Babylon Sisters: Steely Dan's Masterpiece of Cynicism

I pulled a Walter Becker circa 1979 and got hit by a car so I made this little video about my favorite Steely Dan song. It ain't that deep and I don't want this to be considered a video essay but if people like it I may make more!

[@chrismic8087]

People often brush off Steely Dan as "yacht rock" simply because of the crystal sounds of Aja as well as its blissful subjects. It is such an album, yes, however Steely Dan has always been much more sardonic than to play such a concept straight. Which is why when Gaucho rolls around, though the sound is just as crystal, it feels like the yacht got set on fire, the ship sunk, and now everyone is on the lifeboats waiting. It's a wonderfully dark take on what came before and made for a more than fitting end to their catalogue until the reunion. Babylon Sisters is a perfect opener for this, but every next track follows suit even more perfectly.

[@JimAllen-Persona]

I appreciated Steely Dan a lot more after Nightfly. Went back to listen to more of their less popular music… also gained an appreciation for Brubeck and 60’s jazz.

[@starving_autist]

"Blissful subjects"????? Just goes to show you most people don't hear the lyrics I guess

[@tested211]

​@@JimAllen-Persona He's an artist...a pioneer

[@tested211]

​@@starving_autist Agreed - Just about the largest quantity of irony you'll hear in any lyrics ever!

[@steelyd2]

“Everything Must Go” in 2003 was the true end of their catalog now that Walter has died. It didn’t receive nearly the same amount of recognition as “Two Against Nature” but in my opinion (and the opinion of most Steely Dan superfans) it’s easily as good as “Two Against Nature” and remains the most underrated album in their history. The songs on EMG are more carefully crafted and concise than on TAN, the playing is of course equally as good just like with anything these guys release, but it also has some edge to it that I feel TAN was lacking. It also saw a return of Becker and Fagen being more involved in the actual playing on the album whereas on Aja and Gaucho and to a lesser extent Two Against Nature, they were both perfectly happy to put down their instruments and have a seasoned studio pro or jazz player track the parts. The song in this video, “Babylon Sisters” is a perfect example because if you look at the credits, neither Becker or Fagen play an instrument on the song. They wrote it of course but other than Donald’s vocals they don’t participate. On “Everything Must Go” Walter plays bass on every song, something he hadn’t done on a Steely Dan album since the very first one way back in ‘72. He also plays all of the guitar solos on the songs that have one and even makes his debut as a lead vocalist on one tune. Donald participates in every song playing a wide variety of keyboards (organs, acoustic and electric pianos, etc) and takes of ton of solos himself, all on synthesizers. He’s even credited with percussion on a few tracks and he also arranged the horns on the album, a task that was usually left to a pro arranger like Tom Scott, Michael Omartian, or Rob Mounsey on all of the previous albums. I’m not sure what the impetus was for them wanting to be more involved with the playing but whatever the reason, it resulted in a really great album that not enough people seem to dive into. Sorry for the long post, I got on a roll there and just kept going

[@jjemsnd7]

I'm a huge Dan fan. I liked your analysis, it have me a deeper appreciation of that song and it's meaning.

[@Gk2003m]

5:40: I’ve heard it said that perhaps the Babylon Sisters are the cities of L.A. and San Francisco. Both earthquake-prone (shake it!), and that the multitude of pursuits in the song could apply equally to both cities

[@15centsmedia85]

Absolutely love this idea as well. I hope in my video I don’t come across as selling my interpretation as the right one. The songwriting is so rich that there are so many ways to take it.

[@howardemerson457]

I believe your interpretation of 'cotton candy' being drugs is not correct. Given the context, it's pubic hair.@@15centsmedia85

[@thenflywjaz6917]

Babylon is a coastal town in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. It's about a two hour drive from Passaic, where Fagen grew up.

[@petepande333]

This has long been my choice if I had one record to have on a desert island. While watching my bridges burn ...

[@aggieengineer2635]

Is that Ray Cooper playing in the background at 7:00? Very energetic!

[@sspringNG]

I always thought Cotton Candy was referring to young women. To me its always seemed like an aging loser coming to terms with losing his youth, burning his bridges and burning up. Kinda like the drive on the way to the dance atmosphere from in to Hey Nineteen. Great video btw

[@robjones8733]

You are correct. Cotton Candy is some young wimminz.

[@Fontsman-14]

Ultimately, like quite a few artists, they got bogged down with musical perfectionism. A bit like Zappa. For me, later on they got too slick and lost some soul. Two against nature was a real surprise and had tracks with more drive, more fun, as if they rediscovered the joy of just playing together.

[@bluegregory6239]

Especially 'Janie Runaway'.

[@larryjackson1742]

Not complex chord changes? ummm you have no idea what you are talking about. This song has incredible changes

[@stevehageman6785]

Interesting. So "Babylon Sisters" is their "Hotel California", but they don't have a reference to The Eagles in their song like Hotel California does for Steely Dan! ;-)

[@2heebie]

That is because they referenced the Eagles first in their song "Everything You Did" from The Royal Scam...."Turn up the Eagles the neighbors are listening". The "Steely" knives was their response.

[@bluegregory6239]

But, while the Eagles were great songwriters, I hate them now, whereas Steely Dan is one of my favorite bands ever. The Eagles appealed more to the mainstream. Steely Dan was a much smarter band and musically more talented.

[@geraldgreene5563]

Just a masterpiece , the standard that nobody else can’t meet

[@PeterMartin-qh1yb]

Purdie was a favorite of John Bonham

[@JakeAikens]

5:30 Babylon fell at the hands of the Persians under Cyrus the Great in 539 B.C. You are thinking of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you're gonna mouth off about religion on KZbin maybe get your facts straight.

[@alexandergennaro8596]

When it comes to S D you got to give me some FM baby!

[@jupitermoongauge4055]

Worst band of all time

[@PvtGrips-vh7ti]

I always thought that the middle age loser was trying to stay relevant by hooking up with wild younger chicks (so fine, so young). He was trying to prove to himself and to his friends that he still had it in him even though his friends didn't "go for that cotton candy" (sweet sticky thangs). His friends warn him "son your playing with fire" but he goes for it anyway despite the danger. As he and the girls are driving west down Sunset Blvd. to their rendezvous point, he feels a generation gap (like in Hey 19) with their taste in music when (like the old man that he's become) asks them to "turn that jungle music down just until they're outta town." He prefers that smooth, easy music like the song itself we are hearing. Then to show us just how deep of a mess our protagonist has gotten himself into, multiple women sing in harmony and plead with him to "Tell me I'm the only one." "Now he watches his bridges burn, to the point of no return..."

[@wmdoux2108]

Your interpretation is way closer than the narrator’s.

[@thehypnoticdog6682]

Self realization in writing lyrics is so important to a songwriter

[@adamah6456]

@@thehypnoticdog6682uh, that’s why Becker/Fagen are songwriters who paints imaginary characters with their lyrics. No one seriously believes JR Tolkien was writing about himself with LOTR and Hobbit, right? Unless you’re listening to what they say is a autobiographical work (eg Becker’s solo album, “11 tracks of whack”, which also has fantasy characters (Hat Too Flat), but mostly features personal episodes in his life, eg Surf &/or Die, a lyric based on a family friend who died in a hang gliding accident in HI. Little Kawai, Cringemaker, This Moody Bastard, Junky Girl, Down at the Bottom, are also more personal, if not self-reflective).

[@gundolarry]

This is exactly what I thought as well (not that it matters). Song about age gap among other things. Candy = younger ladies, not drugs IMO

[@Pladderkasse]

That's bang on exactly how I interpret those lyrics.

[@artysanmobile]

Their composition skills are simply jaw dropping. I sometimes forget to even listen to the lyrics so amazed at the progressions and melodies just rolling out from their recordings. Their music will live a long, long time, likely taking its rightful place in the great American songbook. Just timeless and brilliant.

[@15centsmedia85]

Absolutely agree

[@Baribrotzer]

Although I suspect they're a lot harder to play than most Great American Songbook tunes: not so many of those easy, convenient ii - V7 - I changes or hummable melodies. Or, for that matter, any straightahead "I love you" lyrics at all. For Don + Walt, I think, it was always more about Beat Poetry set to the Great American Real Book than anything in the Great American Songbook.

[@cgmahony]

You're absolutely right 👌

[@feellucky271]

Out the corner of my eye I saw you in Rudy's you were very high you were high I know it's the album Aja from earlier but it's just a great example of seemingly simple lyrics that convey so much emotion and so much cynicism yet so artistic and such a catchy beat. Walter Becker you are sorely missed and we will never forget you.

[@rthepunk]

It was a crying disgrace.

[@feellucky271]

@@rthepunk a ha. You got the Dan

[@rjlchristie]

"Tell me I'm the only one" Is a line perfectly placed and delivered. The background singing part makes this one of the Dan's premier masterpieces.

[@WilliamTheMovieFan]

I met Bernard Purdie and heard him play live at my friend’s jazz club in New Bern North Carolina. At 84, Mr Purdie is still the master of the drums! Such a cool guy too.

[@raywalsh9152]

Was he Pretty? I'll bet he is still Pretty. (And lucky you meeting the man!)

[@WilliamTheMovieFan]

@@raywalsh9152 he is so effervescent! When you talk with him you know his is genuine. He and his wife are just delightful people.

[@steelyd2]

You done it! You done hired the hit maker, Bernard Pretty Purdie

[@BassManDan1018]

Aja is Steely Dan at their most optimistic.. Black Cow is one of the few examples of a narrator in a SD track making decisions to improve and make a positive change in his/her life - the narrator leaving the person who’s mess they have been cleaning up for too long. He/she is breaking the cycle, they can’t cry anymore. Compare that to Babylon Sisters, where the narrator doubles down on his destructive behaviour, caught in an indefinite loop of pursuing shallow hedonism. To the point of no return.

[@Tonylovesjazz]

This is top notch! Your style, your content and even your commentary, puts this over-the-top. Very professional. Keep going.

[@15centsmedia85]

Wow, thanks! Since this got such a good response I think I’m gonna do more steely dan videos in the future!

[@brucemacmillan9581]

It's off base and inaccurate.

[@raywalsh9152]

@@15centsmedia85 PLEASE DO!!

[@feellucky271]

Nobody else like The Dan. Never has been,never will be. Its own class and level of music . Led Zeppelin opened up the world of hard rock to the masses and Steely Dan brought us..... well,brought us what they brought us. Awesome amazing musicians, minds and personalities Danism

[@blipco5]

I love when Dan commentary vids show up on KZbin as well as the fine comments by the watchers. They were so great. Lots of good memories.

[@aarongoff1111]

I agree. No band quite sounds like them or ever will imo. Are they more rock? Jazz? Fusion? I dunno. They just ARE. Still one of my favorites!

[@feellucky271]

@@aarongoff1111 Yep. Great music.

[@Gary-zq3pz]

Aja is one of the few Perfect albums, and the title track is a classic that'll still be popular centuries from now.

[@steveburke7675]

Best album ever made? For me.....yes.

[@maxi-me]

That was my first Dan album and _is_ indeed a perfect record. 👍 Yet it's more of a spectator piece that I stand in awe of; it doesn't have a distinctive "feel" to me the way the considerably flawed _Can't Buy A Thrill_ does. It haunts me _days_ after hearing.

[@JohnCallow-z6s]

Very interesting. I've been a fan for 40 years, but the lyrics of many songs are a mystery to me.

[@15centsmedia85]

I suspect only Donald Fagen and Walter Becker know the true meaning to all the lyrics.

[@Phoebedumplings]

I think that’s the idea, you try to understand the references and make you own decisions, they are unique

[@tromBoyer]

There is (or possibly was) a class at Berklee dedicated solely to the lyrics of Steely Dan. I would have LOVED to been in it!

[@jjemsnd7]

I can remember back in the '70s being in high school trying to figure out what the songs meant fast forward a couple of decades and they released two against nature which is probably my favorite steely Dan album ever and the first time I heard it I was listening to the words trying to figure out what they mean and it occurred to me I've been doing this for 50 years

[@RIFFRAFF104]

Always thought Steely Dan lyrics could be a college elective class.

[@AlmostEthical]

Babylon Sisters and The Royal Scam are my favourite Dan lyrics. I especially love this passage: Well, I should know by now That it's just a spasm Like a Sunday in T.J. That it's cheap but it's not free That I'm not what I used to be And that love's not a game for three.

[@maddierosemusic]

So TJ is Tijuana I assume?

[@stevec7770]

@@maddierosemusicyes

[@brucemacmillan9581]

If you're saying Babylon Sisters doesn't have complex chord changes, you're not listening. It's hardly a 3 or 4 chord special. The song is harmonically dense, there are quite a few chords, and it moves thru a number of key changes. It's not that different from many other Dan tunes in that regard. Maybe just a little more sneaky in the way it snakes thru the progressions propelled by that seductive half time groove, with a nice hint of chucka chucka reggae rhythm guitar. As for the lyrics, I always thought it was about a white guy's fascination with getting it on with young women of colour. Babylon being a Rastafarian cum Biblical reference to the black diaspora, created by the slave trade. And "Don't go for that cotton candy" does not seem to be a drug reference, but a warning from friends to not mess around with these kind of girls (is the cotton candy a reference to their hair texture?) as it will probably not end well. That's my take anyway.

[@pdexBigTeacher]

I bought Gaucho when I was in college in 1980. I moved to LA in 1989. Only when I moved to LA, actually drove "west on Sunset to the sea...", and experienced those "Santa Ana winds again" did I truly understand this masterpiece.

[@MarkMyers-qf9mk]

A few years ago I was in LA driving down sunset and decided to drive it to the sea (a long winding drive) and I pulled up this song and cranked it up over and over. Great time.

[@raywalsh9152]

Sounds amazing. I, however, find myself cranking up the Dan either on my 40 minute drive to work or home, through corn and soybeans, in North Central Indiana. Not nearly as glorious a drive as Sunset to the Sea, but the music is still phenomenal!

[@MarkMyers-qf9mk]

@@raywalsh9152 I hear ya, I actually live in western Ohio surrounded by corn and soybeans. I was stationed close to LA in the 80's, have a son that lives out there so I visit a lot. Nice place to visit but I don't miss living there.

[@JonnyCooper]

I did that in 2020!

[@dpwaldman3145]

I grew up just a mile north of Sunset (West of the 405), so ‘West on Sunset’ was the way to get to Jr. High, High School, or snag a ride to the beach. 60’s West L.A. was pretty awesome. Much different these days…

[@abrarahmed1888]

I had to do the very same thing when I was last in LA. From Sunset Boulevard at UCLA to the ocean. The languid feel of the song with an almost reggae back beat perfectly complements the snake like shimmying following the winding road down. Have loved SD from the mid 70s. The langu

[@cybercamp2900]

Loved them from the 70s Wished for a live show until ‘94 I have seen them in 4 states over 30 times! Super job on this piece!! 🙏🏻thank you X1000

[@raywalsh9152]

"I have seen them in 4 states over 30 times!" In the immortal word of Napoleon Dynamite ... "Luuuuuckyyy!"

[@89Firegod]

Babylon Sisters is probably my favorite Steely Dan song! Excellent analysis of this amazing song!!!

[@jeremysmetana8583]

WTF? The drums are not cavernous. I think you don't know what that word means. The drums are tight, subtle and mixed so that you feel like you are in the same room with them. A small room whose walls are covered in carpet. A little homework and actually paying attention to the lyrics would have hipped you to the fact that the "Babylon Sisters" are San Francisco and L.A., the two cities the Dan split their time between (they have more than one song about SF, as a matter of fact), thus the song is about disillusionment with California more generally. And incidentally, the Hebrew god destroys the Tower of Babel (not Babylon) because the people are trying to build it high enough to reach him (and evidently got pretty close). So he knocks down the tower and then confuses their languages in a lame explanation for why everybody doesn't speak Hebrew. Revelations claims Babylon will *ONE DAY* be destroyed for being evil, but it never actually happens in the Bible, and it's a metaphor for Rome. Dude. HOMEWORK. Research is your friend.

[@Zach-ck5jv]

See, I always thought cotton candy was younger girls. "Son, you're playing with fire" always caught me at that point. That's interesting. Very good take on this, though. Thanks!

[@revdeandawg]

Sorry to hear that you got hit by a car. I’m befuddled about your description of Black Cow. I know of no one who would describe it as a bebop song and perhaps more shocking, not even elude to its blatant funkiness.

[@podlou9939]

What?

[@monacaravetta]

The horn arrangement is gorgeous!

[@LesLess]

This is pretty good. One of my favorites as well. You might take a listen to "only a fool would say that". Lyrically, they apprehend the working class rejection of progressive idealism we are witnessing today. "Kid Charlemagne" has been done well by others already.

[@wansolve289]

I’ve loved and followed SD since the 70’s, many of my friends just didn’t “get them” and unfortunately still don’t. The complaint was usually they couldn’t classify what kind of music it was; Was it Rock n Roll, or Smooth Jazz, or just what was it? I think that’s the beauty of their music, it’s just really complex, yet masterful arrangements. The sounds Fagen and Becker put together are beautiful technical music that still wow me today when I listen to their music from 50 years ago! I’m sad that I will never again see Walter and Don on the same stage, but so glad they got to do what they loved. They’re a one of a kind band and at least in my opinion, their music will live forever.

[@no.7593]

Not sterile. Well recorded so that the 'art' is as clear as it can be.

[@mortonwilson795]

I remember clearly the afternoon when I was visiting a friend (in NZ) and we sat down and listened to this record shortly after its release. Still my favourite Steely Dan record, the songs pretty much all have a sort of 'film noir' undercurrent and the arrangements and playing are impeccable. I can certainly 'feel' the cynicism that true blue New Yorkers might feel towards LA running thru it - of the 2 cities (that I have only visited a couple of times albeit for a good few weeks each time connecting with studios, record companies and so on) I loved NY and LA left me completely cold - shallow and vacuous . . . you picked my fave song to comment on!

[@15centsmedia85]

I agree with you! LA was very underwhelming when I visited. And wow what a great story, always love hearing from people what it was like when the music was first released. Great to share those memories!

[@mortonwilson795]

@@15centsmedia85 Cheers! It was Sept. 1981 first time round. I managed to visit the studio where Gaucho was recorded and had a nice chat with the engineer who was in there - lovely room!

[@jazzfan7491]

People think LA is the beach. The real LA is the mountains.

[@JosephKeenanisme]

Steely Dan is more of a jazz band from back in the 50s like Monk or Trane's bands with Becker and Fagan being the constants. You can also see that in how they were the studio perfectionists, it was in the arrangement of the song and album order. Rush & Pink Floyd both being other "album bands" but from different genres. When you have 4 or 6 different studio guys playing guitar on your album because each one of them is a super tight fit for a single track or section of a song.

[@CDBC]

Yeah, very good. I still have my original copy, and put it on late at night. Listen to any track and it's a masterpiece (my personal favourite is Glamour Profession, for it's driving beat and sound in space). 😎

[@podlou9939]

God I LOVE Glamour Profession! Absolute perfection to a noir/trash lit narrative.

[@isaacmorales4859]

when i first herd Glamour Profession it reminded me of that HOLLYWOOD ERA rediscoverd again by the La hippies in mid 70s. here in Phx az. it gave an excuse mostly women to go Babylon and get into the film and modeling but most of them got stuck slinging hash or being ask to do porn. Yes such a dreamy tune, yet we still no glamure existed only for the lucky few even in the 70s.

[@hizzlemobizzle]

Whoa. Saw my video clips. Did not expect that. 7:59

[@brianfiori4086]

In this context, "Cotton candy" is likely referring to young women, and not drugs, IMO. Maybe even uderage women.

[@kbstabs5982]

Agree

[@bottomendbliss]

I can appreciate its quality but not into their music..Enjoyed this video though.

[@zacharyschmidt5560]

Great video essay! Love the use of clips from their live outings, adds a lot to the video.

[@DSAK55]

Fagen and Becker were Lit Major at Bard College. They present a 2 hour movie in a 5 minute song. Gaucho seemed like a letdown after Aja, but then nothing has surpassed Aja.

[@89Firegod]

I am one of those Dan Fans that prefer Gaucho to Aja. Both are spectacular and neck and neck quality wise, but Gaucho just feels special to me.

[@lanceash]

@@89Firegod My favorite of their albums is The Royal Scam. If you sort of squint, you can detect a loose concept about the Caribbean on some the songs. My favorite song of all time is on it, "Kid Charlemagne." That being said, Aja is probably their masterpiece. It's funny, but just yesterday I listened to Gaucho all the way through. Steve Kahn's solo on the ending of "Glamour Profession" is fantastic.

[@morbidmanmusic]

the lost it after Pretzel Logic. Gaucho is a classic also. Aja was to polished. No heart. And then by then they were doing 1000's of edits.. which is at that level the same as todays programmed music.

[@brucemacmillan9581]

Gaucho is my fave Dan album. I prefer it to Aja. And I actually prefer Royal Scam to Aja. Nothing wrong with Aja, but Gaucho has something extra imo. It was a great way for Fagen and Becker to sign off and take a break for a few years. Even if Becker wasn't all that involved with the album.

[@seanhennessey9869]

Like a Sunday in TJ

[@davidlewis8814]

I believe you have confused the fates of the titular city of Babylon with the twin biblical cites of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed as punishment for their sins of fornication and sodomy. Babylon, or Babel in the ancient tongue, was a city that stood until conquered by the Persians. The Bible story that I learned as a kid about Babylon was that its ruler wanted to build a tower to heaven, and the punishment for his hubris was to strike all the people working on it with suddenly speaking different languages.

[@dennisdrayna9383]

This commentary is exceptionally insightful. By 1980 Steely Dan had indeed come to the end of the line in LA and they pretty much skewered the place in this song as their farewell. Many listeners don't fully grasp the subtlety of their message, but their musicianship and production standards come through with the usual Steely Dan brilliance. A real masterpiece.

[@teb0072]

Always felt like The Dan grew up with me, rather than the other way around. They were never my favorite band, but always right up there, making incredible indelible music that has certainly stood the test of time.

[@Missycanfly]

Soundtracks of my life!!

[@paulhowson8744]

Things I miss the most. The talks , the sex, somebody to trust Love STEELY DAN ❤️

[@4rah46]

What is your favorite Steely Dan song, not easy. Better to go with best on each album, yet mine won't be yours. It's why the Dan is so great, it's personal. If I was only given one choice it would have to be Babylon Sisters. A playlist of obscure gems is a listening joy, so here are my 'best of' picks before Gaucho: 'Only a Fool Would Say That', 'Razor Boy', "Any Major Dude Would Tell You', 'Your Gold Teeth II', 'The Caves of Altamira', and finally 'Home at Last'.

[@akrocuba]

i THINK YOU ARE OVER THINKING EVERTHING....JUST MY OPINION

[@slyfoxx2973]

Credit to engineer Roger Nichols who according to legend was as obsessive about studio perfection as Fagen and Becker.

[@samuelj.bufalini7029]

I always thought "cotton candy" referred to younger women.

[@a.leemorrisjr.9255]

They were masters of cynicism & tongue in cheek self abasement. That's why I'll always love the Dan!

[@gazelam]

I agree that Babylon Sisters is a hugely cynical and jaded take on life in the late 70s, but to me it’s reflexively the culmination of the mood set in their song Kings. Even with King Richard long gone, the sequence of both Ford and Carter offered no improvement with even Carter pointing out the “malaise” in the country. Optimism was in short supply and The Dan couldn’t offer anything more than hookers and blow, or kirschwasser, although in the most elegant way possible. I love the song and the imagery it evokes.

[@danieljulian4676]

I arrived in the LA basin just as Donald and Walter were fixin' to leave. Understanding their take on it helped me to keep from falling so deep into the basin I couldn't get out. I left California for good after about 20 years of it, so I'm not squeaky clean -- fifteen years in Santa Barbara, a distillation of LA that looks prettier and is a lot meaner because of how much more it fools you into believing you want to stay. Your commentary is sharp and witty, and you picked one of my Dan favorites to highlight.

[@tixximmi1]

Well Redrock was over the hill and Henry's Beach was the place. Lived there right after the B of A was left burning in I V.

[@danieljulian4676]

@@tixximmi1 Hendry's, as I recall. I got to SB a lot later than you. I.V. was just a rec room for the college kids. Prolly then, too.

[@tixximmi1]

@@danieljulian4676 I moved there a week out of High School in '71. Parents had a furniture store there for many years. We lived across the street from Sam Basttistone. Even helped out at his place down by Stearns wharf. (Sambo's)

[@danieljulian4676]

@@tixximmi1 That Sambo's may even have still been there when I first got to SB, but it was gone by the time I left. During my days, there was a great breakfast spot, The Cajun Kitchen, with several restaurants around the area. Top notch chile verde 'n' eggs with flour tortilla. It may still be a thing, there.

[@edafworld]

I have all their Albums…they’re the best. Will listen to their music till my last day….👍👍

[@howb4420]

You don’t seem to have any idea what this song is about. It is about a guy hanging with under age prostitutes in Mexico. Read the lyrics.

[@commontater8630]

It is not 'about' a guy hanging with under age prostitutes in Mexico. There's just one line relevant to your notion: 'LIKE a Sunday in T.J.' (emphasis mine). The lyrics in general establish a California setting. Don't be such a scold.

[@89Firegod]

Babylon Sisters is probably my favorite Steely Dan song! Excellent analysis of this amazing song!!!

[@cashew1]

Why? Why?... Music as in life its what you want it to be. Why make it more than that? Compare it to anything now, it's a master piece.

[@jeremycaradonna7487]

Also, cocaine. Lots and lots of cocaine. They were whacked out during Gaucho. Can't forget that.

[@89Firegod]

It’s rock music…what do you expect my guy?

[@btbb3726]

Kid Charlemagne

[@leematthews6812]

Thank God a better version of Second Arrangement surfaced recently! The track on this is horrible.

[@vampyre4me]

I got to see them perform at Desert Sky Pavilion in Phoenix in '93 - YES! 🤩 - and when they did this song, every time they sang "Shake It" the guy sitting next to me would stand up and shake his booty! The whole event was surreal to me because, like many, I have been a Dan fan since a pretty young age. Seeing them perform live was literally a dream-come-true. Maybe it was partly an effect of my own euphoria but the booty-shaking neighbor sent me into a case of the giggles and hard as I tried I couldn't stop laughing. So unfortunately, I missed a great deal of seeing Steely Dan perform Babylon Sisters live...just the same, it was certainly one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life! To 15CentsMedia: Thanks for the video, brought back such great memories! My only critique - and it's really just nitpicking! - maybe turn down the music volume just a tad more when you are speaking so we can more easily hear your commentary - which was excellent! I just found myself straining a bit at times to catch it all, but then I'm old - could just be I'm going deaf? 😝 I do hope you will do more, and again, a big thanks for the time you put into creating and sharing this with the Dan Fam! Hope you are healing up well!!

[@15centsmedia85]

Thank you so much for your wonderful story and advice. I also count myself as one of the lucky ones to have seen Babylon sisters live but had I experienced what you did I probably would’ve missed some of it too! And as to more videos about the Dan… well I guess to that I’ll say I may have to Do It Again

[@vampyre4me]

@@15centsmedia85 hahaha...yes! Go back, Jack! Do it again! ...Good one. 😁

[@MelissaThompson432]

I got hit with a huge ball of nostalgia when "Reelin' " started playing; it got stuck in my throat....

[@DannoFromMpls]

My favorite SD song. It just occurred to me that for at least a year, my homemade SD CD has been the only CD in my car, and every time I drive somewhere, I choose track 13, and listen to that opening Perdie groove.

[@merrillmilner8717]

They already were top notch songwriters - then they took high fidelity to heights previously unheard of.

[@skyehorvath9063]

That was because of Roger Nichols, and Ben Schnee. Aja is the finest engineered album ever created on vinyl. It is as close to sound perfection as you can get.

[@romulus_]

at 9:00 you talk about mixes, but the story is about the fadeout. not the mix, which is the sum balance of instruments and effects. nice video though.

[@jayaet]

Alcohol drugs and younger women - well that's one of many possible interpretations - but in the words of Frank Zappa: Who gives a f... anyway. Main thing is: This is iconic musical art.

[@williamcurtin5692]

First time I ever heard those guys, the first line of the song goes "In the morning you go gunning for the man who stole your water" (Do It Again). Love at the first WTF.

[@supersteveworld]

It’s a beautiful track. One of my favourites.

[@mrreemann3739]

True art always finds a way❤

[@louislepage5111]

I been always amazed on how well crafted and good sounding these guys were, with the rotating cast of musicians 😊

[@billlewis9912]

yer only half right or half wrong

[@Panufo]

Your description of Purdie's 'Babylon Sisters' intro sounding "cavernous" almost gives me the impression that you've never heard the record before. As dry sounding 70s records go (and 1980 is technically part of the 70s), this one leads the pack. No reverb. But hey, maybe the wise guy who put all that reverb on 'La Grange' got ahold of YOUR copy of 'Gaucho' and gave it the cave. No go listen to 'When The Levee Breaks' and tell us how dry and claustrophobic it sounds.

[@ETBX1]

First time hearing it was at the end of the decade, in boot camp for the Air Force, on a quiet Sunday when someone's radio was playin, and I hear this song with all these chords jumping all over the place; sounding like IGY on steroids! When it gets tot he chorus, I recognize it as one of those strange titles I had seen on the albums. Yesh, this is perennially them, and like the culmination of where they had gone with Aja

[@GeoffBosco]

In the Bible Babylon is much more likely to be called out for its violence and oppression of the poor than any sexual sins. Good video otherwise.

[@nickstephens3689]

Bravo Christian.

[@15centsmedia85]

thank you sir

[@gregfulton-nu2fu]

The gentleman loser of Midnite Cruiser set the stage for the personae seen throughout the work, from Night by Night to Dr. Wu to Bad Sneakers to, yes, Babylon Sisters/Hey Nineteen, etc. In Deacon Blues, the gentleman loser thought he had it all figured out.

[@bender7565]

I remember the thrill of dropping the needle on a new SD album, always came out on Tuesday. I sat and savored every song. Many of my 800 albums are peppered with throw away tunes, not SD.

[@Deanriley]

A musical reflection of a stage of life that feels like nothing but grasping for something, anything. Always found this catchy in a backdoor way.

[@billvill61]

Not quite sure that 'masterpiece' accurately describes Gaucho. To me, it was the least appealing of the Steely Dan stuff written and created in the 70s. To me, if you apply Masterpiece to this, what do you call Aja? Aja would be at a level of magnitude not yet invented. Don't get me wrong, I do like Gaucho for the most part, but it is not at a level of say; The Royal Scam, or Pretzel Logic, and is IMO, lightyears behind Aja, which I regard as one of the best contemporary records ever produced.

[@thehypnoticdog6682]

Who among us hasn’t dabbled with the cotton candy from time to time?

[@paulhundy2986]

To me Steely Dans albums are very much like stages of the Beatles. Pretzel logic (rubber soul), Royal scam (revolver), Aja (sgt Peppers ), Gaucho (white album or Abbey road)

[@morrisgentry8624]

Great music. I never tire of the Dan. Unique.

[@Moon_Truth9000]

I think Gaucho is the perfect “send off” album for the Dan. With bleak to start and bleak to end, the feelings of your body shutting down are merely the inbetween, the endorphins being released in the old, burnt out loser trying to pick up barely legal chicks and scowling at his work friend for his choices. Third World Man was the masterfully tailored end of a lifetime.

[@JBlinky67]

Cotton candy doesn't refer to drugs. It refers to the type of hair that black people have. In this case, black women specifically. There's a lot of incorrect references in your video. But then, I guess that could be typical Dan.

[@smokeysunday]

Babylon Sisters has way more chords than Black Cow . Great review but you got that bit wrong, Babylon Sisters has more chord changes than just about any other Steely Dan song!

[@rjlchristie]

@ 1:03 No. The group was founded by Denny Dias. Becker and Fagan answered his adverisment for band members.

[@mrreemann3739]

A great narrative writing though the recording of it wasn't Steely Dan quality. I liked your editing too Christuan Nichols

[@SlightReturn666]

Nope, "cotton candy" does not refer to drugs. It refers to sweet, very young, very vapid girls. That is the point of the whole song.

[@MrZootalores]

nobody puts roots down in LA & Babylon Sisters shows the doubt of living in such a transitory area.the best part of the song is driving west to the Santa Monica pier...

[@corkycorkyfishn2491]

FM DEACON BLUES

[@petercorbett3794]

I still don’t understand how the Purdie shuffle gets a reggae treatment and it’s seamless! Heady stuff.

[@bristolfashion4421]

oh crikey! it not their fault I guess lots of twang and wotnot we say oh yes give us a twirl boys look at you with all your chutpza and the fruit of much burdon - dig it how can we possibly *get* so old? weeping weeping

[@easyduzit6118]

LA of that time was sterile and over produced as well. It is the authenticity of Babalon Sisters that always hooked me.

[@thomasrudy6132]

the wikipedia page for Walter Becker mentioned Julian Lennon's public statement upon the passing of Walter. i wonder if Julian was ever aware that "only a fool would say that" was a response to his dad's "imagine."

[@bluegregory6239]

Hunter Thompson had something to say about that in 'Fear and Loathing'.

[@edt.5118]

I resist trying to completely figure out the lyrics of all their songs, especially the track "Gaucho".