Author: Dan Seeger

PoliticsLeave a comment

My Writers: Charles P. Pierce

Dan Seeger

Given the endless procession of freshly minted atrocities on the front pages of credible newspapers, it’s tempting to invoke the apocryphal Chinese curse that bestowed the condemnation of “interesting times.” But we’ve crossed well beyond that battle-scarred region. We’ve moved on to a swirling abomination that can only be thought of as “exhausting times.” Being engaged in the current political stories that flash and pop with the frantic urgency of an overloading pinball machine is an invitation to madness, or at least a version of unwanted enlightening that is particularly soul-crushing. None of these examples of egregious abdication of sensible … Continue reading My Writers: Charles P. Pierce

FilmLeave a comment

Now Playing: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Dan Seeger

It will be very strange when the Guardians of the Galaxy show up, as promised, in the upcoming third Avengers film, tagged Infinity War. I offer that observation as acknowledgment of the uniqueness of writer-director James Gunn’s contribution to the swelling Marvel Cinematic Universe. The revolution of the Marvel movie model is the transference of the interconnectedness of comic book sagas to the big screen, and the studio has been hitting that hard in recent efforts. Each separate movie has its own strengths and weaknesses, but a significant part of what defines them is their placement in the bigger pictures. Individual … Continue reading Now Playing: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

TelevisionLeave a comment

Programming Note

Dan Seeger

This space has gathered dust the past few days. It was the unexpected result of a toppling series of dominoes related to a recent move and the colossal ineptitude of a certain multinational corporation. It especially pains me that I missed yesterday’s College Countdown post, but circumstances were largely beyond my control. Since my mind and spirit are still weary (in part because of yet one more service technician curveball hurled right at my noggin earlier today), I’m giving myself one more day of trembling stasis. Content returns tomorrow with a movie review of a big ol’ blockbuster. Whatever could … Continue reading Programming Note

Music2 Comments

One for Friday: Glass Eye, “Cecilia”

Dan Seeger

I’ve written about the allure cover songs had — still have, maybe — for college radio programmers. Much as there’s a fierce instinct for the new, new, new, there’s a reason most commercial radio stations default to a mere handful of songs that cycle eternally. The familiar stirs a powerful craving. Discovery is great, but we all want to sing along. So as much as I’d like to champion one of the originals included on the Austin band Glass Eye’s Christine EP, which hit the student-run radio station during my first semester there, the reality is that I gravitated to … Continue reading One for Friday: Glass Eye, “Cecilia”

Books, ComicsLeave a comment

Great Moments in Literature

Dan Seeger

“Barbara used to say that he didn’t phrase things strongly enough when he visited his doctor. She’d ask, ‘Did you tell him about your back? Did you tell him you were in agony?’ and Liam would say, ‘Well, I mentioned I was experiencing some discomfort.’ Barbara would roll her eyes. So now he leaned forward in his chair. ‘I have a very, very serious concern,’ he said. ‘I really need to talk about this. I feel I’m going crazy.’” –Anne Tyler, Noah’s Compass, 2009 “CONFUSION CURLS LIKE A VISCOUS FOG ABOUT THE REINSTATED MIND OF DR. ALEC HOLLAND — HE … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

Music2 Comments

The New Releases Shelf: Swear I’m Good At This

Dan Seeger

Crushes on bands are a thing, right? Certain songs, certain albums, certain riffs and vocal howls can set the heart aflutter with something that transcends taste and appreciation and escalates to full-on swooning adoration. I feel like that used to happen to me about every other week when I was a devoted staff member at the college radio station, eons ago. Every undiscovered album dropped over the spindle or CD fed into the player held the potential of triggering a rapturing affair of the psyche. For whatever reason, album rarely leave me reeling in that way any longer, probably because … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Swear I’m Good At This

TelevisionLeave a comment

Laughing Matters: Mr. Show, “The Limits of Science”

Dan Seeger

Sometimes comedy illuminates hard truths with a pointed urgency that other means can’t quite achieve. Sometimes comedy is just funny. This series of posts is mostly about the former instances, but the latter is valuable, too.. I spend my days writing about the latest surgical tools and medical advances. When my weary mind drifts, I invariably land on this sketch from the late, great Mr. Show. “Leeches suck out the sick inside of you that witches put there.” Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Laughing Matters” tag. Continue reading Laughing Matters: Mr. Show, “The Limits of Science”

MusicLeave a comment

College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 49 – 47

Dan Seeger

49. Tears for Fears, “Everybody Want to Rule the World” Bands beholden to major labels are often told they need to buckle down and try to write a hit song. As they were prepping material for their 1985 album, Songs from the Big Chair, Tears for Fears were given even more specific instructions than that. They were charged with writing a single that would appeal to the U.S. market. That single was “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” “We did the song to have an American hit,” Roland Orzabal, guitarist and vocalist for the band, conceded at the time. “It’s … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 49 – 47

FilmLeave a comment

From the Archive: Mirrormask

Dan Seeger

The review, first posted in my former online home, is absolutely jam-packed with the affectations that I eagerly adopted when I started seriously writing for a digital platform, including an overturned Lego crate worth of hyperlinks and a correctly formatted trademark symbol. Almost every original link was now dead, but I did my best to rebuild them accordingly. I’m especially pleased to note that I’m fairly certain that I corrected determined the hideous comic book covers I opted for to accompany “other material sharing space.” It is perhaps easy to intuit that the reasoning behind plucking this particular review from … Continue reading From the Archive: Mirrormask