Invasion of the Steely Dan Stans

Welcome from the Dan Dads! Won't You Sign In Stranger?

"When I was twelve years old, my father, a jazz musician, tried to interest me in the music of Steely Dan," Prof. Michael Borshuk of Texas Tech University in Lubbock begins in his introduction to an entire special issue of the academic journal Rock Music Studies, “Steely Dan at 50” (Rock Music Studies, 2022, Vol. 9, No. 3).

 "When he sat me down with Gaucho on the family turntable, he likely assumed I'd gel with its sophistication. Instead, I bristled . . . I found the music's sound unapproachingly cold, the songs' harmonic movement alienating."

"I think they mostly appeal to an older crowd," he told his dad.

Borshuk grew up quickly: At age 14, he "loved losing myself in Steely Dan's jazz inspired logic," learning "the prefect fourths and added ninths of their chords." He also made the quick transition from loathing Donald Fagen "outright weird" nasal voice to understanding "there could be no better delivery system for the Dan ethos, simultaneously vulnerable, disgusted, and world-weary."