But the sad truth is that many people have never gone past this track and checked the rest of the record that follows. If there’s anything anybody truly remembers about this album, it’s the explosive opening power ballad “Closing Time,” which has steadily become a cult classic of late 90s alt-rock over the years. What you get is some grunginess, catchy melodies, some fast tempos, and deeply emotive ballads all rolled up into one palpable experience. At its core, we’re listening to an alternative rock album with elements of power pop and post-grunge woven into the sound. Now, to be fair: much like the aforementioned Third Eye Blind’s work, this isn’t just exclusively a power pop album. Power pop was already a style that could bring out sentimental and intense feelings - particularly with bands like Weezer and Third Eye Blind - but the phenomenal songwriting and ear for amazing melodies frontman Dan Wilson possesses would cement Feeling Strangely Fine as a sleeper hit and hidden gem of the genre. But back in my hometown, one of the albums that hit me the most during my final months leading up to my current journey was the Semisonic classic Feeling Strangely Fine. I’m certainly no stranger to this myself: I’ll always remember Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins for the time I truly hit rock bottom in my life and lived to tell the tale, and I’ll always remember Styx’s Greatest Hits for the awesome trip my family and I took to San Francisco when I was a kid (that was the album we played the most in the car). However, one of the most common reasons would seem to be that people remember music for the environment they were in while hearing it.
Perhaps certain works portray a particular season of the year, or perhaps the emotional pull of the music is simply so strong that there’s no way to ignore it. Some albums just elicit a sentimental gut reaction in us, whether we had them in our youths or not.
Review Summary: You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here