Author: Dan Seeger

Everything ElseLeave a comment

Beers I Have Known: New Glarus Brewing Company Bubbler

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. Recently, I and my partner-in-all-things attended a beer sampling event in our current city of residence. We followed that with a stop at a nearby watering hole, where we engaged in an impromptu debrief session. As I was sipping on the New Glarus Brewing Company beer I bought, I was doing my best to sort through which of the middling offerings from our prior stop were worth remembering. My lovely and wise drinking buddy argued, … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: New Glarus Brewing Company Bubbler

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My Misspent Youth: Captain America by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck

Dan Seeger

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. Considering I operated with only a modest outlay of spending change, my youthful comic book obsession was shaped by selectivity. I went all in for Marvel Comics early on, but I was never able to be one of those kids who bought practically everything with the company’s distinctive banner cutting across the top of the cover. I even forced myself to bypass some of the publisher’s most stalwart characters, such as … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Captain America by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck

FilmLeave a comment

The Art of the Sell: “Flesh and Bone” poster

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.  There was a time when I loved seeking out new movie posters. Anytime I make the trek to one of the multi-screen bunkers on the edges of Madison, I prowled the hallways looking for new additions to the wall. It got even better when I managed a movie theater. Every day the mail delivery would bring a new handful of slender cardboard tubes stuffed with rolled up one-sheets. For me, it was a like a magical Christmas tree … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “Flesh and Bone” poster

MusicLeave a comment

College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 190 – 188

Dan Seeger

190. X, “Burning House of Love” While some of the most fervent fans of the Los Angeles punk band X cast reflexive aspersions on the 1985 single that became the group’s biggest commercial success, bassist and singer John Doe considered it something of a breakthrough. At the time, he contended, “It’s taken me about 15 years to be able to write a song that’s as simple and direct as ‘Burning House of Love.’” Later, though, Doe largely came around to agreeing with the more negative assessment of the song, at least as it was recorded and released. For X’s fifth album, See How We … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 190 – 188

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From the Archive: Dying Young

Dan Seeger

There was a time when Premiere magazine was invaluable. When the digital asphalt was still drying on the information superhighway, coverage of movies wasn’t nearly as pervasive as it is now. Besides the obvious lack of anxiously competing websites, the mainstream media was also less likely to sully their pages or airwaves with excited previews of upcoming films or, even more sordid, widespread discussion of box office expectations and results. While Premiere was hardly the sole outlet providing such information, they were generally doing it better and more inventively than anyone else. For example, when it came time to offer a preview of the … Continue reading From the Archive: Dying Young

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One for Friday: Paul Kelly and the Messengers, “You Can’t Take It with You”

Dan Seeger

Paul Kelly was a major figure for me during my inaugural year at the college radio station. His was a name I carried in with me, largely because a couple of his albums made unlikely appearances deep in the album review section of Rolling Stone, well past the point most readers had probably determined the artists and titles were getting too obscure to bother with and flipped the magazine closed. (I can’t find digital versions of those reviews, but there’s some circumstantial evidence that the column inches were courtesy of the championing of David Fricke, who still takes every reasonable … Continue reading One for Friday: Paul Kelly and the Messengers, “You Can’t Take It with You”

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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”