Sparkling Stars
Deacon Blues - Steely Dan (Blast from the Past Tuesday)
To me, certain bands fit with certain seasons. I think Death Cab for Cutie is no doubt fit for the winter, just as The Beatles are for the fall or Real Estate is for the spring. I’m almost surprised I’m writing about Steely Dan in December, as they’re the prime example of a summer group for me. But then again, it was over 50 degrees where I am the past couple days, so everything is out of wack anyway! I love a good Steely Dan song — heck, I named my radio show “No Static at All” after their song “FM”. That aside, I recently noticed something about “Deacon Blues” that caused me to relaunch into listening to it on repeat day after day.
“Deacon Blues” always signifies the beginning of Steely Dan to me — we listen to Showbiz Kids on CD at dinner back home, and I would always skip to track 8 just to hear it first. Originally I thought it was because the song that comes before is the eight minute song “Aja”, but the song in question is only a mere twenty-four seconds shorter! Either way, it brings a comfort every time I hear those opening chords. Featuring the exact type of keyboard I like, the one that sounds like sparkling stars in the sky, it absolutely clears with the subtle addition of a strummed electric guitar. I’d say I’ve listened to “Deacon Blues” a healthy amount by now, yet just the other day I finally noticed the way the cymbals are hit in the very beginning. It’s super soft, careful and calculated, adding enough of a variance to the cool, relaxed rhythm to start your head nodding along. Other than that, I’d be remiss to skip over the saxophone — when I was younger, David Bowie’s “Changes” made me desperately want to play the saxophone, and this one just continues that fantasy into today!
“Deacon Blues” is a song that balances great lyrics with great musicality, the type of track that Steely Dan excels at with everything they do. While I usually think of them as a summer band, songs like this just prove that they belong in every season.
Got something I should hear? Let me know here!
Follow Ear Bites on Instagram here!
Follow Ear Bites on Spotify here!
Listen to my radio show “No Static at All” Sundays from 1:30pm-3:30pm EST here!