Category: Music

Books, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

I didn’t have much up on the Spectrum Culture site this week, which seemed weirdly appropriated since I was preoccupied for most of the days. There was no corollary between the two–most things that would have posted this week would have been written before my chores pulled me away from the laptop–but it was sort of nice for the cyber-version of me to be fairly absent in all respects simultaneously. The one full-length effort of mine was a reviews of the new album from White Denim. The pull quote they used what the review was up on the main page … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Music3 Comments

One for Friday: Hole, “Gold Dust Woman”

Dan Seeger

I worked in commercial radio for about two-and-a-half years. In that span, I had to play a lot of music I didn’t like. And I mean a lot. This was in the mid-nineteen-nineties, after Nirvana hit it big and Pearl jam hit it bigger, leading labels to clamor for any band that played thudding hard rock, especially if it sounded a little like it was being fed through damaged amps. The glut of “new rock alternative” stations that sprung upon around this time, including the one I worked at, played these bands like dutiful soldiers, even though many of them … Continue reading One for Friday: Hole, “Gold Dust Woman”

Music3 Comments

Clarence Clemons, 1942 – 2011

Dan Seeger

…And last but not least…do I have to say his name? Do I have to speak his name? Do I have to say his name? In this corner: the king of the world, the master of the universe. Weighing in at 260 pounds, the Big Man, Clarence Clemons. That’s how Bruce Springsteen touted the venerable saxophone player during the band introductions that arrived at the midway point of the typically robust performance of “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” captured on the majestic Live: 1975-1985 box set. I listened to Springsteen’s music at near-obsessive levels during my high school years, paying special … Continue reading Clarence Clemons, 1942 – 2011

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

This week, I contributed to our List Inconsequential feature on badass album covers by writing about the Sonic Youth album that includes their fierce collaboration with Chuck D and, even better, helped make possible their eventual, inadvertent and unbelievably cool collaboration with Christina Aguilera. I also wrote about the latest album from the Felice Brothers, one of way too many bands with the word “Brothers” in their name that emerged at roughly the same time. The new record was pretty good, though, even if it made me think anew about (and do fresh research on) the Creepiest Place on EarthTM. … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Music1 Comment

One for Friday: Firewater, “Psychopharmacology”

Dan Seeger

This weekly feature is usually devoted to a song that I swooned over during, as I put it, “my college radio days,” by which I mean the span of time when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and spending most of my time at 90FM, that institution’s student-run station. There is, however, a whole second life I had in college radio, working as the advisor and General Manager for WPRK-FM at Rollins College in central Florida. In additional to all the other opportunities and benefits this job shift brought, it gave me a chance to … Continue reading One for Friday: Firewater, “Psychopharmacology”

Film, MusicLeave a comment

Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

The first thing I had up this week was a review of the new album from Vetiver. I had a rough time finding a way into the piece, but I must admit that I like the Wes Anderson reference in the middle of it. On the movie front, I reviewed the African film Viva Riva! The title of that film has been affixed to our fridge with a magnet for weeks now. We read a rave review in Hollywood Reporter and tore out the headline to make sure I wouldn’t forget about when the chance to review it arose. I … Continue reading Spectrum Check

Music4 Comments

One for Friday: Bob Mould, “The Last Night”

Dan Seeger

It seems like I’ve invoked Hüsker Dü and Bob Mould quite a bit in this space lately. This week’s One for Friday selection is a natural extension of that trend. As I’ve noted, Bob Mould loomed large during my college radio years. Hüsker Dü was one of the touchstone bands of the station, and Mould was an especially accomplished alumnus of the group. He was also fairly prolific at that time. His first solo album came out around two years after the last Hüsker outing and his sophomore effort was out by the following summer. If his debut release was … Continue reading One for Friday: Bob Mould, “The Last Night”