Author: Dan Seeger

FilmLeave a comment

I never thought I would come of age, let alone on a moldy page

Dan Seeger

Young Adult reunites director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody four years after their shared breakthrough with Juno. In different ways, to different degrees, both creators come into the movie with a little something to prove. Despite an even better follow-up film, Reitman still has his vocal detractors, those who find his efforts a little too slick and glib. Cody, though an enthusiastic Oscar winner for her Juno efforts, faced an even sterner backlash, largely on the basis of another produced screenplay that was smothered into lifelessness by the same sort of dialogue of inventive slang that gained her attention … Continue reading I never thought I would come of age, let alone on a moldy page

Music60 Comments

Top 40 Smash Taps: “The Alvin Twist”

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. Ross Bagdasarian famously stumbled upon the the notion of a singing group comprises of small furry mammals by playing around with tape speed in the studio. He was already a relatively successful figure in the entertainment industry, having appeared on Broadway and in several films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. he also co-wrote the hit song “Come On-A My House” with his famed … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “The Alvin Twist”

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

Once I started writing music reviews for Spectrum Culture, one of my goals was to eventually branch out and try to cover material that’s somewhat outside of my normal range. So for my last album review of the year, I made a point of grabbing a hip hop release. Lucky for me, it just so happens to be one of the best records of the year. I did the best I could, but I wish I’d had a little more concentrated time with the album before I wrote on it. I have a feeling this one is going to age … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Music11 Comments

One for Friday: They Eat Their Own, “Like a Drug”

Dan Seeger

At 90FM, certain songs were marked with a little red dot. There were other colored dots used to designate songs that had grown especially popular, either on commercial radio or our own airwaves, but the red dots were the important ones. They signaled to the DJ that there was some word in the song’s lyrics that the average listener or, more importantly, the FCC might find objectionable if we played it. There was all sorts of content that might get a song flagged that way, although, realistically, the red dot usually meant little more than the presence of the word … Continue reading One for Friday: They Eat Their Own, “Like a Drug”

Music62 Comments

Top 40 Smash Taps: “Watch Out For Lucy”

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. This may seem an odd statement, but Eric Clapton was so firmly entrenched as a full-fledged rock ‘n’ roll legend by the time I started paying attention that I found it easy to forget how successful he was on the Billboard charts. This is partially because I rarely think of straight-ahead rock songs as having a significant place on the Top 40 chart. … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Watch Out For Lucy”

Everything ElseLeave a comment

Arteta, Bergman, Howard, Newman, van Heijningen

Dan Seeger

Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972). This intricate, cerebral, elusive drama from the acknowledged master of intricate, cerebral, elusive dramas takes place at stately mansion at the end of the 19th century. A woman named Agnes, played by Harriet Andersson, is on her deathbed and is seen to by her two sisters, both returned home due to their sibling’s terrible need, and the loving household maid. Each character gets their own individual segment, usually devoted to a flashback to some terrible emotional incident in the past, Bergman scraping at their existential agony like a merciless physician slicing at a poisonous … Continue reading Arteta, Bergman, Howard, Newman, van Heijningen