Author: Dan Seeger

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”

Music13 Comments

Top 40 Smash Taps: “I’m Comin’ Home”

Dan Seeger

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. Tommy James spent plenty of time in the Billboard Top 40 when he was backed up by the Shondells. Debuting under the name Tommy James and the Shondells with the 1966 chart-topper “Hanky Panky” (a song they’d released at least twice previously without James’s name as prominent on the label), the group had a string of hit through the rest of the sixties, … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “I’m Comin’ Home”

Comics10 Comments

My Misspent Youth: Iron Man #39 by Gerry Conway and Herb Trimpe

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. As I’ve acknowledged previously, my youthful commitment to Marvel Comics included a zestful excitement about researching the publisher’s comics from before I became a reader, which happened nearly twenty years into their history, giving me a lot to catch up on. I wanted to know the full scope of the continuity of the fictional tales, but I was also fascinated by the bevy of behind the scenes tales. Unlike their distinguished competition, … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Iron Man #39 by Gerry Conway and Herb Trimpe

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

Dan Seeger

#23 — The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (Preston Sturges, 1944) My general inclination is to look askance at films that overtly rely on cultural daring to make their impact. This isn’t always true, as the use of variants of “audacious” in any number of rave reviews will testify. Further, that policy softens significantly the earlier a film’s copyright date. There are instances where I can’t help but marvel at the material that was slipped past Hollywood’s strict codes. I’d like to think that my critical acumen remains heightened enough that I can see through the older films that are as hollow as … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 40s — Number Twenty-Three

Everything Else8 Comments

Beers I Have Known: Corona

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. Technically, the name of the beer is Corona Extra, but who ever calls it that? Back in my college days and immediately thereafter, when any beer from outside the borders of the United States automatically registered with me and mine as an exotic indulgence, Corona was one of the prime brews for those of us looking to treat ourselves to a slightly posher experience. Adding to the misplaced sense of fancy was the … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Corona

Music14 Comments

College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 18 and 17

Dan Seeger

18. Mike Watt, Ball-Hog or Tugboat? If on the last day of 1995 you had asked me to name the best album of the year, without hesitation I would have answered Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, the debut solo release of  Mike Watt. I’m not entirely convinced I’d stand by the pinnacle placement now (besides being inclined toward the member of the legendary Minutemen and the shoulda-been-legendary Firehose, I was certainly committing to some bratty contrarianism as the record wasn’t championed in the music press nearly as much as I felt was merited), but I completely understand while it appealed to me. In … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1995, 18 and 17

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From the Archive: City Slickers

Dan Seeger

In picking old reviews that feel appropriate for unearthing in the warmer months, I’ve pulled twice previously from the edition of The Reel Thing, our bygone radio program, that looked back on the top-grossing films of summer 1991. So why not go ahead and complete the excavation of my portion of that particular show. City Slickers finished in the third position on the particular chart. It is with renewed amazement that I look at the numbers noted here, specifically that there were only three movies to cross the $100 million threshold that summer. Now if we have a summer in which only … Continue reading From the Archive: City Slickers