Tag Archives: Seth Swirsky

May 2, 2022 · 5:00 am

Album Review: “Songs From the Green Couch” by Seth Swirsky

I got an email from Seth Swirsky‘s people asking if I’d be interested in reviewing his latest album – Songs From the Green Couch. For those who have been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember me reviewing his book – 21 Ways to a Happier Depression in 2018 and his album Now It’s All This by The Red Button in 2017. For those who don’t following along, Seth wrote the Grammy nominated song “Tell it to My Heart” for Taylor Dane. He is also a painter, so he’s quite the talented fellow!

There’s no denying Seth Swirsky’s talent for writing great songs with nostalgic melodies. Songs from the Green Couch will invoke memories of tunes from the 50s through modern day. You can hear the Beatles influence in several songs. Cashmere Sweaters is a beautiful (though a bit corny) song with an undeniable Beatles imprint. What Was I Thinking feels very McCartney/Wings-ish, and Dead has that dark John Lennon feel to it.

If you’re a fan of The Monkees, you’ll probably dig the first track – Sunny Day. And for the 70s soft rock fans there is the sweet sound of Every Time…that reminded me of Gilbert O’Sullivan.

Don’t let the early rock influences fool you…this is a great 15 original song album for putting on shuffle to mellow out with it’s really sweet love song – You Kind of Mood or what I like to call Seth’s laundry list of chores – New Painting! And then there is the power pop song I Don’t Wanna Lose You…

I rate this album, 4 out of 4 Beetles!

Bonus Book Review: “21 Ways to a Happier Depression” by Seth Swirsky

21 Ways to a Happier Depression: A Creative Guide to Getting Unstuck from Anxiety, Setbacks, and Stress written by Seth Swirsky was released on April 4, 2017 and is just 112 pages from start to finish. If you’re wondering where my current obsession with Seth Swirsky came from, I’m going to have to lay the blame on Paul McCartney’s stepmum Angie McCartney! Angie interview Seth on her Tea Fix Tuesday show last week and now I can’t seem to get enough Seth in my life (but fear not, my Hollywood crushes only last about 2 weeks!) You can watch Angie’s interview with Seth below.

As I said above, this book is only 112 pages and most of those are filled with watercolor pictures and quotes. But don’t let that deter you from getting a copy of this book for either yourself or someone you know who suffers from depression or has tendencies to just get in a funk now and then. Seth has tackled his own occasional depression and his clients (he holds a masters degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University) with the 21 very simple suggestions that he used to write this book.

This book is an easy read…almost too easy in its writing. There were times when I felt like it could be written for a child if the topic weren’t so adult in nature (though, I believe parents could use some of the techniques to help a depressed child). Another slight flaw is that several of the suggestions involve going out and spending money to help bring you up when you’re down…and for a lot of people, that’s just not feasible, which (I believe) might make a depressed person sink even lower. To Seth’s credit, none of his spending suggestions are outrageously expensive, but I have to wonder about a single mother on government support with little to no spare income? None the less, I will be keeping my copy of 21 Ways on my nightstand where I’ll be able to pick it up when I need a little pick me up from the daily grind. And for that reason…

I rate this book, 3 out of 4 Beetles!

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Tagged as 21 Ways to a Happier Depression, Anxiety, depression, mental illness, Seth Swirsky

March 18, 2018 · 8:48 am

Documentary Review: Beatles Stories

Beatles Stories is an 85 minute documentary film by Seth Swirsky released in October 2012. You may remember me mentioning Seth Swirsky in an earlier review of his band The Red Button‘s new CD back in October. Well, it seems this guy is multi-talented! A singer/songwriter, producer and psychologist all wrapped up in one amazing package. In fact, he wrote Taylor Dayne’s 1988 Grammy nominated hit song, “Tell It to My Heart”

Well, enough about Seth…let’s move on to the review…

An adorable look back at the amazing and interesting ways that so many people interacted with the Beatles over the course of time. But don’t expect any deep discussions or elaborate stories. With this film being just 85 minutes long and with over 40 interviews, Swirsky keeps each clip down to about 2 minutes or less. Personally, that’s what I liked best about this documentary…how in just a brief moment each celebrity (I think I recognized all but 3 interviewees) can emote the joy and elation of their encounter with a Beatle or the Fab Four. I think one of my favorite stories was Henry “The Fonz” Winkler at the height of his career walking down Lexington Avenue in New York City and walking towards him was Paul McCartney. Paul immediately recognized Henry and said that he had always wanted to meet him, much to Henry’s surprise.

This is without a doubt a film that any Beatles freak would find entertaining. In fact, most of you probably already have seen it since I’m so late to the boat in seeing it myself. If your a member of Amazon Prime, you can watch it for free. In the meantime, I’ve heard that Seth is in the process of making a Beatles Stories 2 and is asking people to tell him their stories for possible inclusion in the next edition. If you have a story, you can contact Seth through a form on his website: www.Seth.com.

And for all the above reasons…

I rate this film, 4 out of 4 Beetles!

Album Review: “Now It’s All This!” by The Red Button

I’ve come to trust that whenever my PR friend Maureen Daye Pietoso from JEM Records sends me information about the latest band she’s promoting that it’s going to be well worth my while to listen! This one doesn’t do anything but just reconfirmed this belief.

Now It’s All This! is The Red Button‘s third album, but it’s a whole lot more than just that. This album not only contains 6 new songs, and 4 unplugged remakes, it also contains their first two albums…33 tracks in all! The Red Button is made up of Seth Swirsky (whose name I’ve seen around Facebook but had no idea what he did for a living!) and Mike Ruekberg.

It was hard to pinpoint all the influences and sounds in this band, there are just so many! In the new songs, you’ll not only hear that Beatlesque sound that you would expect to be there if it’s being reviewed on this blog, but you’re also going to hear influential hints of The Monkees, The Knack and Weezer all rolled into the EP’s six tracks. The very first track on the new EP, Can’t Let Candy Go, is going to make you want to break out your Go-Go boots and bell bottoms and dance. Tracy’s Party and the title track are definitely in the Beatlesque style. Solitude Saturday has what I thought were some great harmonies reminiscent of the 70’s and reminded me a lot of Gilbert O’Sullivan. And the song Picture, one of the unplugged songs, has definite sounds of something Brian Wilson might have written for the Beach Boys.

This album is power-pop at it’s very best. It’ll take you back with the good feelings of the songs from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s while still being able to stand up to the very best in today’s pop music. Whether you download it or buy the actual CD, you’re going to love it! And for that reason…

I rate this CD, 4 out of 4 Beetles!

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Tagged as 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, Mike Ruekberg, Now It's All This!, Power Pop, Seth Swirsky, The Red Button