No, today’s song isn’t rap. But when I think “old school,” I think of the Fat Boys…
Wake up, everybody! It’s Monday, and it’s time for The Nest to give you an education in lost muzakology. That’s the day we search for another truant song that’s skipping (like a record, of course) class out of that library full of lost songs we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! DJ…. er, Headmistress Scratchy has her pointer in hand ready to crack the knuckles of anyone foolish enough to sleep during her music class, while the Sponkies take their place as the teacher’s pets. Ring the bell, school’s back in…
Not that they needed the introduction, but since I already featured the band Steely Dan in my Countdown of Whatever last year, you should already know that they’re (maybe) the only group in rock and roll history that was named after a dildo. I happen to be a pretty big fan of most of their hit songs, with the notable exception of their breakout hit “Do It Again”… and so many of the band’s jazzy hits kinda fell out of the mainstream, making them a treasure trove for my DVA feature.
Oh, get along Kid Charlemagne…
One of my favorite songs of theirs didn’t even crack the Top 40… and for the life of me, I can’t understand why. Released as a single of Steely Dan’s second album Countdown To Ecstasy in 1973, and only reaching #63 on the US charts, here’s the awesome “My Old School”…
“My Old School” was apparently inspired by a drug bust at the college Steely Dan founders Donald Fagan and Walter Becker attended, and the “Daddy G” in the video is none other than the orchestrator of the bust, G. Gordon Liddy, who attained more notorious fame at the time this song was released working for a certain Mr. Richard Nixon…
A Dick reference to go with our dildo.
I’ve had this song in my DVA notebook for a while… and what got it out this week is an amazing coincidence that happened yesterday morning while I was working my Daylight Savings Time incurred extra hour at work. This song was playing on the overhead at the time, and at some point during the first part of the second verse, I picked up a case of notebooks off the pallet for the Stationery department I was working and looked at the label. The product description, which matches the shelf label, apparently referred to the design on the notebooks inside, and it read “GYPSY QUEEN,” which made me drop the box and laugh like a madman…
Yeah, just like this…
Because, of course, in just a few seconds, I knew that Donald Fagan was going to sing about “leaving like a gypsy queen in a fairy tale.” I mean, come on…. what were the odds that I would come across those words at that moment? I took it as a sign that the time was right to feature this song…
I miss my favorite Gypsy queen…
Be sure to come back next Monday for another song that hasn’t been heard since California tumbled into the sea…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
it would make a good song for a class reunion video… oh I exactly know what I would share to this tunes… hehehe
A class reunion with the good stuff…
I always liked Steely Dan and this song is on my “best of” CD that I play when I’m on a long drive by myself in the car along with my Doobie Brothers CD…..I’m usually at my destination at the conclusion of both CDs – with a smile on my face. I wonder what happened to your beautiful Gypsy “visitor” kitty?!
Pam
I remember you said you’re a big fan of the Doobs, and since they shared a few members with Steely Dan, it’s no surprise you like them as well. It’s funny how they have two different sounds despite all the common musicians! I’m not sure what happened to Gypsy, but it’s been over a year and a half now… and the idiot neighbors she “belonged” to already moved on to another cat (who I haven’t seen in a while either)…
Let’s just say Gypsy found another home where she is happy and well fed and safe. Yeah I know I live in a dream world but I like it here! HAHA
Pretty good song – can’t remember hearing it before, though I’ve liked some of their songs in the past. Funny how that happened with the song and the notebooks your were stocking.
Gypsy – such a pretty kitty. 🙂
What made it really weird is that it’s not exactly a common phrase you see everywhere! I was lucky to listen to a 70’s station back in the day that had this song in its regular rotation. I can’t believe it wasn’t a hit…
Clearly, timing is everything. Great song to start out the week.
Timing in more ways than one, since if it weren’t for DST, I’d have been home and not stocking those #$@*( notebooks…
Brother, the nuggets I pick up ’round your Evil Nest! I never had a clue that Steely Dan (whom I can take or leave, they’re a fixture of my youth plain and simple), was dildo nomenclature clad….Uh, now what?
That’s one of those nuggets that somewhat preverted DJ’s like to throw out there while they’re talking over the intro to the song. And not just a dildo, but the Steely Dan is a steam powered dildo! Boy, the exhaust from that thing’s gotta sting…
Only #63 on the album charts? What the crap was #1? Anyway, I didn’t know you were a big Steely Dan fan. Good post. I like the way you mix it up on Mondays.
I went and checked. The week “My Old School” debuted, “Midnight Train To Georgia” was #1. I don’t know which week it peaked, but the next #1 songs were “Keep on Truckin'”, “Photograph” (the Ringo version), and “Top of the World.” Not a one of those songs was better than this…
I like to keep the DVA as shuffled as my mental song library…
Interesting list. Top of the World? That makes me giggle and feel sad at the same time. Any song with Karen Carpenter makes me sad.
That was a nifty piece of trivia. Thanks!
There is a lot of nifty rock and roll trivia out there. At some point, I may start a series on it…
It’s a quite funky, I suppose. I do quite like songs which tell stories.
It was a law that songs in the 70’s had to tell a story. Losing all of your reefer is definitely something to write a song about…