Author: Dan Seeger

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My Writers: Ann Beattie

Dan Seeger

I have a foolish aversion to short stories. I’m perplexed about its origins. It may stem from the fact that my time chipping away at an undergraduate English major forever associated the form with the toil of assigned text. (I swear “Hills Like White Elephants” was on the syllabus of every third class I took.) I also worry that I have some strange, snobbish guilt that triggers a lurking, unshakable sense that I should be working on a weightier novel when I’m reading a short story, under the so-many-books-so-little-time provision of life as a consumer of written fiction. Ann Beattie … Continue reading My Writers: Ann Beattie

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CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 61 – 59

Dan Seeger

61. Morrissey, “Suedehead” The collaboration between Steven Patrick Morrissey and Johnny Marr was in tatters. They had completely stopped speaking to one another, putting the future of their band, the Smiths, into a state more dire than doubt. While some of the members — including, according to some reports, Morrissey himself — were still holding out hope that the many rifts could be overcome, it didn’t look good. The terms of the record deal the Smiths has signed with EMI, in 1986, stipulated that new music was due, regardless of the official status of the band. With that in mind, Morrissey sought … Continue reading CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 61 – 59

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From the Archive: Flashback Friday — 1985

Dan Seeger

I should really find more excuses to write about Calvin and Hobbes. This piece was posted in my former online home as part of the “Flashback Fridays” series. 1985: Calvin and Hobbes debuts It’s about a young boy with a shock of yellow hair that looks like the teeth of an upturned saw blade, one of the big ones that requires two men to use. And it’s about his best friend in the world, a stuffed toy tiger. Or maybe he’s not stuffed. Maybe he’s a real tiger that the boy ensnared from the wild, rigging a trap with tuna … Continue reading From the Archive: Flashback Friday — 1985

Music3 Comments

One for Friday: Bob Seger, “Love the One You’re With”

Dan Seeger

For several years now, most of my music listening has been shaped by the various shuffle features connected to my digital collection. That particular batch of MP3 files spans far and wide, a result of concerted effort to essentially create the automated radio station of my deepest longings, one that operates with at least some of the limitations of format knocked asunder. At different points, that entailed me securing all sorts of songs that I didn’t necessarily find familiar. I wanted surprise as the playlists unwound. I relied on the robust song-sharing blog community to help me shape my fictional station’s library. There … Continue reading One for Friday: Bob Seger, “Love the One You’re With”

FilmLeave a comment

The Unwatchables: Now You See Me 2

Dan Seeger

Like most erudite (or, if you prefer, snobbish) modern film fans, I’m always ready to spring forth to decry the practice of making all decisions about which projects see the light according to a strained equation about the likelihood of spinning the material into a myriad of interconnection ancillary series. There can’t just be new Star Wars films. There must be a robust Star Wars universe, exploring side avenues and hidden histories that previously piqued the curiosity of precisely no one. But maybe — just maybe — if studios are going to commit to films largely on the basis of repeatability, … Continue reading The Unwatchables: Now You See Me 2

Film, TelevisionLeave a comment

Laughing Matters: The Max Fischer Players

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. “She’s the smartest person in the world, general. I think we ought to listen to her.” I love this with an intensity I’ll never be able to truly convey. Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Laughing Matters” tag. Continue reading Laughing Matters: The Max Fischer Players

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The Art of the Sell: Nighthawks at the Diner

Dan Seeger

These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art.  In 1975, when Tom Waits released Nighthawks at the Diner, he had only been a known quantity for two years, with just a pair of studio full-lengths to his credit. He was in his mid-twenties, though he already looked like a bedraggled middle-aged man who’d spent a few too many nights helping keep a barstool in place. The Waits persona was already firmly in place. Not that there’s a desperate need for proof of the above assertion, but … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: Nighthawks at the Diner

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 64 – 62

Dan Seeger

64. Hoodoo Gurus, “I Want You Back” The casual listener would be forgiven for assuming that “I Want You Back” is just another pining pop song, the next nearly indistinguishable boxcar on the endless train of the musically lovelorn line. Instead, the single from the 1984 album Stoneage Romeos, the debut release from Hoodoo Gurus, addresses the turmoil in the band’s lineup. Though the song resides on the first full-length from Hoodoo Gurus, the group had already endured quite a bit of personnel turmoil, including the departure of original guitarist Rod Radalj. Apparently nursing some ill feelings about the growing … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 64 – 62

FilmLeave a comment

From the Archive: Juno

Dan Seeger

Few filmmakers experienced quite as precipitous a drop as Jason Reitman. He went from back-to-back Best Director nominations to a pair of films that were universally panned (with, it’s worth noting, one compromised but ambition feature in between). Through it all, he’s at least had the live reads, regular events that brought together impressive groups of actors to offer one-time-only, live stage performances of some truly beloved screenplays. Though the event is officially retired as an ongoing concern, Reitman is clearly keeping it in his back pocket, ready to throw on the table when the moment is right, such as a … Continue reading From the Archive: Juno