Donald Fagen is a very funny fellow

Cafe Society
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Cite

But first a little context. Fagen wrote a book called Eminent Hipsters that was published a couple of years ago. It contains a large diary-esque chapter detailing his frustrations and annoyances during a tour he did a few years ago with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. Chief among these frustrations and annoyances were some of his audiences. The cite above links to what appears to be a book signing event, during which he discusses very humorously some of what he was complaining about in the book.

I’ll be seeing Fagen later this month along with Walter Becker and their superb gang of hired guns. Having seen this clip, the experience will be just that much more enjoyable. I can hardly wait.

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I wish there were a transcript or sub-titles. Too hard for me to decipher.

3

The book was a huge disappointment. Not nearly as interesting or funny as he thought it was.

That chapter on touring felt as if he were stuffing lemons into the reader’s mouth with every paragraph. It was cheap, and ugly.

4

I surprises me that anyone could read that book and not really dislike Fagen. His sense of superiority and contempt for his audience were plain to see.

5

Wow, the reviews I’ve read weren’t nearly as harsh, painting him more as a likable curmudgeon than a jerk. Sounds like I’d be well off not to read it before going to see Steely Dan this month. :wink:

Fagen does seem to have unrealistic expectations of his audiences when it comes to doing material not his own. I remember reading some years back about a show he organized in NYC comprised of music performed by some accomplished but little-to-unknown musicians, with him functioning as emcee. He was both embarrassed and pissed off that the audience mostly wanted him to do some Steely Dan stuff, which he refused to do. Clearly his name was intended to be the draw to get people in the door and I thought it was naive of him to think people would come to see a show full of people whose work they were unfamiliar with and not want to hear at least some music by the guy whose name brought them there in the first place.

Same thing with the Marvin Gaye/Ray Charles/etc. music that he, McDonald and Boz Skaggs were performing on the tour that spawned the comments in the book. I wonder how many of the people who attended the concerts expected a show of tunes that those three were known for and had no idea they were going to be hearing other people’s work with just a little of their own thrown in as pacifiers. I suspect, based on what you guys had to say, that Fagen’s own opinion of himself is high enough that he expects people to enjoy certain music just because he likes or has regard for it himself, and then gets pissed off when that isn’t the case.

And wguy123, sorry you couldn’t make out what Fagen was saying in that clip. You might try watching the clip again with earbuds or headphones and see if that makes the sound any clearer.

6

I think his rock and soul review or whatever it was called was a nice idea in some ways, but anyone who has been performing for as long as Fagen has got to know that Steely Dan has more fans than Donald Fagen playing covers does. Someone his age who hasn’t come to terms yet with the desires of the people who have made him rich is either an asshole or stupid. He ain’t stupid, so…

I really enjoy his music. I hope you enjoy the Steely Dan show

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I’ll try that when I get home. I’m a fan of Fagen and find him very interesting. I’ll have to look into that book.

8

The way the video image wobbles it looks like it was shot from a reflection in a flexible mirror. Is that a ‘special feature’ of some camera phones or something?

9

That’s exactly what this half of the book says, over and over again. I understand that Fagan quite rightly hates touring and that’s a major reason why the band quit doing so in 1974. It was his decision to go out as part of the The Dukes of September tours because he likes that music and likes performing it. Fine. Accept that it’s a smaller audience than for Steely Dan and that you have no reason to expect anybody to care about your covers. Also that you’re not with “little-to-unknown” musicians but with Michael McDonald and Boz Skaggs, who are even bigger names than you and seem to know how to cope with touring much better.

Why devote half a book to your hatred of such a summer? Of all the things you could have said about music, why this? I put just as much blame on the editor who accepted this as publishable content that bulked out a handful of essays into a book-length object that would sell based on the author’s name on the cover. The shorter essays weren’t all that special, but they had a grain of insight from experience and that’s always welcome.

10

I don’t necessarily think that’s fair. As an artist who wants to occasionally work on a new project, Fagan can reasonably say “Okay, this is going to be a departure from what I usually do. I’ll still do concerts for all the Steely Dan fans, but this one time we are going to try something different. I’m making this clear up front so nobody will feel deceived or screwed over.”

If people still show up screaming “Peg!!!”, then I completely understand his frustration. He shouldn’t be entirely limited to the same material for the rest of his life. I don’t think that makes him an asshole.

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It doesn’t. It’s the specific way he wrote about the tour that does. If you haven’t read that, then you don’t have much of an argument.

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I couldn’t understand a word of it. :confused:

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Bullshit. I was specifically responding to Crotalus, and he wasn’t talking about the way the book was written. Either keep up, or butt the fuck out. I don’t need your unwarranted snark, yet again.

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Honestly Exapno, I’m beginning to wonder if you’re just skimming these posts and not really reading for comprehension. For example, you thought I was referring to McDonald and Scaggs when I mentioned “little-to-unknown” musicians earlier in the thread, when the comment actually referred to the musicians Fagen sought to honor by emceeing the “rock and soul” review he organized in NYC many, many years ago.

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The way I read it, Crotalus was indeed talking about the book. He mentioned it in post #4 and post #6 was a clear follow-up to that to anyone who had read the book.

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I’m sorry some of you guys are having such a hard time understanding the video. I must have better speakers than I realized. Again, you might try listening with earbuds or headphones. I could hear everything pretty clearly even with earbuds.

But be that as it may, I feel a certain responsibility to make sure people know what Fagen was saying in that video since I started the thread for that purpose. So, I spent the last hour listening to the video and composing a manuscript to clarify what he was saying.

Much of what made it so funny, however, were his expressions and gestures. So I’d suggest reading the manuscript first to get an idea what he was saying, then watch the video to bring it all together. This may not be an ideal way to enjoy the video, but like a friend of mine sometimes says, it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye. :wink:

At any rate, here’s the manuscript:

*Interviewer: …it’s clear that, performing the songs, writing the songs, taking them out there…I…you know, I saw the show at the Beacon…I really enjoyed it…it was the Aja night…but you definitely…

DF: I was just phoning it in by then…

(laughter)

…it was like, it was like our 51st show…and it was over for me really.

(laughter)

Interviewer: It wasn’t over for me…it was fun. But, one of the things you seemed to have some issues with, is your audience…and maybe it was because…it was, it was the Dukes of September tour that you did with Boz Skaggs and Michael McDonald, and some of the audiences…

DF: …not every audience. I love some audiences…(gestures to audience) I love YOU GUYS!

(laughter, applause)

Interviewer: …you know, some of them, it sounds like you’re playing to redneck church bazaars…

DF: Yeah…

Interviewer: …or NRA meetings or something…

DF: (nodding) Yeah. I like some of those guys too!

(laughter)

Audiences are very unpredictable, you can never tell…

Interviewer: Do you walk out there thinking “This could be great, I wanna give it all…” or “Oh, my god, how’m I gonna get out…”

DF: I always start…I’m very optimistic…I always start with, you know, the very best intentions…

(laughter)

Interviewer: …and, and, at some point…at which one are you let down?

DF: Well, this is a very specific thing, and that’s what the tour…we were doing…Boz, Mike and I…were very idealistic. You know, we wanted to do this show where we were…we wanted to play music that we loved when we got into the business. We were doing…we wanted to do some Marvin Gaye, we wanted to do some Ray Charles…you know, we wanted to do, you know, some of the…that kind of stuff…and, uh, we knew if we were gonna do that we’d have to do some of our own repertoire…intersperse our own repertoire, or…or…we were dead!

Interviewer: unintelligible…

DF: This was 2012. So, uh, we did that! But, what we didn’t realize was that…in some places…I would say in sixty…sixty…seventy percent of the places, people would despise…the tunes that weren’t hits! Like, I remember playing somewhere in the southwest or something like that, where, you know, we started a great Ray Charles tune…that everyone would know in the sixties…any college student or something…and some guy went “FUCK YOU!”.

(copious laughter)

…and walked out.

(laughter)

Interviewer: He said fuck you to a Ray Charles tune?..What’s that about?

(laughter)

DF: So I…you know…when that happens…because I’m in a vulnerable state…you know…I…I…started to hate everyone in sight.

(copious laughter)

…and…and…they…they were a kinda youngish group that night…and I…all those young guys, would like take…you know, take pictures of us and send 'em to people while we’re playing, you know…like (unintelligible…I call 'em TV babies…

(laughter)

…cause they grew up with…TV was their babysitter. Totally. And I figured that’s…that’s what’s wrong with 'em.

(laughter)

Interviewer: There is this like Poultergeist thing goin’ on…

DF: …That’s a Poultergeist thing…and so I, uh, you know…I start to think of them, like, really…you know…uh, catching fire…

(copious laughter)

…and…and…I’d get through the show. I’d…I’d be professional. You know? I’d…I’d…you know…I’d be nice. You know? I’d…I’d sit there with a stupid smile plastered on my face…

(laughter)

…but I was thinking that they were…that they should die!

(loud, copious laughter. Applause)

Interviewer: unintelligible*

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Nope. I am perfectly capable of commenting on the following sentences without having read Fagan’s book, or any other. It was quite obviously a reply to Starving Artist’s previous post.

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You’re in Cafe Society. No matter how annoyed you may be by another poster, in this forum, keep your responses civil.

You’ve been around long enough to know that, so I’m giving you a warning for personal insults.

twickster, Cafe Society moderator

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Nonsense. I did not personally insult him, I told him to take his snark somewhere else.

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Thanks for the transcript, Starving. That, uh, really cleared it up? :smiley: