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Archive for the 'Soundtrack of My Life' category
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SwanShadow Gives Thanks, Volume 18: Emerging From the Silo Edition
So, yeah… this pandemic has been, and continues to be, a thing.
But here we are. A year ago, we were all pretty much locked down, shut in, and wondering if or when we would ever be able to resume some semblance of normal life. Today, we're several months into having effective anti-COVID vaccines available — many of us have already received both initial doses, plus a booster — which have facilitated at least some measure of mobility.
At our house, having everyone vaccinated meant enjoying the in-person Thanksgiving dinner with close family that would have been unthinkable last year. The Pirate Queen and I were able to take the Hawaiian vacation we'd had to postpone for a year and a half. And I got to see the two most recent Marvel Cinematic Universe films — Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals — in an actual movie theater. I would not have believed how much I would treasure such experiences, until they were snatched away.
None of that erases the fact that more Americans died from COVID-19 this calendar year than last, or that millions of people both here and abroad continue to suffer from the consequences of this plague.
But I'm thankful for the progress that we've made.
As always, my Thanksgiving list of gratitude is topped by loved ones — the Pirate Queen, The Daughter, and The Daughter's family, which expanded by one in April. The Little Dude is a genuine delight, and is as adorable as it's possible for an infant human to be. I wish I had a better world to welcome him into. But it is what it is.
Without further folderol, then, here's this year's A-Z sampling of people and things for which I'm grateful this Thanksgiving season. As is our tradition in this space, this list is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather a kind of synecdoche (look it up) standing in for the countless reasons I have to give thanks.
Thus, in November 2021, I'm thankful for:
Adobe Audition. I've toyed for years with the notion of upgrading my digital audio workstation (a technical term for "recording software") from freeware to something more professional. Even though I've had extensive experience engineering with Audition in a studio setting, I hesitated to replace the familiar and comfortable Audacity (which I was using long before I got into pro voiceover work) in my home environment. This year, I pushed myself to make the switch. My only regret is that I didn't do it ages ago.
Brandon, Buster, and Belt. My beloved San Francisco Giants returned to playoff form with a 107-victory season in 2021, with the Three-B Triumvirate of veterans leading the way. Shortstop Brandon Crawford not only earned his fourth Gold Glove, but also finished fourth in the National League MVP voting with a career-best offensive campaign. First baseman Brandon Belt blasted 29 home runs despite a couple of significant injury absences. Catcher Buster Posey capped a stellar career — he announced his retirement at season's end — by winning the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award.
The Chase. What I was NDA-bound not to reveal in last Thanksgiving's list became clear in January, when I added a few seconds to my 15 minutes of TV quiz show fame (I say, "fame," as though I were actually famous) with a successful appearance on ABC's revival of The Chase. My teammate Daniel and I managed to outrace Jeopardy! superstar James Holzhauer to split a bankroll of $325K. Although it aired this year, our episode actually taped in November 2020 under strict COVID protocols.
Dr. Strange. He's guest-starring in the third MCU Spider-Man film next month. He entered my statue gallery earlier this year. I'm wearing his T-shirt as I type this post.
Everything bagels. Not literally "everything," but still, a savory flavor combination that's hard to resist. So popular that you can now get "everything" seasoning on dozens of other foods, or even just by itself you that you can apply it to your own creations. There's a bottle in my spice rack.
Fandango. It was pleasant to return to the cinema after nearly two years, with the ubiquitous movie-ticket app making the admission process contact-free. Also pleasant: being able to see how many other tickets had been sold in advance for each performance, to have a sense of how crowded (or not) the theater might be.
The Gospel According to Luke. I've read a fair number of rock star bios and memoirs in recent years, but none I've enjoyed more than this one by longtime Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. In addition to his decades-spanning Toto run, Luke has played hundreds of sessions behind other music legends — everyone from Michael Jackson (that's Luke playing the non-Eddie Van Halen guitar parts on "Beat It") to Elton John, from Aretha Franklin to Boz Scaggs, from Stevie Nicks to Chaka Khan. But I was surprised to learn just how deep his backing credits run. That's Luke on Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me"? On "Talk to Ya Later" by the Tubes? On Spinal Tap's "Break Like the Wind"? Who knew?
Haiku. A mere three brief lines. Just seventeen syllables. Poetic word art.
Insecure. Issa Rae's groundbreaking HBO series about a young African-American woman navigating life with her circle of friends and lovers is currently in its final season. It's impossible to overstate the power of seeing Black people on television leading authentic lives and dealing with everyday relationship complexities that always feel real. I'll miss Issa, Molly (played by the sublime Yvonne Orji), and their crew, and I'll look forward to seeing what Ms. Rae brings to the table next.
Jodie Whittaker. Speaking of TV departures, I'm also going to miss the Thirteenth Doctor when she departs Doctor Who at the end of this series. It took Jodie's quirky, impetuous Time Lord (and her glorious Yorkshire dialect) to get me back on board with a show I hadn't cared about since halfway through David Tennant's run as the Tenth Doctor. I can only hope that whoever the Fourteenth Doctor might be (the role has yet to be cast), they'll bring as much joy to the character as did Whittaker.
Kailua. One of the highlights of our Oahu trip this year was touring this delightful town on the Windward Coast. Between its world-class beaches, walkable central district, and relaxed, congenial vibe, Kailua's an easy place to love. (The other Kailua, on the Kona Coast of the Big Island, is pretty awesome too.)
Little Dude. Did I mention that he's adorable? Yes, I believe I did.
Magenta. It's been a long while since I added a new entry to my catalog of all-time favorite bands. These Welsh progressive rockers cracked the code this year. A three-person core — multi-instrumentalist Robert Reed, guitarist Chris Fry, and vocalist Christina Booth, plus Reed's brother Steven who contributes lyrics — supported by a changing cast of supporting players, Magenta takes cues from such earlier prog acts as Yes, Genesis, and Renaissance, but ends up sounding very much like its own thing. What separates Magenta from its prog predecessors for me is Rob Reed's insistence upon "giving priority to melody rather than technical showmanship." Magenta's music focuses on evocative songs rather than endless instrumental noodling; songs sumptuously conveyed by Booth's alternately delicate yet powerful voice. Magenta also takes the well-worn trope of "concept album" in interesting new directions. Their most recent effort, 2020's Masters of Illusion, dedicates its tracks to once-prominent horror film actors, including Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Ingrid Pitt. Previous albums have employed such themes as the seven deadly sins (Seven) and rock stars who died young (The Twenty-Seven Club).
Nachos Bell Grande. You know that craving you have every now and again for something that's barely food, but that satisfies that craving like nothing else can? Of course you do.
One hundred eighty. My Common Elements comic art commission theme reached this milestone number in 2021. (A couple of entries are still in the hands of their creators.) Seventeen years ago, when I first got the idea to commission an original artwork featuring otherwise unrelated comic book heroes who shared some feature in common, I would never have predicted that I'd eventually own 180 of them. And yet, here we are. Which of the 180 Common Elements drawings is my favorite? The next one.
Packing cubes. They seem like a gimmick at first, but these magic pouches have become an indispensable part of traveling. I have always struggled to fit everything for a trip into a single suitcase. Packing cubes transform my checked bag into a TARDIS — bigger on the inside.
Queen of Swords. I was reminded recently of this short-lived period series from the early 2000s, in which Tessie Santiago starred as a kind of female Zorro. You can find a handful of episodes on YouTube, which only make me wish some streaming service would collect the entire run. Also: the title of one of my favorite songs by Idina Menzel.
The Real Housewives of Henry VIII, my Online Quiz League team. The name derived from the fact that the team originally had six members. When two of our players moved on after the first season, we kept the name. Since I usually occupy the fourth position in our playing rotation, I hold the Anne of Cleves seat. (From a historical perspective, Anne did alright for herself — she got a rich settlement, was beloved by everyone including her servants, and never had to be intimate with Henry, whom she outlived. None of which can be said for Anne Boleyn or Catherine Howard.)
Smart Resume. Why doesn't every channel offer this feature on every DVR recording? Because they want us to watch the commercials, obviously. But I employ Smart Resume every chance I get.
TD Ameritrade, the nice folks who provide the tools to manage my investment portfolio. For the record, today (Friday, November 26, 2021) was not a good day for the market. But I can't blame TD Ameritrade for that.
"Unpretty." Still my favorite TLC jam, with an ever-relevant message — especially for young women — about not allowing other people to define you.
Vaccines. As I noted in the introduction to this post, vaccines have helped ease us back onto the path toward a semblance of normal life. We'd be even further along that path were it not for an active misinformation campaign sponsored by villains about whom, quite frankly, I don't have much positive to say. Vaccines helped rid the world of smallpox and, for the most part, of polio. Vaccines reduced the threat of measles, a disease that used to kill millions of children, and of other scourges such as typhoid, cholera, tetanus, and diphtheria. Just get your shots, people.
Warriors. The Dubs are back in full force, after a few seasons on struggle street. Steph Curry has redefined basketball — bold words, I know, but I can't think of a more accurate way to put it. And Steph once again has a supporting cast around him that's capable of a deep playoff run. Just wait until the other Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, returns to the floor next month.
Xiao long bao. I don't know who invented soup dumplings, but whoever you are, bless you.
Yu Oughta Know. Lynn Q. Yu's daily current events email/quiz helps keep me up to date on what's fresh and exciting in the world, as well as information that just might turn up in competitive trivia sometime in the near future. I'd need more fingers than I have to count the number of times recently that something I only knew because of Lynn's newsletter fell into my lap during a quiz. Every point matters.
Zot! Cartoonist Scott McCloud might be better known these days for his Eisner Award-winning Understanding Comics and its sequels, but long before those seminal masterworks, he was known for Zot!, a superhero pastiche about a relentlessly positive do-gooder from a utopian parallel Earth. We could all use a bit of Zot's cheerful optimism these days.
As I express every year, I am thankful for you, friend reader. I hope you'll use this opportunity to reflect on the people and things for which you're grateful. May we all survive another circuit around the sun, so that we'll have even more to celebrate in a year's time.
Categories: Aimless Riffing, Cinemania, Comic Art Friday, Hawaii, I'm a Warriors Worrier, Jeopardy!, Listology, Soundtrack of My Life, SwanStuff, Teleholics Anonymous, Thanksgiving, That's Cool!, Trivial Pursuits
The Steely Dan 64 Project, Song 1
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). These links will connect you to a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57; songs 56 through 49; songs 48 through 41; songs 40 through 33; songs 32 through 25; songs 24 through 17; songs 16 through 13; songs 12 through 9; songs 8 and 7; songs 6 and 5; song 4; song 3; and song 2.]
1. Kid Charlemagne (The Royal Scam)
Is there gas in the car?
Yes, there's gas in the car
I think the people down the hall
We've counted upward through 64 classic tracks to reach the pinnacle of the Steely Dan catalog. As I've said throughout this project, not a single one of these 64 songs sucks. Half or more of them stand among the finest recordings made during the rock era. Any of the final seven or eight that we've covered in this ranking could easily merit consideration as Number One. Indeed, among the seemingly infinite iterations of this list that I devised on my path to this point, each of the top seven landed in first place at least once.
So why did "Kid Charlemagne" end up on top?
My glib response: "Two words — Larry Carlton."
But there's so much more to it than just that.
"Kid Charlemagne" is, as is generally well known by this late date, based on the activities of a guy named Augustus Owsley Stanley III, nicknamed "The Bear," who worked as a sound technician for rock bands (most notably, the Grateful Dead) in the 1960s and early 1970s. When not designing and maintaining high-powered audio systems (and, according to legend, co-creating the Dead's now-familiar skull-and-lightning-bolt logo), Stanley was in his bathroom laboratory cooking up high-powered LSD. He quickly gained renown as a purveyor of quality acid, becoming the preferred provider of same to musicians and other celebrities in the psychedelic scene.
I don't know whether Donald Fagen and Walter Becker knew Stanley personally, or merely by reputation, but they used his career — specifically, the raid in 1967 that led to Stanley's two-year imprisonment — as the inspiration for "Kid Charlemagne." (They weren't the first, incidentally. The Grateful Dead songs "Alice D. Millionaire" and "Truckin'," Frank Zappa's "Who Needs the Peace Corps?," and Jefferson Airplane's "Mexico" either allude to or specifically mention Stanley; all four predate "Kid Charlemagne" by several years.)
The narrative of a drug kingpin riding high until it all goes sideways provokes some of Becker and Fagen's most memorable lyrics:
Did you feel like Jesus? Did you realize that you were a champion in their eyes?
On the hill the stuff was laced with kerosene, but yours was kitchen clean / Everyone stopped to stare at your Technicolor motor home
And of course, perhaps the most quotable Steely Dan couplet of all:
Is there gas in the car? Yes, there's gas in the car…
It's stunning storytelling, even from two scribes supremely skilled in weaving wicked tales.
But then, we have to talk about the music. Which means that, yes, we have to talk about Larry Carlton.
Can I say that Carlton's incredible guitar solo is the greatest guitar solo in the history of recorded rock? I probably wouldn't go that far — although I'm struggling to come up with all that many better candidates. There is, however, an undeniable genius to Carlton's effort; a constantly shifting fusillade of jazz chords and progressions that somehow fits perfectly within the context of a rock song — a straight-ahead pop-rocker propelled by a funky, almost quasi-disco undercurrent. And yet, Carlton brings the full weight of his prodigious fusion chops to his solo without it feeling out of place for so much as a single note.
I listened to Carlton's playing on "Kid Charlemagne" a couple dozen times while preparing to write this essay. Thanks to YouTube, I was even able to listen to it in isolation from the rest of the track. I never got bored of hearing it; with every pass, I heard some nuance or technique that I'd never picked up on before. For example, did you ever notice that Carlton plays the last few notes of his solo by tapping the strings on his guitar's fretboard, the style that Eddie Van Halen would make famous years later? Sheer brilliance.
Equally brilliant is the way the other musicians line up to support what Carlton is doing. In particular, the rhythm section of Chuck Rainey (bass) and Bernard Purdie (drums) digs into the groove so snugly that you couldn't pry them out with a crowbar. The electric keyboards — a collaborative effort involving Fagen on organ, Don Grolnick on the Fender Rhodes, and Paul Griffin on clavinet — alternately push forward and swirl underneath, but never get in the way. And Fagen, with stellar support from his cast of backing singers, delivers one of his most gleefully sardonic vocal performances ever.
The result is a quintessentially Steely Dan track that isn't stereotypical Steely Dan, if that makes sense. "Kid Charlemagne" forms, I believe, the nexus between what Becker and Fagen had been doing from the very beginning — this song fits just fine alongside early Dan numbers like "Reelin' in the Years" — and what the Dan would morph into from this point forward. It's an ideal blend of the Dan's past and its upcoming.
Plus a metric boatload of Larry Carlton.
That's why "Kid Charlemagne" wins the grand prize trophy for me.
So, that's it, then. Sixty-four amazing songs, ranked as I hear and feel them. How did your own ranking — I presume you were (at least mentally) doing your own, for the sake of comparison — turn out? What was your #1 in the Steely Dan 64?
Categories: Listology, Reminiscing, Soundtrack of My Life, Steely Dan 64 Project, SwanStuff, That's Cool!
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). These links will connect you to a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57; songs 56 through 49; songs 48 through 41; songs 40 through 33; songs 32 through 25; songs 24 through 17; songs 16 through 13; songs 12 through 9; songs 8 and 7; songs 6 and 5; song 4; and song 3.]
2. Deacon Blues (Aja)
You call me a fool
You say it's a crazy scheme
This one's for real
I already bought the dream
If music can be described as "glossy," then "Deacon Blues" is glossy.
It shimmers and shines in a way that almost feels visual, even though the experience itself is entirely auditory.
Perhaps more than any other single track in the Steely Dan catalog — with the possible exception of its album mate, the title tune "Aja" — "Deacon Blues" represents the fullest realization of the Becker/Fagen aesthetic. This is that "thing," for lack of a more effective word, that the duo had been driving toward since the beginning of their collaboration, and with stronger force since their disassembly of the core band post-Pretzel Logic.
Like "FM," which it greatly resembles — right down to the Pete Christlieb tenor saxophone solo — "Deacon Blues" feels very much "lived-in" for me personally. The imagery of a man coming to grips with the intangibility of his hopes and dreams resonated powerfully with me when this song first hit my turntable (it was a thing, kids; look it up). The teenage angst of my early college years fit right alongside the midlife-crisis vibe. I listened to "Deacon Blues" frequently during that period — and by "frequently," I mean several times back-to-back on days when I felt the yearning.
As Steely Dan songs go, "Deacon Blues" feels more transparent and accessible than many. The lyric dances through plenty of Becker and Fagen's signature obtuse wordplay, but even when the references seem muddled — is "Deacon" a shout-out to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, or to NFL Hall of Fame defensive end David "Deacon" Jones? (hint: it's the latter) — the thematic thread is crystal clear. Doubtless, this played some part in the tune's chart success: it climbed to #19 (there's that number again) on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the fifth Steely Dan single to hit the Top Twenty.
Part of what makes "Deacon Blues" so compelling for me is the rich musical tapestry over which Fagen and the female backup vocalists (the ineffable trio of Venetta Fields, Clydie King, and Sherlie Matthews once again) weave their story. Longtime Dan sideman Victor Feldman opens the proceedings on electric piano. Three superlative guitarists (Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour on electric, Dean Parks on acoustic) counterbalance a smooth-as-satin Tom Scott horn chart. Becker on bass and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie lock down an easy-swinging rhythm. It all just melds. Like a perfectly grilled ham and cheese sandwich.
I've already mentioned the Pete Christlieb sax solo — at the time of the session, the Bard brothers only knew Christlieb from his work in the house band on the Tonight Show. The veteran jazzman came into the studio and laid down two improvisational runs — a rarity in working with the persnickety Becker and Fagen, who were notorious for demanding endless retakes before finding one acceptable. Christlieb's second shot is the one that appears on the recording.
So, yeah. I love "Deacon Blues." Love, love, love "Deacon Blues."
Why, then, is it #2 in my rankings, and not #1?
Because #1 has many of the same benefits, but it also adds one other key element that makes it an exceptional track.
You already know — assuming you've been keeping tally — what #1 is.
We'll talk about it in our next post.
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). These links will connect you to a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57; songs 56 through 49; songs 48 through 41; songs 40 through 33; songs 32 through 25; songs 24 through 17; songs 16 through 13]; songs 12 through 9; songs 8 and 7; songs 6 and 5; and song 4.]
3. My Old School (Countdown to Ecstasy)
Well, I hear the whistle but I can't go
I'm gonna take her down to Mexico
She said, "Oh no —
Guadalajara won't do"
Unlike many songwriters, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen didn't tend toward autobiography in their collaborative oeuvre. Steely Dan's songs tend to be more about colorful characters and subversive situations than about the auteurs themselves. Which, at least in my opinion, is probably a good thing. The fact that we don't come to know Becker and Fagen too intimately is part of what gives their music its mystique.
Having said that, once in a while we do get a glimpse into the personal histories of the boys from Bard College. It happens in "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Barrytown" on Pretzel Logic, and it happens most famously in this cut from the album immediately preceding that. "My Old School" leaves no doubt about the level of affection — or lack thereof — that Walter and Donald felt for their alma mater: "I'm never going back to my old school."
The song alludes to an incident in which Becker, Fagen, and others got arrested for marijuana possession, thanks to the efforts of a Dutchess County prosecuting attorney who would later go on to much greater infamy in the political world: G. Gordon Liddy, referred to in the lyrics as "Daddy Gee." We get shout-outs to "Annandale," a.k.a. Annandale-on-Hudson, the upstate New York town where Bard is located; "the Wolverine," a passenger train line that stopped in nearby Rhinecliff and serviced students traveling to and from Bard; and the rejected possibility of fleeing from authorities by running off to Guadalajara, Mexico. Seems awfully far, but the arm of the law has a long reach.
"My Old School" makes an entertaining showcase for the original Steely Dan band. Aside from the frequently employed chorus of female backup singers and a four-man horn section added for the occasion, the instrumentation is handled by the five founding members (minus erstwhile singer David Palmer, who'd been jettisoned by this point). Jeff "Skunk" Baxter features most prominently on lead guitar, but for my money, the real stars of the arrangement are the rhythm section. Becker provides some nimble, slyly funky bass lines, while drummer Jim Hodder contributes solid, steady, almost Ringo Starr-like percussion.
Altogether, "My Old School" stands out as both an iconic creation of its time — man, there were a ton of horn-playing rock bands in the early 1970s — and a prophetic statement about the jazzier path Steely Dan would take in the future. At the same time, it's just a perfectly crafted, flat-out fun pop-rock number that takes us ever so slightly behind the curtain for a peek at the two men behind it. It ranks this highly in my countdown for all of these reasons.
"My Old School" is as fine a piece of work as the original version of the group ever came up with, which is why it's the only track from the first two Dan albums — the only ones to feature that founding band — in my Top Ten.
Only two tracks remain. By now, you know what they are.
But in what order did they end up?
Categories: Listology, Reminiscing, Soundtrack of My Life, Steely Dan 64 Project, That's Cool!, Uncategorized
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). These links will connect you to a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57; songs 56 through 49; songs 48 through 41; songs 40 through 33; songs 32 through 25; songs 24 through 17; songs 16 through 13]; songs 12 through 9; songs 8 and 7; and songs 6 and 5.]
Thanks (but no thanks) to COVID-19, the NCAA has no March Madness this year. Here at the Steely Dan 64 Project, however, we're plunging ahead with our own Final Four. It starts here.
4. FM (No Static At All) (FM Soundtrack)
Give her some funked-up Muzak, she treats you nice
Feed her some hungry reggae, she'll love you twice
The girls don't seem to care tonight
As long as the mood is right
As you've surmised by now, there are some Steely Dan tracks that I've lived with rather deeply. There are, however, few that I've lived with to the degree that I've lived with "FM."
I've mentioned here before that, for the better part of two years, I worked at a college radio station in Malibu. Over the course of that time, I wore a number of hats: traffic manager (the person who organizes the schedule and identifies when commercials run); associate music director; baseball play-by-play broadcaster; and chief engineer for sports broadcasts. In and around all of the above, I was a disc jockey — originally on Saturday nights, then mid-mornings a couple of days per week. Plus, I filled in often when other on-air talent didn't show. (We're talking about college kids here, so that happened a lot.)
Unlike many college stations, which lean into alternative music genres that don't get played much on commercial radio, our station's daytime format corresponded to what most radio stations called "adult contemporary" or "light pop-rock." Quite a few local businesses used our feed as background noise, so we couldn't play anything too loud or aggressive in tone during daylight hours. And thus, whenever I went on the air in the morning, I kicked off my shift with Steely Dan's "FM."
To this day, I can still improvise a DJ break that exactly fills the 26 seconds of this track's instrumental intro, and land the station ID a hair's breadth before Donald Fagen's vocal kicks in. The Pirate Queen — like a major dude — will tell you. I do it in the car every time "FM" comes on the radio.
"FM" occupies an unusual place in the Steely Dan catalog. It's the only Dan single that didn't come from one of their albums; it was recorded during the Aja sessions — and is stylistically similar to the material on that album — but was not included on that release. It's the only official Steely Dan song recorded specifically for a movie soundtrack; Becker and Fagen produced the music for an independent film, You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It, but that happened before the band's formation. It's the only track from the Dan's classic period on which Becker (guitars and bass) and Fagen (piano) play most of the primary instruments (frequent collaborator Jeff Porcaro plays drums, while Pete Christleib adds the saxophone solo). It's also one of only two Dan tracks that uses strings ("Through With Buzz," on Pretzel Logic, is the other).
Worthy of note: three members of the Eagles — Timothy Schmit (who made guest appearances on several other Dan tracks), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey — chime in with backing vocals here. We've noted previously that Becker and Fagen name-checked that legendary SoCal band in "Everything You Did" on The Royal Scam, only to receive a callback in the Eagles' "Hotel California." The two groups shared common management, and I shudder to imagine what else.
I always enjoyed spinning "FM" on my strictly formatted FM station precisely because the lyrics torpedo the blandness of that era and style of radio, and I knew that almost no one else would get the joke.
So far as was ever communicated to me, no one in the station hierarchy ever did.
Next up: Song #3.
The Steely Dan 64 Project, Songs 6 and 5
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). These links will connect you to a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57; songs 56 through 49; songs 48 through 41; songs 40 through 33; songs 32 through 25; songs 24 through 17; songs 16 through 13]; songs 12 through 9; and songs 8 and 7.]
And then there were six.
6. Any Major Dude Will Tell You (Pretzel Logic)
Have you ever seen a squonk's tears?
Well, look at mine
The people on the street have all seen better times
For the longest time, I had no idea what a squonk was. Okay, full disclosure: for the longest time, I had no idea what Donald Fagen was even saying in that line. Was it skunk? Spark? Spock? And why would any of those shed tears? (Especially Spock.)
Only decades later would I discover that the actual word was squonk. And only quite some time after that, when my buddy Tom Galloway explained it to me in detail, would I understand the significance of a squonk's tears. Fortunately for you, there's Wikipedia. (I'll save you a click: a squonk is a grotesque mythical creature, allegedly native to Pennsylvania, that literally cries itself into a puddle of tears when frightened.)
When I say that Steely Dan got me through my college years, "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" is one of two songs — the second of which we have yet to cover in this ranking list — that played the largest role. There were days (and nights) when I played this track over and over, and over again, as a reminder to myself that things that seem horrific in the moment — as they often do, when one is in one's salad days; young and green — eventually get better. True, sometimes they don't get better. But that would make for a far less repeatable song.
Compared to the majority of tunes in the Steely Dan catalog, "Any Major Dude" (I'm just going to start conserving keystrokes now) is a simple song with a simple message. That's part of its beauty; you don't expect anything this direct and uplifting from the two guys Jay Black (of Jay and the Americans) referred to as "Manson and Starkweather," so it comes as a pleasant surprise. It's also a surprise that this track, one of the catchiest and most accessible in the Dan's oeuvre, wasn't released as a single; instead, it featured as the B-side (look it up, whippersnappers) to "Rikki Don't Lose That Number."
Dean Parks opens the song with a light acoustic guitar riff, followed by both Fagen and David Paich (later of Toto) on electric piano. Denny Dias handles the brief guitar solo. Those are the highlights. Sometimes, as in this instance, that's all you need.
Given everything that's going on in the world at the time of this writing, we all could benefit from the refrain: "When the demon is at your door, in the morning it won't be there no more… any major dude will tell you." Let's all hope the major dudes have this one pegged.
5. Hey Nineteen (Gaucho)
It's hard times befallen
The Soul Survivors
She thinks I'm crazy
But I'm just growing old
Those of you who know me in the real world know that 19 is a special number to me. Both my birthday and my late first wife KJ's fall on the 19th of their respective months; we chose as our wedding date the 19th of the month in between them. I was 19 when KJ and I began dating, in a year whose digits added up to 19. Our daughter, whose birthday does not fall on a 19th, still chose a 19th as her wedding date to honor both her mother and me. It stands to reason, then, that "Hey Nineteen" would be one of my favorite songs by my favorite musical act. If you think I'm kidding about that, know that I drove around with these license plates on my car for a lot of years.
(And no, COVID-19 certainly does not count as "special.")
Today, "Hey Nineteen" would probably be entitled "Okay Boomer" and written from the perspective of the young woman. But this is Steely Dan, and it was 1980, so instead the lyric follows the mindpath of a man approaching middle age who finds himself on a date with a teenager just a year past legal, and discovers that the two of them have nothing to say to one another. (Becker and Fagen were both in their early 30s when Gaucho was released, but I've always envisioned the protagonist of "Hey Nineteen" as somewhat older than that; late 30s or early 40s.)
Of course, for a lot of men of a certain age, the prospect of hooking up with a girl still young enough to warrant the use of that word would be a fantasy come true. Typical of the Dan, however, this song serves as musical reinforcement of the ancient maxim, "Be careful what you wish for — you might get it." Our hapless narrator has to come to grips with the fact that his companion doesn't relate to any of the things that are important to him, including music: she doesn't even know who Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, is. (For a contemporary parallel, think of today's 18-year-old pop music wunderkind Billie Eilish, who, in a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, didn't know who Van Halen were.)
Fagen's character pushes past his middle-aged angst with chemical assistance from "the Cuervo Gold" and "the fine Columbian," and by focusing on the fact that his young companion "sure looks good" when she dances. But listening along, we know this interaction won't end happily. Miss Nineteen will move on to more age-appropriate social connections — or perhaps won't; patterns sometimes become habits — and our narrator will resign himself to loneliness until the next Nineteen comes along… because again, patterns sometimes become habits.
"Hey Nineteen" slides perfectly into the pocket of Gaucho's easy-rolling soul-jazz groove. A couple of musical choices catch my attention upon repeated listening. One, while Steely Dan frequently made sterling use of female backup choruses — at least, when not exploiting the talents of Michael McDonald — this song employs a pair of male vocalists (Frank Floyd and Zachary Sanders) in much the same way. Contextually, this makes sense; the male voices subtly echo the insecurities spinning in the narrator's head. Second, the rhythm section plays a particularly vital role here. Becker on bass and Rick Marotta on drums lay down a deceptively casual floor for the rest of the instruments — most memorably, Fagen's synthesizer — to glide over.
Peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Hey Nineteen" marked Steely Dan's third and final foray into the Top Ten (following "Do It Again" and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number"). For an act that produced so many enduring radio staples, the Dan rarely managed a major chart splash.
But when they hit, they hit.
The Final Four arrive next. And in all honesty, any of these last four could be #1, depending on my mood. (The same is true of both of the songs covered in this post, each of which was #1 at various points.) This ranking will represent the mood I was in the day I pronounced this project completed.
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). These links will connect you to a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57; songs 56 through 49; songs 48 through 41; songs 40 through 33; songs 32 through 25; songs 24 through 17; songs 16 through 13]; and songs 12 through 9.]
During the course of this project, there was a high degree of scrambling and shuffling of my ratings chart. (For those who are curious, I used an iPad app called Cardflow that enabled me to create individual cards — think index cards or Post-It notes — for each of the 64 songs, then move them around the screen at will. I'll post a screenshot of my working chart in the final post.) Certain songs made dramatic moves up or down in the ratings, sometimes even as I was composing posts that included those songs.
My Top Eight, however, were set pretty solidly from the very beginning. The only real movement here was internal; the order of these eight did shuffle around a good deal. Seven of my Top Eight occupied the Number One position in at least one iteration, which tells you just how much all of these songs mean to me, and how small the distinctions are between them. On any given day, I might rethink and re-sort these into yet another different order. (At one point, I just had to stop myself and say, "No more finagling — this is the order I'm going with.") But at this juncture, I don't believe that any of the songs we'll review from here on would ever fall lower than eighth.
Let's begin the ascent to the summit.
8. Here at the Western World (Greatest Hits)
In the night you hide from the madman
You're longing to be
But it all comes out on the inside
Of all of the songs in this list of 64, "Here at the Western World" is probably the least familiar to the casual Steely Dan fan. Recorded during the sessions for The Royal Scam, Becker and Fagen elected not to use it either on that album or its followup, Aja.
I'm not sure why that decision was made. "Here at the Western World" compares favorably with the material on both of the aforementioned albums; if you've been keeping score, you've already figured out that I've only ranked one track from each of those albums higher than this. Sonically and tonally, "Western World" fits more seamlessly with the Aja material than with The Royal Scam, so perhaps Walter and Donald decided to reserve it from Scam in favor of their next record, then either forgot about it or didn't have room for it when Aja's track list was being compiled.
Whatever occurred there, the Dan's delay in creating their next studio album after Aja convinced ABC Records, their label at the time, to release a Greatest Hits set. Someone, somewhere, was inspired to resurrect "Here at the Western World" as a bonus cut on that compilation. And while it's not truly a "greatest hit," in that it was never released as a single and never charted, it definitely stands — in my opinion, and I'm the one writing here — among the very finest tracks the Dan ever produced.
As is usually the case with the boys from Bard, it's tough to be 100% certain what "Here at the Western World" is about. It's possible to interpret the titular location as either a bordello or a drug den or possibly both; I favor the first interpretation, but I wouldn't argue with the others. The lyrics here are, even for the Dan, particularly twisty and sly. In any case, it's yet another opportunity for Fagen and Becker to explore a slice of urban life's seedy underbelly, as they were frequently wont to do.
From a musical perspective, it's a beautifully simple song; for a team that excelled at devising spectacularly complex arrangements and tonalities, Becker and Fagen accomplished some of their most memorable work when they stripped everything down to basics. The entire musical corps supplies subtle support. Michael Omartian delivers a lovely, lilting piano backdrop, counterpointed against the rock-steady rhythm section of Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums and Chuck Rainey on bass. Similarly, Fagen's vocal is buoyed by an all-female chorus; this time, it's Leslie Miller, Casey Syszik, and Florence Warner. Frequent Dan sideman Dean Parks slips in a tasteful guitar solo just to round things out.
If you've never heard "Here at the Western World" — or even if you have — click the link above and immerse yourself in some Steely deliciousness. You'll be glad you did.
7. Doctor Wu (Katy Lied)
Katy lies
You can see it in her eyes
But imagine my surprise
When I saw you
Are you with me, Doctor Woods?
That's Phil Woods, whose alto sax solo provides the instrumental highlight of "Doctor Wu." Becker and Fagen always did a superlative job of roping in top sidemen — once they had decided that a set band lineup didn't put enough tools in their toolbox — and Phil Woods was about as top as sidemen got. I mean, Phil Woods was so close to being the next Charlie "Bird" Parker that he actually married Parker's former common-law wife, Chan. (You could say that she had a type, and that type was world-class saxophone players.)
If you were Walter and Donald, who so idolized Parker that they wrote a song about him ("Parker's Band"), and you can't get Parker to play on one of your records — mostly because he died 17 years before you started making records — the next best thing would be Phil Woods. (Billy Joel thought so too; that's Woods playing sax on Joel's megahit "Just the Way You Are.")
Now, "Doctor Wu" would be an excellent song even without Woods's sax solo. Start with one of the catchiest, hookiest, most unavoidably infectious lyrics of any Dan song — seriously, try listening to this track and not walk away singing, "Are you with me, Doctor Wu? Are you really just a shadow of the man that I once knew?" Add one of Fagen's warmest, most engaging vocal performances; sprinkle in a soupçon of drummer Jeff Porcaro's sneaky-tight percussion; and you've got a recipe for bliss.
As for the title character himself, I've read numerous articles over the years that purported that there was a real-life Doctor Wu — maybe a psychiatrist, maybe a pharmacist, maybe a plastic surgeon to the stars. Becker and Fagen always maintained that Wu was fictional and metaphoric, though they didn't always agree what the metaphor was supposed to be. Becker once claimed that Wu represented a breach of trust between a patient and physician; Fagen said in an interview that Wu was the personification of a drug addiction.
You believe what you choose. Just don't ask Katy. She lies.
Next up: Songs #5 and #6. Where will your favorite land on my scale?
The Steely Dan 64 Project, Songs 12-9
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). These links will connect you to a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57; songs 56 through 49; songs 48 through 41; songs 40 through 33; songs 32 through 25; songs 24 through 17; and songs 16 through 13.]
12. Black Friday (Katy Lied)
When Black Friday comes
I'll fly down to Muswellbrook
Gonna strike all the big red words
From my little black book
One of the underrated boons of the Internet is easy access to song lyrics, something that in less technological times, people had to decipher for themselves more often than not. For years, I puzzled over the word — or was it a phrase? — in the second verse of "Black Friday." Was it "my swell brook"? "Mizewell Brook"? "Muscle Well Broke"?
As it turns out, the word is "Muswellbrook." It's a small town in New South Wales, Australia, about 150 miles north of Sydney. No one is quite sure how the place came to be called Muswellbrook; the best guess is that it was originally designated "Mussel Creek," which became "Muscle Creek" before morphing into "Muscle Brook" and eventually Muswellbrook. Or perhaps, as allegedly happened with Istanbul, people just liked it better that way.
Becker and Fagen chose the name-check for their tune about a scurrilous financier absconding with funds because it sounded like a nicely remote place to run off to if you were a fugitive from Los Angeles. Also, it rhymed with "book."
Musically, this one's got everything you want: a driving beat, pushed along with aplomb by Jeff Porcaro on drums (not many Steely Dan joints can be described as "danceable," but "Black Friday" certainly is); a catchy, clever, hook-laden lyric; and a propulsive guitar solo by Walter Becker, wringing the snot out of Denny Dias's Telecaster. People who think of every Dan track as "yacht rock" need to hear them just plain rock, and that's what they do on "Black Friday." (That, and maybe wrestle over a cheap flatscreen at Target.)
Then again, for some of us, every Friday is Black Friday.
11. Peg (Aja)
I like your pin shot
I keep it with your letter
Done up in blueprint blue
It sure looks good on you
Rumor has it that this song recalls the brief life of Peg Entwhistle, a wannabe starlet in the early days of the LA film industry who committed suicide by jumping off the Hollywood sign (it read "Hollywoodland" then) in 1932. To the best that I can determine, Fagen and Becker never confirmed this — they rarely have confirmed speculation about any song they wrote — and I suppose that explanation works. I always thought it was about a young actress being seduced by a sleazy producer into making films "for mature audiences." Either way, the grimy underlying narrative is offset by as bright and bouncy a melody as the boys from Bard ever penned.
The most famous anecdote concerning "Peg" surrounds the quasi-Hawaiian guitar solo by Jay Graydon. By the time of Aja, Becker and Fagen had become so anal-retentive that they would routinely bring in multiple session musicians to record parts to their songs, discarding everything but the one track that met their specifications. Six other guitarists took a whack at the "Peg" solo before Graydon, in a day-long marathon involving countless takes, finally nailed it. It's no wonder that Graydon switched from playing to producing shortly after the Aja sessions, going on to success helming albums for the Manhattan Transfer and numerous other acts. I'd have probably hung up my axe too.
In a nod to our repeated mantra that Michael McDonald makes everything better, let's mention that McDonald's multitracked backing vocals (pianist Paul Griffin also contributed; he's the one muttering incomprehensibly late in the song) are probably the feature of "Peg" that everyone remembers. Has any background singer ever squeezed as much juice out of a single syllable as McDonald does with his punctuating "Peg"? Consider that lily gilded.
10. Rikki Don't Lose That Number (Pretzel Logic)
I have a friend in town, he's heard your name
We can go out driving on Slow Hand Row
We could stay inside and play games, I don't know
And you could have a change of heart
What often gets lost in the Steely Dan discussion is the fact that, despite their penchant for elaborate arrangements and jazz-influenced solos, Becker and Fagen spent their classic period creating — for the most part — relatively compact, radio-friendly songs. At the time of Pretzel Logic, for example — the Dan's last pretense at being an actual band with regular members beyond the Dynamic Duo — they were filling albums with tunes timing in at around three minutes. "Rikki" ties with the title track as the longest selection on the record, and it's only four-and-a-half minutes. Not too long for a single, even in the fast-moving '70s.
"Rikki" would become the Dan's all-time biggest chart hit, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. ["Do It Again," their debut single (#4), and "Hey Nineteen," the lead single from their last classic-period album (#10), would be the group's only forays into the Top Ten.] Even now, 45 years after its release, Victor Feldman's bizarre marimba noodling makes the song's intro immediately identifiable.
It's funny now to think that for many years, everyone thought "Rikki" was about a drug dealer and his client. The reality is much simpler. The real-life Rikki was a girl Walter Becker knew and crushed on during his Bard College days. She didn't reciprocate his interest, at least not to the same level. The song, written in the days before Steely Dan was yet a thing, is about Becker's earnest attempts at connecting with this aloof would-be paramour. That number, so important for Rikki not to lose, was Walter's.
9. Black Cow (Aja)
Just when it seems so clear
That it's over now
Drink your big Black Cow
And get out of here
For the record, I've never consumed a Black Cow: a kind of alcoholic milkshake consisting of Kahlua (a sweet coffee-flavored liqueur imported from Mexico), half-and-half, and cola. Which sounds, frankly, like something a stoner with the munchies would dream up if challenged to create a cocktail. The strange brew that is "Black Cow" the song, however, goes down even more smoothly and sweetly than its namesake drink.
Here's an odd casting choice: drummer Paul Humphreys, who makes his only Steely Dan session appearance on this track, was for many years the drummer for Lawrence Welk, the king of sanitized Muzak for elderly white folks. But let's not hold that against the man — a cat's gotta eat, right? Before settling in to tap out rhythms behind champagne music, Humphreys was a veteran jazz session player alongside everyone from John Coltrane to Wes Montgomery, and who recorded and toured with such diverse popular music stars as Marvin Gaye, Jerry Garcia, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Speaking of casting, let's give a shout-out to the ladies of the chorus, who carry even more of the weight on this number than they often did. Steely Dan employed teams of soulful female vocalists on recordings all the way back to their debut album (for example, "Dirty Work" on Can't Buy a Thrill). For "Black Cow," the Dan enlisted the quartet of Clydie King, Sherlie Matthews, Venetta Fields, and Rebecca Louis to glide along with Fagen as he wove this tale of a crumbling relationship with a drunken and dissolute lover. The counterpoint between the silky tones of the women and Donald's nasal growl lends the song a subtle irony.
Also, we have to talk about Tom Scott. The legendary sax man contributes both a stylish solo and some stellar horn arrangements here. Scott's impact would be even more powerfully felt on the Dan's subsequent album, Gaucho.
Fun fact: Of the seven classic-period Steely Dan albums, two open with a song whose title begins with "Black." And we've covered them both in this post.
Top Eight next. The pure cream rises to the surface.
The Steely Dan 64 Project, Songs 16-13
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). These links will connect you to a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57; songs 56 through 49; songs 48 through 41; songs 40 through 33; songs 32 through 25; and songs 24 through 17.]
Here, we begin our ascent into the Top Sixteen. We'll narrow the focus from eight songs per post to four from here on, just to give ourselves room to breathe. It's going to get stratospheric on the remainder of our journey up the charts.
16. Night By Night (Pretzel Logic)
"It's a beggar's life," said the Queen of Spain
But don't tell it to a poor man
'Cause he's got to kill for every thrill
The best he can
"Night By Night" has always struck me as the ideal theme song for a cool neo-noir detective film set in the '70s. It just has that vibe. Whenever I listen to this tune, I envision a flinty-eyed tough guy wearing impeccably tailored dark suits over a leather shoulder holster, driving a black Buick Electra 225 (what we used to call a "Deuce and a Quarter" back in the day) down a rain-slick, neon-glossy Sunset Boulevard. And his hair? Perfect.
Everything you need to know musically about "Night By Night" is right here: Jeff Porcaro, who delivers a lockdown drum beat so crisp you want to dunk it in coffee, was just 18 years old when he played this session. Think about that. When I was 18, the only drumstick I could handle was fried and came from a chicken. The young Mr. Porcaro's stunning work on this track led to Becker and Fagen bringing him back for the entirety of their next album, Katy Lied. And of course, he would go on to a bazillion other sessions, and some little rock combo that had a hit or three. You've probably heard of them. I think they were named after a dog in some old movie.
But not the movie to which "Night By Night" would be the theme. There's no dog in that one.
15. Babylon Sisters (Gaucho)
Well, I should know by now
That it's just a spasm
Like a Sunday in TJ
That it's cheap, but it's not free
One of the many things Steely Dan did better than practically any other band before or since was choose absolutely perfect tracks to open each of their albums. Every one of the seven studio releases during their classic period kicks off with a number that just sucks you in, and makes you need — not want, but need — to hear the rest of the record.
"Babylon Sisters," the initial track on the Dan's last album of the period, is no exception. By the time Gaucho debuted in 1980, fans had been waiting three years since the precedent-shattering Aja to find out how in the world Becker and Fagen would follow up that magnum opus. Then the needle finally hit the vinyl, and we heard Bernard Purdie's signature shuffle drop in, followed by Chuck Rainey's throbbing bass line, and then that almost mystically gliding electric piano riff by Don Grolnick. We all breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Oh, yeah… they've got this."
When Patti Austin and her vocal crew sail in to sing, "Here come those Santa Ana winds again," I'm swept back to a Sunday night in late August 40 years ago. I'm sitting on a concrete staircase on a hillside in Malibu, chatting with a girl I had met just a few hours before, already starting to feel the stirrings of that magical sensation that young love generates. As we sit and talk, a warm stiff breeze blows in from the southeast. My companion, a native of the Pacific Northwest who is new to southern California, wonders aloud where that weirdly hot wind is coming from. And I explain to her what a Santa Ana is.
She would hear a lot of Steely Dan in the weeks and months that follow.
14. Pretzel Logic (Pretzel Logic)
I have never met Napoleon
But I plan to find the time
'Cause he looks so fine upon that hill
They tell me he was lonely, he's lonely still
Part of the joy of listening to Steely Dan comes from attempting to decipher Becker and Fagen's cryptic, convoluted lyrics. In this particular instance, however, they tell us out front that there's no point in that: the name of the song is "Pretzel Logic." I'm reasonably certain that the boys from Bard had something in mind when they wrote this, but all these decades later, I still have no idea what that something is. Fagen once stated that the song is about time travel. To which I can only say… okay?
This bluesy track — somewhat unusual in the Steely Dan canon, which tends to tilt more toward jazz than blues in terms of influences — finds Walter Becker playing lead guitar for the first time on a Dan album; prior to this, Becker primarily played bass, while Denny Dias and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter handled the guitar chores. As a guitarist, Becker lacks Baxter's flash and Dias's crystalline technique, but when he steps forward to grind out a solo, he delivers it with a melancholy soulfulness that packs an emotional punch. Here, he leans into the blues without leaving his more experimental predilections behind entirely.
It's worth noting that "Pretzel Logic" offers, in my estimation, one of Fagen's finest vocal performances. There's a lightness — dare I say, joy — to his singing on this track that I've always found appealing. He gets an assist in the choruses from future Eagle Timothy B. Schmit, who's not a bad guy to have singing harmonies if you haven't yet discovered Michael McDonald.
As for Napoleon, I'm still waiting to find the time.
13. The Caves of Altamira (The Royal Scam)
On the stone an ancient hand
In a faded yellow-green
Made alive a worldly wonder
Often told, but never seen
In 1955, a German author named Hans Baumann wrote a book entitled The Caves of the Great Hunters, in which two young boys stumble upon some prehistoric paintings on the walls of a cave. Years later, Becker and Fagen thought the theme of the book would make an interesting basis for a pop-rock song. You know… as one would.
(It should be noted — because someone is bound to point it out if I don't — that there was a period early in his life during which Hans Baumann was a straight-up Nazi; not in the generic "I don't agree with that guy politically so I'm going to call him the worst name I can think of" sense, but in the actual Deutschland-uber-alles, Hitler-saluting sense. Post-World War II, Baumann sort of handwaved his Nazi past and became an internationally acclaimed writer of children's books, of which The Caves of the Great Hunters was but one. This is not to suggest in any way that there's anything even remotely fascist about this song. It's just that, well, life is complicated.)
As we've seen in the posts leading up to this one, Steely Dan's catalog teems with fascinating deep cuts. "The Caves of Altamira" is a brilliant example of a Dan song that most casual listeners aren't familiar with, but that everyone should be. Not only is the lyrical subject matter unique — quick, name all the other songs that you can think of that use Paleolithic cave art as a metaphor for fleeting youth — but the music itself is glorious. Few rock bands have used horns as effectively as the Dan does here (early Chicago; Blood, Sweat and Tears; to a lesser degree, Huey Lewis and the News) without diving directly into the cheese plate. Chuck Findley's trumpet flourishes soar and swing. And at a time when saxophone solos were everywhere on the pop charts, few were as economical and tasteful as John Klemmer lays it down.
Incidentally, the caves of Altamira, along with others throughout northern Spain, were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. I'm not saying that this song had anything to do with that. I am saying that I'm sure it didn't hurt.
Next up: Songs 12 through 9. Any theories yet on what Steely Dan joint will be my Number One?
[NOTE: The Steely Dan 64 Project represents my ranking, in order of my personal preference, of the 64 songs released by Steely Dan during their "classic" period (1972-80). You'll find a detailed introduction to the project, as well as notes on the songs I've numbered 64 through 57, HERE. Songs 56 through 49 are discussed HERE. Songs 48 through 41, you'll find HERE. Songs 40 through 33, HERE. And songs 32 through 25, HERE.]
We've reached the Top 24. Onward and upward, my Steely friends.
24. Time Out of Mind (Gaucho)
Tonight when I chase the dragon
The water may change to cherry wine
And the silver will turn to gold
"Time Out of Mind" is perhaps as glorious a missed opportunity as exists in the Dan catalog. Becker and Fagen brought in Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, fresh off the radio-ubiquitous "Sultans of Swing," to play lead guitar on this track. They recorded endless takes of Knopfler's six-string stylings. And then, in the final release, they buried the lead so far down in the mix that you can barely hear him play. Seriously. There are only a handful of guitarists in the rock universe whose technique is as distinctive and immediately recognizable as Knopfler's, and yet I'll bet there are some of you who've heard this track dozens of times and didn't realize he played on it.
That this tune remains a magnificent little slice of pop-jazz heaven despite the above is phenomenal. (For what it's worth, Michael McDonald — who makes everything better — is criminally underused here, too.)
23. Midnite Cruiser (Can't Buy a Thrill)
Felonius, my old friend
Step on in and let me shake your hand
So glad that you're here again
This one stands out in the canon in part due to the lead vocal by Jim Hodder, Steely Dan's founding drummer. It's not clear why Fagen handed the singing chores to Hodder rather than to David Palmer, who was ostensibly in the band at the time specifically as a vocalist. For that matter, it's unclear why Fagen didn't just sing the song himself, given that Hodder's voice is not all that distinct from Fagen's own. But Hodder's bitter nasal delivery fills the bill, and the song itself percolates right along.
This was actually my favorite number on the entire debut album when I first bought it on vinyl way back when. Four-plus decades later, on any given day, it might flip-flop places with…
22. Do It Again (Can't Buy a Thrill)
Your black cards can make you money
So you hide them when you're able
In the land of milk and honey
You must put them on the table
The first Steely Dan tune most of the world heard, "Do It Again" didn't sound like anything else on the radio in 1972. Interestingly, it doesn't sound all that much like anything else on a Steely Dan album, apart from Donald Fagen's now-unmistakable vocals. There's that weird sitar solo by Denny Dias, the even weirder organ solo by Fagen, the Latin-flavored percussion that's atypical for the Dan's style — it's a strange brew that somehow comes together in delicious fashion.
On top of the music itself, we get a bizarre Western gunslinger-slash-gambler narrative that hints at the lyrical oddities to come throughout the succeeding years.
21. Home At Last (Aja)
Well, the danger on the rocks is surely past
Still I remain tied to the mast
Ah, the Purdie Shuffle. Legendary drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie gets to showcase his trademark licks on this bluesy track that's as cool and smooth as a malted milkshake on a summer day. Although Larry Carlton's stinging guitar winds its way all through the song, it's Steely Dan co-mastermind Walter Becker who steps forward to take a rare solo. And yes, that's the familiar tenor of Timothy B. Schmit harmonizing behind Fagen on the chorus. I guess Randy Meisner was sick that day. (Some of you will get that.)
The Pirate Queen and I saw a modern theatrical interpretation of Homer's Odyssey a couple of summers ago at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This song buzzed in my skull the entire evening afterward.
20. Haitian Divorce (The Royal Scam)
She takes the taxi to the good hotel
Bon marché as far as she can tell
She drinks the zombie from the coco shell
She feels alright, she get it on tonight
I'll confess: I'm a sucker for talk box guitar. (Thank you, Joe Walsh, for getting me hooked.) "Haitian Divorce" is built around what might be the most unusual talk box guitar riff ever recorded: according to the album credits, the actual lead guitar part was played conventionally by Dean Parks, then Walter Becker performed the electronic effect using Parks's guitar track.
The Dan often gets dragged for obscure lyrical content, but the story line is crystal clear here: Babs, in splitsville mode with soon-to-be-ex Clean Willie, heads to Haiti for a quickie divorce, only to get pregnant during a drunken romp with a local dance machine named Charlie. Word to the wise, Babs: Put. The zombie. Down.
19. The Fez (The Royal Scam)
That's what I am
Please understand
I wanna be your holy man
Sometimes the simple things in life are best. "The Fez" is as simple a song as one can find in the Dan canon, but man, it's a wicked cool tune, isn't it?
This irresistably funky ode to prophylactics (well, what did you think "No, I'm never gonna do it without the fez on" meant?) marks the sole occasion where Becker and Fagen shared composing credit without the impetus of a lawsuit (I'm looking at you, "Gaucho"); pianist extraordinaire Paul Griffin gets the complementary byline here.
True confession: To my admittedly inexpert ear, the intros to "The Fez" and "FM" sound remarkably similar. Despite the fact that I've listened to each song literally hundreds of times, I still mistake one for the other.
18. Bad Sneakers (Katy Lied)
Do you take me for a fool?
Do you think that I don't see
That ditch out in the valley
That they're digging just for me?
When I say — and you'll notice that I say it quite a bit when discussing Steely Dan — "Michael McDonald makes everything better," "Bad Sneakers" proves me correct. This is the song that unleashed the golden vocal tones of the Bearded One on an unsuspecting world, and popular music would never be the same again.
Try to think of another backup singer who can completely launch a song into the stratosphere just by slipping in a well-placed line or two. I'm not talking about a stunt guest appearance by a recognizable existing superstar — Sting's "I want my MTV" on Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing," say, or Michael Jackson's sneaky chorus on Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me," to cite a pair of famous examples. I mean background vocals by someone no one ever heard of before, but that made people's ears prick up and say, "What the heck was THAT?" Then-unknown Michael McDonald did that on "Bad Sneakers."
Oh, yeah… the rest of the song is cracking good, too.
17. Aja (Aja)
Chinese music always sets me free
Sound good to me
Audiophiles have long known Steely Dan's Aja as an ideal recording for testing — and showing off — the quality of one's home sound system. The album's title track is a prime reason why. Most Dan tracks grab your ear and pull you in to listen and try to comprehend what's going on, musically and lyrically. With "Aja," you can simply sit back and allow the magic spun by world-class players to wash over you for the next eight minutes.
"Beautiful" and "spectacular" might seem like odd words to attach to a Steely Dan track, but "Aja" certainly merits both. In many ways, it's the apotheosis of the Dan's music; the place where all of the elements come together in perfect harmony, from Denny Dias's sublime guitar solo (the last appearance by an original Steely Dan member other than Becker or Fagen on a Dan album) to the brilliant saxophone-drum duel between Miles Davis veteran Wayne Shorter and Steve Gadd (Gadd, making his first Steely Dan appearance here, contributes the first drum solo on any Dan recording) to the celestial vibraphone playing of Victor Feldman and sweet piano stylings of Michael Omartian (on the acoustic instrument) and Joe Sample of the Crusaders (on the electric).
So, now that I've lavished all of that praise, why doesn't "Aja" rank higher? Well, first off, 17th is mighty doggoned high, when you consider everything that's still to come. And second, as amazing as "Aja" is musically, it's not quite that memorable a song (it's actually a kind of patchwork of three brief song segments, interspersed with extended solos). When it comes to assessing the collective works of Becker and Fagen, lyrics and earworminess (it's a word; look it up) matter a great deal to me.
Stellar stuff, all. But, oh my goodness, that Top Sixteen. More to come.
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Description Passwall monsters that can get triple moves on the player, should be very deadly. Ghosts are the earliest examples of these.
Note: this will cause Zaiband 3.0.8 to be alpha, as the monster list will need rebalancing.
Note that since the G is in a wall at all times, that the only effects that can hit in V mechanics are Line of Sight (LoS) and melee. [Both missiles and ball/bolt spells do not penetrate walls.] Heng(band) mechanics is not a panacea for the player, since even then walls block further propagation of ball/bolt/missile effects. In diagram below, a ball spell detonating at x cannot reach the Xorn X even in Heng mechanics; the ghost G can be tagged only with Heng mechanics.


One of the most effective ways to ensure that all students are prepared for college and career is to hold them to rigorous expectations in the form of standards and curriculum. That is why we applaud Michigan's efforts in the past decade to raise expectation for all students.
Michigan was a leading state in making college-prep the default curriculum for all students. In 2006, the legislature created the Michigan Merit Curriculum, setting rigorous expectations that all students must meet in order to graduate high school.
career- and college-ready, ensuring that learning in Michigan prepares students for careers, college and life after high school.
This year, our rigorous Michigan Standards are being implemented across the state. Combined with a new, end-of-year, aligned assessment, we will have the important information that we need to see how our students and schools are doing.


text:
namespace cpr {

class Digest : public Authentication {
  public:
    template <typename UserType, typename PassType>
    Digest(UserType&& username, PassType&& password)
            : Authentication{CPR_FWD(username), CPR_FWD(password)} {}

    const char* GetAuthString() const noexcept;
};

const char* Digest::GetAuthString() const noexcept {
    return Authentication::GetAuthString();
}

} // namespace cpr

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I enjoy venturing off the beaten path up in Northeast Iowa where we live, scouting for old bridges to photograph. There is something intriguing about old bridges. If those old bridges could talk, I wonder what secrets they would whisper? Would they tell about a childhood crush whose secret tryst was at the old bridge or later when they would go for walks as a married couple to the bridge and watch the sunset? Would those old bridges talk about the different models of automobiles that passed through or the team of horses with holiday bells on carrying the sleigh over hill and dale to, of course, grandma's house? Would they tell us about the hard working farmers who passed that way from early in the day to early evening dusk as they hauled the season's harvest to town? Would it talk about the families who had cast their fishing poles in the water on that same bridge on a magically divine summer day that now holds memories to last a lifetime as other generations enjoy the same simple pleasure? It amazes me to think about how life has changed in one hundred years, yet these bridges are still sturdy and standing proudly. We may have come far, but one thing hasn't changed. The quiet countryside with the bluffs and old bridges off the beaten path's landscape in Northeast Iowa remain, hopefully for many more generations to come. We love and want to continue to protect these historic bridges because it takes us back to when life was simpler. If these old bridges can't be fixed, I hope they do what Motor Mill Historic Site by Elkader did. They erected one that looks close to the original, only sturdier. To some, like our family, it also holds memories of our past that are intertwined with a special old bridge.
My husband, Kevin, grew up with an old county bridge over a great trout stream by Protivin as part of his driveway. When we were first married we lived on the family farm and found family, neighbors and friends on the bridge from early morning to late at night when the fish were biting. We also spent time at the old swimming hole to cool off on those hot summer nights right beside the bridge. A flood tore the old bridge apart a few years ago and it wasn't feasible to replace it, so a Cattle Bridge was built instead.
There are so many places to visit in Northeast Iowa with paths that lead to historic bridges, from Elkader's Keystone bridge, Motor Mill's historic bridge, to the country roads around Protivin, Decorah, Ft. Atkinson, and many more. What is better yet, as the fall trees begin to turn, make sure you wander off the beaten path and see the fall foliage intertwined with the bridges and the bluffs. We have the best fall scenery around, just outside your door! Check it out either by canoe, bike, motorcycle, or car and don't forget to take your camera!
Thanks for reading my blog and voting for it. Happy travels!
Enjoyed your piece. I'm a covered bridge fan and have afew pictures of ones. Voted.


Who else has been waiting for this read? I know I have!
I'm trying to remember when I first read Christy by Catherine Marshall. My copy is quite old and exceptionally well loved, and I honestly am not 100% sure on how I came by it. My best guess would be that my parents picked it up at a used bookstore (along with a stack of Agatha Christie novels) for their young teen daughter who was a voracious reader. A fan of Little House on the Prairie and mild Janette Oke romances, the story of a schoolteacher in the Smoky Mountains seemed right up my alley.
I was completely sucked in.
I have purposefully held off on starting my reread before writing this intro to this month's book club read. It has probably been at least ten years (maybe longer!) since I've read this book and I'm interested to see if my memory holds true to what I remember loving about this story. As a young girl, I seem to remember identifying with Christy's naïve nature and wanting to have her passion to make a difference and save the world. In contrast my introverted and homebody personality marveled at her boldness to leave her parents at such a young age and move to a rural area where she didn't know a single person and teach when she had never taught a class before in her life. At my young age, I had found a heroine in young Christy – it will be interesting to see what my older, married and now a mother, self thinks.
I hope you will join me in reading this classic. I look forward to reminiscing with you about this book at the end of the month!
Are you in? Let us know in the comment section below!
I'm in! Just picked up a copy from the library today. It's been years since I've read it and I am looking forward to revisiting it.
I'm definitely going to be reading this! It is one of my favorite books!
If I can find my copy, I'd love to read it again & join in. I read it about 10 years ago & loved it.
No, I just can't. I had every intention of re-reading 1984 last month and never even cracked the cover. But I just read Christy about 5 years ago with my now-19-yod, so I'm giving myself a pass and we'll try for June. . .
I just started reading Christy a couple of days ago (6 chapters in). So far, it's breathtaking!
I finally got mine from the library and started it last night! It took forever for the hold to come available.


Multi-platinum rock band 311 is hitting the road this summer for a 6 week headlining tour of North America, that starts June 29th in Salt Lake City. Special guest Matisyahu will be support on most shows. You can expect Rock At Night to catch up with the band this summer!
In celebration of the band's 25th year anniversary, 311 released their box set ARCHIVE (June 2015), featuring 4 CDs. 81 tracks of b-sides, bonus tracks, pre-production recordings and demos from 1992-2014. Plus a 60 Page Book of rare photos and memorabilia. 311 are currently writing and recording their 12th studio album for projected release in early 2017.
The band's summer tour commended on June 29th in Salt Lake City, Utah and will terminate on August 17th in Seattle, as the band zig-zags across North America. During the tour, the band is playing hits that span 25 years but also one can expect new material from their most recent work.


BAY SPRINGS, MS (WDAM) - Sylva-Bay Academy went 3-8 last season.
The Saints are 4-0 this year. Coach Terry Underwood has turned the program around in his first two seasons but he credits the players first and foremost.
"Everybody's supporting us more and we're confident in ourselves and coaches are really pushing us hard," said Sylva-Bay junior cornerback Cade Blackwell.
"It's night and day," Underwood said. "Our kids are expecting to win now. Positive things happening and success happening, you tend to develop more confidence."
The Saints are soaring with confidence headed into the Timber Bowl with Wayne Academy on Friday night. The two schools will battle at Wayne County High – first-year Jaguars coach Todd Mangum is excited to return to the school where he won a state championship in 2015.
Mangum and coach Underwood's love for football has remained the same since their days of growing up in the Pine Belt. The two faced each other in high school when Mangum was a star quarterback at Mount Olive and Underwood played at Seminary.
The two coached together at East Central Community College. On Friday, they'll be pitted against each other for the first time as head coaches.
"It'll be tough because [Mangum]'s a close friend of mine," Underwood said. "We probably talk to each other every week or two. Me and him have known each other our whole lives. He'd say the same thing, you'd like to beat him because you know him. At the same time, you don't like playing close friends and good people like that. He'll do a great job at Wayne, he'll have them ready to play."


text:
HOME BOOKS BIOGRAPHY RESOURCES CONTACT
BOOKS / See also: BIOGRAPHY / RESOURCES
In May 1937 a man in his early thirties waits by the lift of a Leningrad apartment block. He waits all through the night, expecting to be taken away to the Big House. Any celebrity he has known in the previous decade is no use to him now. And few who are taken to the Big House ever return.
So begins Julian Barnes's first novel since his Booker-winning The Sense of an Ending. A story about the collision of Art and Power, about human compromise, human cowardice and human courage, it is the work of a true master.
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS / INTERVIEWS / REVIEWS
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
The Noise of Time. London: Jonathan Cape, 2016.
[Limited Edition]. London: London Review Bookshop, 2016. Limited, signed edition of 100 copies, 75 in quarter-bound Harmatan Yellow 30 goatskin leather with Atlantic Cloth sides, and contain one facsimile page from the author's working notebook. Twenty-five copies, numbered i to xxv, are fully bound in the same leather and contain a portfolio of six facsimile pages of early draft passages and notebook entries.
The Noise of Time. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.
The Noise of Time. Toronto: Random House Canada, 2016.
The Noise of Time. Vintage, 2017.
Back Top ^
Angela Merkel on The Noise of Time
"I've read a book on Shostakovich, by Julian Barnes, also in connection with a performance of "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk", which I attended a while ago in Salzburg. The book wasn't particularly long, so I immersed myself in it for two days. [...]
"What appealed to me most about this book was that it allowed you to get to know the environment in which Shostakovich's music was created. It also harked back to a conflict I frequently encountered myself when I was young. Shostakovich lived through different phases of the Soviet Union's cultural policy and was faced with that question "how honest, how open are you?". His work had been banned, he wasn't allowed to have it shown anywhere, he was deprived of his means of expression, effectively. For these very reasons, I myself had decided pretty early on to become a physicist, because the GDR couldn't possibly mess with physics. But as a musician, as a composer, your music might get classed as un-cultural ("unkulturell") and be ostracized. People like this not only couldn't express themselves freely, but they also had to fear for their lives. Questions like how honest can I afford to be, how strong am I, when do I give in, what am I ready to compromise on, those are questions Shostakovich was faced with a lot. And reading about a life like that made me realize once again what a blessing it is to live in a free country."
- Excerpt from "Handelsblatt – Deutschland Live" interview
01/16/16 - The Book Show RTE Radio 1 with Sinead Gleeson, 16 January 2016.
01/22/16 - "Lunch with the FT: Julian Barnes" [Interview with Caroline Daniel]. Financial Times, 22 January 2016.
01/28/16 - "Interview: Julian Barnes in conversation with his long-term designer Suzanne Dean." Vintage Podcast.
01/29/16 - "Julian Barnes on his new book, no platforming and more." BBC Newsnight, 29 January 2016 [7:39 minutes].
06/05/2016 - Zheng, Haiyao. [Interview with Julian Barnes.] The Paper [Julian Barnes's first interview for a Chinese publication.]
01/15/2016 - Rentzenbrink, Cathy. "Julian Barnes: Interview." The Bookseller, 15 January 2016.
01/16/16 - Duncan White. "The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes, review: 'black humour'." The Telegraph, 16 January 2016.
01/17/16 - Alex Preston. "Julian Barnes's Masterpiece." The Guardian, 17 January 2016.
01/22/16 - James Lasdun. "How Shostakovich Survived Stalin." The Guardian, 22 January 2016.
05/09/2016 - Denk, Jeremy. "'The Noise of Time' by Julian Barnes." The New York Times, 9 May 2016.
05/10/2016 - McAlpin, Heller. "'The Noise Of Time' Can't Drown Out Shostakovich." NPR.com, May 10, 2016.
05/15/2016 - Magras, Michael. "'The Noise of Time': Julian Barnes imagines how Shostakovich made great music under Stalin's tyranny." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 15 May 2016.
05/15/2016 - Finucan, Stephen. "On Shostakovich, Stalin and what it takes to be a hero."
The Star, 15 May 2016.
05/20/2016 - Alexis, André. "Julian Barnes's The Noise of Time is a thoughtful, humane and compassionate novel." The Globe & Mail, 20 May 2016.
05/25/16 - Julian Barnes discusses Leicester City and his new novel The Noise of Time with Charlie Rose.
05/26/2016 - Zelman, Tom. "Review: 'The Noise of Time,' by Julian Barnes." Star Tribune, 26 May 2016.
05/26/2016 - Saval, Nikil. "Julian Barnes and the Shostakovich Wars." The New Yorker, 26 May 2016.
06/03/2016 - Torné,Gonzalo. "Julian Barnes. Retrato del artista occidental." Ahora, 3 June 2016.
06/03/2016 - Adams, James. "In new novel, Julian Barnes tests the noise of time through art and biography." The Globe & Mail, 3 June 2016. [Profile/Interview].
06/05/2016 - Zheng, Haiyao. [Interview with Julian Barnes.] Shanghai Review of Books and The Paper [Julian Barnes's first interview for a Chinese publication.]
06/05/2016 - Wachtel, Eleanor. "Julian Barnes about love, loss and Dmitri Shostakovich." Writers & Company (CBC). [Audio Interview].
06/10/16 - Zohn, Patricia. "CultureZohn Off the C(H)uff: Julian Barnes and The Noise of Time." Huffington Post. [Includes interview quotes and numerous photos.]
07/03/16 - Julian Barnes discusses The Noise of Time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, Wisconsin Public Radio (Audio Available at www.ttbook.org/book/julian-barnes-noise-time).
LOCAL BOOKSELLERS
The Guardian Listing
Local Bookshops
ONLINE BOOKSELLERS
Alfred A. Knopf
Random House CA
Random House UK
Random House US
Official Website of British author Julian Barnes
Terms | Copyright © 1996-present by Ryan Roberts

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Southside Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre, Alternative Health Service Providers, listed under "Alternative Health Service Providers" category, is located at Cnr Scollay & Reed Sts (North) Tuggeranong DC ACT, 2901, Australia and can be reached by 0262931955 phone number. Southside Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre has currently 0 reviews.
Browse all Alternative Health Service Providers in Tuggeranong DC ACT.


Once again 2010 was filled with amazing skating and good times at each and every stop of the tour.
The progression of skating is limitless and WCS is very proud to be a part of that forward movement!
Congrats to the entire top ranked skaters for 2010. Looking forward to an awesome 2011!


text:
Alternate Sound: Best 4-Man Hip Hop Band in Nigeria
Alternate Sound is a 4 man music band founded by Nigerian's well-received DJ GospelOnDeBeatz who founded the music group way back 2015.
Read on to find out more interesting facts about Alternate Sound
Alternate Sound is an amazing music band that is making a wave in Nigeria, the original idea behind the creation of the group was to make optimum musical sound without having to need huge number of musicians, the group stylishly deploys their technological sophistication in a manner that leaves no space for other musicians. The 4-man band capitalizes on adding energy and good vibes to every artiste/songs they work it.
The band is made up of the ace music producer Gospel Obi a.k.a "GospelOnDeBeatz" (founder), Orowo Ubiene a.k.a Dj Roy popular for his impeccable piano skills and turntable, Kenneth Ugueji a.k.a Barr Ken with fantastic skill on the bass guitar and Stanley Amanze a.k.a. DrummerBoyStanley.
Alternate sound is far from what is obtainable with your regular live band, this brilliant ensemble performs a Live Band DJ all and as well doubles as original recording artistes.
You can book Alternate Sound as your headlining artist, especially if you are looking for an accompanying DJ and unique style band.
The band's conscientious style of play has been integrated well with some of the top African talents such as Wizkid, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Patoranking, Banky W, Praiz and Reekado Banks on the most prestigious stages nationwide and across the continent.
Alternate sound is bound that played fantastically at the Big Brother Naija pre-independence carnival which was graced by housemates and others such as Big Brother Naija reality TV star, Bamike (Bambam) Olawunmi and her hubby Teddy A and others.
Alternate Sound has also been featured before now on several headline acts and as the official band for international events like The Nigerian Football Federation Awards 2018, The CAF Awards 2017, Jack Daniel's Brothers of the Grill, SoundCity MVP Awards 2017, and many more. The group have proved their worth by dishing out the best in a bid to wao their audience all the time,they are one of Nigeria's finest entertainment curators that leave their audience over-satisfied and deliver beyond expectation.
Top 100 Luxury Fashion Brands in the world 2020
List of Bottled Water Companies in Nigeria
Vanguard Newspaper Nigeria: Historial Facts
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Alternate Sound Social media
If you are looking to experience an Alternate Sound performance live, you can reach them on the social media pages to find out more about their shows and live performance dates.
Twitter – @alternatesound_
Instagram – @alternatesound
Youtube – Alternatesound
Facebook – @alternatesoundafrica
LindaIkejis Blog: 20 things you need to Know
Lumbegh Services Limited


Switching from diesel to propane not only benefits the environment; it may also improve your bottom line. With up to 56,000 miles of pipeline and more than 6,000 retail dealer locations, propane is readily available throughout the country. Propane is also the only alternative fuel with fueling stations located in every state. Arro Autogas wants to save you money when upgrading your fleet; click here to visit our Savings page. For more information about government incentives, call Allison Platz at 805-239-0616.
Arro Autogas knows that when it comes to fuel, propane is a frontrunner in saving the planet. Approved by the Environmental Protection Agency as a clean, low-carbon alternative fuel, propane leads all transportation fuels in producing the lowest greenhouse gas emissions (U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center). Propane is nontoxic, so it's not harmful to soil or water, and is listed in both the 1990 Clean Air Act and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 for being one of the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels.
Hear propane marketers from across the country recount their overwhelmingly positive experiences with the propane-powered, Freightliner Custom Chassis S2G bobtail. The S2G is equipped with a Liquid Propane Injection (LPI) system.
The government encourages the use of cleaner-burning propane for fueling motor vehicles.
Numerous Propane Motor Fuel Tax Credits and Incentives have been offered by the IRS. These credits can be claimed in periods of up to weekly, making the switch to propane a very convenient decision.
Fueled by this compelling information, the Arro Autogas team is leading a campaign to support the use of propane-powered vehicles by commercial and municipal fleets. Read below for some of our endeavors into the propane motor fuel market, and to learn how you can become a user of cleaner-burning fuel.
Let Arro Autogas conserve your finances and the environment. Call Allison Platz at Delta Liquid Energy to learn more today: (855) ARRO GAS.
Collins Bus Corporation developed the first Type A school buses with Propane Technology. Collins, as the largest builder of Type A school buses is now able to offer this propane technology as an option for buses built on the Factory GM Gas 6.0 chassis. Click here to read more.
The ROUSH CleanTech liquid propane autogas fuel system is the perfect alternative fuel solution for your 2013 and newer Ford F-650 chassis cab. This clean-burning vehicle lowers operating costs and emissions without sacrificing performance. You'll appreciate the zero loss in horsepower, torque, and towing capacity of this vehicle, giving you a powerful, economical solution to rising fuel costs.
Whether it's meeting companywide initiatives or government standards, fleet managers face many challenges. GM is thinking ahead with its fully integrated, factory installed, single-invoice CleanFUEL USA LPG system, backed by GM's 5-year/100,000 mile Powertrain Warranty.
The 6.0L System is provided in cooperation with ICOM North America – manufacturer, assembler and distributor of the patented Icom JTG Liquid Injection Propane vehicle system.
Take the first step towards a more efficient operation with the propane autogas Freightliner Customs Chassis MT-45/55. With the power to pull steep hills, the maneuverability to get in and out of the tightest spots, and the dependable stopping power to handle any surprises that come your way, it's hard to find a chassis that outperforms these. A propane equipped 6.0 liter hardened engine offers exceptional fuel economy and performance while dramatically lessening emissions. Newspaper delivery, industrial laundry, tool trucks, utility service; for demanding routes, nothing delivers like the MT-45/55. * The 6.0L System is provided in cooperation with ICOM North America – manufacturer, assembler and distributor of the patented Icom JTG Liquid Injection Propane vehicle system.
or contact Allison Platz at (855) ARRO GAS.


Patsy James Teems, 71 of Centre, passed away Wednesday, October 17th at Floyd Medical Center in Rome, GA.
Funeral services will be held at 3 PM Saturday, October 20th at the Perry Funeral Home Chapel; burial will follow in the Hebron Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 PM Friday at the funeral home.
Survivors include her daughter, Tammy Ford of Centre; sisters, Joann Clements of Deering, GA and Shelby Jean Garrett of Louisville, TN; two grandchildren, Jennifer Lynn Reed and Jessica Faith Cole; two great grandchildren, Jaylyn Reed and Jayden Ragland; special friend, Elsie Webb of Rome, GA, several nieces & nephews.
Mrs. Teems was a native of Cherokee County, the daughter of the late Herbert "Hub" and Onie Peek Williams and was retired from Mowhawk Industries Carpet Mill.


UITP will organise a training programme about Ticketing and Fare Management in Istanbul, Turkey from 9 to 11 January 2019. UITP's international knowledge with local experience in delivering quality and sustainable public transport services, ths three-day course will provide opportunities for participants to learn from international expert trainers and get hands on experience during learning visit in Istanbul.
• Staff from the industry worldwide involved in the market uptake in this area: ITS companies, app-developers, software compilers.
• Professionals from operations, engineering, finance departments.
A good level of English is a compulsory requirement to attend the training.
Fare evasion, fare abuse and fare misuse.
Protect its organization's critical information and fulfil its obligation to its customers.
09.15 Departure to ISBAK Istanbul IT and Smart City Technologies Inc.
Sarıdemir Mahallesi, Ragıp Gümüşpala Cad.


This stone is granite, which looks like a slab full of jewels, in beautiful shades of green and turquoise with gold background accents. Madreperla is a granite that has a rich warm luster of natural pearls. This material has an exquisite soft richness that is sure to add beauty to your project. One of the most incredible stones in our inventory dates back 55 million years. Fossil Pisces contains fish fossils average 5"-7" in length. The warm tan background of the stone and the unique character of the prehistoric fish fossils will definitely give your project an amazing finish.


text:
Michigan health centers to receive $5.5 million to expand oral health services
Blake Froling
Fifteen health centers in Michigan will receive $5,583,097 to expand oral health services and increase the number of patients they can serve, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced Thursday.
"The funding we are awarding will reduce barriers to quality dental care for hundreds of thousands of Americans by bringing new oral health providers to health centers across the country," Sylvia Burwell, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary, said in a statement.
Following are the health centers and how much funding they will receive:
Alcona Citizens for Health, Inc. (Harrisville) - $350,000
Baldwin Family Health Care (Baldwin) - $350,000
Center for Family Health, Inc. (Jackson) - $350,000
Cherry Street Services, Inc. (Grand Rapids) - $350,000
Covenant Community Care, Inc. (Detroit) - $525,000
Detroit Central City Community Mental Health, Inc. (Detroit) - $350,000
Detroit Health Care for the Homeless (Detroit) - $525,000
Family Health Center, Inc. (Kalamazoo) - $350,000
Grace Health, Inc. (Battle Creek) - $350,000
Health Delivery, Inc. (Saginaw) - $350,000
MidMichigan Health Services, Inc. (Houghton Lake) - $333,097
Northwest Michigan Health Services(Traverse City) - $350,000
Oakland Integrated Healthcare Network (Pontiac) - $350,000
Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center(Gwinn)- $350,000
Western Wayne Family Health Centers (Inkster) - $350,000
Along with the Michigan funding, HRSA will provide nearly $156 million in funding for 420 health centers in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to a news release. The money will go toward hiring approximately 1,600 new dentists, dental hygienists, assistants, aides and technicians for 785,000 new patients.
HRSA was created in 1982 as an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and has a budget of $10 billion.


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by Jose Cielito Reganit | OFW
Solon backs Pag-asa seaport project amid growing Chinese presence
http://www.ffcccii.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/China-PH-5-1024x683.jpg
MANILA -- The growing presence of Chinese maritime militia vessels around Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) makes it imperative for the government to push through with its plans to construct a seaport in the remote Philippine territory, a ranking lawmaker at the House of Representatives said Wednesday.
In a statement, House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza noted that in the 2017 General Appropriations Act, Congress has allotted PHP450 million in capital outlay to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the Barangay Pag-asa Port Project.
"Where's the PHP 450-million seaport? We hope the DOTr is still pushing through with the project, which has become absolutely imperative for us to encourage more Filipinos to live on the remote island," Atienza said, noting the need for the Philippines to bolster its claims in the WPS.
Located 518 km. northwest of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Pag-asa belongs to the Kalayaan Island Group at the western section of the Spratly archipelago and has been occupied by the Philippines since 1970.
At present, Pag-asa has less than 400 residents, mostly fishermen, and their families.
Meanwhile, Atienza pointed out that the DOTr could take advantage of an ongoing project of the Department of National Defense (DND) in Pag-asa to build the planned seaport.
"Now would be an excellent time for the DOTr to carry out the project, considering that the military is set to complete the construction of a beaching ramp on the island," Atienza said.
The beaching ramp being built by the DND is intended to expedite the delivery of construction equipment and materials after President Rodrigo Duterte in April 2017 ordered the reinforcement of Pag-asa.
The DND is initially focusing its efforts on paving the island's crumbling 1.3-kilometer airstrip.
Amid the ongoing construction, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has monitored an extraordinary surge of vessels from a Chinese fishing fleet around Pag-asa.
For the first quarter of 2019 alone, more than 600 Chinese fishing vessels have been recorded surrounding the sandbars of the Philippine-occupied island.
According to Washington-based think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, these boats are intended to intimidate other claimants and to stop the development work currently underway on Pag-asa Island.
The entire Spratly archipelago is being claimed by China, but a tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in July 2016 that Philippine territories in the West Philippine Sea could not be overlapped by any possible entitlement of China. (PNA)