speed of dark

I am not a fan of jazz. Too much of it just sounds like aimless noodling to me...but then there's Steely Dan. I can't resist that slick and shiny sound they seemed to have down perfectly from their very first LP. I think the jazz gets by me in their musicbecause the songs conform to basic rock song structure.

I'm not going to go into the long history and discography of Donald Fagan and Walter Becker and all the studio musicians that have contributed to their vision. There are plenty of places to read about that. I only want to talk about my take on Countdown To Ecstasy, one of my favorite albums of all time.

It was only Steely Dan's second full-length record, coming on the heels of the very successful first LP Can't Buy a Thrill. It was not as successful as the first, and Becker and Fagan have contributed that to what they felt was the rushed circumstances under which they recorded the album.

I think I liked it better because it wasn't as popular. I am contrary that way. Also, I think people have to think a little bit more in order to get into it, and most of the public doesn't like to do that. If they had thought about it, they might not have liked the subject matter.

This album is a commentary on Western culture's spiritual shallowness and the value it puts on material wealth. It pokes a sharp stick at money-grubbing commercialism and the things people will do to fill the emptiness that remains after they've sold their souls. These are my interpretations. The beauty of great art is that what I think may be different from what someone else thinks, and neither of us are wrong.

These tracks are recovered from my vinyl LP, which I took very good care of. The results are not too bad, especially as samples.

Start with the cover, where blobby, naked figures lounge in waiting-room chairs. They've paid their money, put forth no effort, and they expect bliss as a result.

Side One

Bodhisattva: Instead of spiritual enlightenment, all a consumer-corrupted Westerner is interested in is the surface shine on the Oriental ceramics. The bouncy beat never discloses the fallacy in this thinking.

Razor Boy: An ode to a social climber who doesn't realize the price she pays for sleeping her way to success. The Razor Boy could be Death (which reduces everyone to the same level), or it could be whatever force you believe collects payment for life's injustices. I used to have a cat named Razor Boy.

The Boston Rag: The fast path to nirvana in this song is drug consumption. Tight, slick harmonies glide through a lazy, drugged-out haze to the forseeable overdose.

Your Gold Teeth: Punchy guitar and keyboards sketch a portrait of a professional player. Although gold teeth do not look like dice, the line "You throw out your gold teeth" always gives me the image of tumbling ivories. The subject is a woman who gambles on her looks and her ability to use people.
"Your fortune is your roving eye
Your mouth and legs
Your gift for the run-around"
She damages everyone who cares about her or gets in the way of her desperate quest for status and possessions. But too soon, her game is obvious.
"Torture is the main attraction
I don't need that kind of action
You don't have to dance for me
I've seen your dance before."

Side Two

Show Biz Kids: Line by line, the differences between the very poor and the very rich are noted, all the more obvious because they live so near and depend so much on each other. Everything needed to attain the right status is listed, including the trendy Steely Dan T-shirt. The final indignity is the woman screaming something unintelligible near the end of the song without regard for "the poor people sleeping."

My Old School: I love the harmonies, and these lines are my favorite part--
"California tumbles into the sea
That'll be the day I go back to Annandale."
The essence of that song for me is that I always substituted the name of my own hometown for Annandale.

Pearl of the Quarter: There's a little bit of country flavor in the silky-smooth slide guitar that accompanies this idealized infatuation for a prostitute with a heart of gold.

King of the World: Donald Fagan likes to toy with ideas of a post-apocalyptic future. Another example is "New Frontier" from his solo album The Nightfly. Here, someone ends up with all the toys but no one to share them with--the ultimate emptiness.

Steely Dan continues to record and perform, and in fact have a world tour scheduled.

MySpace | Remastered CD: Amazon.com | iTunes

If you are interested, check out other people's interpretations at this Unofficial Steely Dan lyrics discussion page.

World Tour Schedule:
Jun 27 2007 - Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL
Jun 28 2007 - Summerfest - Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee, WI
Jul 5 2007 - NIA Arena, Birmingham, UK
Jul 6 2007 - Aintree Pavilion, Liverpool, UK
Jul 7 2007 - Hammersmith Apollo, London
Jul 9 2007 - Forest National, Brussels
Jul 10 2007 - Le Grand Rex, Paris
Jul 13 2007 - Stuttgart Jazz Festival, Stuttgart
Jul 15 2007 - Zitadelle, Berlin
Jul 17 2007 - Stockholm Jazz Festival, Stockholm
Jul 19 2007 - Molde Jazz Festival, Molde, Norway
Jul 21 2007 - Pori Jazz Festival, Pori, Finland
Jul 23 2007 - Falkoner Theater, Copenhagen
Jul 24 2007 - Stadtpark, Hamburg
Jul 25 2007 - Museumplatz, Bonn
Jul 27 2007 - Blue Balls Jazz Festival, Lucerne
Jul 28 2007 - Piazza Lucca, Lucca, Italy
Aug 18 2007 - 15 Dates in Japan--Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka
Sep 8 2007 - Australia & New Zealand--Multiple Cities