History YMMV / SteelyDan

%%** "Bodhisattva" definitely counts as well.

%%* MemeticMutation: [[WebVideo/OddityArchive I think my face is on fire...I think my face is on fire...I think my face is on fire...]]

* FaceOfTheBand: Started with a full band, but ended up being whittled down to just Fagen and Becker with a bunch of studio musicians, which was not their intention to start with. The duo felt more at home as songwriters and instrumentalists. Fagen volunteered to be the band's lead singer for ''Can't Buy A Thrill'', but was not prepared to combat his crippling stage fright to sing in front of an audience. This is how David Palmer became the band's "lead singer" (even though he only sings two and a half songs on ''Can't Buy A Thrill'') and it was planned that he would draw attention away from Fagen and Becker and become the de facto Face of the Band. By 1973, Fagen and Becker had decided that performing live simply wasn't for them and decided to phase out the other members of the band, starting with Palmer (who sang the songs live in a completely different key than Fagen did on the album), who is almost completely absent from ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' (relegated to backing vocals and removed the from official band lineup listing in the liner notes, appearing instead in [[DemotedToExtra a list of backing vocalists]]) and gone completely by ''Pretzel Logic''. Later subverted, in that they simultaneously retired from public performance, so they essentially became a faceless band.

%%** "Bodhisattva". So simple, yet oh so badass.

** In the ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' episode "Garage Sale", Hal used to go by the name "Kid Charlemagne" for an old pirate talk-radio broadcast. This won't be the last time Creator/BryanCranston would get references with Steely Dan, as his ''Series/BreakingBad'' character Walter White share interest with his family about the band and the 2022 film ''Film/JerryAndMargeGoLarge'' would have Bill suggesting the couple they should get Steely Dan for the music festival.

** In the Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle episode "Garage Sale", Hal used to go by the name "Kid Charlemagne" for an old pirate talk-radio broadcast. This won't be the last time Bryan Cranston would get references with Steely Dan, as his character Walter White Series/BreakingBad would share interest with his family about the band and the 2022 film "Jerry and Marge Go Large" would have Bill suggesting the couple they should get Steely Dan for the music festival.

--->"Ride Captain Ride"[[note]]Actually by Blues Image[[/note]] or "Year of The Cat"[[note]]Al Stewart[[/note]]

** The song "Champion" by Music/KanyeWest extensively samples Kid Charlemagne. Interesting, they initially denied his request to use the sample, but after he [[http://www.fuse.tv/2012/10/kanye-west-wrote-handwritten-letter-to-steely-dan-for-sample-clearance wrote them an emotional letter]] explaining how important the song was to him, they obliged.

** "Doctor Wu" is a rather mournful song that actually has a hope spot, but ends with the titular doctor falling to similar problems the narrator had.

** Their cover of Duke Ellington's "East St. Louis Toodle-oo", both in terms of its parent album (1974's ''Pretzel Logic'') and the Dan's career as a whole.

** David Palmer's vocals during the early days and first album are divisive amongst fans. Does he serve as a brilliant contrast to Fagen's rough and sarcastic delivery or is he a completely out of place blue-eyed soul singer who doesn't at all with the band?

** David Palmer's vocals during the early days in general are divisive amongst fans. Does he serve as a brilliant contrast to Fagen's rough and sarcastic delivery or is he a completely out of place blue eyed soul singer who doesn't fir the band at all?

* HilariousInHindsight: Donald Fagen's solo track from 2006, "Security Joan", is about someone falling in love with a airport security officer while being searched at a checkpoint. Fast-forward to 2012, when Fagen gets stopped at the US-Canada border because of an FBI file related to the drug bust at Bard.

%%* FoeYay: hinted at, at the end of "My Rival"

* ConsolationAward: Their album''Two Against Nature'' winning big[[note]]It won four awards: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for the single "Cousin Dupree").[[/note]] at the 2001 Grammy Awards is generally considered to be this. It winning Album of the Year has become one of the more infamous {{Award Snub}}s in Grammy history since it beat out Music/{{Radiohead}}'s ''Kid A'' and Music/{{Eminem}}'s ''The Marshall Mathers LP'', two albums that are now considered to be among the greatest of all time, while ''Two Against Nature'' has faded into obscurity. For their part, Becker and Fagen consider ''Two Against Nature'' to be among their weaker albums and have said that Eminem deserved the award more than they did.

* ConsolationAward: Their album''Two Against Nature'' winning big[[note]]It won four awards: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for the single "Cousin Dupree").[[/note]] at the 2001 Grammy Awards is generally considered to be this. It winning Album of the Year has become one of the more infamous {{AwardSnub}}s in Grammy history since it beat out Music/{{Radiohead}}'s ''Kid A'' and Music/{{Eminem}}'s ''The Marshall Mathers LP'', two albums that are now considered to be among the greatest of all time, while ''Two Against Nature'' has faded into obscurity. For their part, Becker and Fagen consider ''Two Against Nature'' to be among their weaker albums and have said that Eminem deserved the award more than they did.

* ConsolationAward: Their album "Two Against Nature" winning big[[note]]It won four awards: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for the single "Cousin Dupree").[[/note]] at the 2001 Grammy Awards is generally considered to be this. It winning Album of the Year has become one of the more infamous AwardSnubs in Grammy history since it beat out Music/{{Radiohead}}'s ''Kid A'' and Music/{{Eminem}}'s ''The Marshall Mathers LP'', two albums that are now considered to be among the greatest of all time, while ''Two Against Nature'' has faded into obscurity. For their part, Becker and Fagen consider ''Two Against Nature'' to be among their weaker albums and have said that Eminem deserved the award more than they did.