10/22/2026
(This is behind a paywall, but can be found in newsfeeds right now.)
These two seventies groups make good points about each other's music. I liked Rush in the eighties, but never really liked having a chipmunk named Quagmire on vocals. But I still admire the complexities of their efforts, as I do with Steely Dan, but the lyrics of Donald Fagan are somewhat misogynistic and creepy at times. Zappa was even more creepy, but had a sense of humor about it. Musicians and, really, artists of all kinds and levels take themselves too seriously. But, while I could cover Steely Dan songs in my sets, I would never attempt prog rock. Fagan's music is often referred to as "yacht rock", a label which he detests. Loggins and Messina were also considered of the yacht variety, but they wrote more simple constructions which leaned into country rock. Very different. At this point, I have to criticize the very nature of "pop stardom". NOBODY in entertainment, sports, or even book writing deserves the immense money and accolades which come from being backed by big corporations. I mean, Taylor Swift songs kind of suck, but she's the first billionaire pop star. It ain't about the music, but the marketing. I don't hate her, but she just ain't all that, man! Nobody is. I saw Dr. Wes Jackson a couple of weeks ago, a guy who is canonized by earth science nerds the world over and was the subject of Michael Johnson's documentary "Prairie Prophecy" which aired on PBS. Wes is an evolutionary biologist. Now, I know Wes pretty well, having him around the house long before he got a bit famous as he was good friends with my geologist father. I worked one-on-one with him, building parts of his porch, walkways and landscape projects. Mike was there and we got to talkin' film making. I brought up the fact that I had had "a movie star" whom I asked for production money, and Wes scoffed and said with disdain: "Movie stars!". Science hates pop culture, as they see it as noise which drowns out SERIOUS things like climate, food security and critical thinking. When Jackson Browne did a solo show here, he dedicated "Before The Deluge" to Wes's Land Institute. I told Wes and he said "Is he a black fella?". Another time, I had to explain who Angelina Jolie was... Never heard of her! All of this is to say, yes, science is abused and ignored when it is the only thing which matters in an existential sense. We put our values into celebrity culture as a diversion from darkness, the very darkness which we should confront right now because there will be more of it, very soon. Scientists, as individuals, take themselves VERY seriously. They are the prog rockers of civilization. But they were ignored for far too long on climate change, and we will suffer for that ignorance. Like a Rush song, their communication style is hard to listen to, let alone appreciate. But, while music might help us to cope, it won't help us to survive. We gotta keep dancing and finding meaning in our lives but, as Browne wrote: "pay attention to the open sky". On a solo album, Fagan has the lyric: "They might fix the weather in the world, just like Mr. Gore said. But what can be done, about the weather in my head?" Good question. Science has the answer, but we have to listen. ~RF October 2026
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson reveal their thoughts on Steely Dan, another band musicians worship, in our new interview
