Things I Miss The Most, 2013
There was still blood under the nail of her left index finger. She was tempted to suck it out, but felt sudden revulsion. Impossible – she couldn’t have done that. She walked along an alley dotted with overflowing dustbins; no one had been murdered – tomorrow must be bin day, she thought. For a moment she hesitated, frozen to the spot half way along the alley, ahead of her a frenzied version of herself dropped a bagful of bloodstained clothes into a wheelie bin.
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Barrytown is the fourth track on Steely Dan’s 1974 album, Pretzel Logic. The track is a sharp dissection of class prejudice, wedded to searing sarcasm, and an upbeat backing track. “I can tell by what you carry that you come from Barrytown” being a sample lyric. You can listen Barrytown here.
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So, having finished my ham sandwiches, I step out onto Kingsway. It’s a road with a lot of history…
Everything Must Go, 2012
Everything Must Go is an album by Steely Dan. It was released in 2003.
I resisted the charms of Steely Dan until a couple of years ago (they’re just hideous 70s MOR shufflers aren’t they? I would think), then I fell for them. Sure, they’re tricksy – combining cynical, sardonic lyrics with smooth, jazzy grooves at every turn, but you’ve got to do something a lot to get it right, right? I won’t go on and on about the band – you either love them or hate them.
Here’s the title track.
In our house this CD can be found: dining room, right-hand bookshelves, second shelf down.