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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Steely Dan

  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #25: Gentlemen Prefer Blondie

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    STEELY DAN  “Peg” b/w “I Got The News” (ABC Records #12320, September 1977)

    As much as I love lo-fi bands that can’t play their instruments, I also go totally Star Trek for impeccably-produced prog and jazz acts with serious chops and boss material.  No American duo better encompassed this phenomenon, mixing in plenty of post-’60’s LA-outsider snark while at it, than Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, the core of Steely Dan.  Nevermind the details, “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” was hands-down the soundtrack to the summer of 1974, as I flailed apeshit on a rented raft with a snow-cone down at Oscar’s Beach on any given sun-soaked Saturday.  I can still smell the seaweed and coconut oil.  And I can remember staying up past midnight on a school night in late ’77, just to catch a special radio broadcast of their new LP, Aja, played front-to-back with no commercials.

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    It all seemed so “adult” then, so mature…like I was peeking into a world I wasn’t supposed to see yet.  Maybe it was the somewhat sexy subject matter.  Or maybe I was just happy to hear something other than “Hotel California” on the radio.  Either way, I completely flipped over “Peg,” Aja‘s first single, much to the dismay of nearly everyone around me.  This 30-plus-year-old track is now a LiteFM staple the world over, so I don’t need to play it for you, but behold this incredible “behind-the-scenes” clip from YouTube.  Thoroughly entertaining.

    Watch The Making Of Steely Dan\’s PEG on YouTube

    That swing-poppin’ Rick Marotta/Chuck Rainey rhythm section, Jay Graydon’s Sol Hoopii-on-shrooms guitar slides, a mountain of Michael McDonaldses…no nerds on Earth could resist.  And resist they didn’t, as Aja sold millions and “Peg” spent 11 weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #11 first week of January.   1978 turned out to be a banner year for The Dan, as they placed two other tracks from Aja, plus their classic theme from the not-so-classic movie, FM, in the Top 40 by the time school was back in session in September.  And you said you were never going back there.

    “I Got The News,” a pumping, pulsating, and very funky album track (featuring a smattering of Larry Carlton and a smidge more Mike McDonald), rounds out this single’s B-side.  Listening to Aja today, it seems very brief, with a total of 7 songs clocking in at just a hair past 40 minutes.  Today’s magnum over-70 minute CD opuses and infinite MP3 playlists dwarf it by comparison, but quality over quantity is what makes The Dan great, and Aja a timeless (and heavily sampled) classic.

    Oh, and just for fun, here’s a link to one of my all-time favorite internet time-wasters, The Steely Dan Dictionary.

    NEXT WEEK: All I want is your extra time and your…uh…something…

  • Kanye West’s “Champion” Video: Kanye The Muppet?

    Yes, Kanye West can be obnoxious. Yes, he can be annoying. But you are in serious denial if you don’t admit that he is one of the most talented, creative and fearless artists in current hip-hop. You know how most artists taste a little success and water their down sound to achieve more of it? Kanye’s done the opposite, as his sound has developed significantly from the familiar sped-up soul samples that created the sound behind 2004’s “The College Dropout”.

    So of course, his latest single, “Champion” uses a sped-up sample, right? Taking a fair chunk of Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” (and crediting Donald Fagen & Walter Becker as the sole composers of “Champion”), the song works the familiar inspirational vibe that you’re already familiar with from songs like “Touch the Sky”. It’s actually one of the more average songs on the fairly excellent “Graduation” LP.

    However, this video is a riot. Featuring a puppet version of Kanye racing in the Olympics, it’s topically current and inventive enough that it would be enjoyable even if we weren’t right in the middle of the 2008 ceremonies. As obnoxious and self-righteous as many folks take Kanye for, you’ve gotta give the guy props for at least being able to laugh at himself, something you don’t see too much of in modern-day hip hop. This is one of those videos that makes me enjoy the song even more.