Steve Albini on why he hates Steely Dan

7 February, 2023

Steve Albini has opened up about his feelings towards Steely Dan.

The producer and engineer took to Twitter yesterday (February 6) to share his views on the New York rock band, writing: “I will always be the kind of punk that shits on Steely Dan.

“Christ the amount of human effort wasted to sound like an SNL band warm up,” he continued.

Albini then appeared to pose pro Steely Dan arguments before offering his rebuttals, including the suggestion that 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…,” he said.

“‘Their engineer invented a machine to play the bass drum…’ Did he now. And yet it sounds like this.”

“Look at yourselves. Calling them ‘the Dan.’ Go trim your beard.”

The producer then outlined the “two types of perfectionist”, explaining: “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.”

“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 fucking electric piano…”

He continued: “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 shit music now. Not just Boz Skaggs either.'”

He also clarified that he “kinda like[s] Boz Skaggs tho”.

Albini later followed up, appearing to address Steely Dan defenders: “Okay, my favorite ones are the Steely Dan is more punk than punk ones. Those are objectively the best ones. Just fresh powder pure.”

Las year, Aimee Mann said she’d been dropped from Steely Dan’s 2022 tour, with frontman Donald Fagen subsequently denying that Mann was dropped due to her gender.

Elsewhere, last year Albini hit out at Ricky Gervais’ “fucked up” Netflix special, describing him as an “anti-woke trans-bash” comedian.

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