By Elina Osi
Feeling Strangely Fine is
the second studio album by American alternative rock band Semisonic. While
writing for the album they had three specific requirements. Firstly, they
didn't want to record any demo tapes beyond simple guitar and vocal basement
sketches. That meant that the versions of songs we hear on the album are the
first band recordings of the songs. Secondly, they wanted to have no deadlines
for which all the songs would have to be finished. Thirdly, they wanted to
create tracks in various hi- and lo-tech settings around Minneapolis and use
their computers to meld the different sounds together. All and all they wrote a
total of 60 songs. However, only 12 made it to the final album.
The first song
of the album is certainly their best-known song. Before this song they already
had have success with their first album Great
Divide. It was even declared one of the best albums of 1996 by the Rolling Stone, however the band never
had much commercial success. But when Closing Time hit the airwaves in
spring 1998, it seemed like it would never go away. Because of the over-playing
the song was forgotten for many years, but rediscovered in 2011 when The Office included this song in one of
its episodes track list. At the same year it was also one of the songs featured
on the Friends with Benefits soundtrack.
It is a song
that you may listen thousands of times and never get bored of it. Closing time has a pop-rock tune to it
and may own its main stream success to it.
The lyrics of the song however, come across as if Dan Wilson really
means, what he is singing. It is a type of song that endures, but in a completely
different way. It makes you think about your own life and it is a type of song
that you may carry in your subconscious forever. It has actually nothing to do
with liking the song, but with the memories you have with the song. In that way
Closing time is the perfect 90s song.
It’s actually quite
funny to think of the success this song had, because it was written in 25
minutes.
Time for you to go out to the places you will
be from
Closing time
This room won't be open till your brothers
or your sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the
exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time
Every new beginning comes from some other
beginning's end
Also, I really don’t understand how this
song about having a child.
Singing in My
Sleep is the perfect song for anyone who’s ever
made or received a mix tape. You can really see, that the songs were written in
the 90s. At that time you could do a mix time for every situation. Including
seducing. The songs, which went to the mix tape were thought out thoroughly,
because you had only a limited amount of space to send your message. Wilson
hits the nail on the head when he sings:
Got your tape and it changed my mind
Heard your voice in between the lines
He also captures
the thrill of the situation:
I’ve been living in your cassette
It’s the modern equivalet
Singing up to a Capulet
On
a balcony in your mind
Such lines prove
that the song isn’t just catchy, but it also has lyrics that are readable. In a
weird and unexpected way the lyrics also remind me of Shakespeare when he
sings:
In the City the lion sleeps
Pray to Sony my soul to keep
Were you ever so bright and sweet
Did you ever look so nice
Made to Last in definitely the saddest sounding and also the second longest song
from the album. It seems to concentrate on the theme of moving forward, wanting
for something better and hoping it to last.
The song also
deals with themes of being disappointed in life and wanting for so much more
from it as he sings:
Made to dream of flying
So high
Made to wake up crying
I don't know why
Dan Wilson himself says that there were a
lot of things going through his mind about life, mere survival vs. thriving and
loving, while writing this song. Also at the same time the band had the
question "Which superpower would you have if you could have one?" (Flying.
The feeling of swooping over the landscape, zooming in close to examine an old
ruin you find interesting or shooting straight towards the Western horizon)
For him it seemed that so
many of the answers took a similar form, which got him thinking about how we
all have dreams in common.
Never You Mind is the 4th
song from the album and unlike others it was written by Dan Wilson and Jacob
Slichter. The song is full of Star Trek
references. Especially the Spock and McCoy lines refer to a particular episode
of the original Star Trek, where Mr. Spock's brain is stolen. So they fly
across the universe and find the brain hooked up to an alien computer on some
distant planet being used to run computers.
From there comes the TV show
music like sound and also somewhat weird lyrics:
Switch on the box Mr. Spock is on the table
Dr. McCoy is unable to connect his brain
Sweatin and strainin
Well it seemed so simple at the time
Dan Wilson also liked the idea of something being really clear and
obvious at first, but then turning vague and ambiguous. Like a fight that
outlasts its reasons. The Blur and Oasis references are about the out of the
hand and even funny feud between the two English rock bands.
Secret Smile could be about a prohibited
love, which they keep a secret. However, the song can just be about that
special bond you can have with somebody. The one person that really understands
you and can save you from the worst. Without whom you can feel like you are
alone in the world. The song itself is catchy, but also have some kind of lazy
feel to it. It’s like the singer is just laying on the couch and jamming.
DND is supposed to mean Do Not
Disturb and was a reference to the sign you can hang on your door at a motel if
you want to have some peace and privacy while on the road. It is a song that was all written once. The song has mainly just a guitar background
and is built around it.
As he sings at
the beginning of the song:
DND
Now they'll leave us alone
DND
Now you turn off the phone
How like you to make the whole world
disappear and
How like you to make everything seem so
clear and
How like you to make me want to stay
forever
Here behind your door
You can say that
the song Completely Pleased has a sexual undertone. It even has the
lyrics that prove the theory, as he sings:
I wanted to leave you
Completely pleased
Sleep drifting above you
Sweetly released
However it is up to every listener how he or she interprets the
lyrics of this song. The song itself is very different from others from this
album. At some times he sings in an almost whispering manner. Also at the end
to song has words that are spoken.
This Will Be My
Year is a thoroughly optimistic New Year’s
song. It sums up the last year and sends it away. Unlike other songs on this
album this is written by Jacob Slichter, who is mainly the drummer. It is also
different from the others, because it has more pop-rock vibe than others. It’s
also quite cheesy song, as the main idea seems to be asking a girl, if they
could start dating. All Worked Out is similar
to This Will Be My Year, as it is
about a woman who is certain of what she wants from life. The beginning of the
song is singed in a high-bitched voice, however as the song progresses you can barely
hear the vocals as instruments play over it. For me, it was the weakest song
from the album. She Spreads Her Wings is
a ballad many ways different from other songs in this album. Firstly, it is
written by John Munson, who mainly plays the bass guitar. Secondly, Munson also
performs the song. Thirdly, it has much fewer words that other songs. The song is
unexpectedly sad and if you listen to it, you may feel as if somebody close to
you had just left.
California is not a well-known song by Semisonic as it is hard even to find
lyrics. Maybe you can blame the fact, that there are just too many songs about
California, according to Wikipedia more than 1300. However it is the longest
song on this album being 5minutes and 29 seconds long. Despite that it is a song well worth of
listening.
Gone to the
Movies is in many ways similar to She Spreads Her Wings, as the both songs
touch on the themes of leaving and going after something you want. However, Gone to the Movies has more playful and childish lyrics. It as if She Spreads Her Wings is about already
an adult woman who dreams of flying away and leaving everything behind, but Gone to the Movies is about a teenager,
who just wants to feel free and gets to do that while she is watching movies.
Semisonic is a band that
will forever be known for their one hit-Closing
Time and it is a shame, because the band has so much more to offer, as
their second studio album, shows. Feeling Strangely Fine isn’t just an album
with bunch of romantic songs, it is so much more. It is an album that is fun to
listen and can be just a background music, while you are doing something else,
but it is also an album that makes you think. All of the songs on this album
may seem light and just another 90’s pop songs, but if you think and listen to
the lyrics more carefully, you may discover layers upon layers of new meanings.
What
hold the album together are the undeniably catchy pop music, the low-key
intelligence behind the lyrics, and the occasional quirky word play. You can
really say that the album Feeling Strangely Fine makes you feel
strangely fine.
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