oh, i LOVE this song. It's wonderfully written, and it's got a perfect "high roller" vibe to it. It's about being a dealer in Hollywood, and the narrator feels as though he's one of the stars. Perfect character names, and I love the narcissistic view through his eyes: "Who inspires your fabled fools? Thats MY claim to fame"

Illegal fun under the sun, boys.

I was waiting for someone to comment as I didn't want to be the first..! The song is definitely about living the "hollywood" lifestyle. It is also one of the best written/produced tracks I think I have ever heard..!

I think this song, like Gaucho, is about an immigrant who has made it as a pro athlete, in this case, most likely a Basketball star, Thebulk of the narrative is a commentary on what type of lifestyle newly rich athletes and their fans aspire to

This song is about an athlete who is strung out on drugs. 'Local boys will spend a quater, just to shine a silver bowl' sounds like herion

"Hollywood, I know your middle name" refers to Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson who was playing for the Dallas Cowboys in the late 70s, and whose "claim to fame" (more so than football) was that he got busted for selling/using blow and eventually banned from the NFL.

Isn't this song about cocaine?

Isn't this song about cocaine?

The basketball stuff is just a guy showing off; he hasn't played serious hoops in years, but he's still got it (or needs to prove he does). Someone living this large--i.e. drug dealers at the top of the totem pole--are above it all. These people ARE like Superman in their invincibility. They have to be. I'm reminded of the line from JFK where the DA lamely taunts the shady tycoon he's investigating (but can't nail), "Guys like you just walk through the raindrops." Yeah--they do!--and not a drop falls on their Armani suits and $200 haircuts.

In this song they're celebrating wretched excess, piling on (and on and on) the references to wealth and conspicuous consumption. "Off to Barbados just for the ride"--you expect they already own cigarette boats--or indulging in the latest "theme" for the clothes they'll wear when going out on the town. These days, it seems difficult to imagine: but at the time when this song was written, a carphone was a luxury most people had never seen in real life. It was one of the ultimate status symbols...owned primarily by drug dealers and Hollywood producers.

And yeah, we also know about the other end of the scale, spending a quarter shining the silver bowl. For every guy on top, there's gotta be an awful lot of losers on the bottom.

It's not Steely Dan's first song to glamorize drug dealing (or should I use the British spelling, as they did in the title?) "Kid Charlemagne" is a pastiche of stories about Owsley the legendary LSD chemist.

Yeah, to delve into this material involves a kind of brash "fuck the rules" attitude, but that's a part of what Steely Dan has always been about. You just know Fagen and Becker have seen it all. (I mean it's in the background of the lives they've led; I'm not saying they've been kingpins themselves.)

"6:05 outside the stadium"...I got this wrong, although maybe one of the protagonists is the other man in the "one-on-one". (I'm assuming these are multiple characters...hard to tell, since the point-of-view switches from "we" to "my")

But "special delivery" clearly means Hoops McCann is a sufficiently important customer that they'll make the effort to meet up and sell to just one person. In the early morning, which is perhaps the most extraordinary aspect! Presumably McCann is a pro basketball player...if not a Laker, then he must be on a road trip to play the Lakers. Someone accustomed to being catered to. And more than likely, he buys in bulk...for himself, his friends and entourage.

I love how Becker and Fagen cast the narrator in such an arrogant and self-important light. After all, the narrator is NOT Hoops McCann, or Jack, or the celluloid bikers, or Jive Miguel...instead, he's just a connection man, the guy who acts as enabler/frontman for the "important people" so that they can follow their drug muse.

After all, it's not the narrator that inspires Hollywood's "fabled fools"...instead, it's what he can deliver. But in reality, the guy is just part of the background, easily replaced by anyone.

Also, the first stanza's last line should be "We're all stars"...again, the narrator isn't the star, but he helps McCann make calls from his car and supplies him with coke, so he considers himself a star.

It's about a big time LA coke dealer. the last verse is the tipoff:

Jive Miguel
He's in from Bogota
Meet me at midnight
At Mr. Chow's
Szechuan dumplings
After the deal has been done
I'm the one

Miguel- Colombian connect
Mr. Chow (not Chow's)- a Beverly Hills chinese restaurant(opened 1973) hence "szechuan dumplings, now that the DEAL has been done."
I agree with the Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson reference since he used coke on the sideline during games, even SuperBowl XIII.
Note: The Cowboys played the L.A. Rams twice that year('79), in week 3 and in the Conference Championship both times in L.A.
Gaucho was released in 1980 so the timeline fits.