Author: Dan Seeger

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Top 40 Smash Taps: “Me and Bobby McGee”

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. By the time Janis Joplin’s famed version of “Me and Bobby McGee” was released, the song had already been recorded by Roger Miller, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Gordon Lightfoot, original songwriter Kris Kristofferson, Bill Haley and the Comets and Sam the Sham. And that was all in the year-and-a-half span after Miller’s initial recording of the song was … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Me and Bobby McGee”

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

It felt like I had a far busier week with Spectrum than I actually did, but I know it’s because I was also scrambling to get ready for everything that needs to be written in the week ahead. In terms of what went up, my output was fairly modest. I had a new film review up, evaluating a documentary that managed to provide a breakneck recap of the evolution of the New York City club scene before segueing into a true crime story with unexpected doses of lurid elements. It’s one of those documentaries that can succeed by simply telling … Continue reading Spectrum Check

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One for Friday: The Candy Skins, “She Blew Me Away”

Dan Seeger

I find band names fascinating, especially considering the ways they can evolve over time to just feel like second nature. R.E.M. and U2 probably sounded a little odd at first, but they eventually developed natural associations with the bands and, in these instances, their distinctive sounds. I don’t even think about the other meaning of, say, the Jesus and Mary Chain. I also find it interesting when a band’s name can somehow completely convey the sound that’s going to be found on their records. Maybe I’m applying too much of the knowledge I already have rattling around in the record … Continue reading One for Friday: The Candy Skins, “She Blew Me Away”

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College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 3

Dan Seeger

3. Violent Femmes, 3 While I’ll admit to loving that an album titled 3 landed in the third spot of the Top 90 chart, I swear that the tally wasn’t doctored to make that happen. Sure, I might find the temptation to finesse a ranking to accommodate such symmetry entirely irresistible at times, but accurate reporting prevailed in the matter of assembling this list. The scientific method employed in determining the Top 90 may have had some gaps in it, but I followed it assiduously. 3 is at #3 because #3 is where 3 belongs. 3 was the fourth album … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 3

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

My posted work came entirely from the movie beat this week. I started with a French film that was a little wisp of of a thing. It may have sometimes felt like a foreign film softened into an American sitcom but it also featured Gérard Depardieu, who remains a marvelous actor, at least in his mother tongue, despite his recent unseemly exploits that made him the fodder for silly jokes. I also reviews a documentary about the Black Power Movement of the late-sixties and early-seventies. It had some basic structural flaws, but much of the footage was amazing. Angela Davis, … Continue reading Spectrum Check