Author: Dan Seeger

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 175 – 173

Dan Seeger

175. Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper, “Elvis Is Everywhere” Neill Kirby McMillian, Jr. was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1957. Years later, he found his true self as Mojo Nixon. Though the exact moment of identity epiphany is elusive, it was undoubtedly somewhere around the point he teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Skid Roper (née Richard Banke). The two started playing gigs together in San Diego, California, in the early nineteen-eighties, in a place that undoubtedly felt a million miles away from their freewheeling, psychobilly musical sensibility. Though Nixon quickly became a cult hero, thanks to songs that indulged in a raucous, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 175 – 173

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One for Friday: Swamp Thing, “Learning to Disintegrate”

Dan Seeger

It’s been almost exactly a year since my household began the segmented process of returning from a decade and a half living in southern states, resettling in our homeland of Wisconsin. During that span, I think it’s fair to say that each of us has occasionally felt the sensation of a unique culture doing its damnedest to welcome us back. The winter was milder, the beer has gotten better, the city has been alive and accommodating. Maybe best of all, there have been a handful of entirely unexpected musical gifts. When I was at my college radio station, Swamp Thing … Continue reading One for Friday: Swamp Thing, “Learning to Disintegrate”

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My Writers: Joss Whedon

Dan Seeger

I was dismissive of Joss Whedon at first, needlessly so. And I probably should have known better. My first exposure — knowingly anyway — to Whedon’s writing was with the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which arrived with the excited promise of flinty ingenuity. It delivered far less, and Whedon was easy to dismiss as another breathlessly celebrated Hollywood wunderkind who didn’t have that much to contribute beyond a couple hooky notions. The nineties were lousy with those. As opposed to now, there weren’t a fleet of entertainment reporters prepared to dutifully transcribe Whedon’s complaints about how his original conception … Continue reading My Writers: Joss Whedon

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Beers I Have Known: 3 Floyds Brewing Co. Flying Tigersault and Perched Atop the Denim Throne

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. I am a mediocre beer hunter. I admit this fact with humility and a dollop of shame. Though I take woozy delight in a artfully crafted beer, I am woeful when it comes to holding relevant details in my head about those concoctions that should be chased. I am a willing and eager wingman for those cohorts with encyclopedic knowledge of the breweries and their beers that are simultaneously great and elusive, and therefore … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: 3 Floyds Brewing Co. Flying Tigersault and Perched Atop the Denim Throne

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Laughing Matters: The Kids in the Hall, “That’s America”

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. Happy 4th of July, everyone! Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Laughing Matters” tag. Continue reading Laughing Matters: The Kids in the Hall, “That’s America”

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 178 – 176

Dan Seeger

178. The Style Council, “My Ever Changing Moods” After serving as a central figure in the transformation of punk rock into new wave, thanks to his position as chief songwriter of the Jam, Paul Weller was looking for something a little different the early nineteen-eighties. Following the dissolution of the band that made him famous (at least in the U.K.), Weller joined with keyboardist Mick Talbot to form the Style Council. Weller took the name of the new group to heart, expounding on the richness of all aspects of European culture, saying of the erudite continent, “There’s some great things coming … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 178 – 176

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From the Archive: Munich

Dan Seeger

I find it a little remarkable that I have no reviews of Steven Spielberg films from the time I cohosted the movie review show on college radio station WWSP-90FM. During the time our program was airing weekly, the prolific filmmaker signed his name to exactly one directorial effort: Hook, released in 1991. Given when it landed on the release calendar, it’s possible we didn’t even cover it on the show. (A December 11th release date means we could have already been off in correlation to the school’s winter break). Instead, in order to populate the “From the Archive” feature with … Continue reading From the Archive: Munich

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One for Friday: The Dead C, “Bad Politics”

Dan Seeger

Because some days you need some New Zealand punk from the late nineteen-eighties. And because I remain committed to paying forward the bevy of obscure wonders I once discovered on the late, lamented blog Little Hits (mourned previously in this space). And because I could scour every song in my digital collection and not find another with a title remotely as apt for this ridiculous day and age. Today, that’s all I’ve got. Today, I’m confident that’s all I need. Listen or download –> The Dead C, “Bad Politics” (Disclaimer: I am under the belief that this track is entirely … Continue reading One for Friday: The Dead C, “Bad Politics”