Author: Dan Seeger

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By the time I get to Phoenix she’ll be risin’

Dan Seeger

Phoenix takes place in Germany shortly after the end of World War II. The city of Berlin is reeling, much of it still in ruins, and the portion of its Jewish population that somehow survived the concentration camps is returning, warily ready to restart their lives but still understandably burdened by spiritual wounds that will likely never heal. One of those returning is Nelly (Nina Hoss), whose face was badly damaged by a bullet wound. The doctor charged with reconstructive surgery asks her about the appearance she’d like him to provide. Nelly insists she wants to look like herself, a choice … Continue reading By the time I get to Phoenix she’ll be risin’

Film2 Comments

I wanna write my whole life down, burn it there to the ground

Dan Seeger

Brilliance is devilishly difficult to capture on film. So often, the necessary concessions that come with condensing prickly complexities into a concise cinematic narrative leave supposed acts of creative genius looking like shabby husks and the individual behind such revered greatness falling into pat, simplified categories, disposable icons with fervent spark and chasm-like flaws. Maybe the mightiest accomplishment of the many within The End of the Tour is the film’s honest, complicated, engrossing consideration of how brilliance resides uneasily in a society unprepared to meet it with due respect and gratitude. It is one of the few instances I can think of in … Continue reading I wanna write my whole life down, burn it there to the ground

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Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Twenty-One

Dan Seeger

#21 — Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, 1943) Family is a twisty, tricky thing. For Charlie (Teresa Wright), a cheery teenager in a small California town, the imminent arrival of her uncle, also named Charlie (Joseph Cotten), is cause for rejoicing. The two have an obvious connection through their shared nickname (he’s Charles, she’s Charlotte), but there are hints at other parallels, with director Alfred Hitchcock framing them in similar ways in their respective introductions. The connection is positioned as profound, which of course only serves to make an eventual spiritual betrayal all the more harsh. Shadow of a … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Twenty-One

Music14 Comments

College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 14 and 13

Dan Seeger

14. Primus, Tales from the Punchbowl Tales from the Punchbowl is probably the delineation point that brought Primus to punky, bratty funk rockers to a trio fully prepared to embrace the jammy indulgence of post-prog rock. There were still curdled dollops of juvenilia, most notably in lead single “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver,” but the trio was just as likely to wrench their signature sound into the sprawling, shifting soundscapes “Professor Nutbutter’s House of Treats” and “Southbound Pachyderm.” Adding to the sense that they were ready to start crafting soundtracks to go with especially warped versions of one of Roger Dean’s vistas was the eventual existence of … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 14 and 13

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Great Moments in Literature

Dan Seeger

“I go back to the porch and stand there for a minute. The sky is darker. I can see a firefly or two. One of the little boys in the neighborhood passes by on his bike, all shiny blue, with training wheels on the back. There are streamers on the handlbars. The cat that kills birds walks by. I’ve been known to fill a water pistol and squirt the cat when nobody’s looking. I’ve also turned the hose on it. It walks on the edge of our lawn. I know just what it’s thinking.” –Ann Beattie, “Home to Marie,” 1986 … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

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Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Twenty-Two

Dan Seeger

#22 — The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949) I need to begin with a confession. As might occasionally be the case in a lifelong journey through film, I was initially wrong about The Third Man. First encountering it in a college film class (or, to be more precise, an English class taught by a movie-crazy professor who found a way to wrangle her passion into three credits worth of her teaching load), I found Carol Reed’s lush film noir to be, well, dull. It’s too long ago for me to pinpoint what triggered this reaction, especially when refracted through my later … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Twenty-Two

Music13 Comments

College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 16 and 15

Dan Seeger

16. Soul Asylum, Let Your Dim Light Shine In a fairly unique situation, know exactly where I was when I first heard Soul Asylum’s Let Your Dim Light Shine. I was crammed into a booth at The Plaza Tavern, a landmark to certain boozy souls in Madison, Wisconsin and home of the “world famous” Plazaburger, commiserating with the handful of pals who’d joined me there for a listening party sponsored by the “New Rock Alternative” commercial radio station where I was working at the time. I’d been assigned to staff this particular remote, which was supposed to be a boon … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 16 and 15

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One for Friday: The Swimming Pool Q’s, “Laredo Radio”

Dan Seeger

I’ll admit to feeling fairly discombobulated today. While this is hardly the place to get into details, it’s been a strange day. Thus, I’m going to refrain from expounding at verbose length on today’s musical offering. Let’s just say I felt especially compelled to revisit this Atlanta band, previously featured in this space just about a year ago. It’s good stuff, friends. Listen or download –> The Swimming Pool Q’s, “Laredo Radio” (Disclaimer: This song originally appears on Blue Tomorrow, the 1986 album by the Swimming Pool Q’s. That’s out of print. It was also included on a Kickstarter-funded reissue/compilation a couple … Continue reading One for Friday: The Swimming Pool Q’s, “Laredo Radio”