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One for Friday: The Dead C, “Bad Politics”

Dan Seeger

Because some days you need some New Zealand punk from the late nineteen-eighties. And because I remain committed to paying forward the bevy of obscure wonders I once discovered on the late, lamented blog Little Hits (mourned previously in this space). And because I could scour every song in my digital collection and not find another with a title remotely as apt for this ridiculous day and age. Today, that’s all I’ve got. Today, I’m confident that’s all I need. Listen or download –> The Dead C, “Bad Politics” (Disclaimer: I am under the belief that this track is entirely … Continue reading One for Friday: The Dead C, “Bad Politics”

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The New Releases Shelf: Stranger to Stranger

Dan Seeger

To Paul Simon’s credit, he knows what he’s up against. The singer-songwriter with decades of fame in his rearview recently told Rolling Stone, “To get people to listen with open ears, you have to really make something that is interesting because people are prepared for it not to be interesting.” Comfortably into his seventies and already the multiple recipient of the sorts of lifetime achievement awards that imply creative ossification, Simon can either approach a new album as a listless valediction or a chance to prove something. On Stranger to Stranger, he opts for the latter. Striving for the new doesn’t … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Stranger to Stranger

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 181 – 179

Dan Seeger

181. The Smiths, “Girlfriend in a Coma” It is a splendidly fitting contradiction that the single widely credited as the one that precipitated the inevitable end of the Smiths also provides a convincing demonstration of the intense value to be found in the fierce collaboration between Steven Patrick Morrissey and Johnny Marr, shimmering pop proof that they would never transcend apart what they accomplished together. To be accurate and thorough, it wasn’t “Girlfriend in a Coma” itself that made Marr finally walk away from the band, but Morrissey’s insistence on releasing it as a single backed on the b-side by a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 181 – 179

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One for Friday: Flies on Fire, “Baptize Me Over Elvis Presley’s Grave”

Dan Seeger

I feel like I have a pretty strong memory when it comes to the music that landed at my college radio station during my tenure there, especially the first year or two. There have been a few hundred of these “One for Friday” posts by now, for example, and a whole mess of them include songs that were released between 1988 and 1990. Despite my proclivity for reminiscence in this digital space, I don’t live in the past. But I sure do like to listen to music from back then. My self-congratulatory assurance of my own exhaustive expertise on the … Continue reading One for Friday: Flies on Fire, “Baptize Me Over Elvis Presley’s Grave”

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 184 – 182

Dan Seeger

184. Los Lobos, “Shakin’, Shakin’, Shakes” “Shakin’, Shakin’, Shakes” was the first single Los Lobos released in the calendar year 1987. Then it was totally eclipsed by a very different song they issued a few months later. By most accounts, the recording of their sophomore major label effort, By the Light of the Moon, was an arduous process. There was undoubtedly some pressure to deliver a strong follow-up to How Will the Wolf Survive?, the band’s 1984 album, which enjoyed only modest success but firmly established Los Lobos as a critical favorite. Just as importantly, some of that adulation stemmed … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 184 – 182

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One for Friday: The The, “This Is the Day”

Dan Seeger

Whenever major life changes are upon me, the soundtrack inside my head consistently leads with the same song. The last two lines of the chorus echo: “This is the day your life will surely change/ This is the day when things fall into place.” After fifteen years working in higher education — the experiences of which are peppered throughout the writings in this space, albeit judiciously — I began a brand new chapter on Monday. For now, I’ll leave it at that and make this one of the weeks that I step aside after a minimal number of words and let … Continue reading One for Friday: The The, “This Is the Day”

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 187 – 185

Dan Seeger

187. X, “4th of July” As a band, X were in a state of flux when they went to record their sixth album, See How We Are, which was released in 1987. They were coming off of one of the strongest commercial successes, with 1985’s Ain’t Love Grand and its hit single, “Burning House of Love” (though “hit” is a decidedly relative term in this instance). But they were also continuing the process of figuring out how to persevere as a unit following the breakup of key band members John Doe and Exene Cervenka, a situation that was only complicated by … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 187 – 185

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One for Friday: Hoodoo Gurus, “Where’s That Hit?”

Dan Seeger

And now today, on the first sweltering day of summer in the northern state where I currently reside, my mind casts back to similar seasons past, landing inevitably in 1989. That was my first summer at the college radio station, which felt like the true and proper beginning of my adulthood. The whole school year prior, living in a residence hall and going to classes, was still somehow an extension of what I’d always done, just with an odd sleepover component. But that first summer, I lived in an apartment, figured out my own meals, and balanced the competing schedules of a … Continue reading One for Friday: Hoodoo Gurus, “Where’s That Hit?”

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 190 – 188

Dan Seeger

190. X, “Burning House of Love” While some of the most fervent fans of the Los Angeles punk band X cast reflexive aspersions on the 1985 single that became the group’s biggest commercial success, bassist and singer John Doe considered it something of a breakthrough. At the time, he contended, “It’s taken me about 15 years to be able to write a song that’s as simple and direct as ‘Burning House of Love.’” Later, though, Doe largely came around to agreeing with the more negative assessment of the song, at least as it was recorded and released. For X’s fifth album, See How We … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 190 – 188