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Walter Becker RIP

Sound track to my life, and now another gone. RIP Walter, typed with tears.

One of my favourite tracks of his - Surf and/or die - what lyrics and music.

Earthbound to Johnny boy just picked up your message
'Bout those Balinese ikats you thought I might buy
Now your voice on my machine is more alive than what you are
Since your daredevil hang glider fell out of the sky
Now Armand's looked all over but he can't find your car keys
Were they under the tire? Were they under the seat?
Because as it stands now your beloved white Aires
Is fair game for the vandals up on Makapuu Street
And your grandmother's number, we know it's here somewhere
But Suze can't seem to find it, now she's losing control
And so what about her, and little Eldon and Layla
And that hypothetical spectre, your gilt-edged soul
Which defied many perils, in the face of all reason
And in so many settings and for all your young years
Insisting on pure freedom for its too-short season
Riding high on its ration of enchantment and fear
Over the hill and into the next meadow and on and on and on

In a near random universe there are still certain combinations
Picked out from all other possible ones
Which, when given some time and the just-right circumstances
Not too far from the earth or too close to the sun
They will dance and they'll spin in the embrace of the trade winds
Playing havoc with the hearts and the upturned faces down below
Until the laws of curved space-time, suspended without warning
Kick back in with a vengeance for the last act of the show
Going too far too fast in that final wing over
As your glider comes tumbling out of the clouds
And you clutch at your chest but the chute never opens
And they find you there tangled in that white nylon shroud
When we get Grandma's number I think I'll just say to her
Your Johnny's home for Christmas, it was a hell of a ride
And I know that some day you'll be showing me those blankets
All covered in glory on the hereafter side, saying
There was never any question, it was always all or nothing
Surf and/or die
 
Sad news. Great band with a fantastic run of albums. I was cautious about looking forward to the gig at the O2 given his recent health worries, now the worst fears realised. RIP Walter.
 
@ColinL - Thank you for posting that.

He had a way with words that flew under most peoples radar.

Some people connected. He was a one off.

 
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Just read about it on Rolling Stone, very sad news. RIP Walter Becker. He's certainly left the world a culturally richer place, for his time here.
 
For some reason I've never even heard Walter Becker's solo albums, something I guess I need to correct. I got into Steely Dan via Donald Fagen's Nightfly, an album at odds with the new wave stuff I was listening to at the time, but I just liked it and the bass sound is astounding (these things matter to a budding bass player!). A bit later I picked up Aja and Gaucho and gradually ended up with all the Steely Dan albums (aside from Everything Must Go, which I've not heard yet) plus all the Fagen solos. I can't exlain why I like it as other than Dan, who are obviously great, I typically detest the whole genre of slick muso-rock! It just seems so much more than that, the jazz influence shines through, and there is a dry humour to the lyrics too. It is great stuff.
 
I'm deeply affected. My life has come to a grinding halt. I bought Reeling in the Years on 7" as a 14 year old. The greatest piece of guitar playing I'd ever heard.

Can't Buy a Thrill - Pretzel Logic - Countdown to Ecstacy on LP followed on. As a skinny long haired guy I had a Steely Dan T Shirt when others were wearing "I Hate" Pink Floyd ones in 1977. I'm really ****ing proud of that.

The King of Irony is dead. Long live the Dan.
 
Perhaps surprisingly, Steely Dan provided me with one of my top club moments. Bill Brewster dropped Do It Again at 2am at one of his Lowlife nights. Cue 90% of the over 30 men (and there were a lot of us) raising both arms aloft and getting down. Happy Days.
 
Very sad news. 67 is no age at all. I've been listening Steely Dan since I first discovered them in 1979, and I love their music every bit as much now as I did then. It's ageless stuff. Tony L, you really should listen to Everything Must Go; for me, it's their most underrated album. RIP, Walter.
 


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