My Old School

The song recalls, in real and invented detail, Becker and Fagen's time at Bard College, centered on a drug raid in May 1969 ordered by G. Gordon Liddy, the Daddy Gee of the lyric. Becker, Fagen and Fagen's girlfriend Dorothy White were arrested. It is an uptempo rock song with a saxophone section arranged by Jimmie Haskell, played by Bill Perkins, Ernie Watts, John Rotella and Lanny Morgan, and aggressive piano and guitar solos. Baxter played a Stratocaster he had built himself and finished three hours before the session.

Released as a single from Countdown to Ecstasy, it reached 63 on the Hot 100. It became an FM rock staple over time and appears in 743 setlists on setlist.fm, the fourth most of any of their songs. The Guardian ranked it eighth among the band's twenty best in 2022, saying the bitter tone is matched by the toughness of its R&B-inspired groove. It adds that Fagen went back to Bard for an honorary doctorate despite swearing never to return.