Favorite Steely Dan Lines
Christopher Lampton
Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll heaven,
let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
from Steely Dan songs? (This can be not only a single line but also a
couplet or even a quadruplet.) Here are some of mine (all from memory, so
forgive the errors):
"This highway runs to Paraguay and I've just come all the way."
"Assassins, cons and rapers. Might as well die!"
"You walked in, and my life began again, just when I'd spent the last
piaster I could borrow."
"Memory, wash over me, as I step into the sun."
"Here in this darkness, I see all at once, I know all at once, who I am."
"Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening."
"Double helix in the sky tonight, blow out the hardware, let's do it right!"
"Like a sunday in TJ, that it's cheap but it's not free."
"I believed that I was dreaming, then the neighbors came out screaming."
Man, I could keep on going for a while!
--Chris
Janet L Neeley
"Christopher Lampton" <clam...@erols.com> wrote:
Currently (because I change my mind about this weekly) my favorite
line is "Walk around collecting Turkish union dues/They will call you
sir and shine your shoes."
Noel St. John
Greg Orr
"I just read the daily news and swear by every word"
Jonathan E. Sigel
"Well the danger on the rocks has surely past,
Still I remain tied to the mast"
(based on Homer's "The Odyssey")
Jonathan E. Sigel
Also particularly graphic is,
"Spanish kissin'
see it glisten"
Joe DiFrancesco
"Sue me if I play too long"
-Decon Blues
Phil Steer
So many great lines, so little time!
How about...
I stepped up on the platform,
A man gave me the news.
He said, "You must be jokin' son;
Where did you get those shoes?"
It's hard times befallen
The soul survivors.
She thinks I'm crazy,
But I'm just growin' old.
Buzz
Christopher Lampton wrote:
> Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll heaven,
> let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
> from Steely Dan songs? (This can be not only a single line but also a
> couplet or even a quadruplet.) Here are some of mine (all from memory, so
> forgive the errors):
>
> "This highway runs to Paraguay and I've just come all the way."
> "Assassins, cons and rapers. Might as well die!"
> "You walked in, and my life began again, just when I'd spent the last
> piaster I could borrow."
> "Memory, wash over me, as I step into the sun."
> "Here in this darkness, I see all at once, I know all at once, who I am."
> "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening."
> "Double helix in the sky tonight, blow out the hardware, let's do it right!"
> "Like a sunday in TJ, that it's cheap but it's not free."
> "I believed that I was dreaming, then the neighbors came out screaming."
>
> Man, I could keep on going for a while!
>
> --Chris
Ooh, Hey, I've got a few...
The weekends at the collage didn't turn out like you planned
The things they pass for knowledge I can't understand.
When the dawn patrol gotta tell ya twice, they gonna do it with a shotgun.
Yes, I'm cashin in this ten cent life for another one.
Lucy still loves her Coke and rum but she sits alone cause her daddy can't cum.
Clean this mess up else we'll all end up in jail, those test tubes and the scale
Just get it all out of here.
I cried when I wrote this song, sue me if I play too long.
The danger on the rocks has surely past, still I remain tied to the mast.
I could go on..and on...
So many favorites!!!
(through with)Buzz
Janet L Neeley
The Cuervo Gold, the fine Columbian...
Make tonight a wonderful thing.
Noel St. John
p thornton
In article <65fhsk$nib$1...@winter.news.erols.com>, "Christopher Lampton"
<clam...@erols.com> wrote:
> Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll heaven,
> let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
> from Steely Dan songs?
Does this count?....
Won't you pour me a Cuban Breeze, Gretchen.
Is it a guitar lick?... a line of poetry?.... either?... both?
And putting the name "Gretchen" in a hip little samba... welll, they guy's
a genius.
SteelyDann
"I was born yesterday when they brought my Kamakiriad."
actually, not "dan" but fagen's solo work...
Goombah Wahoo
Buzz wrote in message <347C0065...@hotmail.com>...
>
>
>Christopher Lampton wrote:
>
>> Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll
heaven,
>> let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
>> from Steely Dan songs? (This can be not only a single line but also a
>> couplet or even a quadruplet.) Here are some of mine (all from memory, so
>> forgive the errors):
>>
Here's some more:
Even Kathy Berbarian knows there's one roulade she can't sing
Am I myself or just another freak
Sure, he's a Jolly Roger, until he answers for his crime
Before the fall when they wrote it on the wall,
when there wasn't even any Hollywood
That ditch out in the valley that they're digging just for me
Yes I'm going insane
And I'm laughing at the frozen rain
Walk around collecting dirt dish union dues
they will call you sir and shine your shoes
Oh Michael, Oh Jesus, I'll keep my promise when
I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have 8. (Does anyone know
what this REALLY means?)
(fagen solo) she's a concept more or less
now your patrons have all left you in the red
your low-rent friends are dead
living hard will take its toll
she said she loved me and was on her way
singing "Voulez-voulez-voulez vous"
Nucars
>
>Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll heaven,
>let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
>from Steely Dan songs? (This can be not only a single line but also a
>couplet or even a quadruplet.) Here are some of mine (all from memory, so
>forgive the errors):
>
>"This highway runs to Paraguay and I've just come all the way."
>"Assassins, cons and rapers. Might as well die!"
>"You walked in, and my life began again, just when I'd spent the last
>piaster I could borrow."
>"Memory, wash over me, as I step into the sun."
>"Here in this darkness, I see all at once, I know all at once, who I am."
>"Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening."
>"Double helix in the sky tonight, blow out the hardware, let's do it right!"
>"Like a sunday in TJ, that it's cheap but it's not free."
>"I believed that I was dreaming, then the neighbors came out screaming."
>
>Man, I could keep on going for a while!
>
>--Chris
Man, that's well done..... I think that covers it for me. I'm new to the group.
Just found out about alt.music.steely-dan last night. Anyway, I too am a big
fan of SD!!! I've seen their last two tours here in Denver. May the band live
on. Later, Cliff
Cliff
Nucars
I like the lyrics on "Tomorrow's Girls" off of Kamakiriad. In fact I really
like both of Fagen's Solo's. I wish he would do another soon. He's such a
talented artist. Later, Cliff
Cliff
Christopher Lampton
Goombah Wahoo wrote in message <65hfu7$1mjo$1...@news.missouri.edu>...
>I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have 8. (Does anyone know
>what this REALLY means?)
The consensus on this group is that it represents the difference between
cheap 8mm stag films versus the more expensive 16mm (and wider) formats.
Sounds right to me.
>(fagen solo) she's a concept more or less
and: There's no disbelief to suspend.
>living hard will take its toll
For a long time I thought this line was "Living high will take its toll." I
still like that version better.
--Chris
D&J
"When the demon is at your door, in the morning he won't be there no
more...."
Dave
Christopher Lampton <clam...@erols.com> wrote in article
<65fhsk$nib$1...@winter.news.erols.com>...
Marcia
"You can try to run but you can't hide from what's inside of you"
"Be glad if you can use what you borrow"
"Did you feel like Jesus, did you realize that you were a champion in their
eyes"
"You've been telling me you're a genius since you were 17........."
mpphoto
"Christopher Lampton" <clam...@erols.com> wrote:
>Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll heaven,
>let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
>from Steely Dan songs? (This can be not only a single line but also a
>couplet or even a quadruplet.) Here are some of mine (all from memory, so
>forgive the errors):
>"This highway runs to Paraguay and I've just come all the way."
>"Assassins, cons and rapers. Might as well die!"
>"You walked in, and my life began again, just when I'd spent the last
>piaster I could borrow."
>"Memory, wash over me, as I step into the sun."
>"Here in this darkness, I see all at once, I know all at once, who I am."
>"Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening."
>"Double helix in the sky tonight, blow out the hardware, let's do it right!"
>"Like a sunday in TJ, that it's cheap but it's not free."
>"I believed that I was dreaming, then the neighbors came out screaming."
"Is there gas in the car?...yes, there's gas in the caaaaaaar...i
think the people down the hall know who you are"
"You got to shake it baby you got to shake it baby you got to
shake it!"
There's tons of stuff from the DF solos...almost all of the
Nightfly, including:
" Just machine to make big decisions, programmed by fellows
with compassion and vision"
"Introduce me to that big blonde, she's got a touch of Tuesday
Weld"
"Mexico City is like another world...nice this year, they
say...you'll be my senorita, with jeans and pearls...but first, let's
get off this highway, off this hiiiighway"
Kamakiriad: "Something new from Johnny Tokyo...it's a kind of
pyramid...with a human heart, beating in an ion grid"
"They're mixing with the population...a virus wearing pumps and
pearls"
mpphoto
Christopher Lampton
Nucars wrote in message <19971126202...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
>I like the lyrics on "Tomorrow's Girls" off of Kamakiriad. In fact I really
>like both of Fagen's Solo's. I wish he would do another soon. He's such a
>talented artist. Later, Cliff
My favorite bit from that song (one of Fagen's best solo numbers):
They're landing on the Jersey beaches.
Their engines make the white sands swirl.
The heat is so intense
Earthmen have no defense
Against tomorrow's girls.
What a great way to describe how "lonely guys" feel about beautiful young
women, within a cleverly science fictional context!
--Chris
(For only slightly different reasons, I love the line about "a virus wearing
pumps and pearls". :)
Christopher Lampton
Phil Steer wrote in message ...
>I stepped up on the platform,
>A man gave me the news.
>He said, "You must be jokin' son;
>Where did you get those shoes?"
I said, I seen'em on the teevee
The movie show.
They say the times are changin'
But I just don't know.
Those days are gone forever
Over a long time ago!
Couldn't resist. That whole song gives me chills. I've never even figured
out why! (I'm just a sucker for minor key blues, I guess.)
--Chris
jonathan shayne
I think it goes something like this: " With stocking face I bought a
gun, the plan was set the plan was done" also, " Lost in the Bario, I
walk like an engine, so "callow?" you suspect that something's wrong
here. I dance in place, Iand paint my face and act like I belong here"
turnip
Greg Orr wrote:
>
> "I just read the daily news and swear by every word"
If the dawn patrol got to tell you twice
there gonna do it with a shotgun.
Erik de Vries
Wake up, darling, they're knocking, the Colonel's standing in the sun,
with his stupid face, the glasses and the gun.
Jim Farmer
"Is there gas in the car?"
"Yes, there's gas in the car."
will...@netcom.com
So you say there's a race of men in the tree...you're for tough
legislation...I wait all night for calls like these.
--
William E. Homer
moving to: who...@concentric.net (can't fight GUI forever)
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/wi/william1/weh.html
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/1928
Jamie
Show business kids; making movies of themselves.
You know they don't give a fuck about anybody else.
Marty
Illegal fun. Under the sun.
You sent the maid home early like a thousand times before.
Did you feel like Jesus?
The kid will live and learn,
As he watches his bridges burn,
At the point of no return.
TomC
One of my all-time favorite songs. I wish I had the lyrics. (Liners ain't
the same since CD's)
TomC
Marcia wrote in message <65i58h$p...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>...
Noel St. John
jonathan shayne
We got provisions and lots of beer....the key word is survival on the
new frontier...
Well I can't wait till i move to the city
till i finally make up my mind..to learn design and study overseas...
John F.
'Did you feel like Jesus?. .Did you realize. .that you were a champion
in their eyes?'
TS188
>Walk around collecting dirt dish union dues
>they will call you sir and shine your shoes
The line is...Turkish Union Dues.....
Tim
Jon shayne
...won't you turn your radio down
respect the 7 second delay we use....
-The Nightfly from The Nightfly
-many othe great ones on this Fagan album!
Nucars
See the, see the glory of......of the Royal Scam."
Later fans, Cliff
"Ain't nothin like a brand nu car!!!"
SUPRDAVE
"I struck a match against the door of anthony's bar and grill.."
D.B. Young. Team OS/2!
-->this message printed on recycled disk space<--
/members.aol.com/suprdave/index.htm Best view with ANY browser!
all opinions expressed are patent pending
permanent member of the "panel of experts"
Jason A. Oliver
My favourite line:
"Boddhistatva, I'm honna sell mah house in town"
--
Some people point to conditions which exist and ask, "why?".
I think of possibilities which never existed and ask, "why not?".
R.F. Kennedy
Evan Sarzin
Becker Solo:
Whatever happened to my college belle?
When did she turn into the wife from Hell? - Cringemaker
I saw your old lady in the park today
The legendary smile is wearing thin
Behind that guessing game you make her play
Now that she knows that she can never win
I guess you're never gonna take her down
Down to the bottom of your little black heart
Lay with her naked on the cold hard ground
To watch the sun rise in the dopest part - down in the bottom
Joshua A. Rotunda
>Here's some more:
>
>I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have 8. (Does anyone know
>what this REALLY means?)
>
I believe this is referring to the width of the size size of the film the projectionist is
showing in "everyone's gone to the movies".
The girl is used to standard 16mm film or larger, not 8mm or super 8mm film, which I assume
the shady projectionist character is using.
At least I THINK this is what they mean!?
Jim Farmer
There are so many great ones, but I'd have to pick...
"You've been telling me you were a genius since you were 17. In all the
time I've known you, I still don't know what you mean."
and
"We'll jog with show folk on the sand, drink kirchwasser from a shell,
San Francisco show and tell."
Jim
Mick Jones
While I quite like the idea of "dirt dish union dues" I'm very sure that I hear
"Turkish union dues", which I imagine are close relations of our Fleet Street
print workers "old Spanish customs", vaguely illegal ways of accumulating
additional revenue.
Goombah Wahoo wrote:
> Buzz wrote in message <347C0065...@hotmail.com>...
> >
> >
> >Christopher Lampton wrote:
> >
> >> Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll
> heaven,
> >> let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
> >> from Steely Dan songs? (This can be not only a single line but also a
> >> couplet or even a quadruplet.) Here are some of mine (all from memory, so
> >> forgive the errors):
> >>
>
> Here's some more:
>
> Even Kathy Berbarian knows there's one roulade she can't sing
>
> Am I myself or just another freak
>
> Sure, he's a Jolly Roger, until he answers for his crime
>
> Before the fall when they wrote it on the wall,
> when there wasn't even any Hollywood
>
> That ditch out in the valley that they're digging just for me
> Yes I'm going insane
> And I'm laughing at the frozen rain
>
> Walk around collecting dirt dish union dues
> they will call you sir and shine your shoes
>
> Oh Michael, Oh Jesus, I'll keep my promise when
>
> I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have 8. (Does anyone know
> what this REALLY means?)
>
> (fagen solo) she's a concept more or less
>
> now your patrons have all left you in the red
> your low-rent friends are dead
>
> living hard will take its toll
>
> she said she loved me and was on her way
> singing "Voulez-voulez-voulez vous"
SteelyDann
>>
Before the fall when they wrote it on the wall,
when there wasn't even any Hollywood
<<
I always disliked this line....too "LA" and "showbiz-y" for me...
Jon S.
These are some of the most bizzare lyrics, I think, by SD:
"ease your head play pool in a patio chair,
try to design a postcard in your mind"
----"Let George do it" from the Early Years
GIGI
Isn't it "Sue me if I play it wrong"
Meaning he wrote it, its his song and his song to play wrong if choosen ???
Joe DiFrancesco <j...@interaccess.com> wrote in article
<347BBE...@interaccess.com>...
> "Sue me if I play too long"
> -Decon Blues
>
Tom Donovan
"With rage in your eyes,
And your megaphones"
Tom
Ian Ripsher
It's a glamour profession / the LA concession
While we're on the subject, don't you good US folk spell glamour without the
"u", ie glamor? I thought it strange that SD spelt it the British way, ie
glamour (cf colour, harbour etc) - or is glamour an exception to this rule?
Ian Ripsher
London, UK
SteelyDann wrote in message
<19971206232...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
SteelyDann
"Glamour" is an exeption to that rule..
Suzie-Q
Ian Ripsher wrote:
>
> It's a glamour profession / the LA concession
>
> While we're on the subject, don't you good US folk spell glamour without the
> "u", ie glamor? I thought it strange that SD spelt it the British way, ie
> glamour (cf colour, harbour etc) - or is glamour an exception to this rule?
Both are correct, according to my Webster's (American) Dictionary.
8^)~~
~~~~~ Sue
**************************************************************
(NOTE: To "reply," remove the x's in my e-mail address)
Visit me at: http://www.foto.infi.net/~suzanne
*************************************************************
Pat Guiney
btw, the reference to "8" and "16" in "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" means this:
the protagonist in the song is preparing to sexually abuse a child (everyone's gone
to the movies, now he-and the child-are alone at last). He plans to show the child
8 mm dirty movies ("his films in the den") while the rest of the world enjoys 16 mm
(or more-35, say) at the "movies".
Mick Jones wrote:
> While I quite like the idea of "dirt dish union dues" I'm very sure that I hear
> "Turkish union dues", which I imagine are close relations of our Fleet Street
> print workers "old Spanish customs", vaguely illegal ways of accumulating
> additional revenue.
>
> Goombah Wahoo wrote:
>
> > Buzz wrote in message <347C0065...@hotmail.com>...
> > >
> > >
> > >Christopher Lampton wrote:
> > >
> > >> Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll
> > heaven,
> > >> let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
> > >> from Steely Dan songs? (This can be not only a single line but also a
> > >> couplet or even a quadruplet.) Here are some of mine (all from memory, so
> > >> forgive the errors):
> > >>
> >
> > Here's some more:
> >
> > Even Kathy Berbarian knows there's one roulade she can't sing
> >
> > Am I myself or just another freak
> >
> > Sure, he's a Jolly Roger, until he answers for his crime
> >
> > Before the fall when they wrote it on the wall,
> > when there wasn't even any Hollywood
> >
HeMiola302
only women in cages can lay down...
Cloture140
>only women in cages can lay down...
The line is "only women in cages can Play down [the things they lose]."
-JSD
Sam Benedict
In article <19971214010...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
clotu...@aol.com (Cloture140) wrote:
My favorite line(s):
My back to the wall a victim of laughing chance,
This is for me the essence of true romance.
What a (news)group!
Mark
TheNi...@webtv.net
A tad bit depressing, but profound nevertheless- IMO, true genius.
"I think I'll find in my head what my heart is saying... A vision
of a child returning, a kingdom where the sky is burning- honey, I will
be there, yes I'll be there... Any world that I'm welcome to- is better
than the one I come from."
From "Any World That I'm Welcome To" off of Katy Lied
Company Mail
I always thought the lyrics to the Gaucho album were real killers, here
are some jewels
in Glamour Profession:
"Jack with his Radar, stalking the dread Moray eel, at the wheel with
his eurasian Bride"
in My Rival
"I've got detectives on his case, I know the whole charade,
he's got a scar upon his face, he wears a hearing aid"
and the sublime bathos of
"I struck a match against the door of Anthony's Bar and Grill"
private mail: mailto:brenna...@hotmail.com
Vinyltap
>My favorite line(s):
>My back to the wall a victim of laughing chance,
>This is for me the essence of true romance.
That one's ghost stuff like most of Aja is.
Cloture140
>That one's ghost stuff like most of Aja is.
Huh?
-JSD
Jeffrey Drury
"five names that I can hardly stand to hear
including yours and mine and one more chimp
who isn't here!"
Suzie-Q
I thought it was ...and one more chick who isn't here.
Sue
Jon S.
Try.....one more Chip (person's name) who isn't here.....
Cloture140
The "official" lyrics are "One more champ who isn't here," but I just don't buy
that. I think it's "chick."
-JSD
J. Sternberg
I always thought it was "one more chUmp" (as in slang for "jerk")
BTW I really enjoy this newsgroup, been lurking for a while
As long as I'm posting, one of my favorite SD tunes is "Time Out of Mind" (forget
which album)
Happy 1998 to all!
TomC
And I thought it was "Chip"! <g> Classic lyric regardless!
TomC
Suzie-Q wrote in message <34A29F...@photo.com>...
Suzie-Q
J. Sternberg wrote:
>
> As long as I'm posting, one of my favorite SD tunes is "Time Out of Mind" (forget
> which album)
Wasn't it on Gaucho? (I could go look, but I'm too lazy.)
8^)~~
~~~~~ Sue
**************************************************************
Note: To "reply," replace the ph in my addres with an f
Visit me at http://www.foto.infi.net/~suzanne
**************************************************************
andr...@netrox.net
What about:
I am holding the Mustical Sphere,
It's direct from Lhasa.
Where people are rolling in the snow,
far from the world we know.....
Ron Drake
Favorite line
"...Now your patrons have all left you in the red
Your low-rent friends are dead
This life can be very strange!
All those Day-Glo freaks who used to paint the face
They've joined the human race
Some things will never change..."
--"Kid Charlemagne"
Best fit between words and music:
"...As long as they play 'til dawn..."
--"FM"
Emotional impact: (two)
"Can't you hear the evil cry?
The lies and the laughter?
Here on the inside--the mechanized hum
Of another world
Where no sun is shining
No red lights flashing..."
--"Don't Take Me Alive"
AND
"...I cried when I wrote this song
Sue me if I play too long!
This brother is free;
I'll be what I want to be..."
--"Deacon Blues"
--
+++
Remove the dot and the name of the world's best programming
language to reach my return address. The SPAMMERS are onto
me again.
(Pascal)
Cloture140
Aye, 'twas on Gaucho.
-JSD
Vinyltap
>"...I cried when I wrote this song
>Sue me if I play too long!
>This brother is free;
>I'll be what I want to be..."
>--"Deacon Blues"
Did you ever notice that this line is referenced
on another tune, performed by Symbol Guy?
He sings:
"I was dreaming when I wrote this, so sue
me if it goes astray..."
Both numbers composed by the same ghosty.
Christopher Lampton
Vinyltap wrote in message
>Did you ever notice that this line is referenced
>on another tune, performed by Symbol Guy?
>He sings:
>"I was dreaming when I wrote this, so sue
>me if it goes astray..."
>
>Both numbers composed by the same ghosty.
Took me a minute to figure out who Symbol Guy was, though I'd long ago
noticed that reference in "1999". Not so sure about that ghost, though. Is
he the guy who writes the songs that <gag!> the whole world sings?
--Chris
Christopher Lampton
Vinyltap wrote in message <19971228003...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
>>>Not so sure about that ghost, though. Is he the guy who writes >>the
songs
>that <gag!> the whole world sings?
>
>Ha! Yeah....but they didn't write *that* one.
I'm guessing that they wrote all those dance songs circa 1960 that contained
the lyrics "Put your hands on your hip/Let your backbone slip". And every
song with a reference to Johnny B. Goode in it.
--Chris
p.s. Not to mention George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and the Beach Boys'
"Surfin' USA"...but we won't get into that.
Christopher Lampton
Vinyltap wrote in message <19971228025...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
>No, the writer I know of started around 1975.
Personally, I think this sounds like a crackpot conspiracy theory straight
out of the X-Files, but feel free to prove me wrong!
--Chris
p.s. The only "ghosts" I know about are William Goldman and John Millius --
and they don't do rock lyrics.
Vinyltap
>Did you ever notice that this line is referenced
>on another tune, performed by Symbol Guy?
>He sings:
>"I was dreaming when I wrote this, so sue
>me if it goes astray..."
>
>Both numbers composed by the same ghosty.
>>Took me a minute to figure out who Symbol Guy was, though >>I'd long ago
noticed that reference in "1999".
Oh, good to know that somebody's awake out there!
Vinyltap
>sing that they wrote all those dance songs circa 1960 that >contained the
lyrics "Put your hands on your hip/Let your >backbone slip". And every song
with a reference to Johnny B. >Goode in it.
No, the writer I know of started around 1975.
Vinyltap
>No, the writer I know of started around 1975.
>Personally, I think this sounds like a crackpot conspiracy theory >straight
out of the X-Files, but feel free to prove me wrong!
Well, to a degree I can't say that you're wrong.
This definitely should sound like a crackpot conspiracy
theory. But that's really great in a way.
See, everybody always is so negative about pop music
and always gripes about how bad it's been.
It's nice to know that there are still some secrets.
If people knew the stuff that's gone on and the games
that were played to keep pop going they'd likely
have a moose! Anyhow, no, do not believe anything
I say. I believe this stuff myself, but you are free to
be more rational.
Christopher Lampton
Vinyltap wrote in message <19971228045...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
>Well, to a degree I can't say that you're wrong.
>This definitely should sound like a crackpot conspiracy
>theory. But that's really great in a way.
Damn, just when I decide that you're crazy, you make a rational comment. Cut
that out!
>See, everybody always is so negative about pop music
>and always gripes about how bad it's been.
>It's nice to know that there are still some secrets.
>If people knew the stuff that's gone on and the games
>that were played to keep pop going they'd likely
>have a moose!
I occasionally use mousse. And have nothing against Antlered Americans (or
Antlered Canadians, depending on which side of the border they're visiting).
>Anyhow, no, do not believe anything
>I say. I believe this stuff myself, but you are free to
>be more rational.
Another sign of sanity. Couldn't you be a little more unreasonable, so that
I could flame you? Not that I'll flame anyone between Christmas and New
Years (or during Festivus).
--Chris
p.s. You should, however, supply some details. Or be dismissed as an Agent
Provocateur (pardon my French, but it goes with the mousse and the Canadian
references).
Cloture140
Please, don't let's start a flame war.
-JSD
Christopher Lampton
Vinyltap wrote in message <19971229015...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
>No, I'm not looking for a flame.
>Thanks for the warning.
>If you're starting to lose it I'll go elswhere
>to have fun.
Nah, my tongue was completely in my cheek when I wrote that. I never flame
anybody. At least, not that I can remember. <g>
--Chris
Vinyltap
>Another sign of sanity. Couldn't you be a little more >unreasonable, so that I
could flame you? Not that I'll flame >anyone between Christmas and New Years
(or during Festivus).
No, I'm not looking for a flame.
Thanks for the warning.
If you're starting to lose it I'll go elswhere
to have fun.
It is really rough, nobody has to tell me.
Anything that challenges the common perception
of what's fed to us by the media or music industry
or whatever can totally freak people out.
Happened to me too many times for my liking.
Really viscious when that kind of power gets abused.
Depending on what you believe.
Marcia
I have read this whole thread and never thought there was any real flaming
going on - kinda enjoyed the conversations!!!
Christopher Lampton wrote in message <6870p0$8h$1...@winter.news.erols.com>...
>Vinyltap wrote in message
<19971229015...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
>
>>No, I'm not looking for a flame.
>>Thanks for the warning.
>>If you're starting to lose it I'll go elswhere
>>to have fun.
>
Christopher Lampton
Marcia wrote in message <68eg69$p...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
>I have read this whole thread and never thought there was any real flaming
>going on - kinda enjoyed the conversations!!!
Whew! Thanks! I was afraid I'd said something _really_ nasty! Hope I didn't
scare VinylTap away. I want to hear more about that ghostie, even if it
registers a clear 90% on my skepticism meter.
Meanwhile, as Symbol Guy might say, I'm gonna party like it's 1998!
--Chris
Christopher Lampton
Vinyltap wrote in message <19980105014...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
>I'm not so on top of the chronology of the Steely Dan
>releases, but generally they had their run from the
>early seventies through around seventy-five.
...
>So what happens next? Out of their back pocket they
>pull an ace. A monster album that has absolutely no
>real connection to the previous releases and it
>sells about ten million copies.
Interesting theory (most of which I've snipped, to leave room for my
response). It's true that there was a dramatic shift in the Steely Dan
"sound" (not to mention a two-year delay) between The Royal Scam (1976) and
Aja (1978). But much of the difference seems to be a matter of production:
The last two SD albums were, in many ways, overproduced and Muzak-y, though
the Becker & Fagen sensibility still comes through quite powerfully. My take
is that they wanted to move on and maybe make some serious money.
Similar shifts have occurred in the work of other performers. For instance,
The Beatle's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. (Some people claimed
that this was because "Paul was dead".) And Billy Joel's The Stranger, where
he went from folk rocker to lite rocker, with more than a little help from
Phil Ramone.
It's not surprising that there would be some references to Steely Dan's
music in later compositions, like those by Prince...er, Symbol Guy. I'm
rather surprised that there aren't more than there are.
--Chris
Vinyltap
>I have read this whole thread and never thought there was any real flaming
>going on - kinda enjoyed the conversations!!!
>>Whew! Thanks! I was afraid I'd said something _really_ nasty! >>Hope I didn't
scare VinylTap away. I want to hear more about >>that ghostie, even if it
registers a clear 90% on my skepticism >>meter.
Now a 90% disbelief factor here isn't much to go on
but just generally speaking...
The same way that you can inherently recognize the
connection or reference to Deacon Blues in the tune
that Symbol Guy does, though that connection is never
spoken of in the press, you can also analyze the Aja
project itself.
I'm not so on top of the chronology of the Steely Dan
releases, but generally they had their run from the
early seventies through around seventy-five.
Some of the projects may have been stronger than others
but generally this was a very strong body of work.
Also these records were made during a rather turbulent
time in american history. Viet Nam, Nixon...the whole
pile of you-know-what. I don't know what the last
pre-Aja album was, but it was a quite safe bet that after
that one that Steely Dan was pretty much done.
The period of time in which they existed and drew their
inspiration was over and things were changing.
So what happens next? Out of their back pocket they
pull an ace. A monster album that has absolutely no
real connection to the previous releases and it
sells about ten million copies. Now right away you
*know* that these guys never made albums that
would sell a tenth that much! And as I say, it has no
musical connection to the previous albums. It wont
fit in with them no matter how hard it tries.
Dave Scherman
Vinyltap wrote in message <19980105014...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
>I don't know what the last
>pre-Aja album was, but it was a quite safe bet that after
>that one that Steely Dan was pretty much done.
>The period of time in which they existed and drew their
>inspiration was over and things were changing.
>So what happens next? Out of their back pocket they
>pull an ace. A monster album that has absolutely no
>real connection to the previous releases and it
>sells about ten million copies
I think The Royal Scam was the album before Aja.
My take is that all along the Dan (a talented bunch in whatever form it was
to take at any given time) was growing musically, and also solidifying it's
connections within the L.A. music heavies. The Doobie Brothers were hugely
successful with What a Fool Believes & other singles from that album and
time period, and Skunk Baxter got his foot in the door as a producer and
engineer. The addition of Michael McDonald's voice was almost a surefire
guarantee of success for anybody, and the Dan got him in on the project.
Also, a lot of money was coming into LA, and recording technology was
improving dramatically. So through a variety of circumstances, Aja showed a
new Steely Dan, more musically and technically adept by a large factor than
the previous incarnation. They took every advantage of all the doors open to
them and made an exquisite album, which for me doesn't detract at all from
their previous work. The next album, Gaucho, was sonically brilliant as
well, but my taste was veering toward punk at the time and Gaucho was a
little laid back for me. In hindsight, I like it very much, but Aja was
truly groundbreaking.
Vinyltap
>My take is that all along the Dan (a talented bunch in whatever >form it was
to take at any given time) was growing musically, and >also solidifying it's
connections within the L.A. music heavies. >The Doobie Brothers were hugely
successful with What a Fool >Believes & other singles from that album and time
period, and >Skunk Baxter got his foot in the door as a producer and
>engineer. The addition of Michael McDonald's voice was almost >a surefire
guarantee of success for anybody, and the Dan got >him in on the project. Also,
a lot of money was coming into LA, >and recording technology was improving
dramatically. So >through a variety of circumstances, Aja showed a
>new Steely Dan, more musically and technically adept by a large >factor than
the previous incarnation. They took every >advantage of all the doors open to
them and made an exquisite >album, which for me doesn't detract at all from
>their previous work. The next album, Gaucho, was sonically >brilliant as well,
but my taste was veering toward punk at the time >and Gaucho was a little laid
back for me. In hindsight, I like it >very much, but Aja was truly
groundbreaking.
It may have been groundbreaking, but the next album,
Goucho (Marx?) was the last one, right? Then Fagen
kept trying to clone Aja (which is what Goucho esentially is)
and get a solo career out of it.
It's actually tough to interpret what you're saying above
because it's not so clear if you're talking about Scam
or Aja. Seems McDonald only appears on a couple of
Aja's scant seven tracks and that Baxter wasn't even
allowed in the studio door. Also, the Doobies weren't
any more or less successful, generally, than Steely Dan
was during both bands original span. From what I recall,
"What a Fool,'" was a hit well after even Aja's success
had long since peaked.
I'm not saying that Aja detracts from previous Dan
releases or that it's better or worse. I'm just saying
that it doesn't fit. The writing style is just completely
different. It's almost a deliberate parody.
And you have to look real close to recognize that.
You also sort of have to be into this sort of thing and
this type of analysis of writing styles. In order to see
the differences I'm mentioning you have to look at these
projects almost as a linguist would. 'Cause you can bet
it's a subtle distinction.
verkuilen john v
viny...@aol.com (Vinyltap) writes:
[snip]
>It may have been groundbreaking, but the next album,
>Goucho (Marx?) was the last one, right? Then Fagen
>kept trying to clone Aja (which is what Goucho esentially is)
>and get a solo career out of it.
GAUCHO is Spanish for cowboy. GROUCHO was the Marx brother.
>I'm not saying that Aja detracts from previous Dan
>releases or that it's better or worse. I'm just saying
>that it doesn't fit. The writing style is just completely
>different. It's almost a deliberate parody.
>And you have to look real close to recognize that.
Please elucidate.
>You also sort of have to be into this sort of thing and
>this type of analysis of writing styles. In order to see
>the differences I'm mentioning you have to look at these
>projects almost as a linguist would. 'Cause you can bet
>it's a subtle distinction.
Ah, that explains it! My general impression of analysis of writing styles
is that it's usually done to support an ad hoc position short on evidence
and long on assertion.
Aja seems to me to be a pretty clear evolution of their writing. Of course
it's not the same, especially since Don and Walt invested a lot more
time and effort in studiocraft and Aja is quite polished. But it has a lot of
the same elements as their other music run forward several years and factoring
in other elements of the musical climate--new technology, different players
around, etc. The jazz elements of their playing are more overt and the songs
are more structured compositionally and less "cranked" but then again 1977
was less "cranked" (in LA studioland, anyway--not in Manchester, London, or
NY, though :) than 1973 and I would expect them to, at least in part, reflect
the tenor of their times.
Occam's Razor is just as good a guide in interpretive activities as in
science and philosophy.
--
J. Verkuilen ja...@uiuc.edu
"Things are not as bad as they seem, they are worse than that. They are also
better than that. We do not see life as it is, but as we perceive it to be."
--Robert Fripp
F.Hughes
Hello everyone! This is my first posting to this newsgroup.
Here are my current favourite lines...
"I have seen you iron and your brass,
can't you see it shine behind the glass."
"All night long,
we would sing that stupid song.
And every word we sang I knew was true"
"Lonnie swept the playroom,
and he swallowed up all he found,
it was 48 hours till Lonnie came around"
The lyrics to "Any Major Dude" (I just coudn't split this song!)
-Frank.
rdny...@gmail.com
Dannyboy95
> Oh, okay, before this group completely dies and goes to rock & roll heaven,
> let me suggest another list thread. What are some of your favorite lines
> from Steely Dan songs? (This can be not only a single line but also a
> couplet or even a quadruplet.) Here are some of mine (all from memory, so
> forgive the errors):
> "This highway runs to Paraguay and I've just come all the way."
> "Assassins, cons and rapers. Might as well die!"
> "You walked in, and my life began again, just when I'd spent the last
> piaster I could borrow."
> "Memory, wash over me, as I step into the sun."
> "Here in this darkness, I see all at once, I know all at once, who I am."
> "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening."
> "Double helix in the sky tonight, blow out the hardware, let's do it right!"
> "Like a sunday in TJ, that it's cheap but it's not free."
> "I believed that I was dreaming, then the neighbors came out screaming."
> Man, I could keep on going for a while!
> --Chris
I'm a 28 year old Australian and I discovered songs like Peg, Reelin, My Old School and Hey 19, I would then go onto bit by bit become acquainted with their whole catalogue, every album uniquely brilliant, I only discovered two against nature two months ago and find it astounding how good this album is despite the long gap between producing records.
Some of my lines:
"I'm a bookkeeper's son, I dont wanna shoot know one".
"Tonight when I chase the dragon, the water may change to cherry wine, and the silver will turn to gold".
"You call me a fool, you say it's a crazy scheme, well this ones for real I already bought the dream".
"We will spend a dizzy weekend smacked into a trance".
"That right wing hooey sure stunk up the joint".
"shining your japan, sparkling your china".
"With nothing to do but feed on a kangaroo".
"he's gotta scar across his face, he wears a hearing aide".
"it's your favourite foreign movie".
"I never knew you were a roller skater".