Down in Flames

Those who know me well know that I am a big fan of a handful of oft-slandered 90's rock bands. I can think of few higher up on that list than Semisonic. Simply put, they wrote amazing pop rock songs, managed two (arguably three) hits, and then vanished from the face of the earth. I have been meaning to read Jacob Slichter (the drummer's) book about his experiences in the music business, which is entitled So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star. Supposedly it's quite good.

I also have fond memories of Semisonic as the first show I ever went to without my parents. I believe it was in 2000, during their tour supporting All About Chemistry, which was criminally underappreciated, and had some wonderful songs on it. The show was in Philadelphia's TLA, which is a good venue for bands of that size. Another weird part of that show was that Pete Yorn opened up before any of us had heard of him, and failed to impress... and then went on a few months later to have a whole string of radio hits.

This song is a favorite of mine, but it is often overlooked because it is from the album The Great Divide, which predates the band's success. Earlier in their career, they often encored with it, but by the time I got to see them, they actually refused to play it when someone requested it. If you look at the lyrics, it's not hard to see why; it's clearly a song expressing frustration toward a lack of success. An excellent one though. This is a live version that was up on their site at one point awhile back.

Semisonic - Down in Flames (live)