The mythical creature that unites Steely Dan and Genesis
While Steely Dan and Genesis might be two of the most prominent acts of the 1970s, their styles are largely distinct.
Steely Dan was formed in 1971 by university friends Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Informed by the counterculture and jazz, they established a unique style that fused increasingly searing musical accomplishment with sardonic lyrics that lampooned the more bizarre elements of life.
Unfettered misanthropes inspired by the likes of Frank Zappa and The Fugs, together Becker and Fagen crafted a fascinating oeuvre that ranges from the space-out psychedelic pop of ‘Do It Again’ to moments of clinical refinement such as ‘Aja’. Unique but capturing the day’s essence of California, their sun-drenched sound continues to provide solace to many seeking to escape the humdrum trappings of life.
Genesis struck a different chord with Steely Dan, who embodied the American proto-hipsterdom of their era. Formed in 1967 in Godalming, Surrey, they are one of the most quintessentially British bands in history. A prog-rock and pop outfit, Genesis was a band by and for the sneering upper classes, fusing intellectual musical ability with an awareness of their talent. Launching the careers of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford, their experimental music was divisive, even back then.
Yet, for all of Steely Dan and Genesis’ philosophical differences, they are united in their lofty musical panache and their shared penchant for looking to literature for inspiration. Remarkably, this even resulted in the same mythical creature being referenced in a duo of songs that arrived only two years between each other. Whether Steely Dan, who did it first, inspired Genesis, we will likely never know, but the probable coincidence does speak to music’s inherently haphazard nature.
The creature in question is a Squonk, the fearsome mythical critter said to inhabit the Hemlock forests of Pennsylvania that is able to dissolve in a pool of its own tears. Steely Dan first touched on it in their music in the 1974 Pretzel Logic song, ‘Any Major Dude Will Tell You’. Famously, it was released as the B-side to the hit ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’, and became a fan favourite. Regarding the song’s title, Donald Fagen told Rolling Stone in 2009: “When we moved out to LA, people called each other ‘dude,’ which we found funny. We were trying to speak their language.”
The lyrics referencing the creature in question ask, “Have you ever seen a Squonk’s tears.” According to some reports, Becker and Fagen came across the subject in a book by the surrealist Jorge Luis Borges, although it has never been specified which. Later, Genesis would be more full-frontal in their use of the animal with the song ‘Squonk’ from 1976’s A Trick of the Tail.
Listen to both tracks below.
