Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years


Book Description

Reelin’ in the Years tell the remarkable story of the American jazz rock band who have sold over 50 million albums during a career lasting over 20 years: Steely Dan. Updated and revised for 2018. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, a couple of cynical New York jazz fans wormed their way into a record contract and astonished critics with their first album Can't Buy a Thrill in 1973. Nine albums later, they were among the biggest selling acts in the world. Steely Dan were different from the rest of rock's super-sellers. They rarely gave interviews and, after some early bad experiences on the road, they refused to tour. They didn't have their photographs taken and few people knew what they looked like. Steely Dan weren’t even a proper group; it was two musicians and a producer, yet every top notch player in the world lined up to appear on their albums. This book, penned by Brian Sweet, the editor and publisher of Metal Leg, the UK-based Steely Dan fanzine, finally draws back the veil of secrecy that surrounded Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Here is the story of how they made their music and lived their lives.




Eminent Hipsters


Book Description

A witty, candid, sharply written memoir by the cofounder of Steely Dan In his entertaining debut as an author, Donald Fagen—musician, songwriter, and cofounder of Steely Dan—reveals the cultural figures and currents that shaped his artistic sensibility, as well as offering a look at his college days and a hilarious account of life on the road. Fagen presents the “eminent hipsters” who spoke to him as he was growing up in a bland New Jersey suburb in the early 1960s; his colorful, mind-expanding years at Bard College, where he first met his musical partner Walter Becker; and the agonies and ecstasies of a recent cross-country tour with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. Acclaimed for his literate lyrics and complex arrangements as a musician, Fagen here proves himself a sophisticated writer with his own distinctive voice.




Reeling in the Years


Book Description

"Reeling in the Years illustrates the wide range of emotions at work in younger/older gay male relationships - from fear and loathing to love and happiness. Beneath the bitchy asides, passionate relationships, rock-solid friendships, and hateful distrust, men struggle to answer the question: "Can older gay men really be friends with younger gay men?" In their own words, hundreds of men discuss what it's like to be 16, 28, 40, or 70, examining myth and reality about age and aging from different attitudes and perspectives."--Jacket.




Steely Dan Complete (Songbook)


Book Description

(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook). All the songs from Can't Buy a Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja and Gaucho 62 songs in all! Includes: Reelin' in the Years * Rikki Don't Lose That Number * Aja * Deacon Blues * Peg * Hey Nineteen.




Major Dudes


Book Description

A “thoughtful, loving, and thorough portrait” of the pioneering musicians behind Steely Dan, featuring interviews, essays, reviews and more (PopMatters). At its core, Steely Dan is a creative marriage between guitarist Donald Fagen and keyboardist Walter Becker. It recorded several of the cleverest and best-produced albums of the 1970s, making them one of the most successful bands to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Major Dudes collects some of the smartest and most revealing interviews Becker and Fagen have ever given, along with intelligent reviews of—and commentary on—their extraordinary songs. Compiled by leading music critic Barney Hoskyns, Major Dudes features contributions from the likes of Sylvie Simmons, Fred Schruers, and the late Robert Palmer; plus rare interviews and reviews of Steely Dan’s early albums from Disc, Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone. With an introduction by Hoskyns and an obituary for Walter Becker by David Cavanagh, Major Dudes is essential reading for any rock afficionado.




Vampires in the Lemon Grove


Book Description

A collection of stories features a pair of centuries-old vampires whose relationship is tested by a sudden fear of flying, a dejected teen who communicates with the universe, and a massage therapist who heals a tattooed veteran by manipulating the imageson his body.




Reelin' in the Years


Book Description

When Mark Radcliffe was born in the late 1950s, Britain was trying to find its own version of the dangerously sexy Elvis … we gave the world Cliff Richard but by the time Mark was old enough to recognise pop songs on the radio, the UK was exploding into the world's most exciting place to be for a young music fan. In this, his eagerly awaited new book, Mark Radcliffe takes a record from each year of his life, using the song as a starting point from which to reach out and pull together a wonderfully entertaining catalogue of memories and asides about British culture. And, as one would expect from this unique and popular broadcaster, the tunes he lists are not the usual suspects. From The Kinks' 'See My Friends', through Slade's 'Coz I Luv You' to Kraftwerk's 'Europe Endless' and Joy Division's 'Atmosphere', Mark's selections bring forth a diverse collision of styles from eras uniquely defined by their musical genres and fashions. Bringing his choices right up to the present day, we see the inclusion of artists such as Richard Hawley, Elbow and Fleet Foxes. Mark's hugely entertaining and affectionate trawl through his favourite music of the past 50 years is guaranteed to surprise and delight his many fans.




Steely Dan's Aja


Book Description

Aja was the album that made Steely Dan a commercial force on the order of contemporaries like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and Chicago. A double-platinum, Grammy-winning bestseller, it lingered on the Billboard charts for more than a year and spawned three hit singles. Odd, then, that its creators saw it as an "ambitious, extended" work, the apotheosis of their anti-rock, anti-band, anti-glamour aesthetic. Populated by thirty-fi ve mostly jazz session players, Aja served up prewar song forms, mixed meters and extended solos to a generation whose idea of pop daring was Paul letting Linda sing lead once in a while. And, impossibly, it sold. Including an in-depth interview with Donald Fagen, this book paints a detailed picture of the making of a masterpiece.




Reeling with Laughter


Book Description

Film comedy has been around as long as cinema itself. Over the years, particular forms of the genre have emerged, evolved, and spawned other branches of comedy. While these subgenres may vary in their approach to humor, all of them have the same goal: amusing audiences. In Reeling with Laughter: American Film Comedies—From Anarchy to Mockumentary, Michael V. Tueth examines some of the most enjoyable comic movies of all time. Beginning with the anarchic romp Duck Soup (1933), each chapter explores a specific subgenre through a representative film. Along with the Marx Brothers’ classic, other subgenres discussed in this volume include romantic comedy (It Happened One Night), screwball comedy (Bringing Up Baby and What’s Up, Doc?), musical comedy (Singin’ in the Rain), sex farce (Some Like It Hot), satire (Dr. Strangelove), parody (Young Frankenstein), neurotic comedy (Annie Hall), Dionysian comedy (Animal House), mockumentary (Waiting for Guffman), and animated comedy (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut). In this volume, Tueth provides the background of each film’s production and discusses their audience reception, critical appraisal, and the qualities that have characterized these enduring works. Reeling with Laughter will appeal to film students, as well as the general public eager to revisit these great American films.




Reeling


Book Description