Matt and Andrew's CD a Day project

While listening to this on the way to a 12p show Friday, I remarked that I felt Semisonic's "Closing Time" was the last song in the '90s alternative-pop movement that had been led by Better than Ezra, the Gin Blossoms, etc. a few years before, and that it was fitting because of the lyrics; it's a turn-out-the-lights song on an era, finishing it off on a high point just as nü-metal and boy bands hit the radio.
Kit remarked that he felt the exact opposite, that to him "Closing Time" was the first song in the "corporate alternative" movement epitomized by Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, and, more recently, crap like Uncle Kracker, and that it paved the way with its slick sound and annoyingly simple lyrics.
In many ways, both those statements are true; we just see it differently because I like the song, and Kit doesn't. So, depending on your perspective, it's either the last good song or the first bad song of an era.
The drummer from Semisonic recently wrote a book about his time in the music business (the band's pretty well defunct now), and I just bought it; it's supposed to be eye-opening. I'll let you know what I think.