GPOYTASD: Gratuitous picture of yourself talking about Steely Dan
Last Friday, during New Orleans’ inaugural Nerd Nite gathering, I gave a presentation about why Steely Dan is so awesome. The event was a huge success and I feel honored to have been allowed to present. I am going to try to figure out a way to post the full PowerPoint deck online, but until then, here is an approximation of my closing remarks (which were adapted from any number of drunken diatribes I’ve launched into when anyone mentions Steely Dan, even in passing):
Some people refer to Steely Dan’s collected works as “elevator music”. First of all, that couldn’t be further from the truth. But if, for the sake of argument, we are to agree that this stuff is “elevator music,” then it is some of the most cared-for and fascinating elevator music ever recorded. It’s elevator music that features Bernard “Pretty” Purdie drum shuffles, Rick Derringer guitar solos and the same Victor Feldman that helped shape Frank Zappa’s early sound. It’s elevator music that offers scathing, subversive social commentary through stories of smoking heroin, doing coke with under-aged girls, cooking up LSD, gambling away your life savings, driving drunk and popping pills. It’s elevator music that tells tales of gang-rape and pedophilia and infidelity and divorce. And it’s elevator music that has been sampled by dozens of hip hop artists and covered by dozens of rock bands.
Notes
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