Closing Time (Semisonic song)
| "Closing Time" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Semisonic | ||||||||||
| from the album Feeling Strangely Fine | ||||||||||
| Released | March 10, 1998 | |||||||||
| Format | CD | |||||||||
| Recorded | mid-1997 | |||||||||
| Genre | Alternative rock,[1] pop rock,[2] power pop | |||||||||
| Length |
4:33 (album version) 3:49 (single version) | |||||||||
| Label | MCA | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Dan Wilson | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Nick Launay | |||||||||
| Semisonic singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Closing Time" is a song by American alternative rock band Semisonic. It was released in March 1998 as the lead single from their album Feeling Strangely Fine. One of the band's most popular songs, it was written by Dan Wilson and produced by Nick Launay. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1999.[3] It reached number-one on the Modern Rock Tracks.
Interpretation
In concert Dan Wilson has confirmed that the song was written in anticipation of fatherhood but that he disguised it because he knew his bandmates would get sick of playing a song about his kids.[4]
Jacob Slichter has also indicated that the song was written by Wilson "in anticipation of fatherhood", and that it is about "being sent forth from the womb as if by a bouncer clearing out a bar".[5][6]
The repeated phrase "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" is attributed to the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger.[7]
Music video
The music video was directed by Chris Applebaum. It features two continuous shots, running side by side on the screen. One side shows the band playing the song in a rehearsal space. The other side features a woman (played by Denise Franco), who is playing the part of the singer Dan Wilson's girlfriend. As the video progresses, Dan and his girlfriend switch sides of screen, as they attempt to meet up. At the end of the video, they both wind up at the same nightclub. However, they still end up missing each other by mere seconds and never meet up. The "trick" of the video is that each shot was done as one long, continuous shot, with no cuts or editing, and therefore relies on proper timing during the filming to get the two sides of the video lined up properly.
Chart positions
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[8] | 40 |
| Canada Alternative 30 (RPM) | 2 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] | 84 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] | 50 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 25 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 11 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 | 8 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 13 |
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| US Billboard Adult Top 40 Tracks | 4 |
See also
References
- ↑ +
- ↑ Billboard 21 Feb 1998
- ↑ "41st Grammy Awards - 1999". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
- ↑ "Closing Time - Dan Wilson, w/ Funny Story at College Reunion - Youtube". Retrieved 2014-12-03.
- ↑ A Hit Single and the Heart-Wrenching Story Behind it, by Claudia Ricci, The Huffington Post, posted February 8, 2011, retrieved February 27, 2011
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Semisonic – Closing Time". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Semisonic – Closing Time" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Semisonic – Closing Time". Top 40 Singles.
External links
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