A: Jimmy Carl Black, The Indian of the Group

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So I am by no means a big fan of Steely Dan -- pleasant music, inoffensive, doesn't do much for me, but doesn't bother me either -- but I've enjoyed their extra-musical sardonic smartassery for a few years now. As when they were inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and used their "acceptance speech" time to throw out some "important questions" to the audience to be answered.

(#1: "Who was the first drummer with The Mothers of Invention?")

Somehow though, their deadpan humor just seems to confuse people, as with a current document up on their website:



Open Letter to the Great Comic Actor Luke Wilson

Which is being taken as a serious (even legal) demand in some internet quarters, or at least as an example of the "unhinged-ness" of Becker and Fagen.

Is it that subtle, for god's sake?

Comments

Could this be where our musical tastes diverge?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm a big Dan-fan, though I really only got into them after they reformed in the early 90's. Prior to that, of course, I had heard all of their radio hits a million times in the 70's. I'm not much of a fan of most of the stuff after Fagen's "Nightfly," in particular his recent solo effort and the 2 most recent Dan albums. I always enjoy perusing their website, and reading the various writing therein. The Luke Wilson letter, though, seems fairly predictable, and goes on way too long. I much prefer reading minute details of their legendary studio perfectionism, what vintage synths they can't stand, how they re-hire first-call studio cats to re-record parts of songs they already recorded, etc. Regarding Zappa and SD, I believe the Citizen Steely Dan box set booklet has a blurb from Frank, who derided them with the phrase, "downer surrealism," which was a surprise to me.--TXC

Re: Could this be where our musical tastes diverge?

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TXC -

I think our tastes diverge already more than a bit when it comes to King Crimson -- I like the Fripp/Belew/Bruford/Levin KC, but not really anything that comes before, and as I discovered recently when moving everything from CD to iTunes, I don't even like as much of that period Crim as I used to.

However, seeing your show Can't Get Started made me drag out my carefully plastic-bagged copies of Fripp's "Guitar Craft Manifestos" from the late 80s. Rereading them I can see, a) What a huge influence they've been on me, and, b) How fucking pretentious they are. Glad to revisit them, though.

I've never really given Steely Dan much of a chance, I think, and need to hear more (I once thought of them as being in the same vein as The Eagles, until my dad set me straight). I thought I read Zappa complimenting them on their musicianship someplace, which isn't necessarily a full-out "complement" from him. One of FZ's YCDTOSA live comps features Zappa singing a bit of "Rikki, Don't Lose That Number" in a sardonic voice over the outchorus of one of his own songs (don't remember which), so who knows what that crotchety old bastard really thought.

Long or not, I dig the Luke Wilson letter, but now, thanks to you, I see a lot more interesting writing at their website. Great. Have to bookmark THAT now and look in from time to time.