skylive5 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Eddie Murphy Go to your room. There will be no supper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I would never use genius and Steely Dan in the same sentence. Their compositions were complex and precise and they were master editors but I would not qualify those traits as genius. I respect them a lot but they are too polished for my taste. Actually, I'm not sure what constitutes musical genius Well, I'm not sure how to respond considering that you admitted that you're not even sure what defines "musical genius". Here's why I think Steely Dan is genius: For starters, the grooves are absolutely infective and timeless. Even many of their forays into genres that have since been dismissed and are highly dated sound great. That's the thing, they're like a half-step away from being the same cheesy crap that so many were banging out back then, and yet they're completely on-point. That's the difference between being a genius and being "complex and precise". Over time, genius gets muddied by the adequate but uninspired who moved in the same genre, because they all get lumped together over time. And shmaltze like Chuck Mangione and crap like that do that to Steely Dan because many of the same people listened to both. So now they're "sort of the same". Only, nothing could be further from the truth. Also, this may be a matter of semantics, but if you are a master at anything within a field such as music, you're at least borderline genius for that reason alone. But here's another thing. You claim they're "too polished". While that is a matter of personal preference (I actually prefer polish and typically don't enjoy recorded live music as much as studio stuff for that very reason and just don't like jam bands at all), it's also rather ironic in the case of Steely Dan. Yes, their sound is polished, but they strike a curious juxtaposition because they're these smooth, highly polished songs about the seediest scenes you'll ever see. It's like someone took Butkowski and gave him a shower and dressed him in a tux. They lure you into this mellow, groovy space, while they're singing about a drug deal gone wrong. I'll give you this, by the end, they certainly put out some relative crap. But I'll forgive them that for the brick of outstanding stuff they produced in the previous 9 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duchess Jack Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Sometimes I record myself singing along and send it to my wife to make her laugh while she works. She thinks I've completely lost my mind. awsome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 awsome! I've got a good one of me singing this little ditty which got the ol' lady all hot and bothered. I can send it via text to anyone interested (you may need to have an iPhone). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Just heard on XM... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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