best steely dan moment of all time

For drums, the title track rules over this album. Really a beautifully written and performed piece of music overall and Steve Gadd just nails it home. The beat he goes into at the very end may be the best Steely Dan moment of all time.

― Moodles, Tuesday, September 1, 2009 4:10 AM (29 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

there is no way the best steely dan moment of all time is on this album, imo

― iatee, Tuesday, September 1, 2009 4:11 AM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

So what's the best Steely Dan moment then?

― Moodles, Tuesday, September 1, 2009 4:32 AM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

when fagen sings 'Katy lies; you can see it in her eyes.'

This might work as 100 amazing Steely Dan moments or something because mine's pretty shallow.

I like the way he pronounces "singin'" in "And the mourners are all singin'" on Do It Again.

"sangin"

guadalajara won't do now

tried to warn you, about chino and daddy g
but i can't seem to get to you through the us mail

here come those Santa Ana winds again

'Gaucho', tomorrow night. stoked.

Semi mojo
Who's this kinky so-and-so?

Papa go

the one silent second after Fagen sings:
"Aja
When all my dime dancin is through
I run to you"

before the song resumes

Double helix in the sky tonight

In "Cousin Dupree" the way he delivers the, "but what is it exactly that turns you off?" line.

Or maybe the entirety of "Deacon Blues"

-when the vocals start in only a fool would say that. so fucking effortless and laid back and catchy

when fagen sings 'Katy lies; you can see it in her eyes.'

Yes, waaaay up there for me too.

Chronological order:

1. "Unhand that gun begone
There's no one to fire upon
If he's holding it high
He's telling a lie"
("Only A Fool Would Say That")

The precise moment when the 1960s died. Gawd that "holding it high" is truly devastating.

2. "Whoa but zombie see and zombie do/He's here with me and you"
("Turn That Heartbeat Over Again")

Communes 1970s-style.

3. The bad luck chimes at the end of "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again"

4. The 2nd "I guess only women in cages can..." in "Razor Boy"

5. "Even Cathy Berberian knows there's one roulade she can't sing" ("Your Gold Teeth")

6. "In the beginning we recall that the word was hurled
Barrytown people got to be from another world"

Probably their most gorgeous moment ever. "We." Ha! Such bitches!

7. The funeral gong at the end of "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"

8. When Michael McDonald kicks in during the 2nd pre-chorus of "Bad Sneakers"

9. "Is there gas in the car? Yes there's gas in the car!" ("Kid Charlemagne")

10. That little samba-esque move after "Or maybe you would like to see the show" in "Sign in Stranger"

11. "In the night you hide from the madman you're longing to be
But it all comes out on the inside eventually" ("Here At The Western World")

12. The "Broadway duchess" boogie in "I Got The News" (Michael McDonald again! Other voices were great for this band, e.g. the too hastily discarded David Palmer)

13. The morning drive opening of "FM"

14. "Somebody else's favorite song," and "as long as the mood is right" and "no static at all" ("FM")

15. The career-ending hook repeating in "Third World Man"

16. "Who has a friend named Melanie?" ("Janie Runaway")

myndbloom OTM re: "Cousin Dupree" but that entire verse is Pantheon material:

"She said maybe it's the skeevy look in your eyes
Or that your mind has turned to applesauce
The dreary architecture of your soul
I said - but what is it exactly turns you off?"

and that love's not a game for three

kjb's 6. is probably my #2

the cuervo gold, the fine columbian
make tonight a wonderful thing

a) the first snare crack as "Babylon Sisters" cruises forward

"It's your favourite foreign movie"

"use your knack, darlin'/take one step back, darlin'"

i like when the guitar solo comes back in at the end of "my old school"

The accumulation of wistful harmonies and smooth guitar licks that fall upon the subject of "Third World Man" as the song closes, like dirt on a fresh grave.

The guitar on My Old School and Black Friday. Was it the same guy? Ass-kicking

the delivery of the first line of "Rose Darling: exuberant, hopeful, confident, and hopelessly desperate

xp to bill: Jeff "Skunk" Baxter played guitar on "My Old School", but not on the Katy Lied album at all.

the delivery of the first line of "Rose Darling: exuberant, hopeful, confident, and hopelessly desperate

absolute top-5 SD moment for sure

xp to bill: Jeff "Skunk" Baxter played guitar on "My Old School", but not on the Katy Lied album at all.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Tuesday, September 1, 2009 11:26 AM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Thanks. Anybody know who tore it up on Black Friday? Liner notes are not helpful. That song is killer.

The singing on "Aja" on the line "Chinese music under banyan trees"; more precisely, on the word "Chinese"; more precisely yet, on the first syllable of "Chinese": its languorous ache says what cannot be said in words.

the synths on king of the world

wiki says that Becker took the solo on "Black Friday"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Lied

Thanks. Fine work by Becker there.

Speaking of King of the World, i would vote for that song as a whole as one of their greatest moments.

TOTALLY. incredible song.

so Derringer only took lead on "Chain Lightning" huh? i was always under the impression he was all over this thing.

I wanted to watch that bit of video again where Becker and Fagen compare a bunch of competing "Peg" guitar solos, but it doesn't seem to be on youtube anymore. ;_;

Never mind, found it!

Becker-Fagen finally ordered the losers' execution, I read.

the guitars in "king of the world"

The clavinet break on "Night By Night"...

haha I like how they seem sorta disgusted at the rejected picks, when they're all pretty good guitar solors

xp

"there are no marigolds in the promised land/
there's a hole in the ground where they used to grow/
any man left on the rio grande/
he's the king of the world as far as i know"

Sax solo and the lead back into the third verse on 'Doctor Wu'.

so many great moments mentioned on this thead, but wanted add how Fagan lets a funny little bit of Bob Dylan style phrasing into the end of the last verse of "barrytown"

Its nothing you can do about
It was there where you came out
Its a special lack of graaaace
I can see it in YOUR faaaaace

The clavinet break on "Night By Night"...

― sonnyboy, Tuesday, September 1, 2009 12:33 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

YES

I've been meaning to do a thread like this for a year, but it was gonna be more explicitly about instrumental performances than lyrics/vocals per se

i like the weird little space bongos that are very faint right at the beginning of "rikki don't lose that number"

the drums fading out on everyone's gone to the movies

For years, prior to heading out with a group of friends for an evening of fun and mischievousness, one person in the crew would call out 'Is there gas in the car?' - and we'd all respond 'Yes, there's gas in the car!' from Kid Charlamagne - that song still evokes some good memories ...

and every word we sang i knew was true....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8GwEX7nn6o

Everything Must Go is soooo good.

I've mentioned it before, but I wish I had access to the Tax Cab Confessions promo that came with it.

Any idea who the CNN anchor in the first fagen interview is (beginning of video)? ROWR

it's a really warm night and there's a breeze coming in my window from the hills and i'm haunted by

I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet

from 'deacon blues'

― christmas candy bar (al leong), Sunday, May 12, 2013 1:05 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that and also on a warm summer night i hear:

"Here comes those Santa Ana winds agaaaaaain" from Babylon Sisters but i don't even really know what Santa Ana winds are, some cali thing i bet

but they seem like sad winds or something

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Ana_winds#Santa_Ana_winds_in_popular_culture

they bring wildfires

posting this just to annoy aero

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjF8ZP3NIcU

wind makes me irrationally nervous, even thinking about it

babylon sisters is the ultimate sleazy malibu fuckpad tune

Speaking of sleazy fuckpad tunes, I always loved:
We could stay inside and play games, I don't know

the way he delivers that "I don't know" -- captures this certain kind of bullshitty fake shyness/innocence that a dude would put on while trying to coax a young woman into something sexually beyond her boundaries (I always thought a threesome, possibly MMF)

YES.

he doesn't pronounce the "t" -- the words slide together

I think some have also suggested the rikki is a guy (would fit with "you tell yourself you're not my kind") -- I can't really agree or disagree with that reading, but I heard it as a woman

captures this certain kind of bullshitty fake shyness/innocence that a dude would put on while trying to coax a young woman into something sexually beyond her boundaries

oddly what I've read of this song implies it's actually about an OLDER woman

wife of the dean at Bard or something iirc...?

they bring wildfires

four Marxes plus four Obamas plus four Bin Ladens (Shakey Mo Collier) wrote this at 2013-05-13 20:20:53.476

Desert allergens, mostly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikki_Don't_Lose_That_Number

Hmm, this story makes it sound much more innocent than my version. Unconfirmed, however.

and for the coup de graaaaaace

xp to bill: Jeff "Skunk" Baxter played guitar on "My Old School", but not on the Katy Lied album at all.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Tuesday, September 1, 2009 8:26 AM (3 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

first guitar I bought was the epiphone Jeff Baxter model in the 8th grade bc the guitar in this song oh man

and for the coup de graaaaaace

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Friday, May 31, 2013 11:04 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think you mean "coupe-uh de graaaaace"

i mean yeah was having trouble articulating that exactly

also they got the STEELY. DAN. T. SHIRT.

i am overdue for some steely dan karaoke

I'd love to do Steely Dan karaoke. I've done Deacon Blues before, which is a good one except in the overlong instrumental break where I just stood around looking like a dumbass.

the dan is my karaoke specialty

oh i was also thinking about when michael mcdonald comes in on the second repetition of the bridge of "bad sneakers"

yes i'm (GOING INSANE)
you know i'm LAUGHING AT THE FROZEN RAAAIIIIN

and yeah I also look like a dumbass during the instrumental break on that, also during the guitar solo on Reelin' In The Years (once I was nailing it until I made the mistake of "singing" the guitar solo and kind of lost the crowd)

i always sing guitar solos.

I detect the el supremo

The key to the instrumental section is to have a tumbler of scotch on hand to sip discreetly while the saxophone wails

Scanned thread, can't believe nobody mentioned the snare hit and sustained bent note that bring us into "Hey Nineteen." What a tremendous moment of anticipation.

i think i did deacon blues when i did karaoke with j0rdan and deej

j0rdan did usher - climax iirc

i cant remember what deej did but he was butthurt that no one liked it :(

just had a flashback to when i was younger and didn't get that Hey Nineteen was a goof on the speaker more than on the 19-year-old

"MISTAH STEELY DAN AND WHATEVER!!"

I'd love to do Gaucho in karaoke, but it's doubtful many bars would have that one.

yeah

YEAH

NO STATIC AT ALL

Bwa Bwada Bwa Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaa

i think i did deacon blues when i did karaoke with j0rdan and deej

j0rdan did usher - climax iirc

i cant remember what deej did but he was butthurt that no one liked it :(

― ʎqןıs (gr8080), Friday, May 31, 2013 5:49 PM (57 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha karaoke vmic

i wish "my old school" was in more karaoke libraries

fagen tried to warn ohio state about gee in that song, but they wouldn't hear it

actually, i think that nite was the only time i found someone who had "my old school"

i remember getting ppl to sing along to the chorus, and jamming to the guitar solo on this toy guitar the karaoke emcee had

toy guitar just out of frame

The harmonics in the solo must've sounded awesome on that thing

"toy guitar" just out of frame

toy_guiter

fwiw I have heard the Rikki story referenced upthread from Rikki D herself--as I recall, in her telling Fagan admitted it--and as my own minor contribution to weigh the scales on the side of plausibility I will add that Rikki Ducornet is what you might call a stone fox.....

I cannot BELIEVE Fagen's written a memoir! (Eminent Hipsters, due in October) So psyched for this, what a great writer--anyone ever read the movie reviews he wrote for Entertainment Weekly under a pseudonym?

yeah, rikki ducornet is foine in a laura nyro kinda way.

If John goes and writes another book
With words that just won't quit
Why must I forge through it?
Let Geoooooooooooooooooorge do it.

"Jo would you love to scrapple, she'll never say no....(no!)"

nuthin' like a Snapple after a good scrapple, I always say