Named after a dildo in William Burrough's "Naked Lunch"
February 3, 2015 11:55 PM Subscribe
Steely Dan Live. Rainbow Theater, London, England. May 20, 1974. People think of Steely Dan as a studio-only band, but their second album "Countdown To Ecstasy" was written for a touring band. Here is a (mostly) complete, soundboard recording of a concert from that tour.
This sound-only recording features an extended version of the rarity "This All Too Mobile Home" which was only played live on this tour, and never committed to vinyl. On the downside, "My Old School" was left out of this clip due to a large gap.
This sound-only recording features an extended version of the rarity "This All Too Mobile Home" which was only played live on this tour, and never committed to vinyl. On the downside, "My Old School" was left out of this clip due to a large gap.
This is the only live version of Bodhisattva that needs to exist. Mostly for the introduction.
posted by logicpunk at 1:33 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by logicpunk at 1:33 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Hippybear: Yes, I think it was from 1975 to 1980, they refused to tour.
Two Steely Dan FPPs in one week? What fortune!
posted by heatvision at 3:26 AM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
Two Steely Dan FPPs in one week? What fortune!
posted by heatvision at 3:26 AM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
Yeah that was a big surprise, in 1995, when they announced they were touring. They've even played "The Second Arrangement" live, by now.
posted by thelonius at 3:59 AM on February 4, 2015
posted by thelonius at 3:59 AM on February 4, 2015
They should form a supergroup with Steeleye Span.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 3:59 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 3:59 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
There's also this live radio broadcast from the Record Plant, another example from 1974.
posted by Man-Thing at 4:49 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Man-Thing at 4:49 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I caught them in Cincinnati after they resumed touring. If memory serves me correctly, they said that technology had progressed to where they were happy with the way their studio material sounded live. (Of course, they may just have needed the money.)
I love that band; I always refer to them fondly as The Best Band Ever Named After a Dildo.
posted by Gelatin at 5:01 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I love that band; I always refer to them fondly as The Best Band Ever Named After a Dildo.
posted by Gelatin at 5:01 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I never listened to Steely Dan growing up. But when I first sat down and really listened to them ust a few years ago, I got completely addicted. Man, but they know how to play(!), and they know how to write a hook, and they know how to be smartass motherfuckers. A great combination.
Thanks for this.
posted by sutt at 5:48 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Thanks for this.
posted by sutt at 5:48 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
The Bodhisattva introduction is new to me and just wunnerful. In the category of things that probably only bother me, I am curious if anybody else doesn't think that:
The shine in your Japan, the sparkle in your china
is not a profoundly stupid hook line? What in the world could shine in your Japan possibly mean?
posted by bukvich at 6:41 AM on February 4, 2015
The shine in your Japan, the sparkle in your china
is not a profoundly stupid hook line? What in the world could shine in your Japan possibly mean?
posted by bukvich at 6:41 AM on February 4, 2015
Here's a comment from songmeanings.net, that I think works:
I think this song is very cynical. The Bodhisattva is a hypocrit[e], demanding that followers relinquish material possessions, while he has "sparkling china" and maybe shiny, lacquered Japan Black furniture.
Also it points to how the subject is flaunting his new buddhist spirituality like material goods from those countries.
posted by sutt at 6:47 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
I think this song is very cynical. The Bodhisattva is a hypocrit[e], demanding that followers relinquish material possessions, while he has "sparkling china" and maybe shiny, lacquered Japan Black furniture.
Also it points to how the subject is flaunting his new buddhist spirituality like material goods from those countries.
posted by sutt at 6:47 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
What in the world could shine in your Japan possibly mean?
Japanese lacquerware (historically referred to as Japan, analogous to Chinese ceramics) is a broad category of fine and decorative arts, as lacquer has been used in paintings, prints, and on a wide variety of objects from Buddha statues to bento boxes for food.
posted by neroli at 6:49 AM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
Japanese lacquerware (historically referred to as Japan, analogous to Chinese ceramics) is a broad category of fine and decorative arts, as lacquer has been used in paintings, prints, and on a wide variety of objects from Buddha statues to bento boxes for food.
posted by neroli at 6:49 AM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
sutt and neroli that has been bugging me for twenty years
posted by bukvich at 7:00 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by bukvich at 7:00 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
a profoundly stupid hook line
don't make me break out the battle apple
posted by thelonius at 7:12 AM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
don't make me break out the battle apple
posted by thelonius at 7:12 AM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
Anyone who likes Steely Dan needs to hear Paul and Storm's "Steely Dansplaining".
And anyone who doesn't definitely needs to hear it.
posted by foldedfish at 7:14 AM on February 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
And anyone who doesn't definitely needs to hear it.
posted by foldedfish at 7:14 AM on February 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
Well played, neroli.
A metaphor is a terrible thing to miss.
posted by rdone at 7:26 AM on February 4, 2015
A metaphor is a terrible thing to miss.
posted by rdone at 7:26 AM on February 4, 2015
Two Steely Dan FPPs! My cup runneth over. The last one made me pull Eminent Hipsters from the to-read pile and start it. Now I guess I have something to listen to while I read.
posted by immlass at 7:56 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by immlass at 7:56 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I am curious if anybody else doesn't think that:
....Uh, I always took "shine in your Japan" as a pun on "sparkle in your china" (you know, 'cos "china" can also mean "China", get it....)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:15 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
The shine in your Japan, the sparkle in your chinais not a profoundly stupid hook line? What in the world could shine in your Japan possibly mean?
....Uh, I always took "shine in your Japan" as a pun on "sparkle in your china" (you know, 'cos "china" can also mean "China", get it....)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:15 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
Two Steely Dan FPPs in one week? What fortune!
With all this Danism going on here, I'm surprised to be the first* to mention the sound that makes the Dan the Dan: The Mu-Major chord.
Oh, yes you do. You've heard it on every Dan record.
= = = = =
Steely Dan tours all the time. Are they really considered a studio-only band?
from 1975 to 1980, they refused to tour.
That may seem like an out-of-date perception, but 1975-1980 is nearly the entire era when they were recording, getting reviews, influencing popular tastes, and had the pull to say-so.
From 1980 to 2000(!) there was no Steely Dan. After that, they've released two albums in fifteen years (they'd released three in the 15 months between Nov 1972 and Feb 1974).
The economics of the music industry has changed a lot since the 1970s. Used to be, you toured to support the album. Now you record the songs to attract people to the shows. This goes for advanced nostalgia acts, too.
---------------
* OK, it was mentioned in 2003 by a user who hasn't been heard from in ten years.
posted by Herodios at 9:05 AM on February 4, 2015 [8 favorites]
With all this Danism going on here, I'm surprised to be the first* to mention the sound that makes the Dan the Dan: The Mu-Major chord.
Oh, yes you do. You've heard it on every Dan record.
= = = = =
Steely Dan tours all the time. Are they really considered a studio-only band?
from 1975 to 1980, they refused to tour.
That may seem like an out-of-date perception, but 1975-1980 is nearly the entire era when they were recording, getting reviews, influencing popular tastes, and had the pull to say-so.
From 1980 to 2000(!) there was no Steely Dan. After that, they've released two albums in fifteen years (they'd released three in the 15 months between Nov 1972 and Feb 1974).
The economics of the music industry has changed a lot since the 1970s. Used to be, you toured to support the album. Now you record the songs to attract people to the shows. This goes for advanced nostalgia acts, too.
---------------
* OK, it was mentioned in 2003 by a user who hasn't been heard from in ten years.
posted by Herodios at 9:05 AM on February 4, 2015 [8 favorites]
With all this Danism going on here, I'm surprised to be the first* to mention the sound that makes the Dan the Dan: The Mu-Major chord.
Wow, very cool! That guy's page is badass too.
Edit: (any major mu with half a heart surely will tell you my friend)
posted by stinkfoot at 9:11 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Wow, very cool! That guy's page is badass too.
Edit: (any major mu with half a heart surely will tell you my friend)
posted by stinkfoot at 9:11 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
The riff in "Ticket To Ride" is an arpeggieted mu chord, by the way. Get out your trusty guitar, play an open A string, 7th fret of the D string, 6th fret of the G string, and the open B and E strings: voila.
(No, it's not an add9 chord - it has to have a 2nd, a major second away from the major 3rd, to be a mu chord). Learned that back in 2003.....
posted by thelonius at 9:18 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
(No, it's not an add9 chord - it has to have a 2nd, a major second away from the major 3rd, to be a mu chord). Learned that back in 2003.....
posted by thelonius at 9:18 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I think this song is very cynical.
Steely Dan protip: all of their songs are cynical as all hell. Even the peppy-sounding ones like "Peg".
It's a big part of why I love them so.
posted by neckro23 at 10:06 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
Steely Dan protip: all of their songs are cynical as all hell. Even the peppy-sounding ones like "Peg".
It's a big part of why I love them so.
posted by neckro23 at 10:06 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
neckro, I think the peppy ones usually have the most cynical lyrics, to counteract the peppiness.
After last week's FPP, I went through all my Steely Dan cds/mp3, and was shocked to realize that I didn't have a copy of "Aja". That has since been remedied.
posted by mogget at 10:10 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
After last week's FPP, I went through all my Steely Dan cds/mp3, and was shocked to realize that I didn't have a copy of "Aja". That has since been remedied.
posted by mogget at 10:10 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Damn, I love Steely Dan; this is great. Shame there's no rendition of My Old School on the link in the post, which is one of my favourites of theirs. It's the only song that can get away with - and they're the only band who could write the song that can get away with - rhyming "oleander" with "I can't stand her".
posted by Len at 11:16 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Len at 11:16 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
For a band known for their obsessive perfectionism, their official website looks strangely amateurish...
posted by Crane Shot at 11:38 AM on February 4, 2015
posted by Crane Shot at 11:38 AM on February 4, 2015
>>>is not a profoundly stupid hook line? What in the world could shine in your Japan possibly mean?
>>I think this song is very cynical. The Bodhisattva is a hypocrit[e],
>Also it points to how the subject is flaunting his new buddhist spirituality like material goods from those countries.
Donald Fagen (Speaker): "I can read this straight from the quick-read song notes from the album book…which you too can some day own…in fact, today…and it reads:
'Lure of East. Hubris of hippies. Quick fix. Jokey blues.'
That's from a 1995 interview that's a pretty fun read.
posted by msalt at 3:43 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
>>I think this song is very cynical. The Bodhisattva is a hypocrit[e],
>Also it points to how the subject is flaunting his new buddhist spirituality like material goods from those countries.
Donald Fagen (Speaker): "I can read this straight from the quick-read song notes from the album book…which you too can some day own…in fact, today…and it reads:
'Lure of East. Hubris of hippies. Quick fix. Jokey blues.'
That's from a 1995 interview that's a pretty fun read.
posted by msalt at 3:43 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hello Earthlings. This is your new overlord speaking. I discovered a curious thing about your species: you people tend to flock around the maximum average.
Therefore please all of you move to your designated Steely Dan appreciation areas.
Thank you!
posted by Pyrogenesis at 5:16 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Therefore please all of you move to your designated Steely Dan appreciation areas.
Thank you!
posted by Pyrogenesis at 5:16 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is the only live version of Bodhisattva that needs to exist. Mostly for the introduction. posted by logicpunk at 4:33 AM on February 4 [2 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
If it good to ya, it got to be good for ya.
posted by emelenjr at 10:08 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
If it good to ya, it got to be good for ya.
posted by emelenjr at 10:08 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
This was great. Favorite moments: that intro to The Boston Rag. King of the World (after a rocky start) makes so much more sense as a gritty, wild prog jam. The sniggering as Fagen plays his jazzy intro to Pretzel Logic.
And I mean, Porcaro AND Hodder, not to mention the Young Michael McDonald? The guy from Ambrosia as David Palmer was good too.
posted by mubba at 7:46 PM on February 5, 2015
And I mean, Porcaro AND Hodder, not to mention the Young Michael McDonald? The guy from Ambrosia as David Palmer was good too.
posted by mubba at 7:46 PM on February 5, 2015
I want to thank you for posting this! Much needed and much loved by the household!
"these english beers...Lovely, lovely, lovely..."
posted by reedcourtneyj at 3:50 PM on February 6, 2015
"these english beers...Lovely, lovely, lovely..."
posted by reedcourtneyj at 3:50 PM on February 6, 2015
Thank you for the link. Jeff "Skunk" Baxter was such a brilliant guitarist.
posted by abakua at 12:01 AM on February 7, 2015
posted by abakua at 12:01 AM on February 7, 2015
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You can see them (if you live somewhere within a shortish drive from LA) in April of this year, in fact!
posted by hippybear at 1:17 AM on February 4, 2015