Posted on 09/16/2016 7:12:59 AM PDT by simpson96
music *ping*
My old school is now a Senior Citizen apartment building.
1) Steely Dan
2) Rolling Stones
3) Red Hots
If you don't have Citizen Steely Dan, get it!
They are still great!
Lead guitarist was Jeff “Skunk” Baxter who also played in various Doobie Bros lineups.
“Skunk” also evolved into a Missile Consultant for the Defense Dept.
Wikipedia:
Baxter fell into his second profession almost by accident. In the mid-1980s, Baxter’s interest in music recording technology led him to wonder about hardware and software that was originally developed for military use, specifically data-compression algorithms and large-capacity storage devices.
His next-door neighbor was a retired engineer who had worked on the Sidewinder missile program. This neighbor bought Baxter a subscription to Aviation Week magazine, provoking his interest in additional military-oriented publications and missile defense systems in particular.
He became self-taught in this area, and at one point he wrote a five-page paper that proposed converting the ship-based anti-aircraft Aegis missile into a rudimentary missile defense system. He gave the paper to California Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and his career as a defense consultant began.
Backed by several influential Capitol Hill lawmakers, Baxter received a series of security clearances so he could work with classified information. In 1995, Pennsylvania Republican congressman Curt Weldon, then the chairman of the House Military Research and Development Subcommittee, nominated Baxter to chair the Civilian Advisory Board for Ballistic Missile Defense.
Baxter’s work with that panel led to consulting contracts with the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He now consults to the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. intelligence community, as well as for defense-oriented manufacturers including Science Applications International Corporation (”SAIC”), Northrop Grumman Corp., General Dynamics, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.
He has been quoted as saying his unconventional approach to thinking about terrorism, tied to his interest in technology, is a major reason he became sought after by the government.
“We thought turntables were for playing records until rappers began to use them as instruments, and we thought airplanes were for carrying passengers until terrorists realized they could be used as missiles,”[14] Baxter has said. “My big thing is to look at existing technologies and try to see other ways they can be used, which happens in music all the time and happens to be what terrorists are incredibly good at.”
One of my highly marketable job skills/superpower is the ability to randomly quote Steely Dan lyrics. Even though I don’t listen to them as much as I used to. Example:
Clean this mess up or we’ll all end up in jail.
Those test tubes and the scale
just get it all out of here.
Is there gas in the car?
Yes there’s gas in the car
I think the people down the hall know who you are.
Those lyrics are amazing stuff. Talk about painting a mental picture with just a few lines.
The interplay between Jeff Baxter’s lead guitar and the quartet of saxophones in the extended bridge sections are among the great moments in classic rock.
That’s one of my favorite verses in one of my favorite songs.
Kid Charlemagne
One of my FAVORITE bands growing up. And now... LOL Takes me back to my senior year in high school. Thanks for posting.
Steely Dan was one of the early groups who embraced using high-end audio products in their mixing/mastering thanks in part to their GREAT recording engineer, Roger Nichols.
Their album “Katy Lied” used Magnepan Planar “double-stacked” loudspeakers and Audio Research tube electronics (amps and preamp).
“Katy Lied” is considered an album of high sound quality - especially quality remasterings including MFSL vinyl issue.
The album featured a young teenager on drums (Jeff Porcaro) who, with his brother, went on to create “Toto”.
A great opener for that particularly cynical album...Don’t Take Me Alive was my particular favorite.
“Royal Scam” is often called SD’s “guitar album” due to the great Larry Carlton arranging and playing lead on most tracks including the great “Don’t Take Me Alive”.
What a great Steely Dan song- my favorite.
Amazing guitar work
I will point out again its a shame that radio no longer plays songs like this. Instead its nonstop Journey, Boston, Bob Seger etc. I want to punch the radio everytime I am forced to listen to Van Morrison Brown Eyed girl or American Pie.
Steely Dan (Reelin’ in the Years, Do it Again) are scheduled to play live at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan, beginning Oct 12th.
My old school was the first Steely Dan song I ever heard.
This is my favorite post “Pretzel Logic” era Steely Dan song.
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