10 Times Steely Dan Completely Ran Out Of F**ks To Give
8. When They Named Themselves After A Dildo
Most fans know this one. Steely Dan has one of those band names that confuse the general public into thinking its the name of a person, a la Jethro Tull or Marshall Tucker. In actuality, Jethro Tull was an 18th century agriculturalist while Marshall Tucker took their name from a piano tuner. The origin of Steely Dans name is not so quaint. In William S. Burroughss raving beatnik dystopia, Naked Lunch, a character named Mary straps on a rubber dildo to use on the character Johnny. She rather intimidatingly names this instrument the Steely Dan III. According to Mary, Steely Dan I was torn in two by a most terrific vaginal grip that could cave in a lead pipe, which was often done as a party trick. Steely Dan II met with an even more gruesome demise. The name signals Becker and Fagens nihilistic sense of humor and attraction to beatnik counterculture, associating as it so often did with the contemporary jazz scene. But now the next time you hear anyone mention Steely Dan, you can think of literature's most infamous sex toy.
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
