Author: Dan Seeger

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Top 40 Smash Taps: “Back When My Hair Was Short”

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. Gunhill Road was a band from the Bronx that released their debut album (under the slightly different name Gun Hill Road), First Stop, in 1971. It experienced modest success at best, but did well enough that were given another shot one year later, releasing a self-titled LP that was produced by Kenny Rogers, then still releasing albums with the First Edition while moving … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Back When My Hair Was Short”

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Jones, Kubrick, LeRoy, Park, Tourneur

Dan Seeger

Gold Diggers of 1933 (Mervyn LeRoy, 1933). This big musical from the tail end of the Pre-Code Hollywood era is fascinating for its many contradictions, beginning with the framing of Great Depression challenges with a notably defeatist cheer. The production numbers are the handiwork of Busby Berkeley (the songs are by Harry Warren and Al Dubin) and they show off his skill at mesmerizing vastness. “We’re in the Money” is probably the most famous, but others are more interesting, especially the lengthy “Pettin’ the Park,” which includes a strikingly sexy moment involving a bevy of beauties changing behind a sheer … Continue reading Jones, Kubrick, LeRoy, Park, Tourneur

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

There are over 400 files in my desktop folder called simply, “Spectrum.” Now, a fair number of them are little blurbs written for various List Inconsequential features or other group-built tallies, but there are still a lot of full-length pieces. Even counting up the number of instances of this weekly link-dump of personal reviews tells the story. According to the math done automatically by WordPress, this is the 144th post entitled “Spectrum Check.” I started writing for Spectrum Culture over three years ago and first took on some editorial chores about a year after that. As of the end of … Continue reading Spectrum Check

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One for Friday: The Feelies, “Waiting”

Dan Seeger

Though there have been many, many editions of “One for Friday” by now, my goal when selecting the weekly song is to stick with artists that haven’t yet been represented in this digital space. On occasion, however, I just wake up on the last day of the traditional work week with a certain band rattling around in my head. As I’m sure anyone who is reading this has already ascertained, that’s exactly what happened today. There are certainly far worse things than waking up with the Feelies jittering through my mind. I have a special fondness for the Haledon, New … Continue reading One for Friday: The Feelies, “Waiting”

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Top Ten Albums of 2013

Dan Seeger

I don’t know that I actually reviewed appreciably more albums for Spectrum Culture this year than the previous one, but it was enough that I sometimes felt I had a difficult time keeping up with my “outside listening.” I offer that as humble acknowledgement that my list is heavy with material that I specifically sat down and gave a close listen to in order to bang out a few hundred words extolling virtues and identifying flaws. (This may also be the spot where I acknowledge that I really don’t hear the supposed genius of Kanye West, no matter how hard … Continue reading Top Ten Albums of 2013

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Top Fifty Films of the 60s — Number One

Dan Seeger

#1 — Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) It may be that true cinematic genius stems less from an ability to fulfill a particular vision to the letter and more from a knack for pulling together all the unwieldy challenges that beset any production into a coherent, satisfying finished product. When pieces threaten to go flinging off the rig while it’s moving at top speed is when a director’s talent is truly tested. Compromises can always be transformed into advantages, but it takes someone with the intellect, patience, creativity and … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 60s — Number One