{"id":19751,"date":"2020-11-16T05:30:52","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T10:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=19751"},"modified":"2020-11-17T16:35:10","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T21:35:10","slug":"re-opening-time-semisonic-returns-with-a-new-ep-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/16\/re-opening-time-semisonic-returns-with-a-new-ep-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Re-opening Time: Semisonic Returns with a new EP (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"

An edited version of this feature appeared previously in <\/i>Goldmine Magazine.<\/p>\n

\"\"Minneapolis rock trio Semisonic scored big with \u201cClosing Time,\u201d the hit single from their second album, Feeling Strangely Fine<\/i>. The song \u2013 and all of Semisonic\u2019s music \u2013 may have been out of step with the prevailing grunge scene, but listeners across the globe instantly warmed to the melodic sounds of the group. \u201cClosing Time\u201d hit the #1 spot on Billboard<\/i>\u2019s alternative chart, reached the Top 40 in four other countries, and earned a Grammy nomination (Best Rock Song) in 1999. Buoyed by the hit single, Feeling Strangely Fine<\/i> went Platinum in the U.S., and Semisonic was catapulted to the big time.<\/p>\n

But it wouldn\u2019t last. While the band\u2019s third album, 2001\u2019s All About Chemistry<\/i>, scored positive reviews, sales didn\u2019t approach that of the group\u2019s previous record. The band soon went inactive, and all three members went on to other projects.<\/p>\n

Most prominently, songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Dan Wilson pursued a highly successful career as a songwriter and producer. He co-wrote six of the songs on The Dixie Chicks\u2019 (now The Chicks\u2019) 2006 album Taking the Long Way<\/i>, and the Grammy-winning single \u201cNot Ready to Make Nice\u201d was the group\u2019s biggest hit. In 2011, British vocalist Adele scored her biggest success to date with the album 21<\/i>; Wilson co-wrote three of the record\u2019s songs. One of those was \u201cSomeone Like You,\u201d a worldwide hit single and another Grammy win for the songwriter. He\u2019s also produced artists as diverse as Pink, Engelbert Humperdinck, C\u00e9line Dion and Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n

After Semisonic went on hiatus, Drummer\/keyboardist Jacob Slichter penned a lively memoir, 2004\u2019s So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star<\/i>, a volume that expanded on his popular road diaries posted online during the height of Semisonic\u2019s fame. Bassist John Munson \u2013 whose friendship and musical association with Wilson goes back to the 1980s when both were members of Trip Shakespeare \u2013 teamed up with Dan\u2019s brother Matt (also formerly of Trip Shakespeare) in The Twilight Hours; that group released two superb (if little-known) albums, Stereo Night<\/i> (2009) and 2016\u2019s Black Beauty<\/i>.<\/p>\n

There had been no ugly falling out nor messy musical divorce among the members of Semisonic; the three remained in regular contact, even as Dan Wilson moved to Los Angeles and Slichter relocated to New York City. \u201cI think all of us always expected we would make another record,\u201d Slichter says. \u201cWe just didn’t know when.\u201d<\/p>\n

Semisonic reconvened briefly in 2017 for a short run of Minneapolis shows commemorating the 20th<\/sup> anniversary of their debut album, Great Divide<\/i>. They got together again soon to play dates celebrating the 25th<\/sup> anniversary of Feeling Strangely Fine<\/i>, and again in 2019 for another handful of shows in their native city.<\/p>\n

During those 2019 shows, Semisonic debuted at least three new songs, demonstrating that Wilson could still write music that captured the optimistic and catchy vibe of vintage-era Semisonic. Those three tunes \u2013 along with two others \u2013 appear on You\u2019re Not Alone<\/i>, the new EP that represents the first new Semisonic studio release in more than 19 years.<\/p>\n

On earlier Semisonic releases, the group\u2019s approach was to write far more songs than would be needed, and then to select the very best for the album. And they approached You\u2019re Not Alone<\/i> in a similar fashion. \u201cWe recorded many more songs than actually ended up on the EP,\u201d says Slichter. \u201cBut that always means that what we end up with is something we really love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan Wilson says that realism a guiding principle when he\u2019s writing with or for another artist. \u201cI’m likely to think, \u2018Is this a real song? Does this feel like a real point of view? Is it bullshit, or is it real emotions and ideas?\u2019\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd once I’m happy with that, that’s what fuels me to finish an idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

He applies that same thinking to Semisonic\u2019s music, but that presented a problem. \u201cOver the years I would dip my toe in the water and try to write a Semisonic song,\u201d he says. \u201cBut when I finished the song, it would always sound like either a Dan solo record or something that someone else entirely would sing. And it was only in late 2017 that I got a feeling of Semisonic in a song that just felt like the real deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the floodgates opened. \u201cOnce I hit my stride,\u201d Wilson says, \u201cI did my usual thing of writing too many songs!\u201d He ended up with at least 20.<\/p>\n

Having written for so many other artists, Wilson has given a great deal of thought to what characteristics make one of his songs right for Semisonic. \u201cI realize that when I\u2019m writing for somebody, I\u2019m really writing for the rhythm section,\u201d he says. And Semisonic\u2019s rhythm section of John Munson and Jacob Slichter has long possessed a style that stands apart from much of what was popular when it began.<\/p>\n

Wilson chuckles as he summarizes the defining characteristics of grunge, the rock style du jour<\/i> at the time Semisonic debuted. \u201cThat father-hating, lonely vengeance, dreams of glory vibe,\u201d he says. \u201cSemisonic never did that; we never sounded like that.\u201d Instead, he suggests, his band displayed \u201ca hopeful quality and kind of an openness. We never were portraying someone who was cooped up in their basement, full of anger. We were much more like flower children,\u201d he admits with a laugh.
\n\u201cAnd when I was writing [these new] songs for Semisonic, I realized that I didn’t really have to work too hard at that,\u201d he says. \u201cI realized that it’s okay to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But with 20 songs written \u2013 and at least 14 of those recorded \u2013 why isn\u2019t Semisonic releasing a full album instead of an EP? Wilson offers multiple reasons. \u201cThe 10th<\/sup>, 11th<\/sup> and 12th<\/sup> tracks [we recorded] are good,\u201d he says, but \u201cthey didn’t hang together the way the central five did.\u201d And some of the other songs lacked another quality common to many of Semisonic\u2019s best tunes. \u201cThey\u2019re songs that I love and I think are really, really special,\u201d Wilson says, \u201cbut they just didn’t rock<\/i> the way these songs do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here to continue<\/a> …<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An edited version of this feature appeared previously in Goldmine Magazine. Minneapolis rock trio Semisonic scored big with \u201cClosing Time,\u201d the hit single from their second album, Feeling Strangely Fine. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19755,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,49,51,62],"tags":[609,4335,1930],"class_list":["post-19751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-new-release","category-pop","category-rawk","tag-dan-wilson","tag-jacob-slichter","tag-semisonic","cat-41-id","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-62-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19751"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20189,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19751\/revisions\/20189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}