Donald Fagen Quotes (13 Quotes)

When you get a groove going, time flies.

I have a critical nature, in the sense that when I look at something I often look for the flaws.

People are usually afraid to say what's on their mind.

What do you do with what you're given, and how do you transform it into something worthwhile?

September 11, on a global scale, and my mother dying, on a personal level, were the two major things that got me thinking about all of this.

Mortality It's intimations of mortality. I'm 58, and by that time, more people you know have died. My mother died a few years ago. And being a New Yorker, 911 had a lot to do with the mood of the city.

I had trouble distinguishing art from life. I don't now, and I feel much better!

That was one of the elements. Just getting older and also I'm a New Yorker, so 9-11 on a broader level had something to do with it. I work as I go so I have a file of things that go back a few years and I think probably the last Steely Dan album, (2003's) Everything Must Go, had some things on this theme, too. But this is on a more personal level.

It's great to know that our old stuff still sounds good to our fans, just as it's wonderful to think that we've turned a few people on to jazz over the years.

I'm starting to get older, and began to think about mortality a little more. My mother died in 2003 and that was a big shock. When your parents start to die off, that's going to be a revelation. So for me, this album - although it might sound quite cheery - is really talking about death.

I like it when songs develop in some way. Four minutes usually isn't enough time for something to develop musically.

We're not getting any younger.

As jazz fans, it was amusing for us to play jazz harmonies on these big, ugly electric guitars.