Results tagged “steelydan”

Previewing Steely Dan’s latest visit to LA for LAist last month, in talking about their three-night run in which a different full-length LP from their catalog would be performed in entirety on consecutive nights, I called the 1980 release Gaucho their "least compelling album." By coincidence or conspiracy, that was the work being celebrated on the night I ended up getting a ticket to review.

Since the advent of the mp3 era, there’s been a lot of talk about the death of the “album” as a medium for music delivery. As the argument goes, bands have no incentive to write forty-five consecutive minutes’ worth of content, since consumers no longer have to sit through three decent-to-mediocre tracks to get to the one they like, buried in the middle of side two. Now that the listening experience is entirely customizable, those deep cuts that never passed muster for airplay or “best of” collections will be tossed away like so many pot seeds, completely unheard by the audience that only cares about their favorite songs.

December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008.

A long time ago, but right around this time of year, I was sitting in a living room with a record collector pal, poring through the bins of seasonal vinyl from the likes of Jethro Tull, Merle Haggard and Fear. My friend looked up from his fourth or so glass of nog and remarked, "What am I listening to all this Jesus stuff for? I should put on the Blue Oyster Cult Hanukkah album."...

For some reason there are hella shows happening tonight so lets get right to it

Remember the band Toto? Their big hits were "Africa" and "Rosanna" (about band member girlfriend Rosanna Arquette). But we digress. Of course you don't remember Toto. Their dated, post-Steely Dan overproduced studio snoozers will make you glad it's hard to find their music in 2006.

Reno 911! opened its third season last night with the deputies locked up in prison. They were released by show's end but are no longer on the force. Their new jobs run the gamut from the expected mall security guard gigs to Lieutenant Dangle trying out for "American Idol" while Clemmy decides to be a full time groupie for Steely Dan. We love those cops.