8 March 2013 - Semisonic - Closing Time

I hope this blog has made it clear: I like songs that start off quiet and sweet and build to loud and passionate.

Born from the ashes of Trip Shakespeare, a band you've probably never heard of, Semisonic played - and still play - smart rock-and-roll with a modern feel that retains such important components of old-time rock, such as chord structure and guitar solos.

This song starts with that beautiful piano - and ends with it, too - but becomes a driving rock song in the middle. The song is actually a bit of an allegory, comparing the act of childbirth - in this case, vocalist Dan Wilson's new child - to a bouncer, clearing out a bar.

Really, the subject - "Closing Time" - is something we can all relate to.  For example, that last line - "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" - is 1. probably the deepest line to ever be written in a hit song, and 2. resonates with just about everyone who hears it.  It's actually sung twice during the song, and each time it has a different feel.  The 2nd time - which is the end of the song - is a bit melancholy.  I remember when my first child - Juliana - was born.  I was scared - sure, I was embarking on a great adventure, but this meant the end of life as I knew it.

And yeah.  I might have been humming this song all day.

The video, which was two continuous shots that needed to be timed perfectly to fit the storyline, doesn't address the intended analogy, but instead focuses on two people trying to meet up and missing by seconds.  It's really neat - check it out.