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

Enjoyed following this enormously. Thanks to Bee OK. And amazing work, pplains.

Does Becker write any of the SD lyrics at all? Co-write? I've only ever seen reference to his "sensibility" in the lyrics

― Iago Galdston, Sunday, April 6, 2014 10:48 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it's always been my impression that they collaborate on lyrics. and of the handful of songs that have been anecdotally linked to their own lives, about half of them seem to be about Becker's life, not Fagen's. plus his solo albums maintain the SD sensibility about as much as Fagen's.

Yeah, I spotted the differences when I bought The Nightfly.

Tracks:

My Old School
Time Out Of Mind
Bad Sneakers
Black Cow
Any World (That I’m Welcome To)
Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More
Dr. Wu
Haitian Divorce
Show Biz Kids
The Boston Rag
Glamour Profession
Caves of Altamira
Pretzel Logic
FM
Babylon Sisters
Pearl of the Quarter
Peg
Hey Nineteen
Kid Charlemagne
Here at the Western World

Solo Tracks:
Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat
Donald Fagen - I.G.Y.
Donald Fagen - Brite Nitegown
Donald Fagen - H Gang
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Donald Fagen - Mary Shut the Garden Door
Donald Fagen - Security Joan
Donald Fagen - New Frontier
Donald Fagen - Slinky Thing
Donald Fagen - The New Breed

i would just like to say "My Old School" is a masterpiece and it tickled me to see so many people flabbergasted that it made it to #2

ok pplains fess up: where did you source all the graphics from

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Sunday, April 6, 2014 10:38 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^ this, plz

excellent poll, thanks everyone

The thing about My Old School is that, even if you don't like searing raucous soul songs about love and loss and minor vice, you have to at least acknowledge that Jeff Baxter's fills and solos in this thing are absolutely indomitable.

otm

Does Becker write any of the SD lyrics at all? Co-write? I've only ever seen reference to his "sensibility" in the lyrics

I remember reading an interview where Fagan said that most of the time one of them would write a draft of a song and then give it to the other, who would change it up and then give it back.

Gaucho (G)
Third World Man (G)
My Old School (CTE)
Doctor Wu (KL)
Hey Nineteen (G)
Pearl of the Quarter (CTE)
Rose Darling - (KL)
Deacon Blues (A)
Bad Sneakers (KL)
Midnite Cruiser (CBAT)
Only A Fool Would Say That (CBAT)
Time Out of Mind (G)
Glamour Profession (G)
Peg (A)
Babylon Sisters (G)
Reelin in the Years (CBAT)
Kid Charlemagne (TRS)
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again (CBAT)
Your Gold Teeth (CTE)
Show Biz Kids (CTE)

Looking back I want to move Show Biz Kids up a bunch more

I kinda smiled secretly inside when I found out a few other posters had Third World Man at #2 too

BTW there is a line of beauty products called Dr. Wu

http://i.imgur.com/jW9QBXc.jpg

Again, I seem to remember Don saying that 'Barrytown' was all him, and that it "hadn't worked out so well", or something similar

Bad Sneakers
My Old School
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
Doctor Wu
Only a Fool Would Say That
Here at the Western World
Barrytown
Do it Again
Boston Rag
Pearl of the Quarter
Gaucho
Deacon Blues
Everyone’s Gone to the Movies
Kid Charlemagne
Peg
Dirty Work
Any Major Dude Will Tell You
Hey Nineteen
Brooklyn (owes the charmer under me)
Your Gold Teeth

Boy, this was great fun. Am honored to be a part of the Everything Must Go fan club, with votes for "The Things I Missed the Most" and the title track.

Former NFL linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, an inspiration for "Glamour Profession" (my #2):

Henderson's destructive lifestyle of drugs and alcohol began to catch up with him. During many games, he snorted liquid cocaine from an inhaler he hid in his pants.

And this confirms there aren't many "Chain Lightning" supporters:

Donald I'm very fond of Rick Derringer's solo on Chain Lightning
Walter I never liked that one that much.
Donald I'm sure Rick will be glad to read that.

my ballot:

1. Any World That I'm Welcome To
Rikki Don't Lose That Number
Dr. Wu
Any Major Dude Will Tell You
Black Friday
The Royal Scam
Charlie Freak
Night By Night
Through With Buzz
Peg
Pretzel Logic
Rose Darling
Reelin' In The Years
Monkey In Your Soul
Kid Charlemagne
Deacon Blues
Josie
Black Cow
Throw Back The Little Ones
20. Bad Sneakers

Thought I remembered reading somewhere that the reissue liner notes were all Becker. Easily the funniest liner notes ever to appear with any recording, ever.

My ballot:

Aja
Gaucho
Babylon Sisters
Deacon Blues
Doctor Wu
Glamour Profession
FM
Hey Nineteen
Black Cow
Kid Charlemagne
Peg
My Old School
Haitian Divorce
The Royal Scam
Josie
Everyone's Gone to the Movies
Green Earrings
Bad Sneakers
Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More
Your Gold Teeth II

This poll exposed me to many Steely Dan songs I wasn't familiar with. I can not for the life of me get "Through With Buzz" out of my head. And lyrics aside, "The Royal Scam" could've almost been a Neil Young song circa. After the Gold Rush.

This was Bee OK's poll. I was more of a Michael McDonald (or Rick Derringer) to this than a Walter Becker. I enjoyed being a part of the backend and I thank Bee for letting me have a hand in it.

I said to Bee that Steely Dan on the surface comes across as this very polished, at times sterile, version of Rock N' Roll, but it's only when you start paying attention to them on the headphones or alone in the radio station's lounge room that you hear something else you don't hear on the speakers at the grocery store. Almost like the Sears catalog, an innocent tome for the whole family, delivered to your doorstep before every Christmas and filled with some of the nastiest, sleaziest images available.

I mean, I kinda got grouchy about the trend of adding +porn to any hobby that people really get into, like abandoned parks or maps. But here's a true example of being able to use "catalogue-porn" without changing the meaning. These faded 35 mm images of attractive people lounging about in their underwear under bad lighting seemed a perfect conduit to cataloguing popular Steely Dan songs on the Internet.

And when I hit the motherlode of these images here, that's when I hurried up and volunteered for the job. It was only until later that I realized Wait, these are all winter catalogues. What am I going to do when Babylon Sisters comes up? So that's when I also started exploring old cigarette and liquor ads.

I tried to keep the images to the same era as the songs. The Gaucho ones were fun because boy, by the time 1980 had rolled rolled around, everything was starting to turn into a shitshow. And I learned the hard way when we extended the poll to 60 including the Two Against Nature songs, that print catalogs from Y2K are damn near hard to find online.

Here are a few that got left on the cutting room floor.

http://i.imgur.com/2AYbSCr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ExULsyf.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bhFZeE6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/92SA0w3.jpg

And as God as my witness, I tried my damndest to find a 70s houndstooth hat from a catalogue, to no avail.

Thank you all for the kind words!

Brilliant work, pplains.

Holy crap, I think that might be Fagen right there on the left in that last image!

Amazing

Great work Bee OK and pplains!

huge wishbook fan over here

pp/BeeOk: did either of your do an imgur gallery w/ all the images on one page?

if not, i can.

Hell, I'll hand you the keys to my dropbox folder, if you want.

(How do I hand someone keys to my dropbox folder, anyone?)

right click, share

Many thanks to Mr. OK for running this. It will live forever in the Caves of Altamira of my heart.

My ballot:

The Boston Rag
Any Major Dude Will Tell You
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
Doctor Wu
Rose Darling
Razor Boy
Barrytown
Do It Again
Deacon Blues
Reeling In The Years
Dirty Work
Show Biz Kids
Peg
Kid Charlemagne
Pretzel Logic
Here At The Western World
King Of The World
Your Gold Teeth II
The Royal Scam
Hey Nineteen

And the visuals were the best in ILM poll history. Holy mackerel.

*******ALL GRAPHICS ON ONE PAGE*******

awesome

pplains , enjoyed the back story.

backstory?

thanks for all the kind words everyone. hope you had fun and hope that i didn't drag it out too long. i wanted to keep the suspense in the air after i reveled each song.

that was one of the quicker countdowns actually! it was kinda fun to have like half a week of really concentrated posting.

Brilliant work, pplains.

As for length, I absolutely prefer the slightly slower polls like this, because you get to really soak it in, think about your comments, read others', and anticipate what's coming next.

ditto

Fantastic work, Bee OK and pplains! My ballot:

your gold teeth II
gaucho
aja
babylon sisters
deacon blues
hey nineteen
kid charlemagne
peg
boddhisatva
black cow
jack of speed
any major dude will tell you
king of the world
third world man
fm
dirty work
bad sneakers
reelin' in the years
my old school
rose darling

Since I can't let this poll die, I looked again at the sheet music for (the song) Aja--I know a fair amount of chords, an OK self-taught piano player, but that shit is like an impossible chord for every syllable...not possible

I didn't vote for 3rd world man, but instead cast a ballot for "were you blind that day" which I thought was such a killer track. "The bear" from the Lost Gaucho boot ended up on my ballot as well.

I finally listened to the rest of some dude's spotify link today. Man, "King of the World" is what CSN&Y would sound like if they were awesome.

Also sounds like a pal of mine from around town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIHisTZG9KI

didn't vote for 3rd world man, but instead cast a ballot for "were you blind that day" which I thought was such a killer track. "The bear" from the Lost Gaucho boot ended up on my ballot as well.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, April 8, 2014

So glad someone else was digging the outtakes...it's ridiculous to include them when like every song on the 7 albums could conceivably be in the top 20, but there are some real jewels. Today I am regretting not putting "Sign in Stranger" in my 20, tomorrow it will be something else.

Please allow me the 1,000th post.

Fuck, sorry!

Catching up on the results. Good stuff, love the images. Spent the last week in Cancun listening to the Dan on the beach with fam. Not sure there's a better way to listen tbf. Here's my ballot.

1. Your Gold Teeth II
2. Peg
3. My Old School
4. Home at Last
5. Gaucho
6. Deacon Blues
7. Doctor Wu
8. The Boston Rag
9. King of the World
10. Your Gold Teeth
11. Black Cow
12. The Fez
13. Aja
14. Barrytown
15. Rikki Don't Lose That Number
16. Third World Man
17. Only a Fool Would Say That
18. Reelin' in the Years
19. Hey Nineteen
20. Bad Sneakers

the only better way would be to take out "with fam" (for me, I kid)

i never did say this but i thought "My Old School" was going to win this thing as it was leading almost the whole time. it was the last three for four ballots that actually finally put "Deacon Blues" over the top and then it wasn't even close.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/04/14/steely-dan-jamalot-ever-after-tour/7694729/

This summer, Steely Dan fans in North America will be able to buy a thrill.

Walter Becker and Donald Fagen will set off on the 47-city Jamalot Ever After tour July 2 in Portland, Ore., and tour through September.

The Jamalot Ever After tour dates follow:

July

2 - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, Ore.
3 - Les Schwab Amphitheatre, Bend, Ore.
5-6 - Marymoor Park, Redmond, Wash.
8-9 - The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, Calif.
10 - Concord Pavilion, Concord, Calif.
12 - The Forum, Los Angeles, Calif.
13 -Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, San Diego, Calif.
15 - Comerica Theatre, Phoenix, Ariz.
16 - Route 66 Casino Legends Theater, Albuquerque, N.M.
18 - Global Event Center at WinStar World Casino and Resort, Thackerville, Okla.
19 - Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, Mo.
21 - Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Okla.
23 - Brady Theater, Tulsa, Okla.
24 - Walmart AMP, Rogers, Ark.
26 - UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, La.
27 - Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center, Birmingham, Ala.
29 - Township Auditorium, Columbia, S.C.
31 - Biltmore Estate, Asheville, N.C.

August

1-2 - Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.
4 - War Memorial Auditorium, Greensboro, N.C.
6 - Musikfest, Bethlehem, Penn.
8 - Seneca Niagara Events Center, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
9 - City Fest, Erie, Penn.
11 - Benedum Center, Pittsburgh, Penn.
12 - Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio
13 - Palace Theatre, Columbus, Ohio
15 - Illinois State Fair, Springfield, Ill.
16 - Overture Hall, Madison, Wisc.
17 - Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Ind.
19 - Fox Cities PAC, Appleton, Wisc.
20 - Kresge Auditorium, Interlochen, Mich.
22 - Colosseum at Caesars Windsor, Windsor, Ont.
23-24 - Sony Centre for Performing Arts, Toronto, Ont.
26 - National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ont.
27 - Théâtre St-Denis, Montreal, Que.
29 - Darling's Waterfront Pavilion, Bangor, Me.
30 - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook, Gilford, N.H.
31 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

September

3-4 - Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, N.J.
6 - Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, Boston, Mass.
7 - Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, R.I.
9-10 - Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, N.J.
12 - Caesars Atlantic City, Atlantic City, N.J.
13-14 - Paramount Theatre, Huntington, N.Y.
16 - Toyota Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, Conn.
17 - Pier Six Pavilion, Baltimore, Md.

s/o to spottie, the other gold teeth II number 1'er

why don't they ever play the uk???? 8(

What *are* these venues? The Mountain Winery, Saratoga or Darling's Waterfront Pavilion, Bangor don't sound like it was a toss-up between them and Madison Square Garden or the Rose Bowl.

Oh man I think I could pull off seeing them in Atlantic City

Perfect place