Author: Dan Seeger

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College Countdown: KROQ-FM’s Top 40 Songs of 1987, 14 and 13

Dan Seeger

14. “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 There’s nothing like a collegiate existence defined by college radio to absolutely ensure there are lots and lots of earnest late night conversations about the deeper meanings of songs. I remember one night, probably fueled by steady consumption of blue bullets, when my roommate and I swapped theories about various songs. At one point, he theorized that the U2 hit “Where the Streets Have No Name” was about Heaven, which seemed extremely profound at the time. Of course, it’s also entirely wrong. Bono’s lyrics were instead inspired by a story the … Continue reading College Countdown: KROQ-FM’s Top 40 Songs of 1987, 14 and 13

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Top Ten Albums of 2012

Dan Seeger

There is no shortage of lists. That is clear. So I’m not presenting my own personal tally of the best music of 2012 with the presumption that my set is appreciably better than the similar tally constructed by anyone else. But I was charged with creating it to add some data points to the Spectrum Culture Best Albums of 2012 feature, so why not share? In actuality, I was required to make a Top 20 list, but I’ll admit that the rankings get pretty shaky–almost approaching the arbitrary–in the second ten. This grouping, however, I feel pretty solid about. Well, … Continue reading Top Ten Albums of 2012

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One for Friday: Bodeans, “Brand New”

Dan Seeger

For a few years, I always knew where I’d be at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Back in 1989, my first full calendar year at college radio station WWSP-90FM, I had a nutty idea. Well, it was an idea that was fairly commonplace in music broadcasting, but it was nutty for us. I’d take the weekly charts we compiled (for the purposes of reporting to CMJ, the trade publication of college radio, which in turn kept the record labels servicing the station with new releases) and use them to determine the station’s Top 90 albums of the year. Then we’d … Continue reading One for Friday: Bodeans, “Brand New”

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College Countdown: KROQ-FM’s Top 40 Songs of 1987, 16 and 15

Dan Seeger

16. “Is It Really So Strange?” by the SmithsAs previously noted, the Smiths released Strangeways, Here We Come, their final studio album, in 1987. That same year also brought Louder Than Bombs, a double album compilation consisting almost entirely of singles and other songs that hadn’t yet been released in the United States. “Is It Really Strange?” is the track that leads off the album, and it also appeared as the B-side to the “Sheila Take a Bow” single. The version that appears on Louder Than Bombs was recorded as part of the band’s fourth and final John Peel session … Continue reading College Countdown: KROQ-FM’s Top 40 Songs of 1987, 16 and 15

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

And so we come to the end of another calendar year of reviews for Spectrum Culture. The site is already in the process of downshifting ahead of the holidays, so there was a little less new content going up this week. I still took my turn in the film review rotation, however, with an evaluation of a new drama that got wobbly wheels but is finally made steady by a couple of very fine performances. Most of my words this week were expended on our various “end of the year” lists. For the Favorite Books feature, I wrote about Richard … Continue reading Spectrum Check

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One for Friday: Grandaddy, “Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland”

Dan Seeger

I didn’t used to be a Scrooge. When I was a little kid–like most little kids, I’d wager–I was delighted when the calender finally reached the point when it was acceptable to pull the well-worn Christmas albums out of storage and start playing them non-stop. I’m sure it’s some sort of karmic balance for all the Chipmunks songs with which I unwittingly persecuted the adults in my household that I now find the endless barrage of chipper or sentimental yuletide cheer piped in over store sound systems to be like claws raked against the inside of my brain. Consequently, it’s … Continue reading One for Friday: Grandaddy, “Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland”