The song “Closing Time” by the American rock band Semisonic came out in March 1998. It hit #1 on the Alternative charts, and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Song. It gets played in stadiums, Weird Al covered it, and it’s the last song of the night in countless bars.
Since then, Dan Wilson, the lead singer and songwriter of Semisonic, has become a powerhouse songwriter who has written or co-written for artists like John Legend and Taylor Swift. And he’s won Grammys for his songwriting with the Dixie Chicks and Adele. But over two decades ago, Dan and his bandmates John Munson and Jacob Slichter were in Minneapolis, getting ready to start work on their second album, Feeling Strangely Fine. In this episode of Song Exploder, Dan breaks down how that process led to "Closing Time."
songexploder.net/semisonic
Partners: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Peaches - Boys Wanna Be Her
Steve Reich - Different Trains: America, Before the War
Re-issue: Perfume Genius - Slip Away
Sarah Kinsley - The King
Brandi Carlile - You and Me On the Rock (feat. Lucius)
Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
Joy Oladokun - Look Up
Danny Elfman - What’s This? (from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”)
Halsey - You Asked for This
Hans Zimmer - Dune
The War On Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore (feat. Lucius)
Willow - Transparent Soul feat. Travis Barker
Hrishikesh Hirway TED Talk - What You Learn When You Listen Closely
John Lennon - God
Lucy Dacus - Thumbs
Mustafa - Air Forces
Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers
The Shins - New Slang
Cheap Trick - Surrender
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Stuff You Should Know
On Being with Krista Tippett
TED Radio Hour
Planet Money
The Dinner Party Download