Posted on 09/30/2024 3:29:13 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Countless artists and bands have come and gone over the years, each leaving their own mark on the landscape of American rock. In such an oversaturated scene, striking upon something truly original can often be difficult, but it was never one that particularly troubled jazz fusion legends Steely Dan. From their initial formation in 1971, the band—spearheaded by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker—operated on an entirely different level from their contemporaries in New York, pioneering a truly original new sound.
Admittedly, Steely Dan’s fusion of jazz, rock, and pop proved somewhat controversial, alienating both jazz fans and rock fans in equal measure. Nevertheless, the duo managed to capture the attention of a cult audience right in the middle of the jazz-rock Venn diagram. Along the way, Steely Dan achieved a commendable level of commercial success, too, regularly finding itself in the US singles charts with its unique style of songwriting and performance.
As is to be expected for a band with such an original sound, Fagen and Becker explored a wide variety of different themes and narratives throughout the discography of Steely Dan. There never seemed to be one particular motif in terms of lyricism. If you look across their work, the duo wrote about everything from the horrors of capitalism to time travel, the ageing process, and even the widespread themes of love and drugs. Any decent writer will tell you to write about your own experiences, but the songs of Steely Dan were very rarely autobiographical, at least in an overt sense.
Of course, when you write as many songs as Steely Dan, you are bound to draw from your own life experiences eventually. This autobiographical songwriting was perhaps most obvious on the 1977 track ‘Deacon Blues’, from the album Aja.
Using a strange mixture of references to sci-fi novels, American football teams, and even academic essays, Steely Dan tells the story of a “loser” trying to carve out a life for himself as a musician. The song is a sort of rallying cry against mainstream society, sports, and ‘jocks’ – something that the band could certainly resonate with.
Reflecting on the themes explored within the track, Becker once shared, “The protagonist is not a musician; he just sort of imagines that would be one of the mythic forms of loser-dom to which he might aspire. And who’s to say that he’s not right?” Expanding upon this, Fagen chimed in, confirming, “‘Deacon Blues’ is about as close to autobiography as our tunes get. We were both kids who grew up in the suburbs, we both felt fairly alienated. Like a lot of kids in the ’50s, we were looking for some kind of alternative culture, an escape from where we found ourselves.”
Looking back to the lyrics of ‘Deacon Blues’, it is clear to see the autobiographical aspects of the song. In particular, lines like “Learn to work the saxophone, I play just what I feel” could be direct quotes from Becker and Fagen, who had aspired to be jazz musicians from a very young age. The various references to college football, with “the Crimson Tide”, a nickname for the University of Alabama football team, certainly add to the idea of the duo being on the outside of popular, mainstream culture, looking in with a kind of self-righteousness.
‘Deacon Blues’ was certainly not the only time that Becker or Fagen wrote about their own life experiences within the discography of Steely Dan. Their lives are a constant underlying theme throughout the Dan’s music, but no other effort was as overtly autobiographical as ‘Deacon Blues’. Perhaps that goes some way to explaining why the song is such a cult favourite among fans of the jazz fusion pioneers.
Probably the best band named after a dildo ever.
Another good song... I just listened to it now for the first time.
Then again, I can’t think of a bad song by SD.
Rollover Beethoven. 😎
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Such a treat!
How cool is that?
I love the Seinfeld Bizzaro World
Why not? I think they were on a world tour.
Good question.
I always thought Fagan was an opium fan.
They weave a lot of personal things into their songs.
Sometimes, just a single line.
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