Steelin' In the Dan

Joe McAlhany and Scott Beckett•www.steelininthedan.com

Joe McAlhany and Scott Beckett explore the enduring allure of Steely Dan, a band whose music has been described as "...among the most genuinely subversive ouevres in late 20th-century pop." Each week we advance chronologically through the band's discography and discuss one song by the Dan, and two related creative works as chosen by the hosts.

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Episodes

Episode 11: Can't Wrap an Album

We bring in some friends to take a look back at Steely Dan's debut album, Can't Buy a Thrill . We've been sitting on this episode way too long because I've been too lazy to do links and artwork, so I'm posting it more or less as is. Thanks for your patience, and apologies to our delightfull guests Lauren and Josh. Email us! steelininthedan@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @steelininthedan Links: William Gibson review of Two Against Nature Lauren's Twitter Josh's Twitter...

Aug 14, 2020•1 hr 36 min

Episode 10: Love ‘Em Till They Run for Cover

Get ready for one digression after another (and a little Reddit theater) as Scott and Joe piece together their thoughts on Can’t Buy a Thrill ’s final track “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again.” The song’s narrative inspires Scott’s choice, the “try-hard” meth noir The Salton Sea (2002), starring Val Kilmer and a cranked-up Vincent D’Onofrio. Joe is similarly criminal minded, pulling focus to the Safdie brothers’ unrelenting Good Time (2017). Also discussed: heat checks; the destructive power of Dis...

Mar 03, 2020•1 hr 33 min

Episode 9: Dinner at Zabriskie Point

On a particularly coastal episode, Joe and Scott survey the "sun-struck L.A. optimism of ' Change of the Guard '" and end up agreeing with (later) Donald Fagen that it "approaches a level of filler," though Skunk delivers another killer guitar solo. The boys swing east to grab a bite at Bob Giraldi's stylish and entertaining Dinner Rush (2000) before going back to Cali for a tour of the counterculture and the desert in Michaelangelo Antonioni's divisive Zabriskie Point (1970). Scott hits the fly...

Jan 20, 2020•1 hr 20 min

Episode 8: The Tao of a Brooklyn Landlord

Joe and Scott keep it (relatively) tight this week as they tackle the back-half filler track "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)" , a 68 out of 120 on Dakota's smooth rockin' scale. Then they study the philosophy of cool presented in The Tao of Steve (2000), a leftover of the 90s Gen X indie boom starring Donal Logue as a fat guy who (you'll never believe this) fucks. Your white hosts then squirm their way through a discussion of race and class provoked by Hal Ashby's forgotten gentrification ...

Dec 30, 2019•1 hr 10 min

Episode 7: Kings On Fire, Queen On the Bound

In this piano-driven installment, Joe and Scott dig into the “Do It Again” B-side “ Fire In the Hole ”, a sleeper hit hiding on Can’t Buy a Thrill’s back half. The boys follow the piano line into the opening track of Fiona Apple’s When the Pawn…, “ On the Bound ” from 1999, and a discussion of “a jazz singer for the end of the millenium”, late ‘90s production tropes, and Paul Thomas Anderson. Then it’s off to the Continent for a tour of Arnaud Desplechin’s 2004 French drama Kings and Queen , wit...

Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 18 min

Episode 6: Like a Reelin’ Stone

Scott and Joe flip over to side two of Steely Dan’s Can’t Buy a Thrill and revisit the classic rock staple “Reelin’ In the Years.” Their verdict: it never gets old. Next your hosts cower before the intimidating authenticity of Bob Dylan as they discuss his ramshackle masterpiece “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965). Then the boys head back to school to unpack their conflicted feelings on an old favorite, Roger Avary’s The Rules of Attraction (2002). Scott confesses that he’s a Dawson’s Creek fan, and J...

Dec 09, 2019•1 hr 39 min

Episode 5: Episode 5: Only a Fool Would Throw That Brick Through the Window

Scott and Joe wrap up side one of Steely Dan’s Can’t Buy a Thrill with their analysis of the seemingly cynical “Only a Fool Would Say That.” They find parallel visions of the world in the Mothers of Invention’s protest blues “Trouble Every Day” (1966) and Rian Johnson’s snazzy high school neo-noir Brick (2005). The hosts venture out of their depth to talk Frank Zappa, LBJ, the Watts riots, silent cinema, and Mexican stews. Utopian dreams are smashed, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is pounded to pulp. ...

Oct 24, 2019•1 hr 32 min

Episode 4: Duets, Anti-Buddies, and Midnite Cruisers

It’s a jumbo-sized episode this week as Scott and Joe crack into one of Can’t Buy a Thrill’s sleeper tracks, the bittersweet “Midnite Cruiser.” They then try to establish a cult for the baffling competitive karaoke dud Duets (2000), starring Gwenyth Paltrow, Huey Lewis, Andre Braugher, and Paul Giamatti (with hair and an earring!). Things veer into darker territory as the hosts grapple with Mikey and Nicky, Elaine May’s unflinching look at two ungentlemanly losers. Your humble episode descriptio...

Oct 05, 2019•2 hr 6 min

Episode 3: “Kings” of New York, Princes of Thieves

This week, Scott and Joe scrape the flesh off of Dakota’s favorite Steely Dan song (so far), the mock-anthemic “Kings.” Then they take aim at Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and fall under the spell of Abel Ferrara’s dreamy gangster story King of New York (1990). Historical myths (and Kevin Costner’s ego) are deflated, and Christopher Walken is recognized as true royalty. Email us! steelininthedan@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @steelininthedan Links: The Steely Dan Reader ...

Sep 21, 2019•1 hr 39 min

Episode 2: Closer to That Most Important Thing: “Dirty Work”

Scott and Joe sift through their mixed feelings about Steely Dan’s soft rock classic “Dirty Work” and have a tough conversation with sad sack guest vocalist David Palmer. Then they zoom in on the messy, tangled love affairs depicted in Mike Nichols’ kinda naughty "Closer" (2004) and Andrzej Zulawski’s totally bonkers "That Most Important Thing: Love" (1975). In the process, your hosts critique Donald Fagen’s looks, praise Julia Roberts’ cargo pants, and yearn to see the mythical Nymphocula. Emai...

Sep 07, 2019•1 hr 28 min

Episode 1: Inside the Ballad of “Do It Again”

Scott and Joe commence their journey through the Steely Dan discography with track one, side one from Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972), the “noodly” “Do It Again.” They then go deep on the parallels between Steely Dan and the Coen brothers, specifically focusing on Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018). If you want to hear the boys get to philosophizin’ on fatalism, fuckups, and electric sitars, you’re in the right place. Plus: Scott does a pretty great off-the-cuff Stephen...

Aug 24, 2019•1 hr 45 min

Episode 0: Steely Dan 101

Before tackling the Steely Dan discography song by song, Scott and Joe initiate newcomers and skeptics into the cult of the Dan with their personal playlists of the band’s essential cuts. They discuss their own origins as Dan fans, provide a brief (and half-researched) historical sketch of the band, and muse on the dark heart at the center of the smooth grooves. Also: Scott unveils a new t-shirt, Joe introduces his theory of the shadow path, and the fellas forget the title of “Glamour Profession...

Aug 08, 2019•1 hr 17 min

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