What's in the mailbox? 📬 📦

Fuzz face, Mel9, and obscura
I'll start with these 3.
Your pedal choices give me a good enough idea. And while I’m not so sure you’ll dig Peg (it depends on your tolerance for flangery keyboards, horn sections, funky popcorn/chickenscratch-style guitar, and Michael McDonald backing vocals, but it’s a pretty rad tune if you ask me) but I’m fairly confident (85%?) you’ll find stuff to like in the other two.
 
I listened to Aja a *lot* years ago. It makes it in to the rotation once in a while still. I haven't really listened to anything else of theirs but I'll rock Aja all day.
You ever listen to Donald Fagen’s solo album, The Nightfly? One of my desert island records. It’s like Aja 2: Electric Boogaloo— every song is infectiously catchy, and it has all the emotional range of Aja x100; optimism, bitterness, sarcasm, regret, reminiscence, etc… everything except anger. Every feeling worth feeling. I’d say listening to it is like living through a well-lived life. It’s also one of the most stellar sounding albums I’ve ever heard, from a production standpoint, and Larry Carlton’s solos are all demonstrations in playing the unexpected note in the perfect place.
 
I had no idea Michael McDonald was in Steely Dan.... And with that in mind I don't know why I know who he is.
He was only actually in Steely Dan for a very short period of time, and then he was later recruited as Keyboardist and Vocalist for the Doobie Brothers by fellow Steely Dan/Doobie Bros dual-alumnus Jeff Baxter, so that’s probably how you would know him. He did contribute backing vocals to a few Steely Dan albums after his tenure in the group though, and most prominently on the song Peg.
Michael McDonald in the Doobie Bros is essentially the poster child of the Yacht Rock sound (What a fool be-LIEEEEEEVEEEEEEES), so he gets a lot of shit, but the dude has talent no doubt. Just not the most subtle vocal flavor, so it‘s easy to have a distaste for
 
You ever listen to Donald Fagen’s solo album, The Nightfly? One of my desert island records. It’s like Aja 2: Electric Boogaloo— every song is infectiously catchy, and it has all the emotional range of Aja x100; optimism, bitterness, sarcasm, regret, reminiscence, etc… everything except anger. Every feeling worth feeling. I’d say listening to it is like living through a well-lived life. It’s also one of the most stellar sounding albums I’ve ever heard, from a production standpoint, and Larry Carlton’s solos are all demonstrations in playing the unexpected note in the perfect place.
I've not listened to that, but I will check it out for sure. Thanks for the recommendation!
 
I worked at Walmart many years ago. One of the departments I worked in happened to be right beside the little video kiosk that played one of those "Kids Pop" CDs... You know the one, all the annoying pop songs, but sung by kids instead. 😫

I could also go a lifetime without ever hearing "Last Christmas" by Wham! again too..... every single year.... it's like it was the only holiday song they had the rights to play.
 
I’d give “Black Friday”, “Night by Night” and “Peg” a go.
Alright, of the three songs, I dug black Friday the most. I didn't mind these at all in general though, but my gripe is that I would characterize this stuff as sounding "smooth," and I hate smooth, unless it is smooth by Carlos Santana featuring Rob Thomas. I certainly wouldn't characterize any of those songs as "boisterous," which is more my style. I tend to favor exuberance and a lack of restraint. No doubt steely Dan is well crafted, intentional, and full of restraint
 
I worked at Walmart many years ago. One of the departments I worked in happened to be right beside the little video kiosk that played one of those "Kids Pop" CDs... You know the one, all the annoying pop songs, but sung by kids instead. 😫

I could also go a lifetime without ever hearing "Last Christmas" by Wham! again too..... every single year.... it's like it was the only holiday song they had the rights to play.
 
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