Why Steely Dan Were So Weirdly Brilliant

Steely Dan were one of the strangest contradictions of the 1970s: flawless studio perfection on the surface, and dark, cynical, absurd little character studies underneath. In this video, we’re looking at Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, two jazz-obsessed New York outsiders who arrived in Los Angeles in 1971 and never quite bought into the sunny California mythology around them. Instead, they turned the darker side of the 70s music scene into some of the sharpest, funniest, and most unsettling songwriting of the decade. From Charlie Freak and Kid Charlemagne to Deacon Blues, Hey Nineteen, and Cousin Dupree, this is a look at the strange moral universe of Steely Dan, their outsider perspective, their obsession with craft, and the unserious seriousness that made their music so singular. Our full long-form documentary, What’s The Deal With Steely Dan?, is available now on our Patreon for $5, along with our full archive of music documentaries. Subscribe for more music history, and let us know in the comments: what’s your favourite Steely Dan lyric? 00:00 Intro 03:12 Chapter 1 - Jazz Freaks 07:47 Chapter 2 - Quantum Criminals #steelydan #70smusic #classicrock #musichistory #songwriting