We have been fortunate enough to do something that has always been out of the mainstream and yet have an audience for what we do. Walter Becker More Quotes by Walter Becker More Quotes From Walter Becker I'm a self-taught musician aside from what I've been able to pick up from other players. Walter Becker musicianplayerself My primary influences were the best jazz players from the 50's and 60's and later some of the pop people from the same time period along with the better of the well-known blues musicians. Walter Becker rock-n-rollplayerpeople I listen to a mixture of old jazz, contemporary, pop, some world beat stuff and various odds and ends. Walter Becker oddsstuffworld The protagonist in 'Deacon Blues' is a triple-L loser - an L-L-L Loser. It's not so much about a guy who achieves his dream but about a broken dream of a broken man living a broken life. Walter Becker manloserbrokenlife I think what television and video games do is reminiscent of drug addiction. There's a measure of reinforcement and a behavioural loop. Walter Becker measurevideo-gamesthinkaddiction We are constantly competing with the monsters from the id. Walter Becker idconstantlycompetingmonsters 'Deacon Blues' was special for me. It's the only time I remember mixing a record all day and, when the mix was done, feeling like I wanted to hear it over and over again. It was the comprehensive sound of the thing: the song itself, its character, the way the instruments sounded, and the way Tom Scott's tight horn arrangement fit in. Walter Becker daymetimecharacter From a linguistic point of view, you can't really take much objection to the notion that a show is a show is a show. Walter Becker showviewyoupoint-of-view It's interesting how some songs really lend themselves to performance in a big public venue and performance by a band and so on, and so they're even more successful in that context than they were on the record. Walter Becker performancebigbandinteresting Our career had a sort of funny shape. Walter Becker shapeourcareerfunny It was the 'Gaucho' album that finished us off. We had pursued an idea beyond the point where it was practical. That album took about two years, and we were working on it all of that time - all these endless tracking sessions involving different musicians. It took forever, and it was a very painful process. Walter Becker musicianspainfulprocesstime There was a film called 'FM,' and we were asked to do the title song. And I said, 'Does it have to have any specific words?' And they said, 'No, it just has to be about FM radio.' It took a day or two to write. Walter Becker wordsdayradiosong It seemed like the more complex the music we were playing, the less able we were to guarantee its consistency. Walter Becker morelikeconsistencymusic '8 Miles to Pancake Day' is a reconciliation of the classic space-time dilemma. Walter Becker daydilemmamilesclassic You have a kid, and it's like, 'He's gotta go to college! Gotta have some clothes!' Walter Becker goyouclothescollege Cynicism, I contend, is the wailing of someone who believes that things are, or should be, or could be, much, much better than they are. Walter Becker someonebetterwhothings That's sort of what we wanted to do: conquer from the margins, sort of find our place in the middle based on the fact that we were creatures of the margin and of alienation. Walter Becker factfindplaceconquer I have a feeling there were many, many successful rock duos that just didn't get attention. That's the fault of the rock press. They are always playing up controversy, scandal, aggravation, and irritation. Walter Becker rockfeelingalwaysattention I always look for the weirdest note to land on. I felt that that was the least I could do for the great musical traditions which I've spawned. Walter Becker traditionsgreatlookalways If there's a strange way to do something, I would certainly like to know about it. I feel that I owe that to my public. Walter Becker feelknowstrangeway
