Fretplay.com Semisonic CD reviews Semisonic guitar tabs Semisonic CD reviews Semisonic tabs Feeling Strangely Fine


Semisonic - Feeling Strangely Fine Audio CD

A fair review of the Semisonic "Feeling Strangely Fine" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Semisonic reviews here, or go back to the Semisonic tabs.

Semisonic Band: Semisonic
Title: Feeling Strangely Fine
Rating:
Release Date: 1998-03-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Closing Time 2: Singing in My Sleep 3: Made to Last 4: Never You Mind 5: Secret Smile 6: DND 7: Completely Pleased 8: This Will Be My Year 9: All Worked Out 10: California 11: She Spreads Her Wings 12: Gone to the Movies

Lying on the floor of my bedroom with headphones on...
. . that is the memory I associate with "Feeling Strangely Fine". Everyone has an album or two to plug into this particular teenage rite, and seeing as I was about four years too late for grunge, Semisonic and their contemporaries, for better or worse, became "my music".

I was a freshman in high school in 1998, awkward and geeky, with emotions crackling inside of me like Pop Rocks dumped into a can of Diet Coke. Hackneyed similes aside, this record became a part of my life and was the soundtrack for all of those nights spent staring up at the ceiling of my room thinking "deep thoughts" or driving around aimlessly in my crappy car with friends. In some respects I may have moved on from the likes of "Closing Time" or "Made To Last", but I'll always drag them around in my head and on my cd shelf.

These songs are not the edgiest, but rarely are they too saccharine or fluffy. Some might call Semisonic's music bland, but Feeling Strangely Fine's tracks are too multi-layered and thoughtful to deserve that harsh adjective. I would argue it's quite the opposite.

I choose to offer this album up as the epitome of 90s pop rock. It is the mid-est of mid-tempo and damned proud of it! Perhaps "Feeling Strangely Fine" never quite took hold of the music-buying public because it walked the line a bit too well: a song like "Singing In My Sleep", for example, is too rockin' to be adult contemporary and not quite heavy enough to be considered alt. rock. Semisonic never quite found a home, I guess you could say.

In spite of my crackpot pop music theories and naked sentimentality, though, you should give this album another listen. These guys are talented musicians who know how write and perform some great songs. Maybe I'm a bit too close to this album to ever speak ill of it, but I dare you to completely trash any album that your 16-year old self listened to late at night, wondering if that girl sitting in front of you in biology would go out with you.

.


This will make you smile
This is joyful well played music with Dan Music's tuneful voice and lyrics and John Munson supporting him on guitar and vocals. Recently bought this album second hand and was so impressed I will look out for more. "Secret smile" is the stand-out but there is not a weak song on the set.


Memories
It's wonderful to just listen to on repeat while crashed out on the floor of your best friends' room while discussing everything and nothing at all. This CD pretty much contains every memory of the year it came out that I have. I love the ambience of the disk, and would recommend it to anyone at all.


1990s Sleeper Hit ****
I consider bands like Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, Porcupine Tree, and The Shins to be some of the best bands of the 2000's. Something you have to understand about this reviewer is I like to dabble a lot in weird types of music; psychedelic, prog rock, indie rock, jam bands, Southern Rock. It's also interesting to note that above everything else, I'm a pop-rock fan. I grew up with 90's music. If it's not catchy, I'm not interested. For my money, the 90's was the best decade for music; Toad the Wet Sprocket, REM, Live, etc.

I'm not a huge Semisonic fan, and I don't need to be. I don't really have any interest to be, since the amount of money I spend on music is limited. However, the band's "Feeling Strangely Fine" reminds me of how simple life was in high school. People bought Tonic's "Lemon Parade. " No one cared about their politics, about whether or not Rolling Stone considered them cool. People liked them because *gasp* they actually liked their music, because it was good. Nowadays, no band's played on the radio that doesn't consider middle American states bigots and inbred. "Music fans" have to ensure that a band disapproves of the War in Iraq, and gets an "okay" from Pitchfork and other pretentious internet music critics before buying a CD. It's ruined our media, morals, and music.

I love this CD. Because they don't layer the songs with pretention. They just wrote good pop songs and people got that. The songs were for entertainment, to enrich the listener's life, not to completely define it. "Closing Time," of course, got the airplay, but "Singing in my Sleep" was twice the single. "Never You Mind" and "DND" had great melodies. And "Gone to the Movies" sold me on the CD. It defined EXACTLY how I felt during break-ups in high school. It remains one of the most meloncholie (spelling?) songs of the 90's. The CD is also on the of the decade's best; because of its simplicity and remeniscent qualities. How ironic that I listen to it all the time on my iPod.

Overall: 8 out of 10.


Beautiful
This is a band with that all to rare combonation of instrumental, lyrical AND vocal talents. This has become one of my favorite CDs. It has a pace perfect for a Saturday Morning. It'll get your butt out of bed and put a grin on your face. It's clever, upbeat and most certainly catchy. What a find! .


You can see a complete list of all Semisonic discography, or go back to the Semisonic tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

Search guitar tabs

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
[ Search tabs | Guitar tabs | Bass tabs |
Easy guitar tabs | Guitar solo tabs |
Acoustic guitar tabs | Guitar chords |
How to read guitar tabs ]
Forum topics
Music forums
- Bands and artists - Songwriting and lyrics - Tablature talk - Promote your band
Instrument forums
- Guitar basics - Gear & accessories - Bass guitar
Community
- The pit - Site Feedback - Reviews
[ User survey | About us | Privacy statement ]