"Every New Beginning Comes from Some Other Beginning's End"

                There’s nothing better than a rock anthem that politely says, “It’s time to go home,” and that’s exactly what Semisonic’s hit “Closing Time” does.  Semisonic released Feeling Strangely Fine in 1998 which included “Closing Time,” a rock anthem. The song received major mainstream success, peaking at number eight on the U.S. charts and number one for the modern rock songs. It received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song in 1999. The song, written by Dan Wilson, the lead singer, and produced by Nick Launay was originally supposed to be a sing-along to play at the end of Semisonic’s shows. The men determined the song would be better as a rock anthem. Semisonic had other songs that did relatively well on the rock charts, but never had remotely the same success as “Closing Time.”

            The song is still prevalent in today’s popular culture. It’s still used on movie soundtracks, like Due Date and American Reunion, and is referenced in many television shows today, like How I Met Your Mother and The Office, even more so than 20 years ago. While not many people know the band Semisonic, many can recite the lyrics to their most popular hit.

The song hasn’t faded, and neither has the band members. Wilson is still winning Grammys. He co-wrote songs with Adele for her album 21, including her song “Someone Like You,” which won seven Grammys. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2007 for his work on “Not Ready to Make Nice,” performed by the Dixie Chicks. He is currently working on a solo album set to be released later in the year. The drummer, Jacob Slichter, wrote a book entitled So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star, that talks about the journey of the band and the song. 

Information courtesy of Wikipedia: Dan Wilson
Information courtesy of Wikipedia: Semisonic
Information and picture courtesy of Wikipedia: Closing time