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

otm -- Steely Dan fans

Happy Dan Day, y’all. RIP Walter

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SsDWQsEgsqg

Just under 5 hours to get Babylon Sisters across the finish line

Qualifier 64!

1 Roxy Music! https://t.co/MkrBGspvVb
2 Steely Dan! https://t.co/BxjQIGI5vX
3 Robert Palmer! https://t.co/Pc9h8kVMiD
4 John Lennon! https://t.co/iw7xbSyiS4

— World Cup Of 1980 (@peoples_pop) November 15, 2020

The Guardian ranks its top 20 Steely Dan songs.

"Peg" is an honourable number one. Nice to see "Your Gold Teeth II", the only "deep track" from the first four albums to get a mention.

"Any Major Dude" is ranked way, way too low.

There's definitely a few 'later' ones on there that I wish were replaced with better tracks from the first four albums (and "Any Major Dude" would probably be top ten for me, maybe even top five) but yes, very nice to see "Your Gold Teeth II." One of my favorite guitar solos on any Steely Dan track.

Much like any Steely Dan album out of the first seven being a legitimate pick for their best, it’s hard to argue with any song from those albums making a top twenty list (I mean ok I might think you were insane if you slipped in East St Louis Toodle-oo at #20 but it is a fun cover.)

Along with the bias towards the later records, it's a little absurd that they feel they have to apologize for the "roughness" of "Show Biz Kids", like you'll spill your latte if you'll hear a little distortion.

IIRC, AOR radio back in the 70s deleted the word "fuck" from that song.

This is not a bad list, but I prefer ILM's top 20. "Peg" seems wrong to have as #1 - its a great song but its kind of Steely Dan lite.

Michael McDonald intoning "foooreign movie" notwithstanding.

IIRC, AOR radio back in the 70s deleted the word "fuck" from that song

did aor radio back in the 70s ever actually play that song? but, yeah, if they did, there's zero chance a commercial radio station in the 70s would have knowingly aired that word in any context.

I love "Peg" but I agree. I'd sooner put Deacon Blues at #1 but more likely much further down.

did aor radio back in the 70s ever actually play that song?

I definitely heard it when I was a kid in Denver, and there were only two places I could have heard it: KBPI or KAZY, the two competing AOR stations back then.

Re: "Showbiz Kids," apparently on the old (1985?) CD master or the early 1990s remaster of "Show Biz Kids" there is a 1.75 second edit that was inserted at around 1:02. This segment was sourced from a different analog tape transfer than the rest of the track. (It features a few different guitar notes and the female choir is missing 'NOT' in 'Not Wages' on the 1985 version.)

I bring it up because if they wanted it to get radio play and decided to edit the master to make that possible, I wonder if this caused that weird anomaly on those CD's?

Was it "not wages"? I always heard "lost wages," or maybe "Las Wages."

definitely "lost wages"

I thought it was lost wages, but I just deferred to whoever discovered the info above.

two places I could have heard it: KBPI or KAZY, the two competing AOR stations back then

a toast to the classic days of classic rock!

"KBPI rocks the Rockies"

I'm glad to see this thread bumped with Dan-related content, instead of the one with the weirdly long stupid quote that gets truncated mid-phrase and

Steely Dan: "Steely Dan's name has been popping up as a hip musical crush. Remember, this glossy bop-pop was the indifferent aristocracy to punk rock's stone-throwing in the late 70's. People fought

also that thread title seems to imply that Steely Dan is saying that quote.

I hate being commanded to remember something

also that thread title seems to imply that Steely Dan is saying that quote.

Could be from a Walter Becker mid-show monologue.

the best part of review where quote came from is the contrast between the out-of-touch boomer Steely Dan fan and the young, hip kid listening to the fucking Fragile

The Fragile: the Gaucho of Industrial Alternative

ha, that's at least kind of plausible. I though the young, hip kid was listening to Fragile by Yes!

that dicrescenzo review remains so breathtakingly dumb, my second least favorite review from Pitchfork

The Fragile is now as old as Aja was at the time of the review, but nobody bothers to make fun of aging Gen Xers except ourselves.

i do wish NiN had spent a little more time working the vein of glossy bop-pop, tho

I hurt myself today
In that ditch out in the valley
That they're digging just for me

DiCrescenzo an equal opportunity misanthrope - he gave The Fragile a 2.0 five months before he wrote the Dan review!

You go back, Jack, do it again
Bow down before the one you serve

The Cuervo Gold
the fine Columbian
Make me want to fuck you like an animal

When Black Friday comes
I'm gonna dig myself a hole
Black as your soul
I'd rather die than give you control.

On the water down in New Orleans
My baby's the pearl of the quarter
She's a charmer like you've never seen
Singing: "starfuckers incorporated"

i love the other thread title. "People fought" cracks me up