Author: Dan Seeger

Film, Music2 Comments

Meanwhile…

Dan Seeger

Though I haven’t linked to them yet, I’ve contributed a few words to Spectrum Culture over the course of the past week. First, there was a consideration of The New Pornographers album Twin Cinema for a “Five Years Later” feature on the best music of 2005. When the “Five Years Later” feature turned its attention to film, I got the chance to take another crack at a movie I’ve written about a couple times previously. Today, I contribute to our inaugural List Inconsequential feature, Great Musicians Who Haven’t Made a Great Album in At Least 10 Years. If my friend … Continue reading Meanwhile…

MusicLeave a comment

One for Friday: Ani Difranco, “Most of the Time”

Dan Seeger

I’ve probably seen Ani Difranco live more than any other performer. Basically, it’s built right into the terms of my marriage. Ani came with the package, like a stepchild or a beloved feline. The affection may have faded somewhat over the years–new albums are no longer automatic purchases for our household–but seeing Ani perform live remains an obligatory outing. This isn’t a problem, by the way. She’s a helluva songwriter and a terrific performer, equal parts fierce and adorable with a charisma that amazingly plays best to the back seats and moves forward. She brings herself unguarded to the stage, … Continue reading One for Friday: Ani Difranco, “Most of the Time”

FilmLeave a comment

Almodóvar, Campion, DeBlois and Sanders, Lumet, Pontecorvo

Dan Seeger

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988). Almodóvar’s international breakthrough is almost quaint in its kitschy simplicity when held up against the rich, lush films that have sprung from his off-kilter cranium in recent years. It involves a tangled web of romantic and sexual relationships, largely converging in a Spanish apartment that has a convenient batch of sedative-laden gazpacho in the fridge. There evidence of Almodóvar’s sterling eye, especially in the earlier scenes, but it’s mostly an engagingly casual farce, played with a relaxation that feels nicely cultural. Carmen Maura is especially good in the lead … Continue reading Almodóvar, Campion, DeBlois and Sanders, Lumet, Pontecorvo

FilmLeave a comment

Top Fifty Films of the 80s — An Introduction

Dan Seeger

Yes, I’m really going to do this. When I tracked through my selections for the fifty best films of the the ten year span that began with January 1, 2000, the timing made sense. It aligned with the pending spin of the third digit on the calendar’s odometer and everyone was cooking up lists intended to summarize the entertainment of “the aughts.” When I repeated the exercise with the films of the 1990s, it had its own warped logic (or so I convinced myself) as I was honoring and making a sort of effort to preserve the prior bout of … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 80s — An Introduction