Radio Dupree

Circus Money on the cheap. Make that ultra-cheap.

2008-07-25T16:29:00.003+02:00

Found. A site in good ol' Russia selling Walter Becker's Circus Money online for $1.62!
That amount will buy you the whole record as mp3-files in VBR-quality.

Yes. The say they're legal but the low, low, low prices tell another story. At least that's our take on it without having scrutinized the legal stuff. All we know is that these Russian sites have been hunted for years and just keep on poppin' up under new names.

Steely Dan: Two pics from Ottawa

2008-07-22T20:36:00.002+02:00

Steely Dan's Think Fast tour rolls on. Mike Alexander has published two fine photos from the Bluesfest in Ottawa July 5. One of Donald, one of Walter. Check them out here.

Happy Walter!

2008-07-21T22:12:00.004+02:00

~~Nineteen~~ Eighteen, yep, ~~nineteen~~ eighteen new photos of Walter Becker up on the Sonic 360 homepage.
A bit small but all new, all nice and all fun!

Click the link and then the black and white pic of Walter and Larry to get to the new ones.

We especially like the laughing Walter and the chess playing Walter. What's up with those eggs?

Elton, Ben & Jerry

2008-07-20T22:29:00.007+02:00

Do you happen to be a person who like both ice cream and the music of Elton John? May we the suggest that you skip, hop and run to Vermont, where the chain of Ben & Jerry's (*) celebrate Elton's first concert in the state with a special ice cream named Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road.

The flavor was designed based on Elton's wish for something containing chocolate and peanut butter.

Elton John playing Vermont on July 21 means that he has played all 50 states in the USA. The ice cream is available in Vermont only between July 18 - 25.

(*) Ben & Jerry's is a worldwide ice cream company started back in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield back in ... Vermont!

"YouTubing" it up for Walter?

2008-07-20T01:34:00.003+02:00

The two short videos posted as teasers before the album Circus Money was released has been viewed over 13 000 times in the two months they've been up on YouTube.

Below the links to the videos on walterbecker.com there's a small ... plea. So far unanswered:

YouTube: Fringehead
YouTube: Strange
We're still looking for more. Anybody?

Yes, Walter and his gang would love to see some video reactions from the fans. The album is out and the music is there to inspire whatever video responses the fans can come up with.

Among the current Steely Dan-tour-attending audiences there seem to be quite a number of persons equipped with cellphones/mobile phones and an urge to capture snippets or whole songs from whatever distance from the stage. And the post it on the Internet.

Here is - as we see it - a chance to step up and above that and deliver what might be so much more than a miniscule piece of viral marketing. Who knows what might happen if the right pair of eyes fall on your piece of creativity? Fame! Money! Swedish ginger cookies!

Radio Dupree rises to the challenge and will dust off our video equipment to in due time deliver some sort of video answer to the two WB-videos above.

With any luck that WB video poster Scapegrace99 will let our video responses stay up once they're there.

Readers: Get creative!

P.S.

Walter; we stumbled across a great cover of one of your 11 Tracks Of Whack numbers. More about that in a day or two.

Heavy metal monk blame it all on Metallica

2008-07-19T16:15:00.002+02:00

Cesare Bonizzi is a 62 year old Italian monk who got hooked on heavy metal after attending a Metallica concert a 15 years ago. Check him out here.

Walter Becker interview

2008-07-17T10:22:00.004+02:00

"To me, good is better, and perfect is the enemy of good in this case."

Quote from an interview with Walter Becker over at telegraph.co.uk. Go have a look if just to see the unusual non-concert backstage-relaxing-with-an-acoustic-guitar-photo of Mr. Becker.

Congratulations to Carolyn & Wayne

2008-07-15T20:42:00.004+02:00

Mizar5 is back online with some "family news":

On July 8 Carolyn Leonhart-Escoffery(*) and Wayne Escoffery became parents to a boy; Vaughn Jalen Escoffery. Picture of the baby over on Mizar5.

Congratulations to the parents from Radio Dupree, the unofficial Walter Becker Imaginary Playcousin station(!)

(*) Trivia: Carolyn is still the only Steely Dan member who has left a comment on this blog.

Ooops. "Midsomer Murders" on the TV. Gotta go!

Circus Money: International version

2008-07-14T19:28:00.004+02:00

It arrived today. A thick padded envelope with the international version of Walter Becker's Circus Money. Complete with that bonus track and the promised "additional artwork".
For you who'd like to know a bit more what that additional artwork consists of we've slapped up a page that you can reach here. It's just a couple of pics and a few lines of text.

And those that have ordered a copy don't want to know anything should not click on that link. OK.

We'll just say that a great album just got a little bit better.

wing .... prayer .... **** ;)

2008-07-13T12:17:00.004+02:00

With Circus Money's "international release date" of July 14 coming up, more reviews appear in European papers/magazines/whatever.

And reviews are a funny thing. Some reviews take the time to tell the story of the artist all the way up way to this brand new album, some just spit out a few, short sentences. Some reviews are good, some are bad.
I wouldn't say that the longer the review the better the chance of it being good or even great. No way. But somehow sometime I get a feeling that a short review is in need of an additional sentence or two.

Here's a three sentence review of Walter Becker's Circus Money pubished in The Scotsman. A positive ****-star review, but when I read it I got the same feeling I got seeing a movie scene with a small propeller plane, one motor on fire, coming in for a landing swaying from side to side with the pilot just able to keep it all under control.

Read it yourself. It won't take long.

Best of Q2 according to Allmusic.com

2008-07-12T12:34:00.003+02:00

Allmusic.com have listed the best in new releases and reissues for April, May and June.
Walter Becker's Circus Money is on the list.

Click here to see the full list and read the reviews.

Walter Becker on BBC Radio: Catch it while it's there

2008-07-10T22:19:00.006+02:00

A Steely Dan fan from Liverpool posted the link over on the Bluebook.
Walter did a 4 minute interview yesterday (Wednesday) on BBC Radio Stoke's Nick Robbins show.

Here's the link to the show's page:

Once there click the "listen again"-link up in the right column. A BBC "radio" should open. Find Nick Robbins and click the Wednesday link. The interview is wher the timer says 1 hour and 35 minutes = 35 minutes in to the show. We haven't heard it yet, but expect it to be well worth the clicking.

Beat The Boots re-released on iTunes

2008-07-04T23:59:00.003+02:00

The Zappa Family Trust has made Frank Zappa's Beat The Boots series for sale online through iTunes.
The Beat The Boots albums were originally released by Frank in the early 1990's to try to supress bootleggers. The first release was a box of eight bootleg albums, and the second one included seven albums. Later the albums were reissued separately but have never been reissued this century.

Bowie boot finally as official release

2008-07-02T20:27:00.009+02:00

The first David Bowie bootleg record has now been released officially, after 38 years.
The Santa Monica '72 Ziggy Stardust show was broadcast on the radio.
It was soon released as a bootleg record (Ziggy In Concert), the first Bowie bootleg ever.
There was a semi-legal release in 1994, but now it's out as an official Bowie release.

Tracklist: Introduction/Hang On To Yourself/Ziggy Stardust/Changes/The Supermen/Life On Mars/Five Years/Space Oddity/Andy Warhol/My Death/The Width Of A Circle/Queen Bitch/Moonage Daydream/John I'm Only Dancing/Waiting For The Man/The Jean Genie/Suffragette City/Rock 'N' Roll Suicide.

iTunes Sweden: Dark Horse Dub available

2008-07-02T20:23:00.008+02:00

I'm no heavy user of iTunes but from time to time I drop by and see what's available.
With a new computer iTunes was added today and just for fun we looked up "Walter Becker" and found the international version of Circus Money available including the bonus track Dark Horse Dub!
We coughed up the 9 SEK ($1.50/0.95€) it took to buy the track in question and can after a couple of spins say that it is NOT a leftover added on just to sell a few extra copies.

At 6 min and 46 seconds it heavy on the dub goove and the horns with a couple of surprise twists and turns along the way. A minimum of lyrics and if you like the rest of Circus Money this is a must.

As it is on iTunes Sweden our guess is that it is available in other iTunes stores as well altough the release date of the physical CD is July 14. The release date on iTunes says July 1.
Worth considering is that the version on iTunes isn't lossless, so you don't get the sound quality the CD will offer.

Don't be surprised if Dark Horse Dub pops up on the Radio Dupree playlist as we type.

P.S. We will of course buy the physical CD once it is released. Why? Because it is the only way we can get the promised "exclusive additional artwork". And we're pretty sure that artwork are two paper dolls of Abe Vigoda and Skip Gildersleeve including several changes for each doll. The perfect companions to play with as you listen to Circus Money.

Circus Money: Preview bonus track

2008-07-01T11:53:00.003+02:00

Catch the dub!
A short clip of the bonus track that comes with the international version of Circus Money is up on the Sonic360 page. Check the audio player down in the right corner. Click and listen to Dark Horse Dub.

This version of Circus Money is out July 14 and also promises "additional artwork" compared to the North American version.

Was (Not Was) backstage interview on Later with Jools Holland

2008-06-30T22:38:00.003+02:00

One of our favourites from the 80's have gotten together for a tour and a new album; Was (Not Was) from Detroit.

The new album is great and even though the same can't be said for the following interview backstage in England on BBC's Later with Jools Holland, it's still an amusing 6 minutes and 20 seconds with Don and David Was explaining how they and Bob Dylan wrote a song for Paula Abdul ... a song she turned down. And then there's the story of how a pre-career Madonna did the vocals on one Was (Not Was) track, got replaced by Ozzy Osbourne and finally actress Kim Basinger!!

Your Luck Won't Last:

Semi Interesting Week:

Interview shock! Fagen: We've lost our sense of humour!

2008-06-29T16:38:00.004+02:00

Seriously though; here's a brand new interview with Donald Fagen in the Montreal Gazette. A couple of new quotes as he and the reporter revisit the Steely Dan saga once more.

Weekend music: Steely Week?

2008-06-27T21:38:00.006+02:00

File under I-have-a-search-engine-and-I-know-how-to-use-it:

Stumbled across a blogger comparing a group called The Week That Was with Steely Dan. Quote:

Peter claims musical inspiration came from the early '80s when people were obsessed with Fairlight synthesizers and the Linn drum. But as I was listening to the album's first single, "Scratch the Surface," the more I listened the more it reminded me of Steely Dan than anything else. ("Night by Night," specifically.)

Well. Make up your own mind. Here's the song.

(Radio Dupree's Pop Department says: A catchy little song!)

P.S. The full blog post on The Week That Was (including mp3) can be found here.

Walter Becker on the radio

2008-06-22T01:36:00.008+02:00

Still a couple of chances to catch Walter do his Celebrity Shuffle on Super Shuffle/Sirius Satellite Radio.
Here's what it says on the homepage:

Fridays at 6 am, 1 pm and 8 pm ET
Saturdays at 12 am, 10 am and 5 pm ET
Sundays at 3 am, 2 pm and 11 pm ET
Every week a different celebrity takes over Super Shuffle for the weekend, playing tunes that inspired them, made them laugh, made them cry or songs that are just their favorites. You never know who'll be shuffling each week; it could be a singer, actor, comedian, athlete...you'll never know what's on next during Celebrity Shuffle!

So how was the show? A no-frills 60 minute show where he played music from the 70s ... even though he could've picked from any year/era. Apparently a misunderstanding, as he explained towards the end of the show:

"I picked a bunch of 70s tunes because you know, frankly, I was misinformed. This was a sort of a management sort of a slip up where i thought I was gonna be picking all these cheesy 70s tunes and that's what the show is all about. It turns out that's not the case, but I'm sticking with the original plan anyway. And just to prove it I'd like to play a track by David Bowie called Ashes To Ashes."

The format of the show was a jingle or two stating the name of the show, then Walter saying his name and doing a short presentation of the next artist/song. Then came the song followed by another jingle and so on.

Just once did he come on after the station/show jingle with another name than his own:

"Bob Dylan. I never say my name before Bob Dylan. I'm not Bob Dylan and neither are you. Unless you happen to be Bob Dylan in which case; wow, awesome dude!!!
But whom am I? I guess I'm Walter Becker from Steely Dan, which is not so bad. It's not Bob Dylan but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, right?"

And then he presented Bob Dylan singing Isis.

Walter sounded like he had a good time and this listener sure did. He laughed before presenting "perhaps the cheesiest song" of the show; Eddie Money's Baby Hold On.

During the show we also got to learn that Walter thinks that Rickie Lee Jones' Pirates is "a masterpiece".

Before playing Parliament:

"We must have played this thing about 20 times a night back in the 70s when I was visiting with various friends and sitting on their couches expounding and expanding on various subjects."

And finally:

"You can always tell what my favorite cut om my album is, cause I put it first. So let's listen to Door Number Two!"

Playlist:

The Band The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Bob Marley & The Wailers I Shot The Sheriff
Parliament P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)
Rickie Lee Jones We Belong Together
Warren Zevon Boom Boom Mancini
Eddie Money Baby Hold On
Bob Dylan Isis
Elvis Costello Watching The Detectives
David Bowie Ashes to Ashes
Spinners Love Don't Love Nobody
Walter Becker Door Number Two

Next show on Walter's Sirius Satellite Radio trek this month? The Totally '70s channel this Thursday!

Steely Dan’s Walter Becker
Thurs 6/26 12:00 pm ET
We have a plan for Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker... play anything in our library starting with the letter 'S' in hopes he'll play a lot of Dan. Will our scheme work? Plus, he promises to spin a tune from his just released solo album, Circus Money. Becker takes a break from the Steely Dan North America tour to guest DJ on Totally '70s. Totally epic!

Hmmm... What 1970s artists start with the letter S?

Oh! And we couldn't help but notice that with the exception of Eddie Money all the artists played by Walter also pops up on Radio Dupree's playlist now and then. Awesowme, dude...

Future "unforseeable" according to Becker

2008-06-21T17:41:00.004+02:00

Here's a short interview with Walter Becker from the Boston Herald. Apparently done via phone with Walter standing on 25th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues in Manhattan, New York.
Subjects: Walter's solso album Circus Money, the current tour and ... the future!

This day in music ... June 21

2008-06-21T15:12:00.004+02:00

Found this:

Today in music - June 21

1732 - Composer Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach was born.

1941 - Wayne King and his orchestra recorded “Time Was” with Buddy Clark.

1948 - Columbia Records began the first mass production of the 33 1/3 RPM LP.

1952 - Fats Domino’s “Goin’ Home” became his first #1 hit.

1955 - Johnny Cash’s first single, “Cry Cry Cry,” was released.

1975 - Ritchie Blackmore quit Deep Purple to form Rainbow.

1975 - James Taylor’s “How Sweet It Is” was released.

1979 - Mick Taylor released his first solo album after leaving the Rolling Stones four years before.

1981 - Donald Fagan and Walter Becker announced the break-up of Steely Dan.

1985 - Ron Howard directed his first music video for “Gravity” by Michael Sembello.

1989 - The New Kids on the Block released “Hangin’ Tough.”

1990 - Little Richard received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

1999 - Pantera rode a float in the Dallas Stars Stanley Cup victory parade in downtown Dallas. Pantera is responsible for the Stars’ theme song.

And I started to write something about how the importance of the items from the years included really doesn't seem to grow as you go down the list and closer to here and now. But then I decided not to... After all its just a list.

A big HAVE A GREAT, WONDERFUL AND EVERLASTING EVENING to all attendning the final night at the Beacon in N.Y. including the after party.
You never thought you'd be there tonight that day back in 1981 when Steely Dan called it quits. ;)

Fresh pics from the Beacon

2008-06-21T04:16:00.004+02:00

With just the final of six nights to go at the Beacon Theatre in New York, msg.com has published eight photos of Steely Dan on stage.

Go here for the photos and to the blog named The Monitor if you went to one or more and want to share your thoughts about the shows.

Walter Becker the DJ on Sirius Radio this weekend!

2008-06-19T19:15:00.009+02:00

Donald Fagen did three shows on Sirius Satellite Radio in February this year, and now it's time for Walter Becker to do the same.

It was announced on walterbecker.com a couple of weeks ago:

Becker DJs on Sirius Radio in Coming Weeks
Pure Jazz | Classic Vinyl | The Vault | Super Shuffle |
Radio Margaratiaville | Totally '70s

And now we have the first dates and first channel. Here's what's currently on Super Shuffle's page:

Celebrity Shuffle: Walter Becker
Tomorrow 6:00 am ET
Steely Dan’s Walter Becker is dropping by our SIRIUS studios to discuss songs off his recent solo album Circus Money. Don’t miss it when Walter Becker hosts Celebrity Shuffle!

Rebroadcast: Fri., June 20th @ 1 pm & 8 pm ET; Sat., June 21st @ 12 am, 10 am & 5 pm ET; Sun., June 22nd @ 3 am, 2 pm & 11 pm ET.

"Tomorrow" above meaning Friday June 20. You can sign up for a free three day trial and hear it online. Just like when Donald was guest-DJ:ing we'll try to catch the show and report back what was being played and said.

UPDATE June 20:

OK. So I've missed the first two airings of this show ... but am getting ready to catch the third in a couple of hours. While I haven't heard a single second of the show I did manage to find a playlist that I think is complete. If so; here's what Walter played!

The Band The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Bob Marley & The Wailers I Shot The Sheriff
Parliament P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)
Rickie Lee Jones We Belong Together
Warren Zevon Boom Boom Mancini
Eddie Money Baby Hold On
Bob Dylan Isis
Elvis Costello Watching The Detectives
David Bowie Ashes to Ashes
Spinners Love Don't Love Nobody
Walter Becker Door Number Two

Some expected names and a couple of surprises. It will be interesting to hear what Walter has to say about ... Eddie Money.
Expect another update Saturday. And let's end this one with those swinging guys and gals ready to save us all with some uncut funk!

Swedish jazz musician Esbjörn Svensson dies

2008-06-15T21:58:00.006+02:00

Sveriges Radio reports that the swedish jazz musician Esbjörn Svensson died yesterday in a diving accident. Svensson played piano in the group Esbjörn Svensson Trio (EST) which sold many albums and turned a younger audience to jazz. Esbjörn Svensson was 44 years old.

Esbjörn Svensson Trio - Dodge the Dodo(Live)(Part 1/2):

e.s.t. - a picture of doris travelling with boris

e.s.t. Round midnight