Gaucho Amigos
The rising tide of Steely Dan memes, merchandise, and general nostalgia among millennials are just stray bits of proof: an unexpected 21st-century Dan-aissance is in full swing. Why is this slick, cynical, and extremely expensive-sounding music—deemed uncool by self-consciously hip music fans for decades—having this kind of resurgence? Hosted by Alex Preiss (creator of the popular @baddantakes Twitter account) with sincere love and embarrassingly deep knowledge, Gaucho Amigos explores how a couple of funny-looking, misanthropic beatniks became the two most unlikely rock stars of the ‘70s. Through 1-on-1 interviews with notable Dan fans from across the pop culture spectrum, Gaucho Amigos ponders the nature of the band’s greatness, exploring the band’s growing cultural cache and trawling the outer reaches of Steely Dan’s sleazy cinematic universe.
Gaucho Amigos
"It Will Come Back to You" ft. Jazmine Hughes / Helen Newby
Writer Jazmine Hughes joins the podcast to share her "Steely Dan testimony," explaining how she discovered their work through hip-hop samples, and later developed an appreciation of their witty, off-kilter lyrics. Also, I talk to Helen Newby about her superb cello cover of "Peg."