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Friday Influences Thread - 09-13-13


Lee Knight

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Know why she's worried? She just realized that not posting on the Friday Influences Thread... on Friday the 13th... well... not prudent. Do it or suffer the wrath of Jason or something.

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Mutt Lange. Producer, songwriter, bassist, pop master, background singer... I love that last one. I get it. Mutt knows how to make this perfect pop vision in his head become real. Even if that pop is Bon Scott singing Highway to Hell. Shania Twain playing plastic cowgirl, or Def Leppard crossing over unabashedly to hit machine. A place for everything and everything in its place. Every pin drop accounted for. Think puppeteer Lindsay Buckingham  circa Rumors, and then really make him a control freak.

 

I totally relate. ABBA inspired even. I absolutely love Mutt and what he does. It's not for everyone, and  thank God, it is not the ONLY way, but it's a pretty freaking cool way, and I'm sure a lot of fun for Mutt. That order. It's so IKEAFor grins, see if you can hear the common thread...

The nonsense lyric of Pour Some Sugar is genius. That's Mutt too. Sayin', "Joe! What the hell is that thing you just were singing about sugar?!?!? Let's write that one up!!!!!" It's T Rex, Gary Glitter, David Bowie/Donavan... um... Tommy James inspired phonetic silly brilliance about #$\%-ing. However you choose to like your $\%^&ing. And it sounds like $\%^&ing. All of Def Leppard's Hysteria is a Mutt textbook for me. Mutt's ideas are transferable.

 

And the awesome spectacle of turning every woman into Shania in his work with The Corrs! Amazing.

Mutt makes little 3 and 1/2 minute movies. But none of that moody Euro staring into space and brooding. Things happen consistently. Really, more like a Mentos commercial than a movie.. A really fun Mentos commercial. He's like a freaking Freshmaker!!!

 

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Johnny Winter is still out there touring...  here he is in his prime.  I opened for him a few times back in 2000... and I thought he was going to drop dead on stage back then.  I can't believe 13 years later he's still alive doing it!

 

 

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Some reasons people don't like Steely Dan.

 

It's smooth. There's no catching lightning in a bottle. You assemble your clipper ship, slide it into the bottle, pull the string to raise the masts, put in the cork and place the bottle up on the mantle to look at.

 

It's not emotional. There's no love, no anger, no despair. It's interesting to think about but it doesn't make you feel.

 

It's two privileged, upper class white guys who make no attempt to hide their cleverness, and can be kind of smirky about it.

 

Donald Fagen's voice is an acquired taste.

 

In many ways they resemble a rock band, but they are not a rock band (despite being a fixture of classic rock radio).

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rsadasiv wrote:

 

Some reasons people don't like Steely Dan.

 

 

 

It's smooth. There's no catching lightning in a bottle. You assemble your clipper ship, slide it into the bottle, pull the string to raise the masts, put in the cork and place the bottle up on the mantle to look at.

 

 

 

It's not emotional. There's no love, no anger, no despair. It's interesting to think about but it doesn't make you feel.

 

 

 

It's two privileged, upper class white guys who make no attempt to hide their cleverness, and can be kind of smirky about it.

 

 

 

Donald Fagen's voice is an acquired taste.

 

 

 

In many ways they resemble a rock band, but they are not a rock band (despite being a fixture of classic rock radio).

 

I am very much a fan of Steely Dan, but this is a good list of questionable elements. To expand on item 2, Fagan always seems to be the dispassionate observer of life around him, hardly ever a participant, even though the lyrics are written in the first person.  But, damn, can those guys find a groove.

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rsadasiv wrote:

 

Some reasons people don't like Steely Dan.

 

 

 

It's smooth. There's no catching lightning in a bottle. You assemble your clipper ship, slide it into the bottle, pull the string to raise the masts, put in the cork and place the bottle up on the mantle to look at.

 

 

 

It's not emotional. There's no love, no anger, no despair. It's interesting to think about but it doesn't make you feel.

 

 

 

It's two privileged, upper class white guys who make no attempt to hide their cleverness, and can be kind of smirky about it.

 

 

 

Donald Fagen's voice is an acquired taste.

 

 

 

In many ways they resemble a rock band, but they are not a rock band (despite being a fixture of classic rock radio).

 

 

This is a nice write-up.  

Expanding on "smoothness," I would also say that they have no teeth, no rough edges, no grit, and thus to the casual observer no meat. (And way too arch.)  This was a lot of what punk was rebelling against, which is why I only got to Steely Dan a decade later, via De La Soul:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me5uEsbX9eU  

 

(How do you embed YouTube?  HTML didn't work, nor did code)

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