One Hit Wondering – Semisonic

One Hit Wondering is a series of columns where I listen to the album of a one hit wonder, and find three songs, other than the hit, that people should hear. 

If you were in a bar at last call at any point when the ‘90s were coming to a close, it’s a safe bet you not only heard, but sung along to Semisonic’s “Closing Time.”

As we all half drunkenly warbled, “One last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey, or beer,” little did we know it would also be last call for Semisonic on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Closing Time” was released in March of 1998, ultimately peaking at #11, and it would turn out to be the band’s only hit.

The band, however, which consists of Dan Wilson (lead vocals, guitar), John Munson (bass), and Jacob Slichter (drums), was already indie rock royalty in their home of Minneapolis, with a long history that made them veterans before they burst onto the scene nationally, and helped all of our bars close up each night.

This is because before there was Semisonic, there was Trip Shakespeare.

Trip Shakespeare was formed in the early ‘80s when two students at Harvard – Matt Wilson (guitar/vocals), and Elaine Harris (drums) – teamed up. Wilson would ultimately leave school, moving back to his hometown of Minneapolis to focus on music, and Elaine joined him. The duo then added bassist John Munson to the band.

With their lineup set, Trip Shakespeare released their debut album, Applehead Man, in 1986, and shortly afterward Matt’s older brother, Dan, was added to the band.

Their sophomore album, Are You Shakespearienced?, was released in 1989, and created some local buzz.

In a review of the album, the Star Tribune noted the song “Toolmaster of the Brainerd,” “Insanely links dairyland folklore with the enduring rock myth of guitar-hero supremacy,” which, on a personal note, is my kinda songwriting!

The buzz from Are You Shakespearienced? resulted in the band getting signed to A&M Records, but after their next two albums – Across the Universe in 1990, and Lulu in 1991 – failed to generate any hits, the band was dropped.

While they may not have achieved national fame, Trip Shakespeare earned a place among Minnesota’s indie rock royalty, as they were honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis music venue First Avenue. This is something reserved for bands who’ve sold out shows there, or are considered meaningful contributors to the local music scene.

In 1992 the band would release their final album, Volt, which consisted of covers, before calling it a day.

After the breakup of Trip Shakespeare, Dan Wilson and John Munson rebounded quickly, teaming up with drummer Jacob Slichter in 1993 to create the band Pleasure. By the time 1995 rolled around they’d decided on a name change, and became Semisonic. They also released their debut EP, titled Pleasure (they were apparently really dedicated to using that name for something).

Semisonic then caught the attention of Elektra Records, which signed the band, but when Elektra’s president, Bob Krasnow, left the label, the change in regime led to the band being dropped before they could release an album.

MCA would pick them up, and release the band’s full-length debut, Great Divide in 1996.

Great Divide turned out to be a great stepping stone for Semisonic, but it would be two more years before everyone would know their name.

On March 10th, 1998 “Closing Time” was released, and it was quickly followed by the band’s sophomore album, Feeling Strangely Fine, two weeks later.

“Closing Time” was all over Top 40 radio (more on that in a bit), becoming one of the biggest hits of the year, and there’s an enduring quality to it that has stood the test of time.

While performing at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre in 2008, Wilson said he originally wrote it about the birth of his first child.

“Closing Time,” unfortunately, would be aptly titled for the band, as we wouldn’t see them on the Billboard Hot 100 again.

After the band’s third album, 2001’s All About Chemistry, they stopped touring, and after a live album, One Night at First Avenue, released in 2003, they went their separate ways.

Just like Trip Shakespeare, Semisonic has been honored with a star on the outside mural of First Avenue.

The honors haven’t stopped there for Dan Wilson, however, as he’s become one of the most prolific songwriters of this era. Co-writing, and producing with a veritable who’s who of music, you would easily recognize the songs he’s done with other artists.

Working with Adele, he co-wrote, and produced her 2012 mega-hit “Someone Like You.”

Before that he co-wrote “Not Ready to Make Nice” with the Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) in 2007, and in 2012 he co-wrote, and produced the song “Treacherous” for Taylor Swift’s Red album.

He has Grammys for his work with The Chicks, and Adele, and the lineup of artists he’s written and produced for also includes Pink, Celine Dion, Leon Bridges, Halsey, Weezer, Panic! at the Disco, Dierks Bentley, John Legend, and Laufey, among others.

In 2024 he took home the CMA Award for Song of the Year for “White Horse,” which he co-wrote with Chris Stapleton.

Wilson has also released three solo albums featuring a litany of big name guests, and in 2025 he released an instrumental album.

For his live shows he’s created his own VH1 Storytellers style concert series titled “Words and Music by Dan Wilson,” where he performs songs he’s written for himself, and others, and dives into the backstories of each of them.

Lest anyone think Wilson is alone in post Semisonic success, the other members of the band have been up to some interesting things, as well.

John Munson teamed up with former Trip Shakespeare bandmate Matt Wilson to form The Flops, which later became The Twilight Hours.

He’s also part of a group named The New Standards, which covers of a wide variety of music as jazz tunes. Their version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” is a very cool twist on the original, and the trio is still actively performing live.

In 2017 Munson produced Minneapolis songwriter and novelist Dylan Hicks’ album Ad Out, and they enjoyed the experience so much they decided to become a duo in 2020, choosing the name Munson-Hicks Party Supplies.

Semisonic’s drummer, Jacob Slichter is currently an adjunct professor in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence, and he released a memoir in 2004 titled So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star.

His biggest bombshell, however, came in 2006 in an interview with ABC News, when he revealed the initial radio airplay for “Closing Time” was thanks to the time honored, and totally illegal, tradition of payola. He said, “It cost something close to $700,000 to $800,000 to get ‘Closing Time’ on the air … to keep it on the air long enough for people, for public taste, to really grab on to it.”

Being that the song had “hit” written all over it, this might have been the most unnecessary use of payola in history.

Semisonic reunited in 2017 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, playing three hometown shows, and then playing three more later in the year in honor of the approaching 20th anniversary of their sophomore album.

After those shows the band that gave us “Closing Time” decided to reopen for business.

The trio released an EP titled You’re Not Alone in 2020, toured with Barenaked Ladies in 2023, and released a full-length album, titled Little Bit of Sun in the fall of that year.

Rewinding back to when “Closing Time” first opened our ears to Semisonic, I gave Feeling Strangely Fine a spin, and found three songs, other than the last call hit, that you should hear.

“Never You Mind”

“Never You Mind” begins with a piano that sounds like it’s straight out of New Orleans, and then immediately launches into being a boisterous pop-rock song that has hints of Ben Folds Five, while being wildly diverse, musically.

There’s a wonderful ebb and flow to “Never You Mind,” at one point it even feels a bit like a Beatles song, and it’s a shame it wasn’t released as a single, because it’s fantastic.

“Secret Smile”

“Secret Smile” was the third single from Feeling Strangely Fine, and while it was a hit in the UK, nearly cracking the Top 10 over there, it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

The song was featured in the movie Simply Irresistible, as well as on the small screen on the pop culture phenomenons Charmed, and Dawson’s Creek, so there’s a chance you’d recognize it, which makes it all the more confusing that this endearing pop-rock tune didn’t become more popular.

“Secret Smile” is a secret everyone should know about.

“Gone To The Movies”

There were quite a few songs I considered as the third song to list here, but I ultimately went with the acoustic gem “Gone To The Movies.” Maybe this one couldn’t have been a single, but it’s a beautiful breakup song, focusing on the realization that it’s over, and there’s nothing that can be done to save the relationship, so it’s time to move on.

“Gone To The Movies” was also a clear indicator of Dan Wilson’s songwriting abilities, and that he was going to go on to do even more great things.

Until next time, here’s to discovering more great music from one hit wonders!