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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 157 – 155

Dan Seeger

157. XTC, “Earn Enough for Us” Andy Partridge and his cohorts within XTC weren’t exactly renowned for being accommodating with the producers foisted upon them by their label (not were they especially accommodating with their label either), but their combativeness with Todd Rundgren during the recording of the 1986 album Skylarking was especially notorious. They’d chosen Rundgren from a list of names given to them by Virgin Records, delivered with the warning that the band needed to start selling records in the United States. According to all involved, Partridge and Rundgren were viciously at one another from the jump, with the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 157 – 155

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One for Friday: Fetchin Bones, “Stray”

Dan Seeger

As was projected in this space, I spent a portion of last weekend on the air at my alma mater, my first spin in the air chair in that particular studio in over fifteen years. It was delirious and delightful, a truly joyful experience that had the intense feel of coming home. With only two hours of airtime available to me, I barely got to dig into the history I carry with me from those days, much less the intervening decades of professional life and music fandom informed by my beloved time as a college radio kid. In particular, by … Continue reading One for Friday: Fetchin Bones, “Stray”

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 160 – 158

Dan Seeger

160. Patti Smith, “People Have the Power” When “People Have the Power” arrived, nearly a decade had passed without any new music from Patti Smith. She’d been effectively living in semi-retirement while starting a family with the man she married in 1980, Fred “Sonic” Smith, a punk icon in his own right thanks to his tenure in the foundational band the MC5. According to Patti, it was Fred who started her on the road to the song when he marched into the kitchen and said, “People have the power. Write it.” Armed with only that title, Patti embarked on a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 160 – 158

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A Week of Fridays: Sugar, “A Good Idea”

Dan Seeger

This coming weekend, I will take to the airwaves of WWSP-90FM, my college radio alma mater, as part of their annual reunion weekends. It will be my first time presiding over a radio program in nine years and my first time on 90FM in over fifteen years. I commemoration, I’m devoting this week to slightly displaced “One for Friday” posts, touching on each of my five years as a student broadcaster. To borrow a line from Robyn Hitchcock, “I didn’t write these songs; they wrote me.” I took my time getting through college. I didn’t want to leave. Sure, a certain fear of … Continue reading A Week of Fridays: Sugar, “A Good Idea”

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A Week of Fridays: The Smithereens, “Top of the Pops”

Dan Seeger

This coming weekend, I will take to the airwaves of WWSP-90FM, my college radio alma mater, as part of their annual reunion weekends. It will be my first time presiding over a radio program in nine years and my first time on 90FM in over fifteen years. I commemoration, I’m devoting this week to slightly displaced “One for Friday” posts, touching on each of my five years as a student broadcaster. To borrow a line from Robyn Hitchcock, “I didn’t write these songs; they wrote me.” Other bands meant more to me personally and yet others were more dominant on the WWSP-90FM airwaves, … Continue reading A Week of Fridays: The Smithereens, “Top of the Pops”

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A Week of Fridays: Too Much Joy, “King of Beers”

Dan Seeger

This coming weekend, I will take to the airwaves of WWSP-90FM, my college radio alma mater, as part of their annual reunion weekends. It will be my first time presiding over a radio program in nine years and my first time on 90FM in over fifteen years. I commemoration, I’m devoting this week to slightly displaced “One for Friday” posts, touching on each of my five years as a student broadcaster. To borrow a line from Robyn Hitchcock, “I didn’t write these songs; they wrote me.” I’ve written about Too Much Joy’s Cereal Killers before, detailing my chilled-to-the-bone quest through the record stores … Continue reading A Week of Fridays: Too Much Joy, “King of Beers”

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A Week of Fridays: The Primitives, “Sick of It”

Dan Seeger

This coming weekend, I will take to the airwaves of WWSP-90FM, my college radio alma mater, as part of their annual reunion weekends. It will be my first time presiding over a radio program in nine years and my first time on 90FM in over fifteen years. I commemoration, I’m devoting this week to slightly displaced “One for Friday” posts, touching on each of my five years as a student broadcaster. To borrow a line from Robyn Hitchcock, “I didn’t write these songs; they wrote me.” Tracy Tracy hung over the beat up old mattress in my college bedroom. Well, she was there in … Continue reading A Week of Fridays: The Primitives, “Sick of It”

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A Week of Fridays: Violent Femmes, “Fool in the Full Moon”

Dan Seeger

This coming weekend, I will take to the airwaves of WWSP-90FM, my college radio alma mater, as part of their annual reunion weekends. It will be my first time presiding over a radio program in nine years and my first time on 90FM in over fifteen years. I commemoration, I’m devoting this week to slightly displaced “One for Friday” posts, touching on each of my five years as a student broadcaster. To borrow a line from Robyn Hitchcock, “I didn’t write these songs; they wrote me.”   My inaugural year at WWSP-90FM was a whirlwind. I was atypically forthright in inserting myself into the station … Continue reading A Week of Fridays: Violent Femmes, “Fool in the Full Moon”

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 163 – 161

Dan Seeger

163. The House of Love, “Christine” Released in 1988, “Christine” was the third single by the London-based band the House of Love, but it was the one that made all the difference. Their first two releases, “Shine On” and “Real Animal,” sold softly, and there was a clear sense that their label, Creation Records, was close to slotting them in the interesting failure category. The label was reportedly weighing whether or not to fund a third single when the band delivered an attention-getting live performance at London’s the Town & Country Club. Wanting to capitalize on that buzz, Creation sent the House of … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 163 – 161