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Fantastic!
…thank you, Adagio!
Kelly
Great write and a bloody great album by Steely Dan.🌻
I like writing about my favorite artists, songs and movies. Building a poem around them is a challenge I quite enjoy. Thank you, Benny!
“These things are gone forever, over a long time ago.” Monopoly, and music, played in a slow southern style and Johnny Walker, Red or Black as either would aid in loquacious conversation. But, curious minds want to know (okay me) was it your “coquettish wiles”, or Johnny Walker, or “pretzel logic”, that overcame his “zealous” monopoly playing. I can only imagine those “conversations”. But I do not need imagination to know what a sensual poem this is Kelly. (Pssst, Kelly, I’ll give you my Reading and B&O Railroads for some of that Johnny Walker… LOL)
Curt
It may have been my “coquettish wiles”, for we’re still good friends today. Love the game. Haven’t played it in years, though. My favorite was always Scrabble. I enjoy a one on one game that takes a good couple of hours to play. That’s where the intrigue and challenge lie. Got to have some good music too…helps the loquacious conversation to flow, you know, like Johnny Walker! Thank you, Curt!
Between the poem and your picture I can’t decide which one is better. 🙂
Always a pleasure to read your poems Kelly. Steely dan was always one of my favorite bands.
Thank you for the compliment on my picture, Tim. You know, I found through the years of working at a record store that men preferred Steely Dan more so than women. Still sounds good to me!
Cleverly penned, Kelly. Excellent write my friend. I’m also a fan of the Dan! Classic album, I knew from the title what band you were talking about. Fagan and Becker were studio geeks, perfectionists, but most importantly they were brilliant songwriters. Who were know to have 80 versions or more of a song. With the best studio musicians sprinkled in and out of each recording. Really dig this one! Appreciate you.
Damian
I was hoping someone would remember it being the name of a studio LP. Thanks so much, Damian!
You’ve provided us with many elements to consider in this monopoly game, and all of them take me back to an earlier time. The title drew me in, of course, as I’m a Steely Dan fan. That game can last so long–I wonder if one bottle of Johnny Walker was enough.
I’m so thrilled to find another fan of the “Dan”! You’re so right, this game can last for hours…which is probably why I later opted for a cup of coffee in those wee hours. Takes me back every time. Glad it did the same for you, Sam! Thank you!
Looks like you did the “Dirty Work” in this one. (That’s a great song btw!)
Details are your forte in your writes. As well as capturing the nuances within the push-pull of the evening. Casual, yet with an underlying intensity ready to spring. No?
Excellent write. If you are not published frequently, you should be. You are quite skilled at writing about the human condition.
Thank you, Styxian. I am most flattered by your review. I always write from the heart, and gravitate to detail as much as I can. People relate to it in spades. I am grateful for your every word and will remember the kindness! Please stay in touch. I am quite new here and love interacting with my readers. Best wishes!
Dan is my all-time favorite band (that is, if I was forced to choose just one). I love how they are seen as musical “anti-heroes” nowadays. It amuses me how modern-day hipsters absolutely hate them for sounding like “elevator music” without understanding that Steely were the hipsters of their day. Unlike Sabbath, Zeppelin, the Stones, The Eagles and the other loud, grandiose acts of their time, Becker and Fagan were quietly, subtly carving out a lasting niche that thrives on its own. The only bands that even comes close to this, IMO, are bands like Pink Floyd, Rush, old Chicago or maybe King Crimson, and as much as I love those bands, they just don’t lay the cut like Steely can and that is why I will always come back to them no matter what.
Pretzel Logic was the record where they really discovered the direction they wanted to go, and they followed that direction in spite of all the setbacks and hatred they received for not being “hard enough”, yet the careful listener knows that they are actually sharper, harder and far more difficult than all the other “heroes” of the 70’s. Many associate them with the derogatory label “yacht rock”….yeah, only if said yacht were loaded with junkies, losers and degenerate gamblers lol. People who call them by that label aren’t truly listening to the supreme darkness in their music.
“Aja” is my absolute favorite record, with probably “Gaucho” coming in second.
There’s an element of Steely Dan in most every poem I’ve ever written. Their lyrics cut & soothe simultaneously. To me they are master songwriters that more recognized songwriters turn to for inspiration on how really craft a meaningful song. I saw a Steely Dan cover band perform in a Denver nightclub in the late 90s, and it was the best concert I’ve ever seen. Just a good facsimile is superior to real yet lesser bands!
I saw your title and knew I was going to keep this poem. If Becker & Fagan were to write a song about playing Monopoly, it would probably look a lot like this piece. Nice touch to use scotch & cigarettes for images to set the scene, and JUST enough “big words” to keep it cerebral.
Not a fan boy for much, but the sounds of Dan will always qualify. Kudos! With that I end my very loquacious comment lol. Fan boy, like I said…
That’s some review, Benjamin! I admire your love for music, and it speaks in spades here. I’ve always felt Steely Dan was an acquired taste. You either loved the sound of Becker and Fagan or you despised it. I’d consider it a staple in my vestige of good music. Always have, always will. Thank you!
Steely Dan rules and so does this poem. Monopoly kicks ass!
I always used the little hat in Monopoly. House rules! Lol, thank you so much!
Chère K.,
Hope this finds you well?!
So, apart from writing, we’ve been colleagues huh?
I’ve worked in a record store too, het Rembrandtplein, dead centre Amsterdam.
Pretzel is an upstairs LP. I have it, but it spins very very seldom. The downstairs LP’s are regularly played. Yesterday, the self titled Tim Buckley.
Love this Monopoly poem! Keep on keeping on, like Curtis said.
Kind regards, Gus
Good to meet a former music colleague! Those were the days, the very best of days, working at a record store! I consider myself privileged to have worked at one at the height of the eighties, when some of the best music was made. Thanks, Gus. Glad you enjoyed my take on a Monopoly game!