"Closing Time" is a song by American
rock band
Semisonic. It was released on March 10, 1998, as the lead single from their second studio album, Feeling Strangely Fine. The song's release as a single preceded the release of Feeling Strangely Fine by two weeks. It began to receive mainstream radio airplay on April 27, 1998. The
ballad[5] was written by
Dan Wilson and produced by
Nick Launay.
The single reached number one on the US BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart and the top 50 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It is certified
gold in the UK and was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1999.[6][7] The song reappeared on the charts of three countries in 2011 after being featured in the 2011 movie Friends with Benefits and
an episode of the television
sitcomThe Office;[8][9] it attained its highest chart peaks in Australia and Ireland during this period.
While the song is about people leaving a
bar at closing time (also called
last call), and widely interpreted as such, drummer
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".[10][11]
Background and composition
Prior to composing "Closing Time", Semisonic would usually end their concerts with the song "If I Run". The band grew tired of playing this song every night and so Wilson set out to write a new song that they could play at the end of their set.[12] Wilson's girlfriend was pregnant at the time and although Wilson did not set out consciously to write a song about giving birth, he has stated that "Part way into the writing of the song, I realized it was also about being born."[12]
Jacob Slichter, the drummer for Semisonic, said in 2006 that
payola was how they turned "Closing Time" into a hit. Slichter stated: "It cost something close to $700,000 to $800,000 to get 'Closing Time' on the air."[13]
Critical reception
Billboard magazine described "Closing Time" as an "instantly memorable rock ditty", saying, "...the core of 'Closing Time' is pure pop with a sticky chorus that will have you singing along before the end of your first listen. This could be the jam that establishes Semisonic as the top 40 heroes they deserve to be."[14] Doug Reece of the same magazine called the song "impossibly hooky".[15] "Closing Time" was placed at number 19 on Rolling Stone's 2007 list of the "20 Most Annoying Songs".[16]
Music video
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (February 2024)
This song is frequently used by some radio stations as their last song before changing
formats, mostly
alternative rock stations. Most notably on November 16, 2016,
Fort Worth and
Dallas,
Texas-based alternative station
KDGE (102.1 FM) played a continuous loop of "Closing Time" while redirecting its listeners to its area sister
mainstream rock station
KEGL (97.1 FM). This continued until 5 p.m. on November 17, 2016, when the station flipped to
Christmas music then full-time to a mainstream
adult contemporary format on December 26.[18]
^Wood, Olivia (January 15, 2020).
"Episode 176: Semisonic". Song Exploder.
Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
^Closing Time (European CD single liner notes). Semisonic. MCA Records. 1998. MCD-49091.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Closing Time (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Semisonic. MCA Records. 1998. MCD 49076.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Closing Time (UK CD1 liner notes). Semisonic. MCA Records. 1999. MCSTD 40221, 155645-2.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Closing Time (UK CD2 liner notes). Semisonic. MCA Records. 1999. MCSXD 40221, 155646-2.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Closing Time (UK cassette single sleeve). Semisonic. MCA Records. 1999. MCSC 40221, 155 645-4.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Closing Time (Japanese CD single liner notes). Semisonic. MCA Records. 1998. MVCE-9009.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)