Author: Dan Seeger

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

The first thing I had up this week was a review of the new album from Vetiver. I had a rough time finding a way into the piece, but I must admit that I like the Wes Anderson reference in the middle of it. On the movie front, I reviewed the African film Viva Riva! The title of that film has been affixed to our fridge with a magnet for weeks now. We read a rave review in Hollywood Reporter and tore out the headline to make sure I wouldn’t forget about when the chance to review it arose. I … Continue reading Spectrum Check

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One for Friday: Bob Mould, “The Last Night”

Dan Seeger

It seems like I’ve invoked Hüsker Dü and Bob Mould quite a bit in this space lately. This week’s One for Friday selection is a natural extension of that trend. As I’ve noted, Bob Mould loomed large during my college radio years. Hüsker Dü was one of the touchstone bands of the station, and Mould was an especially accomplished alumnus of the group. He was also fairly prolific at that time. His first solo album came out around two years after the last Hüsker outing and his sophomore effort was out by the following summer. If his debut release was … Continue reading One for Friday: Bob Mould, “The Last Night”

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Top Fifty Films of the 80s — Number Thirty

Dan Seeger

#30 — Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989) Woody Allen had been directing movies for twenty years by the time he made Crimes and Misdemeanors, which might be a contributing factor to my sense that the film is a sort of cinematic final exam. It’s not that Allen had anything to prove, having already signed his name to multiple masterpieces. He may have been coming off of a pair of critical and commercial misfires–September and Another Woman–but the eighties had been an especially fruitful time for him. There was no familial scandal sullying his reputation, no prolonged stretch of mediocre … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 80s — Number Thirty

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Great Moments in Literature

Dan Seeger

“She sits, sweeping aside gelled strands of her black hair, revealing a rakish grin. ‘So,’ she asks, ‘you enjoying Cairo?’ “‘Oh, yeah. It’s really interesting,’ he says. ‘I have a couple of gripes, but they’re pretty minor.’ “‘Like?’ “‘Nothing serious.’ “‘Tell me one.’ “Well, the air is kind of hard to breathe, with all this pollution. Sort of like inhaling from an exhaust pipe. The heat makes me faint sometimes. And the food isn’t all that edible. Or maybe I’ve just been unlucky. Also, it’s a police state, which I don’t love. And I get the impression that the locals … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

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C.K., Gluck, Hitchcock, Yates

Dan Seeger

Louis C.K.: Hilarious (Louis C.K., 2010). It’s probably too much to ask that a stand-up comedy concert film reach the artistic peaks of the only example of the form that can reasonably by called cinematic art. There are limitations built right into filming a comedian on stage and too much effort to compensate for them just leads to undue fuss. Better then to be as unadorned as possible and count on the material to make the endeavor worthwhile. C.K. brings the same dedicated understatement to his directing work that shapes his darkly brilliant FX series. Luckily, C.K. is near the … Continue reading C.K., Gluck, Hitchcock, Yates

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

Though I was largely absent last week, I had a few things stockpiled for use at Spectrum Culture, largely because I’m way behind on my CD reviews. In fact, I’m still trying to catch up on all that. I provided a lukewarm assessment of the latest Steve Earle album and an even less enthused consideration of the new outing from the Wave Pictures. The Earle record was assigned to me, but the latter was my own damn fault. I asked for it. Which brings me to the new movie review I wrote for this week. Without getting too deep into … Continue reading Spectrum Check

MusicLeave a comment

One for Friday: Frazier Chorus, “Cloud 8”

Dan Seeger

I didn’t pay particularly close attention to the producer credit on albums when I was in college. Usually, the name in that part of the liner notes didn’t even register for me unless it was a person I recognized from their primary place in the music world. If Peter Buck from R.E.M. or Bob Mould was listed as a producer, I took notice. Otherwise, considering who was filling that vital personnel role was an afterthought. It was only well after deciding the work was great that I realized, for example, that Paul Fox produced several favorite records released during my … Continue reading One for Friday: Frazier Chorus, “Cloud 8”