fucked up classics were the direct product of cocaine abuse in the 70s!

it's a less realized Gaucho, although I like it.

otm

no more interruptions.

we shall continue.

are you drinking

he was snorting coke, duh.

i had something to do and no i'm not drinking.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Sx2Buh4Ggk0/Uz3EjNlsLNI/AAAAAAAAAGk/BE5UaQiNEPc/w640-h320-no/Almost+Gothic.jpg

59. Almost Gothic
From: Two Against Nature
Released: February 29, 2000
76 Points, 4 Votes

might be my favorite image.

here's my ballot for the albums poll -- from the looks of the results I was the only one who went all out and ranked all the solo albums and the live disc:

The Royal Scam
Countdown To Ecstasy
Aja
Pretzel Logic
Katy Lied
Can't Buy A Thrill
Circus Money
Gaucho
Two Against Nature
Sunken Condos
Everything Must Go
Alive In America
The Nightfly
Morph The Cat
Kamakiriad
11 Tracks of Whack

"almost gothic" is great, awesome image

Wow, surprised that "Almost Gothic" made it. It's a fine track but not a standout on that album for me. Then again, there's only about 60 tracks on the first seven albums.

i'm working on gospel time these days

i'm so excited I can barely cope
i'm sizzling like an isotope

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WMmjeoOgQD0/Uz3LS77Ea4I/AAAAAAAAAHc/pWl2IJncpiQ/w640-h320-no/Parker%2527s+Band.jpg

58. Parker's Band
From: Pretzel Logic
Released: February 20, 1974
79 Points, 4 Votes

can somebody do a Spotify?

it's like you read my mind
http://open.spotify.com/user/1219464571/playlist/3WxVfruSRGjCsxQsrtZNuG

although it just occurred to me that I'm going to be super busy all day tomorrow, so I made it collaborative, people are welcome to add songs if I'm not keeping up w/ it.

Soooo...Parker's Band! Like that one!

wow that's low. though i love "parker's band" a wee bit less than i used to (the arrangement is a bit fussy, and i could do without the sibiliant S's in that first line), i still love it as both a joyful tribute to music itself and as a statement of purpose for these particular musicians: "if you can't fly, you'll have to move in with the rhythm section" would have been a good note to leave on the steely dan studio door, though by the end, of course, if you couldn't fly they wouldn't even let you into the rhythm section.

perfectly sequenced after "East St Louis" (bop after hot jazz): Pretzel Logic is the Dan at their most earnest, jazz-nerd-wise, in its way.

always loved the "parker's band" early version/demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfY0q7FA4H8

(who's that guy singing with fagen in that demo? is that becker?)

The "We will spend a dizzy weekend" section really catapults this song.

It may sound odd, but Parker's Band reminds me a bit of "Down on the Corner." Similar subject matter, but obviously Creedence left out the bizarre bridge.

"Parker's Band" was my #20, and

The "We will spend a dizzy weekend" section really catapults this song.

this is why

I like how "Parker's Band" is about the incantatory power of Steely Dan's own music.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-frrNr49ncrQ/Uz3OMAiU0qI/AAAAAAAAAH4/6G7T04Fzv40/w640-h320-no/The+Second+Arrangement.jpg

57. The Second Arrangement
Unreleased
90 Points, 5 Votes

hahaha

"The Second Arrangement" had been a favorite of producer Gary Katz and Nichols. In late December 1979, after weeks of working on a particular recording of the track, approximately 3/4 of the song was accidentally erased by an assistant engineer who had been asked by Katz to ready the track for listening. The band attempted to re-record the track, but eventually abandoned the song entirely.

Steely Dan biographer Brian Sweet has written that the group abandoned the song in favor of focusing on "Third World Man." "The Second Arrangement" was never played live by Steely Dan until a rarities show on September 17, 2011; a studio recording of the song remains unreleased. However, a handful of demo and outtake recordings of the song exist in bootleg form.

In addition to "The Second Arrangement", a number of songs were written for the album, but ultimately left off Gaucho. A number of these songs were included on a bootleg titled The Lost Gaucho, which represents recordings from early in the album's sessions. Song titles include "Kind Spirit", "Kulee Baba", "The Bear", "Talkin' About My Home," as well as "The Second Arrangement". An early version of "Third World Man" with alternate lyrics is included under the title "Were You Blind That Day." This recording dates from the Aja sessions.

so happy "The Second Arrangement" made it (with my help!)

here's the studio bootleg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgugMZI18pc

and here's a live version from a 2011 'rarities night' show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=filvJyO89EI

i remember the engineer story (never heard this song though). man "accidentally erasing 3/4th of an obsessively-worked-on Steely Dan track" is up there with your all-time bad days at work

The horror that engineer must've felt as Katz kept saying, "Go ahead and pot it up, we're ready. What's happening back there?"

I like how "Parker's Band" is about the incantatory power of Steely Dan's own music.

― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, April 3, 2014 5:19 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

um how on earth is that song anything but a Charlie Parker tribute?

yeah but it's also a comment on their own music; that's how it reads to me

Tributes and homages are by nature acknowledgments of limits or showing how far you've matched or outperformed the subject imo

lol can you imagine Donald and Walter on album 3 going "welp, we're as good as Bird now, if not better"

I can imagine them thinking that around album 6, true or no

on the fine Colombian, sure

xpost

the existence of that 2011 rarities night show really gives me a little hope that someday SD will loosen the reigns of perfectionism enough that they may do an archival project with unreleased songs. even new re-recordings of some of those old rarities would be cool.

this poll is already making me look at the songs that have placed so car in a new light. that fuzzy little bass or low guitar line in "Monkey" is so cool.

(xp) i'm not sure all tributes/homages are specifically acknowledgments of how you've matched or not matched the subject, but i do think all tributes/homages are at least as much about the author as they are about the subject.

how the hell can Becker toss off a solo as precise and awesome as the one in that "Second Arrangement" clip? Cuz he's Walter Becker.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hp6LjbRalf8/Uz3VWyoszoI/AAAAAAAAAIo/SNtocPFlNHU/w640-h320-no/Everything+You+Did.jpg

56. Everything You Did
From: The Royal Scam
Released: May, 1976
101 Points, 5 Votes

turn up the eagles
the neighbors are listening

^^ the highlight of Side B

my favorite on royal scam, and a very late drop for me. i want an office/listening room that looks exactly like that image.

also, how did "turn up the eagles..." not win the lyrics subpoll?

In the song "Everything You Did," a lyric says, "turn up The Eagles, the neighbors are listening." Glenn Frey of the Eagles said, "Apparently Walter Becker's girlfriend loved the Eagles, and she played them all the time. I think it drove him nuts. So, the story goes that they were having a fight one day and that was the genesis of the line." Given that the two bands shared a manager (Irving Azoff) and that the Eagles proclaimed their admiration for Steely Dan, this was more friendly rivalry than feud.

Later that year in a nod back to Steely Dan for the free publicity, and inspired by Steely Dan's lyric style, the Eagles penned the lyrics, "They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast" in their hit "Hotel California". Frey commented, "We just wanted to allude to Steely Dan rather than mentioning them outright, so 'Dan' got changed to 'knives,' which is still, you know, a penile metaphor."

Timothy B. Schmit, who played bass on The Royal Scam and two other Steely Dan albums, would later join the Eagles.

which is still, you know, a penile metaphor

well, yeah.

This seems like a good spot for the Steely Dan/Eagles episode of Yacht Rock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb_XEwgfmDk

Didn't want to embed it and clutter the thread.

could some audiophile ID that setup? I presume it's historically accurate (1976)?

imagining Becker-Fagen floating in a space capsule is makin' me chuckle over here

http://i.imgur.com/xdAyLkt.gif

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kuPf-3ZGxDI/Uz3ZLKhvINI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/riBpKtpBVTU/w640-h320-no/Throw+Back+the+Little+Ones.jpg

55. Throw Back The Little Ones
From: Katy Lied
Released: March 1975
132 Points, 7 Votes

Holy crap is that image unsettling.

a neat template for Kate Bush's first three albums

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-a2fGCkWGJXU/Uz3eJ5ogkjI/AAAAAAAAAKA/sbKChBgbd_0/w640-h320-no/Through+With+Buzz.jpg

54. Through With Buzz
From: Pretzel Logic
Released: February 20, 1974
143 Points, 7 Votes

as noted above, the string section adds to the general fucking weirdness

feels like it began a something Fagen and Becker had written as an exercise or dare--can we write a song that has one-line verses?---and then managed to turn into this wonderfully bizarre little song. love it

i feel like those short verses and the general structure is very much like a lot of blues songs, but obv the song isn't especially bluesy and they did away with anything like solos or extra repeats of anything and stripping it so bare is a big part of its appeal.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-w4EnXtWV8aw/Uz3jcO0XLLI/AAAAAAAAAKs/yVYKSfMNxss/w640-h320-no/My+Rival.jpg

53. My Rival
From Gaucho
Released: November 21, 1980
156 Points, 7 Votes

this would have been like 22 or 23.

pplains, these images are awesome

xp
Huh?

we only turned in a Top 20 but if it was say a Top 30 then it would have placed somewhere around there.

my least favorite Gaucho song

on my personal ballot i might add.

"through with buzz" was my #2. weird and wonderful. hi-fi guided by voices.

in some ways, i think, guided by voices has spent the past 20 years trying to match "through with buzz," and failing.

and robert pollard could sing "maybe he's a fairy" without the slightest hit of irony, guilt or any second thought at all.

these images are making me impossibly happy.

Man, I could go line-by-line on "My Rival" - they do not put a foot wrong in the lyric, undercutting every noir signifier they introduce. "I'll match him whim for whim!" It's such a great Fagen showcase, too - how his delivery underlines "whining stranger," the punchline of "he weaaaars a heaaaring aid." I love that soap opera organ too, and the cry of the backup singer at the end just melting into the air...

TOO LOW

haha yeah on the soap opera organ

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-CpvhLBlDblo/Uz3m4YXjLHI/AAAAAAAAALU/qeaZX6d6S3I/w640-h320-no/Kings.jpg

52. Kings
From: Can't Buy a Thrill
Released: November 1972
171 Points, 9 Votes

wasn't there some ancient ilx thread where someone was doing lolcat-style steely dan macros and a picture of don & walt with the caption "MY RIVALS - SHOW ME THEM"? it's stupid but that still cracks me up.

wow, didn't expect "Kings" to make the cut

hot licks and rhetoric
don't count much for nothing

"Kings" very narrowly missed my ballot. it sounds like a preview of some of their grander later songs with the slightly more limited band they had in the early days, which gives it its own kind of charm.

"My Rival" is the first of my 20 to place. the groove and lyrics are gold. sounds like it would've fit and been by far the best track on two against nature had they saved it for some reason.

i still recall when i first held
your tiny hand in mine
i loved you more than i can tell
but now it's stomping time

"my rival" might have been my first steely dan love

Guitar solo on "Kings" is all-time.

It is. CBAT was the last classic-era SD fan I bought, and to hear what was an essence a songwriting collective feel their way towards finding the right arrangements and players for the material made the album sound special. This and Aja are the transitional albums for me: there's another Dan beyond those albums powerless to be born or something.

feels like it began a something Fagen and Becker had written as an exercise or dare--can we write a song that has one-line verses?---and then managed to turn into this wonderfully bizarre little song.

judging from that fagen instructional piano video someone else posted on the voting thread, "chain lightning" also occurred as a result of an exercise, which iirc is "what if we wrote a blues that never arrived at the iv chord"

i really like "kings", but I probably like pplains' picture more.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-uYbbfP1YK7c/Uz3rWfAZDwI/AAAAAAAAAMA/Dxax6EaZgWc/w640-h320-no/Jack+Of+Speed.jpg

51. Jack Of Speed
From: Two Against Nature
Released: February 29, 2000
176 Points, 8 Votes, 1 Number One

haha my number one

interesting. will have to spend some more time with this one.

he's gone — he walks through the old routines
but he's gone — guaranteed

haha my number one

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson)

Brad!

Amazing song, #8 on my ballot

kinda curious to hear what you guys' stories are re TAN. Did you buy it in 2000?

I've never paid much attention to My Rival beyond the "Jolly Roger" chorus, but the story is kind of hilarious (Mike Powell called him "a pirate w a hearing aid" in a Stylus piece on Gaucho). Cool synth solo too.

so that concludes the bonus 10 songs. reasons why i added these. first, two nights before this started i was looking at some other artist polls that were done and saw a bunch of these had more than a Top 50. second, the "My Rival" picture was already made up as both pplains and i thought is was a lock for making the Top 50. third, the "Second Arrangement" story. fourth, "Jack of Speed" getting a number 1 vote.

some of pplains best work were in those pictures, the last bunch he made up. not to say what is coming up is not great because it's actually is but i especially liked a few of those.

Kings was one of the final songs I had to cut

kinda curious to hear what you guys' stories are re TAN. Did you buy it in 2000?

― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, April 3, 2014 7:33 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

my dad's 50th birthday was about 2 months after the album was released. his friends threw him a big party, and i believe Two Against Nature was both one of his gifts and the soundtrack for most of the party. i didn't buy a copy and give it much solitary listening until a few years later, though, after a purchase of Citizen Steely Dan had properly immersed me in the back catalog.

"Kings" was prob my last cut, #21.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-geOvLJDS_LY/Uz3ygoW5msI/AAAAAAAAAMw/xFffCBiVlrk/w640-h320-no/Brooklyn+%2528Owes+The+Charmer+Under+Me%2529.jpg

50. Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)
From: Can't Buy a Thrill
Released: November 1972
179 Points, 9 Votes

Fantastic poll graphics here.

think i first heard two against nature when i was going through like my third dan phase, and i was like, "the reunion records, those are probably good at least." when i first heard it i thought it was my favorite dan record bc it elaborated on the jazzy implications in all of the previous records; after about the third listen i realized that the tunes weren't entirely there, except for "jack of speed" and "west of hollywood."

both two against nature and everything must go are probably my favorite dan records lyrically at this point

i don't really rate 2AN or EMG that highly and in fact never got into them enough to own them but i should probably revisit, i doubt i'd have to spend more than a few bucks on the cds. though i might wait for vinyl reishes.

"Queen Dan Approximately"

Cocaine was mentioned way upthread in relation to Gaucho...what exactly was their drug intake? Becker was deep into heroin and that young girlfriend OD'd in his house. But Fagen was like an occasional user of coke and never heroin, as far as I know. Anyone?

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/files/2013/06/stats.jpg

I don't even know Fagen's drinking habits. Then again, I'm always curious about boomer drinking habits after seventies excesses.

i will drink a zombie from a cocoa shell someday

actually, songmeanings.com must be wrong. it has to be coco shell as in short for coconut no?

It's short for coconut. Cocoa beans come in big pods, but I can't imagine anyone serving a drink in them.

everything else is going to have more than 10 votes.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T1tdq81A2Jo/Uz34dIxs-2I/AAAAAAAAANc/GXcfe9QSzXE/w640-h320-no/Sign+In+Stranger.jpg

49. Sign In Stranger
From: The Royal Scam
Released: May, 1976
189 Points, 10 Votes

nice, this was my #19

hey #19!

i always assumed 'home at last' was a sort-of it not direct sequel to 'sign in stranger', right down to the reprised melody.

pepe has a scar from ear to ear
he will make your mug shots disappear

that would make sign in stranger the iliad

has there ever been a definitive exegesis of #50's title?

All I remember is it's about a downstairs neighbor of a Becker/Fagen apartment in Brooklyn.

RE Steely Dan and drugs, it seems to be established that Becker had a heroin problem in the early 80s - articles make vague reference to it all the time, and usually state that he moved to Hawaii after SD broke up to kick his habit - but I've never seen a corroborating quote about it from Becker himself, or from any of the group's associates, the bio, anything. Aside from that wrongful death lawsuit filed against him after his girlfriend's OD, all the information seems to be vague and secondhand. And everything else I've read suggests these guys were totally together and in control in the studio, always. I don't doubt Becker had a drug problem, I've just always wanted to know where that narrative about it and about his moving to Hawaii to clean up came about.

my son asked for a song at bedtime, and I provided him with a medley of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Rikki, Don't Lose That Number"

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=O7YlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T_MFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3079,774241&dq=walter+becker+karen+stanley&hl=en

shit, sorry bout that--1981 article about the lawsuit

DON: Our friendly rivals, the Dan, obviously had chops to burn....and they evoked the post-Chandlerian 70s LA ambience like few other ensembles (excepting of course yours truly)......but forgive me if I suggest that their lyrics were at times a little esoteric, even pretentious. Take that parenthetical "under" in Brooklyn--surely a contender for "Most Enigmatic Preposition in the Rock Canon"?

GLENN: Back in the day I had some charmers under me, if ya catch my drift. There was that little fox from--

DON: Well, yeah.

for some reason, I never picture Glenn and Don saying these. I always picture alfred with little Glenn and Don finger puppets, talking out the side of his mouth in a higher pitched voice for Don.

"Sign In Stranger" is one of 3 or 4 Scam tracks that was left tragically just outside my top 20, clawing to get onto the ballot. really i didn't vote for enough songs from that album given that it's my favorite, but it's more consistent to me where the other albums are a bit up and down.

I feel the same way about RS. the highs aren't necessarily as memorable, but it's damn consistent.

still got #2 and #6 on my ballot though...

consistency is the best

Where does this Eagles quotes meme originate?

eagles listening thread

i think?

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XsabFZQ_27E/Uz3-_MaYZAI/AAAAAAAAAOI/5ZQRmLJCOU8/w640-h320-no/Daddy+Don%2527t+Live+In+That+New+York+City+No+More.jpg

48. Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
From: Katy Lied
Released: March 1975
227 Points, 13 Votes

man the way Fagen hopscotches across every monosyllable in that chorus

Always picture DON here doing the talking and then GLENN adding his bon mots after taking a sip.

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0812/eagles_reason_16_g_mp_576.jpg

*one beat* DON: Well, yeah.

I like the lyrics and all of the hammer-ons and pull-offs in the verses of this song. the guitar soloing is a bit too blues-hammery for me, however.

Awright! Definitely one of the highlights from Katy Lied for me. I don't even normally go for their bluesier numbers, but this one's got a real tight groove.

Saw a big black El Dorado the day I submitted my ballot too.

Where does this Eagles quotes meme originate?

― how's life, Thursday, April 3, 2014 8:41 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

eagles listening thread

― Belgian Flanders Albums Chart (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, April 3, 2014 8:41 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think?

― Belgian Flanders Albums Chart (Sufjan Grafton),

GLENN: A buncha nerds on some internet -

DON: We were initially flattered -

GLENN: Then we saw they were being dorks and we were busy being fabulous and -

DON: Well, yeah.

lol

Oh man just woke up and this poll is looking fabulous

My albums ballot:

Gaucho
Katy Lied
Can't Buy A Thrill
Aja
The Nightfly
Countdown to Ecstasy
The Royal Scam
Pretzel Logic

"My Rival" is the only song from Gaucho not to make my top 20

I think of "Through with Buzz" everytime I think that I'm through with being cool any more

As you were, gentlepeople

Listening to 'Kings' and sort of kicking myself now for not putting it in

http://www.bmi.com/images/news/2011/cache/frey_g_SongHall-770x436.jpg

http://media.nj.com/entertainment_impact_music/photo/10008152-standard.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JAiK2riphu4/Uz4Bm_ofiAI/AAAAAAAAAOw/QI1_-t99G_A/w640-h320-no/Here+At+the+Western+World.jpg

47. Here At the Western World
From: Greatest Hits
Released: November 30, 1978
244 Points, 13 Votes

Here *In the Western World?

i tend to think of Gaucho as a classic opening track followed by a huge dropoff in quality that it never recovers from, but "My Rival" is increasingly my 2nd favorite track on the album, love the odd little patchwork of sounds in that track.

The Greatest Hits double album includes tracks from the band's first six studio albums and includes a previously unreleased song, "Here at the Western World", which was recorded during the sessions for The Royal Scam but not included on that album.

it's "Here At The Western World" but Spotify aggravatingly has it listed as "Here In The Western World" on three different releases

haha yeah that's what I'm seeing. thanks.

god, the interplay between the guitar and the vocal on "Sign In Stranger" is so fantastic. tempted to break the seal on "TOO LOW!" for that one.

your own personal seal? gr8080 "TOO LOW"'d My Rival upthread. I felt it was justified.

yeah, i've been trying to ration my own usage, because i know i'm going to be saying it a lot eventually

in the night you hide from the madman
you're longing to be
but it all comes out on the inside
eventually

i tend to think of Gaucho as a classic opening track followed by a huge dropoff in quality that it never recovers from,

this is absolutely nuts btw

holy shit "Here At the Western World" at 47 is the ultimate "too low"

Yeah if anything Babylon Sisters sets the floor from which the rest of the album keeps on building xp

WE GOT YAAW SKINNY GEEEHRLS

yeah Gaucho is by far my favorite.

i really just adore "Babylon Sisters" so much, it's one of my very favorite songs

well i nearly agree with you every time i listen to gaucho, then i get to "the cuervo gold" part of "hey nineteen"

the Gaucho title track is their peak of feeling imo

"daddy don't live in that new york city no more" is one of the most straightforward songs in the SD catalog, both musically and lyrically, but it's such a great, tight little blues-rock number. but most important, i have learned in the past couple of weeks that it sounds ridiculously great at loud volume through a decent set of speakers. i mean, so do most SD songs. but something about the way the groove in "new york city" came across at volume made a huge difference to me.

"western world" was the loser of the ncaa-style play-in game i created for the final spot on my poll. it and my other non-album-track contender were vying for a spot that was in the teens, not #20, but the loser would end up with nothing. this is what i was doing sunday night when i realized ballots were due.

wow "western world" was my #3. do i have bad taste or something??

jk just feeling disproportionately bitter about an internet message board poll

I didn't realize they had two studio-quality songs that weren't 'on the albums til this poll, tbqf

I mean I've only lived with FM and HATWW for a few days but I'd already rank it higher than the majority of PL and TRS

yeah i think "Western" is a blind spot for a lot of people just because it was neither on a proper album nor a hit like "FM." that said, i don't feel too strongly about it myself, although it's good.

yeah, my #5.

do i have bad taste or something??

there is no doubt whatsoever that every one of us will discover at some point during this rollout that we have bad taste. except for pplains, whose images exempt him from such accusations.

his gifs are horrific

'The Second Arrangement' is already popping into my head at random points in the past few days, I'll probably have a dream soon where I hear a studio-quality rendition only to forget it when I wake up

My friend gave me a bootleg of Gaucho outtakes and Katy Lied outtakes, just haven't really spent any time with those at all (Katy Lied outtakes are unlabeled unfortunately)

there is no doubt whatsoever that every one of us will discover at some point during this rollout that we have bad taste. except for pplains, whose images exempt him from such accusations.

TRUE

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wGMJ1BlQPGY/Uz4J_FSyzFI/AAAAAAAAAPg/deYok2d_2YQ/w640-h320-no/46. Green+Earrings.jpg

46. Green Earrings
From: The Royal Scam
Released: May, 1976
259 Points, 13 Votes, 1 Number One

I think we have to ration our "too lows"--maybe two each, max?
I was tempted to bust one out for "Brooklyn" but instead tried to assuage the pain by indulging in a little jejune "Don & Glenn" parody....

i remain shocked that no one suggested "polled, daring, no flies on me" when puns for this thread's title were being thrown around.

I think we have to ration our "too lows"--maybe two each, max?

too few!

My Gaucho Outtakes bootleg has two arrangements of The Second Arrangement! Nice

except for pplains, whose images exempt him

Gonna remember this the first time the wrong album or year is posted with the wrong song.

Hey, it happened with the Hüskers.

too low

actually, perhaps we can stipulate right now that, since everybody here likes every song steely dan ever did, except for the one person who sort of doesn't like "dirty work," every song, including our #1, will in fact be too low.

Hey, it happened with the Hüskers.

it's their own damn fault for not singing into the mics circa zen arcade.

in re: "Here at the Western World", i always considered it Dan canon because the Greatest Hits + Aja were the entirety of my dad's SD collection. So for me "HATWW" was as much a typical Dan song as "My Old School"

also, the inner sleeve of Greatest Hits greatly disturbed me when I was like 7 or so:

http://thriftyvinyl.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/dsc04287.jpg

It took the outtake of 'Glamour Profession' to realize that the opening drumline is basically the Billie Jean drumline

I too was disturbed by that image in my youth........and I always thought they sang "young skinny girls" on "HWW"....I mean look at those guys!

That font and that apartment are SO Woody Allen '78

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YIYZVxFdK7Y/Uz4RRmE8lHI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/nwzbbtcxoHg/w640-h320-no/The+Fez.jpg

45. The Fez
From: The Royal Scam
Released: May, 1976
264 Points, 13 Votes

-_-

ha ha ha that image.

Can't even believe Green Earrings didn't make my ballot. Switched it out last minute for another TRS track. Could say the same thing about Sign In Stranger, actually. But the guitar solo in this is one of my favorites!

Was expecting a Trojans ad xp



*Green Earrings*
From: The Royal Scam
Released: May, 1976
259 Points, 13 Votes, *1 Number One*



*45. The Fez*
From: The Royal Scam
Released: May, 1976
264 Points, 13 Votes

On disc, the one-two punch of The Fez and Green Earrings is devastating.

looool at the Fez pic. Didn't vote for it, but in another Steely Dan poll syncronicity, my son asked me to buy him a fez for his birthday (a Doctor Who thing).

http://filmcrithulk.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/11-doctor-fez-570x321.jpg

love the fez.

fezzes are cool

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eIs9f2Zossk/Uz4UStcbrZI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/75C7G4WZRe0/w578-h552-no/steely_dan-the_fez_s_1.jpg

Max Fischer agrees.

that image is from the single:

7" Single ABC 12222

1. The Fez 3:59
2. Sign In Stranger 4:22

It's early to be breaking out an A-frame!

The sheer contempt of "Daddy Don't..." is so great, especially when Fagen leans into "we know you're smoking wherever you are." I also have a soft spot for flagrantly rhyming "Hackensack" with "paper sack" - not even "paper bag!"

That font and that apartment are SO Woody Allen '78

This is totally facile but these guys are basically the closest rock equivalent to the New Hollywood types, right?

the fez! NTI otm, though green earrings ultimately was cut from my ballot.