I want to take some time to explain why Pretzel Logic is the title of my blog. In order to do this, I’m introducing what I hope will become a recurring column here, a little something I call…Who’s Simon Defending Now?
Hooray. Who’s Simon Defending Now? will be where I wax poetic about artists, particularly older ones, who I feel don’t get enough credit from people my age. Since music history is essentially my great passion in life, I think older artists and their legacies are fascinating. Besides, this gives Pretzel Logic something else to do besides yammer and drool about the latest underground phenom bands (something I’ve seen a few other blogs do far too much). Steely Dan are an obvious choice for my first Defending piece, since A) I love them, B) few people I know under the age of 40 agree with me and C) my blog is named after one of their albums. However, before I begin, I encourage everyone to read this: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/donald_fagen_defends_steely_dan_to
That Onion piece is the perfect example of a conversation I’ve had with dozens of people. Defending Steely Dan to “the young folks” means you’re always starting at a disadvantage. I mean, this is “parent music”, right? Not to mention there’s that dread word, “jazz rock,” hanging over everything. And just like Donald Fagen says in the Onion article, at first, I thought the Dan was pretty unbearable. But oh how things have changed.
First, some misconceptions about the Dan:
A) Steely Dan is one guy.
By now, most people know this is bullshit, but I still run into people who think this every once and a while. Steely Dan is essentially two people, vocalist/keyboardist Donald Fagan and bassist/guitarist Walter Becker. Their early albums had a more-or-less steady band to back them up, but as the 70s went on, they chose to surround themselves with as many mind-blowing studio musicians as they could.
B) If it’s two guys, why did they name themselves Steely Dan?
Being snarky students at Bard College, they got the name Steely Dan from William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. It’s the name of a futuristic dildo. C’mon, you’ve got to admit that’s kind of awesome. Think about all the happy, yuppie couples who danced to music in the 70s named after dildos.
C) Steely Dan is boring.
This brings me to my main point. The biggest obstacle to true Dan appreciation is getting past the surface of the songs. It’s true, to a casual listener, Dan songs sound unbearably smooth and slick, with no edge to them at all. As the Onion pointed out, Fagen and Becker slaved to get their records to sound that way. But I’m not going to talk about the production values, as incredible as they are. Instead, I want to talk about lyrics.
I’m paraphrasing Chuck Klosterman when I say that Steely Dan’s lyrics were more subversive than anything any of the punk bands were saying in the late 70s. Case in point: the song “Everyone’s Gone To The Movies”, from the Dan’s 1975 album Katy Lied, featuring “Mr. LaPage”, who shows kids “movies” in his den. Let’s look at these lyrics:
Soon you will be eighteen
I think you know what I mean
Don’t tell your mama or daddy or mama
They’ll never know where you been
So yeah…not exactly innocent, is it? But the genius of the song is that it sounds absolutely ridiculous! It’s got a sort of Caribbean feel to it, with some steel drums, bongos and a hilarious saxophone riff weaving around. You can totally dance to this song, especially if you’re a middle-aged white person. Except, you’d be dancing to song that’s almost about statutory rape. And how would you feel about that?
The Dan has dozens of songs like this, where they hide wry, sarcastic commentary beneath a polished veneer of jazz-rock. “Deacon Blues” is about a kid who falls too far into the jazz myth, drinking “Scotch whiskey all night long” and dying “behind the wheel”. “King Of The World” could be a scene from I Am Legend, in which our heroic narrator is the last person alive on Earth following a nuclear disaster, broadcasting hopelessly on his “old HAM radio.” Finally, my blog’s namesake song, “Pretzel Logic”, could be about literally anything, with references to “minstrel shows” and “Napoleon.” My favorite theory says it’s about time travel.
I’m not saying I think everyone should force themselves to become Dan fans. All I want is for people to acknowledge the depth behind their music. So many of my friends dismiss the Dan’s music right off the bat, assuming it’s MOR 70s jazz-rock indulgence. And while that’s not exactly completely false, that’s only the surface layer. Fagen and Becker are two dudes who are far too smart and they hide a shitload of sarcasm and bitterness in their lyrics. You just have to dig a bit to find it all. My suggestion is to get a hold of the Dan’s 1973 album, Countdown To Ecstasy, by far their most rocking album, and give the songs a good listen. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
I'll admit that this is the most compelling argument I've read in favor of the Dan. But as someone who's actually listened to them (thanks to my father incidentally), I still don't care for them. I do have to give them props for directly referencing a Burroughs novel though. That is pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteAja is also a fucking sweet album. "Drink your big black cow and get out of here"
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