These guys aren’t cool. I can relate. Soul nourishing stuff. Admire their musical sophistication, become languid at the sound of their craftmanship…. And guess what? Scotty J From their own book, REELING IN THE YEARS: “If, upon finishing a song, we didn’t return to the hotel and roar with laughter, there was a failure somewhere.” This I liked. They should really get over themselves. BTW, I just read your “please read my diary” section. I’m glad I love them now. It’s like that painting, I think called “The Tempest” or “The Storm”, with the perfect looking boy and girl running from a storm. There is so much great new music there to explore for the first time. Crack a beer, throw some shit on the grill, and put on “Can’t Buy a Thrill”. I respect them, I completely understand that the quality of their stuff is first-rate, but… well…. Limiting yourself to one genre is kind of depressing really. Each word drips with a cool wry irony, their songs dealing with the shady oddballs on the fringes of society rather than the typical love and heartbreak imagery pop so often resorts to. I haven’t been that excited about new music that much other than Jason Isbell. You may also dig this band too…A title dusting of Fagen & Becker. And leave him lying in the rain? I love Van Morrison. It was just uncool to like them. Why? 12:30 pm. And die behind the wheel. Whatever. Also, they have a million session musicians, I mean it’s overkill. Tight might be the best description. They played music that top Nashville session players admired. The best bands will have thier fare share of ‘haters’. My parents always respected my room when I was a kid and I can't seem to find an explanation for it. As a musician, their songs are lessons in contemporary harmony. A lot of their music…. 45 Comments. So I can absolutely love Steely Dan and Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac and Waylon Jennings and Keith Whitley and Sidney Bechet. Great drums. Now there is much more at stake than “getting the story to work.” Suddenly the only thing that matters is that emotional attachment. A Steely Dan song is anything but repetious they certainly are like no other band and thier songs are not like another of thier songs. Those crazy cluster chords and voicings, dense vocal harmonies, jazzy modality, and a general dismissal of pop convention. 7:18 am. Steely Dan does suck. 1:41 pm, Maybe not one of my favorite bands, but the Dan had some songs I like — including the ones mentioned in the article, plus “Reelin’ in the Years,” “Rikki, Don’t Lose That Number,” “My Old School,” “Hey, Nineteen,” and “Cousin Dupree” (from the Grammy-winning ‘Two Against Nature’). More precisely, I don’t love them, and that’s what I think I’m getting at here. Anyway, good for you. I know exactly what u mean about not getting any emotional rewards from listening to them, but what bands do you listen to that get u satisfied. Just my theory but I think it is common with someone like Steely Dan. Personally, I love it. For some odd reason, their “music” seems to stir up a certain type of person, where they gloat about being in this exclusive club of shitty music, and smug self satisfaction. (No Static At All)”. People fagen or Becker knew? I mean, they’re good but I don’t like them. Why are they even being played on the classic rock station? 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Their recordings are awesome! Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were known for their perfectionism. I like progressive and I like complicated. So just say you don’t like them and move on. Steely Dan is an artist I can’t stand. To me, it sounds good, like something that would tear me away from a conversation just to listen more closely – every time. Netflix has documentaries with critical commentary and vintage performance footage. Help us reach 200K subscribers [https://goo.gl/qbsngH]BipolarBear's fresh music:Unknown Brain - Why Do I? 8:08 pm, that’s too harsh, but it’s true they had their straw men and boogeymen, just like ginger, Flying J Right? Steely Dan is a weird band. But there is one good thing about Steely Dan fanboys and girls, they get so buthurt and angry when you call it like it is…Steely Dan is fucking lame, and they reflect your lame tastes. They were the smartasses in the back of class who made wisecracks, but in their case, they really were smarter than the teacher. This is the music you hear in frat houses when the brothers are trying to put on a sophisticated air–a modern day equivalent of putting on Hefner-style dressing gowns and smoking pipes. Great setlist, tight band and a soundman who knew his stuff. Loathe them to the point that the first note of any Steely Dan song causes me to flip up from XM46 to XM49 and whatever is on there. ( Log Out /  I … September 5, 2017 @ It is fine to respect and admire something, but that is not enough anymore. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. 1:52 pm. Another way to think about it is: Steely Dan is for music what ‘The Office’ and ‘curb’ are for comedy. September 6, 2017 @ Maybe you had a sense that behind the scenes, among the population of musicians themselves, there was a much higher regard for Steely Dan because of the way they were able to slither complexity into pop and rock music in a way that allowed the population to be receptive to it. Part of their charm is that they have a somewhat limited audience. I'm legitimately curious. They were like The Band. September 5, 2017 @ Also I entirely agree with Robb that it is often hard to make an emotional connection to the music. Adult ADHD Symptoms Does it take you forever to make a doctor’s appointment, clean out your garage, or do your taxes? They would bring in separate groups of session players so they could hear different interpretations of the music. If you looked at my music collection, you’d expect to see them. September 29, 2019 @ And so the legacy of Steely Dan was cemented for millions of Americans through the classic rock radio format, whether you grew up listening to the records when they were first released, or got introduced to the band later in life. I find it very annoying, and his odd vocal mannerisms make me want to throw stuff against the wall. If your life’s purpose is to throw up the devil horns every chance you get, when a song like Steely Dan’s “Peg” comes on, you don’t know what to do with yourself. If it’s well crafted, I feel it’s been crafted to piss me off. Btw I found this page by googling I HATE STEELY DAN. I’m not defending anyone in particular. I’ll play just what I feel but no, even though the musicians were great and even though those SD guys have some great beats and fascinating musical arrangements and melodies and their albums are beautifully produced my own personal hell would be a locked room with the Steely Dan discography stuck on a loop. A total product of the 70s…selfish, pretentious, faux-worldly. I will admit it: I loathe Steely Dan. And just to get this on the record, yes, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were the frontmen of Steely Dan, but the musicians they had with them came from a wide swath of the L.A. session mafia of the 1970s, including Michael McDonald (of the Doobie Brothers), drummer Rick Marotta, and keyboardist Don Grolnick (the latter two of whom worked with Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt), to name just three. So I find that by December 26th, I am … It’s trojan horse music. RIP, Walter Becker….. Mark Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. September 5, 2017 @ Look, Steely Dan is not for everyone. Because of thier unique flavor and vibe to someone will be like petting a cat backwards to another. Then came Aja. i dont like Steely Dan either, but my boyfriend loves them… I have tried to listen to them to understand n get into that space my boyfriend is in but it’s not going to happen… I do like the song Peg… but that’s as far as it goes for me…. September 5, 2017 @ You owed him money but you gave him something more September 5, 2017 @ Yes, they are able to proficiently play their instruments and keep time. You are right. There is plenty for me to respect and admire in Steely Dan, plenty for me to like, but, try as I have all these years, I never find anything there to love. September 5, 2017 @ So… what exactly do I do with these new revelations? I definitely should like them, but… I don’t. Packed house. Music is my life. Without some kind of explanation, I just have to consider the last post to be trolling. 10:27 am. Why do you think this is? Just listening to that saxophone ending the verses of “Peg” evokes a certain feeling that isn’t pleasant. It makes me suspect that I am the one missing the boat. Does that make it mainstream now? Some of my friends don’t like it and i understand, its complex with lots of metaphors and that’s difficult for people. Ya buys ya ticket…. I didn’t understand the dan for a while. Also, to tell the truth Donald Fagen’s voice always grated with me. You’re allowed. I’m not saying all corporate crap is bad, but this is polished nonsense. Comedian Al Murray travels to some of England's nearest neighbours to explore some of their gripes with the English, with … Between the lines in some of the comments i suspect plain snobbery or hipsterism is the basis of their supposed taste. Six String Richie Saw them back in 2001 at what is now KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pa. Tame, tepid, lukewarm and never dangerous. And, until recently, that has never been a requirement for me. Look, Steely Dan is not for everyone. And to LOVE them. I think they’re a group that some people who know me as a rootsy/rock music enthusiast would be surprised to find how much I love them, but I think that’s because of how they’ve classified/written off as soulless jazz pop by so many. 11:38 am. I **cking hated Steely dan when i was growing up and thought they sucked and if music wasn’t heavy and rocking out, it was worthless. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! I liked the sound of Steely Dan way before I knew the back-story to their situation or owned their records OR even completely linked all the pieces to the same band. Don’t worry if they’re great, you agree, and you don’t like them. I also like lyrics, but I’ve come to the understanding that I don’t care about the message if the music is bad. || That weird, airless, seventies sterility. 1:23 am. There is no rage, anger or sadness in any of their songs. How much Steely Dan do you own? 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