Author: Dan Seeger

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Oh the movie never ends, it goes on and on and on and on

Dan Seeger

Trouble the Water (Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, 2008). It would be easy to make a documentary about the devastation Hurricane Katrina brought to New Orleans and the equally disastrous governmental response that is grounded in apoplectic anger, especially since indignation seems to be the default starting point for many current non-fiction filmmakers. Deal and Lessin create something more delicate, more nuanced, more complicated, and, because of these qualities, far more fascinating. The hook of the film’s first half is on-the-scene camcorder footage taken by Ninth Ward resident Kimberly Rivers Roberts as her neighborhood and then her home floods during … Continue reading Oh the movie never ends, it goes on and on and on and on

Books, Comics4 Comments

Great Moments in Literature

Dan Seeger

“The boy nodded. He sat looking at the map. The man watched him. He thought he knew what that was about. He’d pored over maps as a child, keeping one finger on the town where he lived. Just as he would look up his family in the phone directory. Themselves among others, everything in its place. Justified in the world. Come on, he said. We should go.” –Cormac McCarthy, The Road, 2006 “THERE! I SEE IT BENEATH ME–PULSATING–GLOWING! SO THIS IS WHAT MEN HAVE DIED FOR. I CAN SEE WHY! IT’S SO STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL–THROBBING AT MY TOUCH AS IF–BY THE … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature

Music7 Comments

One for Friday: Fire Town, “Carry the Torch”

Dan Seeger

I think most music fans want to have songs, albums, artists that they can think of as theirs. We can connect with music so deeply that we almost want to find a pathway to a relationship that feels a little reciprocal. This instinct, this desire leads to favorite artists, well-worn albums, cries of “that’s my song,” when a certain tune starts emanating from the radio or jukebox. We’re all people in the audience, watching Tom Frank sing “I’m Easy,” convinced it’s a personal message. That’s the extreme. There are levels to this, and one of the simplest (and safest) is … Continue reading One for Friday: Fire Town, “Carry the Torch”

Film2 Comments

I want the strong “M,” erase it and back to The Madison

Dan Seeger

It may be telling that upon returning to Madison for the first extended visit in several years, the very first place I went was a movie theater. To be thorough and accurate, it was the Sundance Cinema, which opened two years ago. I’ve been very curious about this particular venue for a few reasons, led by the fact that it’s been gestating for an awfully long time. We included a news story about plans for a small chain of Sundance movie theaters back on the old radio movie review show, meaning there was open discussion of this at least sixteen … Continue reading I want the strong “M,” erase it and back to The Madison