After producer Steve Albini tweeted how much he disliked Steely Dan, the band’s fans quickly defended their favorites against Albini’s remarks. So, a Twitter rant started between the producer and the pro-Steely Dan audience as they went back and forth.
What fired up the war of words was Steve’s tweets stating that he would always be the kind of punk to slag Steely Dan off and criticized the amount of energy wasted on an act that sounded like an SNL band warming up before taking the stage. Quite the creative way to put his criticism, I might add.
Albini’s criticism regarding Steely Dan follows:
“I will always be the kind of punk that sh*ts on Steely Dan. Christ, the amount of human effort wasted to sound like an SNL band warm-up.”
And with that, the rant started. However, Albini never retreated as he replied to each comment. The producer slammed the band’s sound and musical approach, saying they were not perfectionists but ‘pretenders’ who relied on other people for their satisfaction and took all the credit.
The producer then criticized the band’s frontman and pianist, Donald Fagen, as he mocked his love for blues stating that whenever Fagen had to talk about a song, he would mention his love of blues only to get back onto the electric piano to play a jazz tune. Albini also continued with another creative slag, calling out the band for producing the type of music wedding bands played to warm up.
Before ending the rant, Steve Albini also didn’t hold back against the people who used to hate Steely Dan’s music but now liked them with a bunch of imaginary insight into their lives and accusing them of liking Boz Scaggs, who Albini liked.
Steve’s tweets addressed to Steely Dan fans stated:
“‘They spent three weeks on the guitar solo….’ Three weeks of watching guitar players give it their all while doing bumps and hitting the talkback, ‘More *Egyptian* but keep it in the pocket….’ Look at yourselves. Calling them ‘the Dan.’ Go trim your beard.
[There are] two types of perfectionists: One will prepare, revise and rehearse carefully, with intent, honing an idea to a keen edge, ready to cut the cloth of execution. The other makes other people responsible by saying, ‘Do it again,’ until, by chance, they are satisfied, then take credit.”
He added:
“There’s some video where they talk about every song on an album, and each one begins with the not-bald one saying, ‘This song is based on my deep love of the blues, just a very bluesy blues. Deep blues.’ Then lays his jazz dork hands on the f*cking electric piano…
Music made for the sole purpose of letting the wedding band stretch out a little. All you ‘I used to hate them’ people, pleading their case like it’s a natural infirmity. ‘I need readers now; take pills for my prostate. Get winded on the stairs. And oh, I like that cocaine sh*t music now. Not just Boz Scaggs either.’
I kinda like Boz Scaggs, tho.”
So, Albini didn’t hold back against any Steely Dan fan and responded whenever he received counterreaction. Perhaps, most would retreat from their backlash, but the producer stood with his comments and further supported his criticisms with his successive tweets.
Christ the amount of human effort wasted to sound like an SNL band warm up.
— regular steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 6, 2023
"Their engineer invented a machine to play the bass drum…" Did he now. And yet it sounds like this.
— regular steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 6, 2023
Two types of perfectionist: One will prepare, revise and rehearse carefully, with intent, honing an idea to a keen edge, ready to cut the cloth of execution. The other makes other people responsible by saying, "do it again," until by chance they are satisfied, then take credit.
— regular steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 6, 2023
Music made for the sole purpose of letting the wedding band stretch out a little.
— regular steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 6, 2023
I kinda like Boz Skaggs tho
— regular steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 6, 2023
