Author: Dan Seeger

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

I had a busy week at Spectrum Culture, and one that was significantly more time-consuming than I initially anticipated. As I’ve noted before, we writers largely select exactly which films, CDs and books we want to review. When I picked out the new documentary from Goncalo Tocha, I swear I read that it was ninety minutes long. Then the screener showed up, spread across two DVDs. So on a weekend that I was already somewhat pressed for time, I suddenly had a three-hour film to watch (after I’d already committed to watching a very different one in the theater that … Continue reading Spectrum Check

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One for Friday: Noise Addict, “Boyfriendship”

Dan Seeger

Growing up is dumb. Okay, okay, so it has its rewards too: wisdom, accumulating authority, stabilizing emotions and all that junk. Whether that’s due compensation for the virtually inevitable dissipation of passion and energy is a matter of debate. Perhaps nothing crystallizes the supremacy of youth quite like the realm ruled in benevolent partnership by rock ‘n’ roll and pop music. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a great song about yard upkeep or renegotiating mortgages rates, but first kisses and tragic, heated love affairs certainly fit snugly into a three-and-a-half-minute single. That’s one of the reason that teenage … Continue reading One for Friday: Noise Addict, “Boyfriendship”

Everything Else8 Comments

College Countdown: CMJ Top 50 Albums of 2001, 18 and 17

Dan Seeger

18. Travis, The Invisible Band I didn’t have a working familiarity with a lot of the artists on this list when 2001 began, even those that could reasonably claim to already be well-established in the realm of college. I certainly knew Travis, though, largely because I had completely bought into their brand of lush, emotive pop at the time. It was an understandable (and, I’d hazard, commonplace) position to hold at the time, collecting music crafted in the rhythmic aftershocks of The Verve’s Urban Hymns, the 1997 album that housed perhaps the most rapturously wonderful single of the decade. The … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 50 Albums of 2001, 18 and 17

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

I didn’t have that many writing assignments for Spectrum Culture this week, so of course I needed to make certain my one piece was exceedingly long, maybe the longest I’ve ever written for the site. To be fair, the “Re-make/Re-model” series invites length given that at least two films need to be broken down. In writing about Jonathan Demme’s remake of a Stanley Donen classic, I also had the opportunity to reference an old Onion article for which I have a special fondness. I also offered up a far briefer contribution to this week’s List Inconsequential list about great live … Continue reading Spectrum Check

MusicLeave a comment

One for Friday: Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, “Carmelito”

Dan Seeger

We probably thought Edie Brickell was going to be one of those artists who’d be around, creating music that was simultaneously breezy and vital for a long, long time. The debut album with backing band New Bohemians (no “the,” please) arrived in August of 1988, weeks before I landed at the college radio station, and the single “What I Am” got ample airplay throughout the fall on its way to becoming an unlikely Top 10 hit on the Billboard charts. For most, that track represents the entirety of the essential Brickell collection. At our station, however, it was actually the … Continue reading One for Friday: Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, “Carmelito”

Television5 Comments

Do you feel like a chain store? Practically floored.

Dan Seeger

Like everyone else who has an abundance of online accounts and an empowered self-certainty when it comes to commenting on all things popular culture, I spent some time today offering snarky, mildly bitter assessments of today’s announcement of this year’s Emmy nominations. Rather than continuing to spout off about perceived snubs and the odd worthy contender among today’s honorees, I thought the better approach might be to lay out my preferences here in my corner of the digital landscape. I may type up a full list of acting nominations when it comes to the Oscars, but I’m not so crazy … Continue reading Do you feel like a chain store? Practically floored.