Author: Dan Seeger

FilmLeave a comment

Arzner, Byrkit, Hitchcock, Pakula, Tartakovsky

Dan Seeger

Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, 1943). Though he would sometimes demure at the question, this was typically the title Hitchcock offered up as his default answer when asked about his personal favorite among his hefty, dazzling oeuvre. I can’t really back him up on that, even though I can completely understand how this one would loom large for the Master. He’d made great films before this (The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, and Suspicion among them), but there’s something about this one that feels like the Hitchcock cinematic voice locked in for good. The film follows Charlie Newton (Joseph Cotten), a … Continue reading Arzner, Byrkit, Hitchcock, Pakula, Tartakovsky

FilmLeave a comment

From the Archive: Cliffhanger and Sliver

Dan Seeger

Ah, yes, the home video segment. How very early nineties. Wasn’t that a time? Within a few months, this was sort of a filler segment on the show as we were invariably writing about films we’d already covered previously, and we didn’t necessarily have something new and riveting to add. The main servicing to previous reviews was a consideration of how something might play better or worse on the television screen, then much smaller and squarer, of course. Usually, we each covered one movie new to video. I’m not sure why I doubled up here. We must have had a … Continue reading From the Archive: Cliffhanger and Sliver

Music4 Comments

One for Friday: See Dick Run, “Boy Meets Girl”

Dan Seeger

And now we come to one of those instances in which I can’t quite believe the song hasn’t been featured previously in this weekly space. I’m sure I had a reason, perhaps because it seems like it may be available for digital purchase. Or maybe I once found that the band was still selling copies directly, a surprisingly common occurrence with small-scale acts that I would otherwise love to celebrate with a “One for Friday” post (and may yet do someday, if only to direct people towards buying a full release). Today, I share one of the most wonderful gems … Continue reading One for Friday: See Dick Run, “Boy Meets Girl”

Music5 Comments

Top 40 Smash Taps: “I’ll Try Anything”

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. The performer born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien released her first solo recording in late 1963. She took a stage name derived from a childhood nickname bestowed upon her because of tomboy tendencies that often led to her coming home covered in dirt. Her new last name came from a folk trio she was in with Tom and Reshad Feild called the Springfields. … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “I’ll Try Anything”

Music9 Comments

College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 16

Dan Seeger

16. The Dream Syndicate, Ghost Stories As the title implies, Ghost Stories is a fairly gloomy record, at least lyrically. That surely stems from the uncertainty the Dream Syndicate endured on the road to their fourth studio album. Each of their three previous full-lengths had been on a different label, and they had gone through at least one aborted break-up precipitated by the heavy disappointment over their music business struggles. If other bands sometimes filter their own discontent to forecast the imminent demise of the group on what proves to be their final album, the Dream Syndicate wrapped up their … Continue reading College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 16

Everything ElseLeave a comment

From the Archive: Necessary Roughness

Dan Seeger

I have very little to add to this beyond the staple amazement at some of the remarkably forgettable films we needed to sit through in the name of creating a weekly radio show. I do also find it interesting that I listed so many cast members without noting the presence of Kathy Ireland, the frequently bikini-clad supermodel whose presence in a co-starring role was used a major selling point for the film. It appears this was the final credit of director Stan Dragoti. Though he had an early surprise hit with Mr. Mom, it’s surprising that his career didn’t come … Continue reading From the Archive: Necessary Roughness