This is kind of a collection of essays, sometimes taking a literary approach to Steely Dan's lyrics and sometimes digging into the actual story of the band and how they made their records. And it's all pretty sharply written and insightful, sometimes there are long tangents explaining, say, the Cathy Berberian reference in "Your Gold Teeth" or the time Super Furry Animals sampled "Show Biz Kids," or the various ways Steely Dan's name became disreputable in some cultural circles and was then rehabilitated, but a lot of it is a bit more weighty and thought-provoking. Really a good read about one of the greatest bands of all time. 

Peter Ames Carlin's Springsteen book Bruce is one of the best, most complete rock biographies I've read, and his R.E.M. book is up to a similar quality, to the point that it surprised me when he noted at the end of the book that none of the members of the band sat with him for an interview, although he was in contact with some of them and talked to a lot of people around the band. And it allowed Carlin to approach the band's catalog from a critical standpoint and not mince words about their later albums, which was nice. But what I really liked is that Carlin really identified all the specific ways R.E.M. navigated their career and wrote their songs in different ways from other bands, and really got into the nitty gritty of their rise and creative development from year to year, and how and why Michael Stipe is one of one among rock frontmen. Sometimes he gets a little lost in the details -- at one point he spends half a page detailing the band's 1988 tour rider and I thought about how some of the band's greatest songs only got a passing mention. But it's a rich read, I wound up listening back through most of the band's catalog while reading and being more moved by it than ever, and appreciating Stipe's words as more than just cryptic window dressing but really some of the most intellectually stimulating rock lyrics of his time.