I don’t believe in guilty pleasures, but somehow, I do feel a tad bit guilty about loving Steely Dan. I totally admit that they are creepy. I, too, think they are a little slimy! Hey, Nineteen makes my skin crawl for two reasons: 1) I get goosebumps when I listen to music that I love, like this song, and 2) I also get the other kind of crawly feeling on the skin because the lyrics gross me out.
I was born during Steely Dan’s heyday, during the late 70s. I had no idea that there was a song called Dirty Work by Steely Dan until I watched The Sopranos:
I then listened to the original song a bit later after first hearing the above snippet on TV, and I fell in love with it.
I was in my early twenties in the late ’90s when I discovered Dirty Work first through Tony Soprano, aka the late great James Gandolfini, and then Steely Dan themselves. It took me many years to really get how problematic and cynical Steely Dan was and continues to be. When I found this cover by Julia Logan, I was delighted to hear the song covered by a woman, especially a woman with such a clear beautiful voice. I like how the dude creep factor is turned on its head by hearing a woman sweetly sing this song. I enjoy it immensely:
Blue Thumb Music Collective 