Semisonic was an
American alternative rock band formed in
Minneapolis,
Minnesota in 1993. The band consisted of three members:
Dan Wilson (
lead vocals,
guitar),
John Munson (
bass guitar,
backing vocals,
keyboard), and
Jacob Slichter (
drums,
percussion, keyboard). They are best known for their 1998 hit single "
Closing Time".
History
After the breakup of
Trip Shakespeare,
Dan Wilson and John Munson joined up with drummer Jacob Slichter to form Semisonic in 1995. An EP,
Pleasure, was released that year on Boston indie label
CherryDisc, and the studio full-length
Great Divide in 1996 on
MCA.
Semisonic's breakthrough came two years later in 1998 when their second album, Feeling Strangely Fine, reached the Top 50 chart on the strength of the hit single "Closing Time", their biggest hit in the United States.
Their international career also blossomed when another song from the album, "Secret Smile", quickly became a UK radio favorite in the summer of 1999, eventually peaking at #13 on the UK Singles Chart.
In early 2001, the band released its third album, All About Chemistry. The single "Chemistry" was a mainstay overseas; however, the album did not fare as well in the United States. Another song, "Over My Head", was used in the 2001 teen flick Summer Catch, and Semisonic rode the wave of various tours in and around the UK. In the fall of 2001, Semisonic contributed their cover of the Wings song, "Jet", for the Paul McCartney tribute CD, Listen to What the Man Said.
Wilson has spoken of doing more Semisonic music in the future but said "The busy day-to-day life keeps pushing it further into the future". All About Chemistry remains their last studio album.
Discography
Studio albums
1993: Pleasure (demo)
1995: Pleasure EP (EP)
1996: Great Divide
1998: Feeling Strangely Fine
2001: All About Chemistry
Live albums
2003: One Night at First Avenue
Singles
{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan="2" align="center" width="40"|Year
!rowspan="2" width="150"|Title
!colspan="7"|Peak Chart Position
!rowspan="2" align="left"|Album
|-
!align="center" width="35"|
U.S. Air
!align="center" width="35"|
U.S. Pop
!align="center" width="35"|
U.S. Mod
!align="center" width="35"|
U.S. Main
!align="center" width="35"|
CAN
!align="center" width="35"|
CAN
Alt
|-
|rowspan="4"|1996
|align="left" valign="top"|"
Down in Flames"
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|rowspan="4"|
Great Divide
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"F.N.T."
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|30
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"Delicious"
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"If I Run"
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|-
|rowspan="2"|1998
|align="left" valign="top"|"
Closing Time"
|align="center" valign="top"|11
|align="center" valign="top"|6
|align="center" valign="top"|1
|align="center" valign="top"|13
|align="center" valign="top"|25
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|2
|rowspan="3"|
Feeling Strangely Fine
|-
|align="left" valign="top"''|"Singing In My Sleep"
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|11
|align="center" valign="top"|31
|align="center" valign="top"|39
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|-
|rowspan="1"|1999
|align="left" valign="top"|"
Secret Smile"
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|42
|align="center" valign="top"|21
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|13
|align="center" valign="top"|30
|align="center" valign="top"|30
|-
|rowspan="3"|2001
|align="left" valign="top"|"
Chemistry"
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|75
|align="center" valign="top"|39
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|35
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|rowspan="2"|
All About Chemistry
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"Get A Grip"
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|"Over My Head"
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|align="center" valign="top"|-
|rowspan="1"|
Summer Catch soundtrack
|}
Soundtracks and compilations
Semisonic performed "Sugar, Sugar" with Mary Lou Lord on the 1995 tribute album , produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.
They contributed a previously unreleased song, "For The Love Of The Game," to the 1999 Kevin Costner movie For Love Of The Game.
Wilson with Bic Runga contributed "Good Morning Baby" to the American Pie soundtrack in 1999.
Songs in other media
"Over My Head" was used in the 2001 movie Summer Catch.
Great Divide
The song "F.N.T." was used in the 1996 movie The Long Kiss Goodnight.
"F.N.T." was also used in the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate about You.
"Delicious" was used in the end of the Friends episode , and appeared on Friends Again - Original TV Soundtrack in 1999.
Feeling Strangely Fine
"Closing Time" was featured on the 1998 charitable album Live In The X Lounge.
In 1998, "Closing Time" was heard right before the credits in the final episode of Melrose Place.
The intro to "Closing Time" is briefly heard in the Friends episode
"Closing Time" was used in an episode of The Simpsons entitled "That 90's Show".
"Closing Time" was used in the 1999 Warren Miller film Freeriders.
"Closing Time" was the final song in the polka medley "Polka Power!" on "Weird Al" Yankovic's 1999 album Running with Scissors.
"Closing Time" and "Singing in My Sleep" appeared on the MTV cartoon series Daria.
"Made to Last" was used in a commercial for the Volkswagen Beetle.
"Made to Last" was used in an episode of the WB teen drama Roswell but not included on the show's soundtrack.
"Never You Mind" appeared on the Never Been Kissed - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack in 1999.
"Secret Smile" appeared on th Dawson's Creek episode "Full Moon Rising".
"Secret Smile" again appeared on Charmed episode "Dead Man Dating".
"Secret Smile" was used in a commercial for the Sony Cyber-shot range of digital cameras in 2007.
All About Chemistry
"Chemistry" appeared on the 40 Days and 40 Nights soundtrack in 2002.
Other projects by members
Wilson took time out to do some solo projects and play tour dates around the Midwest in December. Munson joined up with Wilson's brother and former Trip Shakespeare frontman Matt Wilson to form a side project,
The Flops, in 2001, though they were expected to make a final performance in early 2005. In 2009, John Munson and Matt Wilson reunited to form a new band
The Twilight Hours. They have since released an album,
Stereo Night, and been touring.
In 2004, Slichter's book So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star (ISBN 0-7679-1470-8) was published, detailing some of the experiences the group had while touring and attempting to get airplay on radio stations across the US.
In late spring of 2005, John Munson began playing in a new jazz trio, The New Standards, featuring Chan Poling of The Suburbs and Steve Roehm. This band plays new jazz renditions of "classic" songs.
On October 16, 2007, Rick Rubin's label American Recordings released Wilson's solo album, Free Life, featuring collaborations with numerous artists including Munson and Slichter. The song "Cry" was the album's single.
References
External links
Official website
MTV.com artists biography
NPR: Drummer's Book Takes Shine off Rock-Star Life – interview with Jacob Slichter about his book on the music industry
City Pages: Radio Killed the Rock & Roll Stars – book excerpt
Semisonic's Dan Wilson on creativity and the creative process, an interview with about-creativity.com November 1, 2007
Category:1990s music groups
Category:American alternative rock groups
Category:American post-grunge musical groups
Category:Musical groups from Minnesota
