Author: Dan Seeger

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Wasting time, dropping lines like “I could get you into movies”

Dan Seeger

Atlantic City (Louis Malle, 1980). Malle’s film is about the ways in the which the glimmers of remaining light at the end of the day can lure the most desperate into believing it’s actually the unexpected emergence of a new dawn. Burt Lancaster plays the old-time small-timer at the heart of the film, conveying his forlorn desperation and self-deluding rejuvenation with great delicacy. You can feel the character shift as his opportunities the become the big operator he’s always fancied himself begin to come to pass. But the film is about reality rather than aspirations. Malle keeps it all grounded, … Continue reading Wasting time, dropping lines like “I could get you into movies”

Music1 Comment

Funny how I find myself in love with you

Dan Seeger

CMJ Anniversary Compilation III 1989 It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, so a quick refresher might be in order. When I replaced my car stereo last spring, I found myself without a cassette player in my motor vehicle for the first time in years, with little to no likelihood that I’d have that sort of device again. While there’s a couple cassette players in the house, it’s not likely I’ll opt for those over the wall of CDs we have available of the wondrous, continuous personalized radio station available on my iPod. So, I decided to … Continue reading Funny how I find myself in love with you

Music3 Comments

One for Friday: Too Much Joy, “Hey Merlin”

Dan Seeger

For quite some time, I operated under the theory that every college radio station had their one artist, the band or performer that the whole population of DJs tirelessly championed despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that no one else out there in the big, boundless musicverse understood the greatness contained within their records. I didn’t have a lot of empirical evidence to back this theory up. I’d peruse individual station charts in the back of CMJ and notice the occasional obscure outfit charting in the upper reaches of someone’s list, or have a label rep push some release … Continue reading One for Friday: Too Much Joy, “Hey Merlin”

Film3 Comments

I dreamed i was in a hollywood movie and that I was the star of the movie, this really blew my mind

Dan Seeger

Somebody Up There Likes Me (Robert Wise, 1956). By all accounts, this is the film that made Paul Newman a star. The most intriguing thing about that is that his performance here has little of the charismatic verve that drove later work in films like Hud or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It’s a thick, meaty character piece as Newman plays boxer Rocky Graziano as his pummels his way from backstreet destitution to the heavyweight championship of the world. Newman brings integrity to his character’s brutishness, subsuming his natural sparkle in favor of a honest portrayal of simpler man. … Continue reading I dreamed i was in a hollywood movie and that I was the star of the movie, this really blew my mind

Everything ElseLeave a comment

Don’t need to wait for an invitation, you gotta live like you’re on vacation

Dan Seeger

Eight years ago, I exited a job that involved selling device that I hadn’t even heard of immediately prior to being occupationally obligated to declare myself an expert in their use. More problematically, given my admitted shortcomings in all things scientific, I occasionally had to help clients design full-scale electrical infrastructure solutions. Instead of work that was right on the border of my capabilities and well outside my interests, I got a job in higher education. It was primarily concentrated on serving as the adviser to a college radio station, so it felt a little like a retreat and an … Continue reading Don’t need to wait for an invitation, you gotta live like you’re on vacation