Donald Fagen Quotes & Sayings

I think of Steely Dan as being of its time, and it may be inseparable from its time. — Donald Fagen

We don't think of ourselves as being perfectionists, really. To us it's more about desperately trying to have it sound more or less OK. — Donald Fagen

Melodies can be good depending on the context. You can have a simple melody, and if the harmony behind it is interesting, it can make a very simple melody really different. You can also have a complex melody. The more complex it is, the harder it is to sing, and then sometimes it can sound contrived. You could write a melody that would be fine on a saxophone but if you give it to a singer, it can sound raunchy. — Donald Fagen

I've never been comfortable as a lead performer, and I never wanted to be a singer, particularly. — Donald Fagen

People are usually afraid to say what's on their mind. — Donald Fagen

I have a critical nature, in the sense that when I look at something I often look for the flaws. — Donald Fagen

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free — Donald Fagen

What do you do with what you're given, and how do you transform it into something worthwhile? — Donald Fagen

I like it when songs develop in some way. Four minutes usually isn't enough time for something to develop musically. — Donald Fagen

Anthemic rock music is inherently fascist - anything intended to move huge masses of people is politically offensive to me. — Donald Fagen

When you get a groove going, time flies. — Donald Fagen

My writing is really intuitive. As a kid, I went to school in New Jersey and hung out in New York, so the way kids used to talk got into our earlier songs. — Donald Fagen

I don't think you can escape the environment we live in now. — Donald Fagen

I'm starting to get older, and began to think about mortality a little more. My mother died in 2003 and that was a big shock. When your parents start to die off, that's going to be a revelation. So for me, this album - although it might sound quite cheery - is really talking about death. — Donald Fagen

As jazz fans, it was amusing for us to play jazz harmonies on these big, ugly electric guitars. — Donald Fagen

We're not getting any younger. — Donald Fagen

It's great to know that our old stuff still sounds good to our fans, just as it's wonderful to think that we've turned a few people on to jazz over the years. — Donald Fagen

Randy Newman seemed like an even worse singer than me. I liked Ray Charles, Levi Stubbs, Jack Jones, Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett. — Donald Fagen

I tried to grow up. Honest. Didn't quite happen. I guess I'm someone for whom youth still seems more real than the present, or the half century in between. And why not? I'm deeply underwhelmed by most contemporary art, literature, music, films, TV, the heinous little phones, money talk, real estate talk, all that stuff. The Internet, which at first seemed so fascinating, appears to be evolving into something even worse than TV, but we'll see. — Donald Fagen

Popularity has everything to do with business and nothing to do with music. — Donald Fagen

My style is a little quirky. I can't play as fast as most professional jazz players. — Donald Fagen

I took some lessons as a kid but trained myself by ear. I did it the way jazz musicians used to learn years ago, which is to play records and slow them down to figure out the notes. At first I tried to imitate Red Garland, who was my favorite jazz pianist. — Donald Fagen

I had trouble distinguishing art from life. I don't now, and I feel much better! — Donald Fagen