Donald Fagen: “I.G.Y.” (1982)

Donald Fagen points out the folly (and the lost innocence) of America’s Cold War optimism.

Kronomyth 1.1: A.I.G.Y. (more leisure time for artists everywhere)

I’ve always enjoyed the writing of Kurt Vonnegut. There was something about the way he saw the world that was unvarnished and innocent yet at its core deeply cynical. If I were German, I’d have a word for that but, since I’m not, I made one up: cynocence. I know, it sounds like a perfume. I didn’t say it was a good word and, as the author of a site called Progrography, you couldn’t have reasonably expected much. Anyway, the music of The Nightfly is the soundtrack to cynocence. On these two songs, Donald Fagen captures the mood perfectly. You can’t listen to I.G.Y. (which stands for International Geophysical Year) without realizing how far short we’ve fallen from our own imagined future, even as you yearn for that future. Not that we haven’t exceeded our own expectations in some regards. For example, I remember watching Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century and thinking there was no way that the liberated women of tomorrow would put up with prancing around in revealing one-piece bodysuits, but even the writers of Buck Rogers couldn’t have predicted yoga pants. Congratulations, ladies. The single version of “I.G.Y.” runs about a minute shorter than the elpee version, although I couldn’t tell you where they trimmed it. The flip side is the two-and-a-half-minute trip back in time, Walk Between Raindrops, that continues Fagen’s optimistic streak and sounds like a lost classic. Great tunes, both of them, but there isn’t a bad song on The Nightfly, while Fagen has never bested I.G.Y. imho.

Original 7-inch single version

A1. I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World) (Donald Fagen) (4:56)
B1. Walk Between Raindrops (Donald Fagen) (2:38)

12-inch promotional single version
A1. I.G.Y. (LP version) (Donald Fagen) (6:25)
B1. I.G.Y. (single version) (Donald Fagen) (4:56)

The Plastic

Released on 7-inch single in October 1982 in the US (Warner Bros., 29900), the UK (Warner Bros., 92 9900-7) and Japan (Warner, P-1720) with picture sleeve. Also released on 7-inch and 12-inch promotional single in 1980 in the US (Warner Bros., 7-29900/PRO-A-1071). Reached #26 on the US charts.