Thoughts and Non Thoughts

Let's grab some breakfast from Dean and Deluca A hearty choco sig You be the newborn I'll be your new dad Way back in '91 Your sweet smile, look at you -- my grown-up girl ... Come to your old dad tell me -- who do you love Who makes the traffic interesting Rescues a dreary Sunday Who makes me feel like a hero again Honey it's you -- my grown up little girl (adapted from lyrics of Steely Dan's "Janie Runaway")

Aja When all my dime dancin' is through I run to you Up on the hill They think I'm ok Or so they say Chinese music always sets me free Angular banjoes Sound good to me Aja When all my dime dancin' is through I run to you (Steely Dan)

Black Friday by Steely Dan When Black Friday comes I'll stand down by the door And catch the grey men when they Dive from the fourteenth floor When Black Friday comes I'll collect everything I'm owed And before my friends find out I'll be on the road When Black Friday falls you know it's got to be Don't let it fall on me When Black Friday comes I'll fly down to Muswellbrook Gonna strike all the big red words From my little black book Gonna do just what I please Gonna wear no socks and shoes With nothing to do but feed All the kangaroos When Black Friday comes I'll be on that hill You know I will When Black Friday comes I'm gonna dig myself a hole Gonna lay down in it 'til I satisfy my soul Gonna let the world pass by me The Archbishop's gonna sanctify me And if he don't come across I'm gonna let it roll When Black Friday comes I'm gonna stake my claim I'll guess I'll change my name

I'm enjoying Countdown to Ecstacy on vinyl by Steely Dan . Great songs, not to mention that weird cover. I think I got a smile like the figure on the right. This music is really timeless. I have many of the Dan's CD's and LP's, starting with the 'best of' compilations ( Showbiz Kids I think being the best). Lately I've been listening to the individual LP's, and hearing the less known songs, I find I like them too. In fact I like their old music as much as the later ones. Time to flip the record to side B.

My order from Amazon of this CD finally arrived today, played it twice already. It's a well-produced album without sounding over-produced -- quite refreshing for Fagen or Steely Dan for that matter. Musically it's a synthesis of the first two solo albums -- the lyrical mastery of The Nightfly and the groove of Kamakiriad . After burning out post-Nightfly and ending up with a ten-year writer's block, Fagen made the rhythm section pre-eminent in Kamakiriad. Thankfully, in Morph Fagen brings back a heavy dose of the Steely Dan melodic and chord sophistication while keeping the beat. The bass lines, specially in the opening track, are superb while the falsetto in Brite Nightgown reminds one of the funk of Prince. The other tracks could easily belong to any Dan album sans the guitar work of W Becker, though Jon Herington does a great job here. Here is an artist who has found his voice and his groove. Message-wise, it gives voice to the current New York state of mind. Unf...