As one of the pillars of my musical understanding, appreciation and inspiration, the music of Steely Dan will always be there to bring me life and give me a release. But yesterday, the passing of Walter Becker, marks the end of an era. No longer will that moniker lifted from William S. Burroughs 'Naked Lunch' bring me new music and fresh sounds that will move and inspire me quite like many others have managed. Of course in its wake are some of the most well rounded pieces of art in creation, but it's always a mournful day when the final bookend is put in place, setting its confines in stone and removing it as a something subject to change or development. The phrase 'next level' couldn't be administered more suitably to the Dan. From the nuances of the lyricism, to the purity of the quality of the recording. The level of musical proficiency, to the emotive ever-present groove. Walter and Don consistently crossed and sat in between genres in a fashion that even today places them in an arena of their own. The mark they have left is far reaching and has the sort of capacity to stand any length of time, still maintaining the clearness of the art and the message it was created with. Of course it's only when something has left the hole that it once filled do you realise it's importance. To re-appropriate a lyric, "Well you wouldn't know a diamond if you held it in your hand". #RIPWalter #SteelyDan #BeckerFagenKatz