Listen to this audio of Soulmarcosa proxy Tom Scharpling apparently arguing with the entire SoulStrut massive about the absolute worthlessness of Steely Dan:
Listen to this audio of Soulmarcosa proxy Tom Scharpling apparently arguing with the entire SoulStrut massive about the absolute worthlessness of Steely Dan:
Forward to about the 2hr35min mark and let the bashing begin!!
Wow. Host with the most. Salient points, all. Elevator music + soulless + boring + "jazz-ish" + over-professional.
Sez me: Steely Dan = 1981 + coke + 1979 + more coke.
"Hey - I really heard those sleigh bells"
THANK YOU
MY HATRED FOR ALL THINGS STEELY AND DAN HAS BEEN VINDICATED!
I think that there are two kinds of Steely Dan fans:
1. The folks that grew up snorting coke to it.
These are goofs with hair that is, or has once been best described as, "Crisco shag." They have bi-annual suspect mustaches and secretly buy those Eagles gold disc reissues. They also have - buried deep in the closet - a textured heather blazer with (minimal! tasteful!) pink undertones. I'm also thinking: First Wave, "golf hat chic." These are the exact cats who say that they appreciate the "subversive lyrics" and the "technical supremacy" of the Aja LP. 1.B. (subset) The folks who are a tad too young to really appreciate the 70s or 80s but find themselves buying all the 80s ephemera they can lay their hands on, like collecting Trapper Keepers or something. They have, in their ownership, a trucker hat. Vintage? New-style? Doesn't matter.
2. The folks that sampled it in the 80s/early 90s.
This camp is starting to show their age about now, but at least their heart started in the right place. These folls began by thinking that Steely Dan is infinitely better as piecemeal (hard to deny this - I can name 4- and 8-bar Steely Dan loops that sound better than Steely Dan songs), but then they get sucked into thinking that the music is actually good because the samples used to be hot and they know older music store owners who fall into Category #1 and give them deals on break records. Additionally, they can really hear those mad sleighbell loopz on the Steely Dan LPs they stole from their father on the Hi-Fi they also stole from their father.
Listen to this audio of Soulmarcosa proxy Tom Scharpling apparently arguing with the entire SoulStrut massive about the absolute worthlessness of Steely Dan:
Forward to about the 2hr35min mark and let the bashing begin!!
Wow. Host with the most. Salient points, all. Elevator music + soulless + boring + "jazz-ish" + over-professional.
Sez me: Steely Dan = 1981 + coke + 1979 + more coke.
"Hey - I really heard those sleigh bells"
THANK YOU
MY HATRED FOR ALL THINGS STEELY AND DAN HAS BEEN VINDICATED!
I think that there are two kinds of Steely Dan fans:
1. The folks that grew up snorting coke to it.
These are goofs with hair that is, or has once been best described as, "Crisco shag." They have bi-annual suspect mustaches and secretly buy those Eagles gold disc reissues. They also have - buried deep in the closet - a textured heather blazer with (minimal! tasteful!) pink undertones. I'm also thinking: First Wave, "golf hat chic." These are the exact cats who say that they appreciate the "subversive lyrics" and the "technical supremacy" of the Aja LP. 1.B. (subset) The folks who are a tad too young to really appreciate the 70s or 80s but find themselves buying all the 80s ephemera they can lay their hands on, like collecting Trapper Keepers or something. They have, in their ownership, a trucker hat. Vintage? New-style? Doesn't matter.
1.C. Folks who grew up hearing them on the radio and in their house (falls somewhere between 1.A & 1.B).
Listen to this audio of Soulmarcosa proxy Tom Scharpling apparently arguing with the entire SoulStrut massive about the absolute worthlessness of Steely Dan:
Forward to about the 2hr35min mark and let the bashing begin!!
Wow. Host with the most. Salient points, all. Elevator music + soulless + boring + "jazz-ish" + over-professional.
Sez me: Steely Dan = 1981 + coke + 1979 + more coke.
"Hey - I really heard those sleigh bells"
THANK YOU
MY HATRED FOR ALL THINGS STEELY AND DAN HAS BEEN VINDICATED!
I think that there are two kinds of Steely Dan fans:
1. The folks that grew up snorting coke to it.
These are goofs with hair that is, or has once been best described as, "Crisco shag." They have bi-annual suspect mustaches and secretly buy those Eagles gold disc reissues. They also have - buried deep in the closet - a textured heather blazer with (minimal! tasteful!) pink undertones. I'm also thinking: First Wave, "golf hat chic." These are the exact cats who say that they appreciate the "subversive lyrics" and the "technical supremacy" of the Aja LP. 1.B. (subset) The folks who are a tad too young to really appreciate the 70s or 80s but find themselves buying all the 80s ephemera they can lay their hands on, like collecting Trapper Keepers or something. They have, in their ownership, a trucker hat. Vintage? New-style? Doesn't matter.
2. The folks that sampled it in the 80s/early 90s.
This camp is starting to show their age about now, but at least their heart started in the right place. These folls began by thinking that Steely Dan is infinitely better as piecemeal (hard to deny this - I can name 4- and 8-bar Steely Dan loops that sound better than Steely Dan songs), but then they get sucked into thinking that the music is actually good because the samples used to be hot and they know older music store owners who fall into Category #1 and give them deals on break records. Additionally, they can really hear those mad sleighbell loopz on the Steely Dan LPs they stole from their father on the Hi-Fi they also stole from their father.
Souless? Motherf*ckers are playing their tails off on that shit. Check out "Green Earrings" and all that. I think they do consider themselves "Cleverer than thou" but the music is catchier than Lester Hayes' 1981 "Stickum" hands
But I promise you that nothing turns off the music freaks I know more than the description..."Sounds like Steely Dan"
This is true for me, in the same way that if someone tells me thier band sounds like the Velvet Underground I automatically assume they also suck ass.
I love SD, I love VU, but the combinations and chemistry that makes them special is not easily replicated. At least with people who try to replicate the VU thing end up going the lo-fi, make it fuzzy route and it takes more time to ascertain that the band is just lousy. With SD afficianados who are also musicians wishing to go down a similar path, it is so GLARINGLY obvious that they suck that it is also comical. I have an aquaintance whose main influences are Steely Dan and Sting. I cannot express how bad his groups are, even though they always have great players in them. It just loses everything in the distillation.
I believe they got the shit sued out of them... hence they are virtually off the map.
aah...ok then! That'll explain, why they had such great smiles in the backseat of that car when going "uptown baby"....hmm, don't mess with walter and donald then!!!!
I remember when Sony pick them up. It was about 5-6 months after the indie 12" had dropped and the song was just starting to blow up. Shortly after, a good friend of mine who works for Sony told me they were getting hit with a huge lawsuit. I don't think anyone but Sony got slamed with the suit and if I remember correctly... They got hit for a cool million.
Also, I don't think it was the suit that ended Tariq & Gunz. It was a mix of never being able to repeat the success and fights over money from the track that ended things.
I think that there is one kind of Steely Dan detractor:
The Daptonically fogged simpleton who doesn't understand how Kraftwerk is "funky," or how an up-rocker doing a really crisp Robot is "funky," or why some black people like smooth jazz. Yo, "I'll explain it to you when you're older." (And to those of you who are already older: Shame on you. I mean, you don't have to like Steely Dan, but out-of-hand dismissal is some extra-medium shit--strictly the province of Teenage Cavemans who still say things like "realness" straight-faced. If you've ever owned a record with a Norman Seeff photo on the cover, you're just talking some old bullshit here.)
And Birdman makes a good point: "[L]ike a black Steely Dan"? If only.
I think that there is one kind of Steely Dan detractor:
The Daptonically fogged simpleton who doesn't understand how Kraftwerk is "funky," or how an up-rocker doing a really crisp Robot is "funky," or why some black people like smooth jazz. Yo, "I'll explain it to you when you're older." (And to those of you who are already older: Shame on you. I mean, you don't have to
like Steely Dan, but out-of-hand dismissal is some extra-medium shit--strictly the province of Teenage Cavemans who still say things like "realness" straight-faced. If you've ever owned a record with a Norman Seeff photo on the cover, you're just talking some old bullshit here.)
Comments
MY HATRED FOR ALL THINGS STEELY AND DAN HAS BEEN VINDICATED!
They had great musicians....wrote some great songs....but delivered them in a style that makes Rupert Holmes jealous.
Too many Pseudo-intellectual lyrics for the "I'm smarter than you" crowd.
Just my opinion.
But I promise you that nothing turns off the music freaks I know more than the description..."Sounds like Steely Dan"
I think that there are two kinds of Steely Dan fans:
1. The folks that grew up snorting coke to it.
These are goofs with hair that is, or has once been best described as, "Crisco shag." They have bi-annual suspect mustaches and secretly buy those Eagles gold disc reissues. They also have - buried deep in the closet - a textured heather blazer with (minimal! tasteful!) pink undertones. I'm also thinking: First Wave, "golf hat chic." These are the exact cats who say that they appreciate the "subversive lyrics" and the "technical supremacy" of the Aja LP.
1.B. (subset) The folks who are a tad too young to really appreciate the 70s or 80s but find themselves buying all the 80s ephemera they can lay their hands on, like collecting Trapper Keepers or something. They have, in their ownership, a trucker hat. Vintage? New-style? Doesn't matter.
2. The folks that sampled it in the 80s/early 90s.
This camp is starting to show their age about now, but at least their heart started in the right place. These folls began by thinking that Steely Dan is infinitely better as piecemeal (hard to deny this - I can name 4- and 8-bar Steely Dan loops that sound better than Steely Dan songs), but then they get sucked into thinking that the music is actually good because the samples used to be hot and they know older music store owners who fall into Category #1 and give them deals on break records. Additionally, they can really hear those mad sleighbell loopz on the Steely Dan LPs they stole from their father on the Hi-Fi they also stole from their father.
Is this getting scary for any of you Strutters?
1.C. Folks who grew up hearing them on the radio and in their house (falls somewhere between 1.A & 1.B).
Pretty damn accurate
1.C. is not sexy enough. If it bleeds, it leads.
This is true for me, in the same way that if someone tells me thier band sounds like the Velvet Underground I automatically assume they also suck ass.
I love SD, I love VU, but the combinations and chemistry that makes them special is not easily replicated. At least with people who try to replicate the VU thing end up going the lo-fi, make it fuzzy route and it takes more time to ascertain that the band is just lousy. With SD afficianados who are also musicians wishing to go down a similar path, it is so GLARINGLY obvious that they suck that it is also comical. I have an aquaintance whose main influences are Steely Dan and Sting. I cannot express how bad his groups are, even though they always have great players in them. It just loses everything in the distillation.
I remember when Sony pick them up. It was about 5-6 months after the indie 12" had dropped and the song was just starting to blow up. Shortly after, a good friend of mine who works for Sony told me they were getting hit with a huge lawsuit. I don't think anyone but Sony got slamed with the suit and if I remember correctly... They got hit for a cool million.
Also, I don't think it was the suit that ended Tariq & Gunz. It was a mix of never being able to repeat the success and fights over money from the track that ended things.
And Birdman makes a good point: "[L]ike a black Steely Dan"? If only.
COSIGN
Daptonically fogged.. i like that!