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

Odd that you say Becker didn't like those songs or lyrical topics, because I think songs like "Junkie Girl" or "This Moody Bastard" on his solo records are a lot closer to that earlier emotional openness than anything on Fagen's solo stuff.
I mentioned above the Thomas Jefferson Kaye album Second Grade, whose Fagen/Becker songs are very much in that vein.

Good point. I looked into it more and I couldn't find anything directly from Becker saying he didn't "like" that kind of material. The most substantial thing I could come up with was this quote from 1982 when Fagen was making The Nightfly:

"I actually tried to write these new songs with as little irony as possible," Fagen told the New York Times. "I guess Walter's lyrics tend to have a little more bite than mine, to be more detached. I wanted this album to be a little brighter and a little lighter than a Steely Dan record. I wanted it to be more fun to listen to. And I wanted to make an album that was more personal..."

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/donald-fagen-the-nightfly-album/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MXBrmHnhc8

i do find it interesting that fagen gets a lot of the credit for the lyrical "bite," even though he credits that sensibility to walter. it's probably because fagen was the singer.

Becker might not have signed off on something like "Maxine" or "Walk Between Raindrops".

Or “morph the cat” … sheesh

Don’t know how I feel about these two new live tracks.

Listening to "Hey Nineteen": nice trombone solo, I guess? This will be as pointless a release as Alive in America.

I don't think much of "Things I Miss the Most", but it's nice they play (he plays) at least one song from the reunion records.

Dan agnostic Lloyd Cole has been listening to all the albums including the solo works and posting capsule reviews on Twitter. Don’t agree with everything, but I think he’s right more often than not.

In case you missed my latest late night review in the #SteelyDan series. The whole thing is in my timeline. https://t.co/Md6wn30qKs

— Lloyd Cole (@Lloyd_Cole) August 9, 2021

Lloyd Cole hates "Babylon Sisters" and loves "Gaucho", it's incomprehensible to me.
He's right that the singles on The Nightfly are better than anything else on the record, or in the rest of Fagen's catalogue.

preferring “gaucho” to “babylon sisters” is a very reasonable opinion

I actually gave Gaucho a good listen. I also tried their two "reunion" albums and have no desire to hear those again, so I'll say that Gaucho is probably my least favorite album from their original run...but I've also come around to the idea that none of them are bad and all are worth hearing. If Gaucho was somehow their only album in their existence, I'd probably be a lot kinder because I can still hear a lot of what I like about them in that album even if I strongly prefer the others.

"Gaucho" and "Third World Man" often fight for the right to be my favorite Steely Dan song.

and Cole's description of "Third World Man" is otm.

his actual insane opinion is that “kid charlemagne” is “almost pretty cool but ruined by carlton”

xxp both great choices.

I’ve never heard anything Lloyd cole did that’s worth remembering

He has his moments. I believe the pinefox is quite partial to him.

New live album is a missed opportunity to rename the band Steely Don.

His brain and face are made of cowpat iirc

Got a surprise yesterday when I opened up the dairy cooler.

It seems like only yesterday,
I gazed through the glass. pic.twitter.com/y0dTGQFZnX

— Tre Baker (@tre_baker) August 14, 2021

Call me two percent

that tweet is incredible

the guy behind the milk listening to 'deacon blues' is, as they say, a huge mood

Did a doubletake when my wife asked me, "Is there a mask in the car?"

yes there's masks in the car

Yes there's a mask

Jack

Wear it again

I got a bit drunk in the early part of the summer and ordered myself a custom-made t-shirt with 'Holding hands with the man from Rio' written on the front. When I'm wearing it, I feel like walking cipher in a Philip K. Dick novel, waiting for someone to come up to me and acknowledge my part in the conspiracy.

never gonna do it without the mask on.

Yes there's a mask

Jack

Wear it again

― Richard Marxist (Ye Mad Puffin)

Covid goin' 'round and 'round.

Setlist for Steely Dan's 'Rarities Night' concert at the Beacon Theatre, NYC, 2011 pic.twitter.com/2hR4bV5kvg

— Barney Hurley (@barneyhurley1) September 5, 2021

Song they gave to Thomas Jefferson Kaye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHsZ2W5ms7E

Pretty cool tune

Lordy lordy

http://steelydead.com/

Steely Dead is a musical hybrid of the Grateful Dead and Steely Dan. Sonic worlds collide, between the structure, arrangement and precision studio recordings of rock legends Steely Dan, cross-pollinated with the Grateful Dead’s free-flowing, melodic improvisation and masterful song segues. Steely Dead merges these major concepts together while infusing the influence unto each band. For example, taking the Grateful Dead’s rocking set ender Deal and Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In the Years creating the mashup Dealin’ in the Years. Steely Dead is committed to the nuance of both bands while remaining playful with jam segues between songs, and delivering a unique musical blend. For fans of both or either one of these great bands.

Dealin’ in the Years Dealin’ in the Years Dealin’ in the Years Dealin’ in the Years Dealin’ in the Years Dealin’ in the Years Dealin’ in the Years

“The horror…”

Don’t you let that dealing in the years go down

"Since it cost a lot to win / and even more to lose / they call Alabama the crimson tide / call me Deacon Blues."

Should have called themselves Steel Your Face

Shoulda called the band The Grateful Dan.

Grateful Peg…? is that anything?

Something between two adventurous Deadheads making sexytimes in a tent or VW bus during a wild "Dark Star" I'd surmise.

GABBA was created by Stig Honda, the eccentric Japanese professor at the Osaka Rock n' Roll High School. In search of the formula for pop perfection, he came upon the idea of fusing the raw energy of New York punk (Ramones) with pretty melodic harmonies of Scandinavian pop (ABBA) and GABBA was björn.

His young proteges Geeky, Anneky, Bjoey, Bee Bee & Abby were taught the 3 chords and 4 rules of Rock n' Roll, and despatched with a pocketful of songs on a quest for worldwide discopunk domination. On their journey, the band are ably assisted by tough talking ex-SAS road manager Monte Malmönik.
Celebrated paranoid genius producer Phil Smegma was enlisted to fine tune their tunes and turn them into the discopunk sensation they are today...

...TOMORROW THE WORLD!

No I'm never gonna do it without the Phil zone

Doin' That Boston Rag

Uptown East St. Louis Mississippi Half Step Toodle-oo

Deacon Blues for Allah

I watched one of their live videos for 30 seconds in the name of science and they were trying to pull off some bogus shakedown street > bodhisattva bullshit

Grateful Peg…? is that anything?

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl)

That's a, uhhm, different thing altogether.