90s Nostalgia Blogging

In many ways, I feel that Semisonic's "Closing Time" is the most perfectly generic alt rock hit of the nineties, released in 1999 just in time to sum up the decade and slam the door shut on the once promising phenomenon of post-punk breaking into the mainstream. I had a damn hard time remembering the name of the band:

Be all that as it may, I find this weirdly hilarious:

When Minneapolis trio Semisonic began to work on their new album, All About Chemistry, the band found themselves in an unfamiliar position: they were no longer upstarts, underdogs or indie rockers. Instead they had a hit song and sales of two million albums worldwide to follow up.

Indeed.

Comments

They sold 2 million albums? I wonder how many of those currently populate the used bin.

Posted by blah | May 15, 2007 9:00 PM

Man, there sure was a lot of generic crap mixed in with the good in the 1990s that somehow all fell under the heading "alternative rock." I mean, minor groups like Seven Mary Three or Candlebox are one thing, but how on earth did the band Live manage to sell as many albums as they did? Wikipedia has them selling more than 12 million albums.

Posted by Adam Villani | May 15, 2007 9:10 PM

Incidentally, Wikipedia also notes that Live released an album last year (who knew?) and it sold a paltry 46,000 units, which is more like it.

Posted by Adam Villani | May 15, 2007 9:12 PM

Their drummer used to be on NPR occasionally talking about the music biz. I think he wrote a book.

Inoffensive, but okay.

Posted by witless chum | May 15, 2007 9:14 PM

I vividly recall that their lead singer once wrote an op-ed in the New York Times--it was about something that was tangentially related to the music business. It was years ago, though.

Posted by Dan Miller | May 15, 2007 9:25 PM

Actually, "Closing Time" was released in early 1998, when I was still in the wilds of Southwest Virginia, listening to WABN-Abingdon, which at the time had an odd blend of teenybopper pop and mild alt-rock.

Posted by low-tech cyclist (formerly RT) | May 15, 2007 9:29 PM

I graduated from high school in 99, so you can imagine how annoying that song became, hearing it all the time for grad stuff.

Posted by Freddie | May 15, 2007 9:34 PM

How is "Closing Time" a bad song? The melody could be better, but lyrically, it's short, sweet and poignant.

I certainly find it more emotionally genuine than anything churned out by Fountains of Wayne, who somehow seem to get a free pass with the indie rock elite.

Posted by benny | May 15, 2007 9:36 PM

If we're talking about generic alt-rock bands, don't forget Better Than Ezra. And Toad the Wet Sprocket. And Goo Goo Dolls. God, I could go on for a while...

I thought Live put out two really good albums, but clearly they weren't a band that could survive outside the alt-rock bubble of the 90s. Plus they started going off in weird directions with their third album (Lakini's Juice, anyone?), and I couldn't follow them after that.

Posted by Isaac Smith | May 15, 2007 9:38 PM

How is "Closing Time" a bad song?

well, there are the words. then there's the music behind the words. then there's the way the words are sung. then there's the fact that you couldn't escape the thing for two years.

Posted by cleek | May 15, 2007 9:43 PM

Generic 90s alt rock - Counting Crows, Spin Doctors, Collective Soul, Gin Blossoms, Soul Asylum, 4 Non Blondes, and many many more.

Posted by blah | May 15, 2007 9:49 PM

I remember Semisonic(as a band) on NPR talking about their experience in the music biz. They had success with "Closing Time" but when it came time to release what became All About Chemistry, the label didn't like it. I guess it sounded too different than the previous album or something. As a result, they got zero marketing budget for the follow up. And hence forth fell of the face of the American music scene.

Posted by RickyDomingo | May 15, 2007 9:56 PM

I got a copy of Feeling Strangely Fine out of a bargin bin. "Never You Mind" (which can be heard in the background of the classic "Never Been Kissed") is a Ben Folds-esque gem. "DND" is a sweet ballad, and "Singing in My Sleep" is also a well-crafted mid-tempo number. On the whole, much better than Better Than Ezra.

Posted by mhp | May 15, 2007 9:58 PM

"Closing Time" is pretty generic-sounding, but "Singing in My Sleep," the failed follow-up single, is really terrific. Frontman Dan Wilson has since one of those senior nice-pop guys, writing, among other things, tunes for the last Dixie Chicks album.

Also, he produced Mike Doughty's superb debut solo LP.

Posted by Aaron S. Veenstra | May 15, 2007 9:59 PM

"I certainly find it more emotionally genuine than anything churned out by Fountains of Wayne, who somehow seem to get a free pass with the indie rock elite."

This is OT and just my opinion, but the songs of the trying-to-be-"emotionally genuine" wing of 1990s indie-rock sound, for the most part, incredibly dated to me. The "literate and snarky" faction--Pavement, Luna, Fountains of Wayne, etc., holds up far better at the distance of a decade.

Posted by James Gary | May 15, 2007 10:02 PM

I am responsble for one of those 2 million albums sold.

Like Kanan Makiya, I do not think I have anything to apologize for.

More 90s nostalgia blogging please. I miss the 90s.

Posted by Ikram | May 15, 2007 10:05 PM

Kind of a generic blog post, ain't it?

I'll assume intended irony here.

At least it's not a post about basketball.

Small favors.

Posted by alphie | May 15, 2007 10:08 PM

Hey now, before easy bashing of this "generic rock" gets out of hand, let me say that it is still a pretty dang good CD (their follow-up was very, very overproduced, but "Chemistry" is a good tune ... I happen to be sitting at a coffee shop on his "River Road" right now). The lead singer (Dan Wilson) is still making music. He writes many songs for younger rockers and even won a Grammy last year, if I recall.

a link.

Posted by Chris_ | May 15, 2007 10:14 PM

I don't really mind that the AM site, unlike Yglesias Classic, is only viewable on IE on my crappy old Imac; the thing is that these crappy Timemagazinepersonoftheyeartube videos appear as blank white fields. Come to think of it, I don't really mind that either. Just saying, though.

Posted by godoggo | May 15, 2007 11:18 PM

It sounds like a song REM might have released around 1985. It would fit right in on Tales of the Reconstruction.

Posted by Alden | May 15, 2007 11:38 PM

I never knew the name of this band....

Posted by Don | May 15, 2007 11:56 PM

So, do we get the playlist at some point?

Posted by jackie t | May 16, 2007 12:09 AM

REM? I think it sounds like bad Replacements, but I agree with the 1985 sentiment. Somehow it seemes stolen from "Here Comes a Regular" slightly sped up, and the perspective switched to the end of the day but the song manages to remain completely derivative.

And Fountains of Wayne get a pass because they are simply much better - "Valley Winter Song" for example manages to be emotionally genuine without being maudlin or overdone.

And it's still a tragedy that truly good original 90s alt albums like "Encendedor" by the Dambuilders got little attention while groups like Better than Ezra, Toad, or Semisonic moved CDs by the cartload.

Posted by vanya | May 16, 2007 12:16 AM

The Dambuilders were played a LOT (only Shrine though) here in the Cities up until Drive105 shut down last week. I agree, they are much better -- but only because it's more interesting. Semisonic is still good radio pop.

Posted by Chris_ | May 16, 2007 12:32 AM

My 90s nostalgia mainly consists in realizing,via youtube, what a fucking awesome band I missed in the Geraldine Fibbers, once Nels Cline (whom I used to go see religiously earlier in the decade) joined, unfortunately while I was out of the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqf_iQqI_Xk

Posted by godoggo | May 16, 2007 2:12 AM

OOPS, WRONG VIDEO!!!

Try this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ME2lw101534

Posted by godoggo | May 16, 2007 2:16 AM

For 90s nostalgia, everyone should check out this youtube guy's videos:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=MrNostalgia

He has a bunch of montages of the videos for the #1 modern rock singles in various years of the 90s. Only about half the decade is up, but it reminded me of numerous songs I hadn't thought about in ages. Dishwalla appears, for instance, and Primitive Radio Gods. Bush shows up a lot.

Posted by John | May 16, 2007 2:21 AM

The second wave of alternative crap was a bit better in the UK. At least they had interesting women (Skin, Shirley Manson) instead of whining college boys. God! All that whining! Why did sounding like you're constipated ever become a style?

But although Closing Time was pretty bad, it doesn't compare to the badness of, say, Freshmen. And Semisonic was not that bad. Secret Smile was a decent enough song. Not really memorable, but decent.

Posted by Nanne | May 16, 2007 5:58 AM

Both the lovers and haters of Semisonic should check out Trip Shakespeare, Wilson's previous and more interesting band.

Posted by Nick | May 16, 2007 10:10 AM

Christ, this song was so overplayed when it came out. I shudder just thinking about clicking the youtube link.

Posted by Cain | May 16, 2007 11:04 AM

what a fucking awesome band I missed in the Geraldine Fibbers, once Nels Cline ... joined

I saw the Fibbers on the second stage of Lollapalooza in '95 (great show -- Sonic Youth, Pavement, Beck, etc) and still have a black GF t-shirt from that era in heavy rotation.

They were fantastic even before Cline joined. Needless to say, when "Butch" was released with him, it was pretty damn exciting and tbey delivered a great record. I still love (even prefer) "Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home." It still holds up to anything the folksy hipsters are coming up with today. I'd say that jumping up and down on Jeff Tweedy's coffee table.

I'm just not as into the poppier stuff like Semisonic, Fountains of Wayne, etc. Seems to me that's fallout from an essential Beatles/Stones split. James Gary's "literate and snarky" vibe (see above) can, surely, be traced back to Jagger, and now that I think about it, I can hear a similar feeling in "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain," Pavement's breakthrough second record, and "Exile on Main Street," -- "We pull out the plugs, and we snort all the drugs." (Fillmore Jive, from the former record.)

The Beatles were great, and like the famous philosophers, followed their own formulas much less slavishly than their followers. On the other hand, something about "Yesterday" and "Closing Time" hit me funny in a certain way. I'm just tempermentally more sympathetic to the indulgences of the Stones side of the divide. Rock sounds better to me when it's willing to get a little ugly. Punk, though, which aspires to ugly and little more, always makes me kinda sad. I do still prefer the other day's Rancid video to today's.

Posted by Tyler Simons | May 16, 2007 11:42 AM

I think John Lennon embodied "literate and snarky" quite well for the Beatles. And however saccharine "Yesterday" might sound by today's standards, it's still an example of quality songwriting at its finest.

Rock sounds better to me when it's willing to get a little ugly.

That's what "Helter Skelter" was for. To prove the Beatles could do everything the Stones could do, and then some.

Posted by benny | May 16, 2007 12:19 PM

I hoped to take care of this with my "follow[ing] their own formulas much less slavishly than their followers" bit, but, of course, you're partly right. Lennon was almost as snarky as Jagger. Helter Skelter is great and scary. But, the Beatles had to try so much harder to be scary than the Stones did. Paint it Black is so much more, I don't know, casual.

The Beatles could do everything the Stones could do, and then some.

Well, aside from the fact that I disagree, one thing the Stones proved far more adept at is keeping their personal shit together. The Stones recorded their best stuff in the 70s, when egos and jealosy had destroyed the Beatles. There's virtue in that. They're dinosaurs now, but I defy you to name three rock guys their age who are nearly as cool as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts. (Watt's drumming alone, by the way, is worth the price of the last Stones record, believe you me.) Does John Lennon have as many great post-Beatles tunes as one side of Exile on Main Street? I'm not so sure.

I love the Beatles, don't get me wrong, and I'm not trying to say that the Stones were objectively better, but that's just where my feelings point me. If you think "Helter Skelter" matches the entire Stones catalog, you should pay more attention.

Posted by Tyler Simons | May 16, 2007 12:41 PM

Actually, the song strikes me as one of those songs that just ripped off Weezer's blue album, which, incidentally, is a pretty seminal album if you're Matt's (and my) age.

Posted by Mavis Beacon | May 16, 2007 12:59 PM

That's what "Helter Skelter" was for. To prove the Beatles could do everything the Stones could do, and then some. If so it was a miserable failure. I think "Helter Skelter" was actually more of an attempt to do what Cream, the Who, Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge, etc. were doing. The Stones generally rocked harder than the Beatles, sure, but they were never a hard rock band in the "Helter Skelter" mode. I think "Revolution" is more in the Stones mode. Interesting that John could do Stones, but Paul couldn't.

Mick may be cool now, but in the 1960s he was actually kind of a geek - go watch the DVD of "Rock'n'roll circus", it is almost embarassing to watch Mick trying to get John Lennon's approval - it's like Ralph Malph trying to buddy up to the Fonz. Keith on the other hand was always cool.

Posted by vanya | May 16, 2007 1:02 PM

The Stones recorded their best stuff in the 70s what, "Dancing with Mr D"? "Fingerprint Files"? "Hey Negrita"? Yeah, Exile and Some Girls are great, but Sticky Fingers was the last essential Stones album and the tracks for that were mostly laid down in '69. I will give the new album props though, it actually is good, not just Charlie - the guitar work is great too. I'm one who will generally defend new bands and modern rock against dinosaurs, but I have to admit the 21st century bands have mostly lost the art of really using two guitars well - Keith and Ron can still play.

Posted by vanya | May 16, 2007 1:12 PM

Yeah, actually it was the Stones who were trying to one up the Beatles, rather than the reverse. Take a look and listen to Their Satanic Majesties Request, where the Stones try to get all psychedelic and hippy and flower power.

Posted by blah | May 16, 2007 1:16 PM

The classic Stones albums were recorded between 1968-72: Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile. It was pretty much downhill after that.

And the Stones were really more of a country-blues-rock outfit. The really dark and scarry guys were in Zeppelin and Sabbath.

Posted by blah | May 16, 2007 1:22 PM

Yeah, Exile and Some Girls are great, but Sticky Fingers was the last essential Stones album and the tracks for that were mostly laid down in '69.

Exile is fucking essential, firstly. Secondly, as far as I know, only "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses" date back to 69.

Posted by John | May 16, 2007 1:30 PM

The Stones recorded their best stuff in the 70s, when egos and jealosy had destroyed the Beatles.

The tension and competitive rivalry eventually tore the Beatles apart, but it's also what made them as good as they were in the first place.

If you think "Helter Skelter" matches the entire Stones catalog, you should pay more attention.

I don't. I'm just saying it demonstrates what the Beatles were capable of if they had chosen that path. They were songwriters first and foremost, and their decision not to tour was the wisest move they made.

Does John Lennon have as many great post-Beatles tunes as one side of Exile on Main Street? I'm not so sure.

I would say yes. To my ears, the songs on Exile are all the same basic blues chords and melodies, each indistinguishable from the next. By comparison, John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" or "Oh My Love" are just so much more thoughtfully written. I guess I listen more for songcraft. You might value something different.

In the end, I guess all we can do is concede the other knows enough about both the Beatles and the Stones to make an informed opinion, and personal preferences shape the rest.

Posted by benny | May 16, 2007 1:31 PM

Semisonic rose--like a bland phoenix--from the ashes of Drunken Frat-Boy Faves, Trip Shakespeare. (Imagine a slightly less-country Gear Daddies, assuming you can imagine the Gear Daddies at all.) Due to the inexplicable amount of love that Trip Shakespeare got, Semisonic started the game two steps ahead of where they rightly belonged. (The sad irony in all of it is the more talented half of Trip Shakespeare--Dan Wilson's brother Matt--has toiled in relative obscurity.)

'Round the Minneapolis scene, there was a lot of collective head-scratching wondering how, dear god how, did third-rate Hootie impersonators Semisonic make it big, while much more talented scenesters like The Hang Ups, Rex Daisy, The Blue Up?, and Balloon Guy watched their major-label deals die due to a combination of having their release date held up for years, or a general lack of interest on the part of the label's promotional machine.

I suddenly feel like pulling out my old copy of the Radio K (Minneapolis college station) mid-90s comp, "Stuck on AM"...

Posted by danno | May 16, 2007 2:09 PM

[i]In the end, I guess all we can do is concede the other knows enough about both the Beatles and the Stones to make an informed opinion, and personal preferences shape the rest.[/i]

For the most part, I'm a Beatles guy and find much of the Stones catalog to be a bit monotonious.

However, I have nothing but love for "Exile" and would, in fact, put it above ALL the post-Beatles releases as well as about 1/4 of the Beatles actual catalog. "Exile" is so raw, so legitimate and so free, it's probably the only time that the spirit of the early Stones live shows makes it onto a record.

Jimmy Miller gets a good share of the credit for his super-minimal production and the way he opened up the bottom-end to contrast with Richard's trademake Telecaster sound. (The bass hook in "Down the Line" may be one of the most perfect hooks ever recorded.) The album doesn't feel like it was recorded by Superstars The Rolling Stones, but sounds much more like something off of Soma or Kenny Barton's work with The Sonics.

Posted by danno | May 16, 2007 2:20 PM

I bet you didn't know that the lead singer of Semisonic co-wrote most of the last Dixie Chicks album.

Posted by James Kabala | May 16, 2007 2:21 PM

I don't much care for the song, but Semisonic were actually a pretty good band. Good live especially. Matt Wilson is a talented musician and songwriter. Poppier vibe that I usually like, but damn good. And he's been a fixture in the Mpls scene for a long time. He's also a really nice dude.

Posted by Gus | May 16, 2007 2:26 PM

The second wave of alternative crap was a bit better in the UK. At least they had interesting women (Skin, Shirley Manson) instead of whining college boys.

Shirley Manson is Scottish, as are her first two bands I think, but the band that made her famous -- Garbage -- is from Madison, WI. Their studio is like two blocks from my house.

Posted by Aaron S. Veenstra | May 16, 2007 3:45 PM

Uh, hasn't almost the entire record of post 2000 guitar based pop & rock been one of "Post-Punk" broadly defined, breaking into the mainstream. Heck it's thee mainstream.

Posted by DRR | May 16, 2007 7:26 PM

Take a look and listen to Their Satanic Majesties Request, where the Stones try to get all psychedelic and hippy and flower power.

Gotta give you that one. As much as I like 2000 light years and she's a rainbow, I'm glad they didn't continue in the TSMR vein.

However, I have nothing but love for "Exile" and would, in fact, put it above ALL the post-Beatles releases as well as about 1/4 of the Beatles actual catalog.

That's what I'm talking about. I'm more that willing to concede that the Stones couldn't have dreamed of creating something as complex and perfect as Abbey Road.

Posted by Tyler Simons | May 16, 2007 10:51 PM

a bad job

Posted by Abel | May 24, 2007 9:57 PM

a bad job

Posted by Abel | May 24, 2007 9:58 PM

a bad job

Posted by Abel | May 24, 2007 9:58 PM

A bird may be known by its flight

Posted by Ada | May 26, 2007 9:23 AM