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From the Archive: A League of Their Own

Dan Seeger

My mildly embarrassing true confession is this: I spent most of Wednesday feeling downright woozy, in large part because I was anxious about how a postseason baseball series was going at the time. I’m doing much better now. Still, I’m expending a great deal of energy today in preemptive fretting over the sporting contest set to take place in Wrigley Field this evening. The archive raiding for this Saturday helplessly reflects that. This piece was written when Penny Marshall’s highest-grossing directorial effort was released on home video. Enjoy my litany of early-nineties curmudgeonly fan complaints that leads the review. With … Continue reading From the Archive: A League of Their Own

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One for Friday: Billy Bragg, “Sulk”

Dan Seeger

I adore those rare instance when a music discovery hits with an immediacy and clarity of a ringside bell. To my mind, there’s nothing more magical than when such a revelation happens in the midst of a crowd, basking in live music delivered by a skilled performer. The first of many times that I saw Billy Bragg live, he was touring to support his 1991 album, Don’t Try This at Home. This excursion to stand before the Bard of Barking was of major importance to me. Workers Playtime was one of the albums I clung to like a religious artifact … Continue reading One for Friday: Billy Bragg, “Sulk”

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The Consummate Compendium of the Inventions of Dr. Reed Richards

Dan Seeger

Yesterday’s wistful remembrance of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe put me in mind of a long-lost feature ’round these here digital parts. So, for the first time in nearly seven years (!), we turn to the task of cataloging the many inventions in one of the great scientific minds (albeit a fictional one, but let’s not hold that against him). I bring you the senses-shattering return of: THE CONSUMMATE COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTIONS OF DR. REED RICHARDS! The inventions in this entry are utilized in Fantastic Four #61 (April 1967), by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. ATOM IGNITER. … Continue reading The Consummate Compendium of the Inventions of Dr. Reed Richards

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My Misspent Youth: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe

Dan Seeger

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. As I’ve acknowledged previous in this space, my quest for more, more, more of superhero comics when I was at the peak of my youthful obsession extended past the paneled adventures themselves. Any opportunity to read about the fantastically powered heroes and villains I’d committed to was highly welcome. I read material like that over and over again, hungrily pulling in as much information about the characters as I possibly could. … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe

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Now Playing: 13th

Dan Seeger

Of late, watching Ava DuVernay emerge as a powerful, uncompromising voice has been one of the great pleasures of observing the filmmaking landscape. As recently as four years ago, DuVernay was largely unknown, though she certainly had some prominent champions. Selma justifiably changed all that, especially after DuVernay and her film were largely ignored when the Academy Award nominations were doled out. In a happy irony, exclusion dramatically increased her prominence, helping to put her in high demand and making her one of the creators sought out for her insights when various discussions roiled around the industry. DuVernay may not … Continue reading Now Playing: 13th

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The Art of the Sell: “Toys” teaser trailer

Dan Seeger

These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art.  I worked at a five-screen movie theater through much of the first half of the nineteen-nineties. I eventually cajoled my way into responsibilities in the booth, taping together the feature prints that came in every week. That also gave me authority over the trailers that preceded those films. I can’t pull up specific stats, but I feel fairly confident that I attached the teaser trailer for Barry Levinson’s Toys at a ratio that exceeded all others. I … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “Toys” teaser trailer

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 133 – 131

Dan Seeger

133. They Might Be Giants, “Ana Ng” According to John Linnell, “Ana Ng” has its foundation in his childhood memories. “There’s a cartoon I read as a kid in which a character shoots a gun through a globe to find out where the other side of the world is. So that was sort of the beginning,” he told MTV at the time. The comic in question was an installment of Walt Kelly’s great Pogo, and Churchy LaFemme was the pistol-wielding geographer. Further inspiration came from Linnell letting his fingers do the walking through a New York City phone book, noting there … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 133 – 131

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One for Friday: Bettie Serveert, “The Pharmacy”

Dan Seeger

I like music. And I like a lot of different bands and performers. It’s a breadth that I’ve tried to cultivate every since I first started buying records with focus and dedication over thirty years ago. When others prodded me with questions about favorites — bands, styles, songs, albums — it’s usually resulted in me stammering out some noncommittal response, not because I’m lacking in opinions (as this digital outpost presumably makes clear), but because those sorts of singular declarations felt so limiting. I always wanted more. I’m a broadcaster by inclination. Narrowcasting holds little interest for me, even when … Continue reading One for Friday: Bettie Serveert, “The Pharmacy”