This gets at something I've been thinking a lot about lately...the difference between the appreciator of Steely Dan and the "stan."
Ostensibly the introduction to a review/recommendation for Quantum Criminals, Wayne Robbins says:
"The Second Arrangement," which got left off Gaucho when the painstakingly recorded tape was accidentally erased. It’s very You Tube viral. Pieced back together using modern technology, Steely Dan originalists shrugged, while the new SD stans posted comments on You Tube comparing this discovery to that of the Dead Sea scrolls, the Rosetta Stone, and a sign of the arrival of the moshiach. But at its core, "The Second Arrangement" is not a very good song, which makes it a unicorn among Steely Dan tracks. "Understandable why Becker and Fagen dumped this one," said one You Tube commenter. The Stans love it because it's new, but that's what stans are for: uncritical admiration."
It's hard to think of myself as an originalist, as I was born in 1979, grew up listening to a Steely Dan that was done by the time I was aware of them...but I find myself at odds with some of the "uncritical admiration." One of my own controversial opinions: It was worth The Second Arrangement dying so that Third World Man could live. Also, the fact that the death of the "Second" led to the life of the "Third" is an irony/coincidence that should be discussed more. Anyway, as I watch the "Danaissance," see the reactions to the unheard, and see the stans clamor for more, I think about my relationship with Steely Dan, and specifically with Walter, mostly musically but also to the extent that we formed a personal relationship. I think about why this site exists, and what I hope it will mean for the serious study of Walter as a songwriter/artist in the future.
So, yeah, this one made me think, I guess.
Until this article I wasn't aware of a new book nor of the Dansurgence. My slightly arch from-a-distance take on it is hey, the more the merrier. Like all new converts the young enthusiasts might be a little wearing with their puppy energy. That's OK, they'll settle in and the music remains what it is.
It's often been said that an artist gives up ownership of what their art means once they've put it out into the world and The Dan is no different, particularly when they've made such an effort to obscure what the lyrics mean to them. One's interpretations are one's own. The El Supremo as a person? Get outta here.
Still, welcome to the newbs. Remember, Celluloid Bikers is Friday's theme.