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Campbell, Cukor, Curtiz, Gluck, von Donnersmarck

Dan Seeger

Adam’s Rib (George Cukor, 1949). Probably the apex of the onscreen collaborations between Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, largely because the storyline involving married attorneys facing off against one another in a high-profile trial allowed for the sort of warm, frightfully intelligent banter that served the duo best. For most of the film, the interplay is infectiously delightful, especially as presented by the sure lens of George Cukor, who demonstrates an unerring sense of timing, including knowing when to just lean back and let his stars cut back and forth across the frame. The screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garson … Continue reading Campbell, Cukor, Curtiz, Gluck, von Donnersmarck

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Top 40 Smash Taps: “Tell Her She’s Lovely”

Dan Seeger

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. “Tell Her She’s Lovely” was the third and final single from the California band El Chicano to appear on the Billboard charts. In 1970, they made it into the Top 30 with “Viva Tirado, Pt. 1,” essentially the title cut from their debut album. Two years later, they just missed the Top 40 with a cover of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” “Tell … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Tell Her She’s Lovely”

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College Countdown: CMJ Top 50 Albums of 2001, 42 and 41

Dan Seeger

42. Ben Folds, Rockin’ the Suburbs I was an early adopter of the music of Ben Folds. I read a review of the debut album from Ben Folds Five in CMJ New Music Monthly back in the day when I was scouring its pages for any palatable respite from the Pearl Jam wanna-bes that were flooding the playlist at the commercial radio station I worked for. The write-up was fine (although reading it now, it strikes me a surprisingly off-base), but it was the inclusion of the song “Underground” on the supplemental CD that came with the issue which sent … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 50 Albums of 2001, 42 and 41

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Spectrum Check

Dan Seeger

Given my well-reported excursion to central Wisconsin to dive headlong into pop minutiae, I didn’t have much spare time to contribute to Spectrum Culture. In fact, the only words I strung together were for our monthly mixtape feature, writing about a new track from the Screaming Females. I’ll be back up to speed in the coming week with new reviews in both the film and music sections. On the film side, I’ll be writing about a dirty movie from France, which seems like a weirdly satisfying way to return to digital print. Continue reading Spectrum Check

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One for Friday: The Sundays, “Don’t Tell Your Mother”

Dan Seeger

Across all the various concerts and liver performances that I’ve seen over the years, I maintain that I’ve seen two genuine encores, two instances in which the band was done for the night and the enthusiasm of the crowd drew them back on stage. I’m convinced these two particularly encores weren’t contrivances of showmanship with the performers holding back one of their hits (or, in the case of the bands that I tend to go see, “hits”) to blow the roof off the dump when the lot of us went through the sham of clapping and cheering to bring the … Continue reading One for Friday: The Sundays, “Don’t Tell Your Mother”