Author: Dan Seeger

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That Championship Season: Louie, Season Two

Dan Seeger

I recently ruminated on the vexing issue of ascribing authorship when evaluating cinema. That dilemma is even more pronounced when it comes to television programs. While we’re solidly into the era that venerates showrunners, television is undoubtedly an even more collaborative medium than film. Unless a program is being overseen by a near obsessive, such as David Milch, or a narcissistic self-sabotage artist, like Nic Pizzolatto, there’s sure to be a dizzying array of voices contributing to the creative process. One person may grab the baton and conduct, but the whole choir delivers the song. One of the satisfying pleasures of Louie, … Continue reading That Championship Season: Louie, Season Two

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Laughing Matters: Patton Oswalt, “You Are Allowed 20 Birthday Parties”

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 don’t agree with Patton Oswalt about everything, but I’m in full support of his stance on birthdays. As I’ve come to expect from Oswalt, he tackles the cultural deconstruction of narcissistic clinging to yearly birthday celebrations with the fearsome intellectual intricacy of a deeply devoted science fiction fan. By the end, anyone might reasonably be ashamed of all the cake and paper that’s been … Continue reading Laughing Matters: Patton Oswalt, “You Are Allowed 20 Birthday Parties”

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Beers I Have Know: Bur Oak Brewing Company Clyde’s Caramel Cream Ale

Dan Seeger

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. Sure, any time I walk on down the hill and maybe buy a beer, I naturally think about my friends and wish they lived out here. But, as I’ve discovered from my own residential wanderings, there is a distinct benefit to having beloved compatriots scattered across our national geography. For one thing, visits can include some sudsy explorations. We broke a longstanding household rule and took to the roadways over the long holiday weekend, … Continue reading Beers I Have Know: Bur Oak Brewing Company Clyde’s Caramel Cream Ale

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 193 – 191

Dan Seeger

193. Blue Öyster Cult, “Burnin’ for You” Naturally the process of trekking through a two hundred and fifty songs was going to lead to a few discoveries that would have been useful for me earlier. Almost exactly two months after retiring the “Top 40 Smash Taps” feature on this site, acknowledging that my collection of posts was probably not comprehensive (but was also “good enough, to be sure”), here I find another one that meets the qualifications for inclusion. “Burnin’ for You,” the lead single from the Blue Öyster Cult’s Fire of Unknown Origin LP, became their second to cross … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 193 – 191

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One For Friday: Kasey Chambers, “Better Be Home Soon”

Dan Seeger

Like a lot of other DJs at my college radio station, I gravitated to covers. It was commonplace in the nineteen-nineties, which is part of the reason labels we’re always pushing artists to include revamps of familiar songs on their albums. In a crowded marketplace, it was one of the surest ways to grab the fickle attention of student broadcasters. With limited spots on a playlist, anything with a whiff of the familiar held an appealing safety. And yet I didn’t actively chase covers, not until years later. That’s when my splendid partner-in-all-things made it clear that she found covers … Continue reading One For Friday: Kasey Chambers, “Better Be Home Soon”

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Bait Taken: Captain America: Steve Rogers #1

Dan Seeger

There are many building blocks of the internet, but the cornerstones are think pieces, offhand lists, and other hollow provocations meant to stir arguments and, therefore, briefly redirect web traffic. Engaging such material is utterly pointless. Then again, it’s not like I have anything better to do. I’m under the impression that the mess in which we find ourselves mired in currently began with Captain America. More specifically, it started nearly ten years ago, when Marvel Comics released Captain America #25. Sales of comic books were in a steady and dire decline, and the Marvel Entertainment Group was still a year away … Continue reading Bait Taken: Captain America: Steve Rogers #1

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The Art of the Sell: “Strange Days” trailer

Dan Seeger

These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of pop art.  As someone who once strung trailers onto the front of films for a multi-screen theater (as if there’s any other kind these days), I have a special affection for teasers that were clearly shot separately from the features they promoted, that stood as their own little movies. Appreciating the extra effort, I opted for those over frantic assemblages of clips any chance I got. Once it was out of my control, I spiritually extended a special … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “Strange Days” trailer