Very few music acts have stayed with me since boyhood in the
1970s. I'm talking about music I heard on the radio then and stayed
with me all these years — music that brings back memories of my
childhood home and life with my parents.
This isn't about age; It's about good memories from days when I
really didn't have a care in the world — exploratory days of growth
and budding awareness, when my life was being shaped in part by the
FM dial.
I can revisit those days through Becker and Fagen's art. Steely
Dan's Aja and Gaucho have been a constant
companion for me. Whenever I hear "Hey Nineteen", I am reminded of
my parents' stereo system... and of roller skating in the gym of
the catholic school on Sunday afternoons. (Not that the song was
anywhere close to as innocent as my memories are.)
I'm very saddened to learn of Becker's passing. Thank you, Walter,
for your timeless art.
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