I was expecting the haters to come out in droves when I began quietly, tentatively admitting that I've been on a Steely Dan kick of late. But no! Everyone I've mentioned it to is either fully in support of the kick or on one of their own. (Well, except for GH, who suggested I need some Zeppelin therapy, which, all things considered, I'm not really in a position to deny.) So c'mon, all the rest of y'all--who's harboring some secret love for the Dan? Even the hipsters at Stereogum were showing some love for Aja (my current album of choice) this week, and a few simple Google searches will reveal that some of my favorite indie dudes, namely John Darnielle, Chris Walla, and Travis Morrison, don't hesitate to cite Becker and Fagen's influential awesomeosity.
Not that I mean to mention them in the same breath or anything, but as for other bands that sometimes get unfairly hated on, I'm glad to see that, with the impending release of their sophomore disk Without Feathers, the Stills are getting some positive blog write-ups and some retroactive "but, their first album is way better than a buncha people gave it credit for!" love. I've been a fan of the band since Giddy and I saw them blow the roof off the Riv opening for Interpol in the fall of '03, and I was actually just listening to Logic Will Break Your Heart on the train this morning. I never fail to be impressed by how very good it is.
Sufjan, despite his recent New Pantheon win for Illinois, still wasn't man enough to tackle the motherfucking Dan Ryan in song, although there are some offensively feeble attempts at poetics over here. ("There is a way out. Reroute!" Are you fucking kidding me?) (Via.) Commuters, it was nice knowin' ya.
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3 comments:
I will admit to really liking "East St Louis Toodle-Oo," but that's it.
Zep rules, dude.
Oh man, I had to sit through the horribly grating Elefant as the opener for Interpol in 2003.
I don't have much opinion on Stelly Dan except that it's cool they took their name from the giant dildo in Naked Lunch.
I'm proud to say there are two big Steely Dan fans in our home. It might have taken me several years to appreciate their innovative and rhythmically complex tunes as much as the Tedster, but I'm there now. We take the Dan with us on every road trip. Even woke up the Dan this a.m. I'm proud to say. A little Dan never hurt.
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