Closing Time (Hole song)
Encyclopedia
"Closing Time" is a song by American
alternative rock
band Hole
, written by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Courtney Love
, drummer Patty Schemel
and Love's husband, Nirvana
frontman Kurt Cobain
. Though officially unreleased, "Closing Time" is one of the band's most notable songs as it is one of the few recordings that features Cobain.
(1994). The in-studio performance was recorded in Studio B at BMG Ariola Ltda., a recording facility in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 21, 1993. The session was a pre-production
studio session, produced by Craig Montgomery, for Nirvana
for their forthcoming album, In Utero
(1993) and lasted for three days. On the third and final day of the session, Love and Schemel joined the band in-studio and were given the opportunity to practice and record new Hole material during Nirvana's session breaks. At least three other Hole songs are known to have been recorded; "Miss World
," which featured Cobain on bass
, "She Walks on Me" and "I Think That I Would Die", which featured Nirvana touring guitarist Big John Duncan on bass; however, towards the end of the session "Closing Time" was recorded. This recording, circulating unofficially in bootleg
trading circles, featured Love on vocals and lead guitar, Cobain on bass and Schemel on drums and lead to the song being referred to as "Drunk in Rio", due to fact that all three musicians were intoxicated when recording.
In 1995, Love forwarded a copy of the studio version of "Closing Time" to BBC
radio host John Peel
on cassette tape, after the death of Cobain, and broadcast it on his radio show, The John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1
. It is assumed that the radio broadcast version of the song was recorded and then distributed to various bootleggers, leading to the song's inclusion on the Nirvana bootleg series Outcesticide, however Blue Moon Records, the label on which the bootleg series was released, claimed that the recording was sourced from Love's own tape.
and the mumbling vocal style. However, the song's three main chords (A-G-C) are repeated throughout the verses and choruses apart from a bridge which uses experimental
chords. The song's theme is reputedly based on a bitter relationship and the term "closing time" is often seen as referring to the end of the relationship itself.
A more structured and lyrically-coherent version of the song was performed by Hole on various occasions throughout 1994 and 1995, during their tours promoting Live Through This. These live versions also featured bassist Melissa Auf der Maur
and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson
and the lyrics of the song varied in performance.
and [they] made up these really stupid songs" and Cobain also contributed. Three songs are known to exist; "Lemonade Nation," "Hello Kitty" and "Twister." Copies of the recording were sent to Maximumrocknroll, Kim Gordon
, Thurston Moore
, members of Bikini Kill
and Fugazi, Calvin Johnson, and Slim Moon
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, written by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
, drummer Patty Schemel
Patty Schemel
Patricia Theresa Schemel is an American drummer, most notably known as the drummer of the alternative rock band Hole from 1992 until 1998.-Early music career:Schemel learned to play drums after her father bought her a drum kit at age 11...
and Love's husband, Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
frontman Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
. Though officially unreleased, "Closing Time" is one of the band's most notable songs as it is one of the few recordings that features Cobain.
Origin and recording
The song's origins are obscure due to lack of official information, however, the earliest known recording of the song dates back to January 1993, at which time Hole were writing new material for their second studio album, Live Through ThisLive Through This
Live Through This is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Hole. It was released by Geffen Records on April 12, 1994, just four days after frontwoman Courtney Love's husband, Kurt Cobain, was found dead in their home....
(1994). The in-studio performance was recorded in Studio B at BMG Ariola Ltda., a recording facility in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 21, 1993. The session was a pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
studio session, produced by Craig Montgomery, for Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
for their forthcoming album, In Utero
In Utero
In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American grunge band Nirvana, released on September 13, 1993, on DGC Records. Nirvana intended the record to diverge significantly from the polished production of its previous album, Nevermind...
(1993) and lasted for three days. On the third and final day of the session, Love and Schemel joined the band in-studio and were given the opportunity to practice and record new Hole material during Nirvana's session breaks. At least three other Hole songs are known to have been recorded; "Miss World
Miss World (song)
"Miss World" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole, written by frontwoman Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson. The song was released as the band's fifth single and the first from their second studio album, Live Through This, in March 1994.-Origin and recording:Erlandson and...
," which featured Cobain on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, "She Walks on Me" and "I Think That I Would Die", which featured Nirvana touring guitarist Big John Duncan on bass; however, towards the end of the session "Closing Time" was recorded. This recording, circulating unofficially in bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
trading circles, featured Love on vocals and lead guitar, Cobain on bass and Schemel on drums and lead to the song being referred to as "Drunk in Rio", due to fact that all three musicians were intoxicated when recording.
In 1995, Love forwarded a copy of the studio version of "Closing Time" to BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio host John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
on cassette tape, after the death of Cobain, and broadcast it on his radio show, The John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. It is assumed that the radio broadcast version of the song was recorded and then distributed to various bootleggers, leading to the song's inclusion on the Nirvana bootleg series Outcesticide, however Blue Moon Records, the label on which the bootleg series was released, claimed that the recording was sourced from Love's own tape.
Composition
The original version of the song is completely improvised, both musically and lyrically, and the vocals are indeciherable due to their inaudibility in the recording mixAudio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and the mumbling vocal style. However, the song's three main chords (A-G-C) are repeated throughout the verses and choruses apart from a bridge which uses experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
chords. The song's theme is reputedly based on a bitter relationship and the term "closing time" is often seen as referring to the end of the relationship itself.
A more structured and lyrically-coherent version of the song was performed by Hole on various occasions throughout 1994 and 1995, during their tours promoting Live Through This. These live versions also featured bassist Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur is a Canadian rock musician from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her career has included 5 years as bassist with the band Hole and she later toured with The Smashing Pumpkins for their 2000 tour. Her second solo album, Out of Our Minds, was released on March 30, 2010. She is also a...
and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson
Eric Erlandson
Eric Erlandson is an American musician known as the co-founder, former songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole.-Early life and career:...
and the lyrics of the song varied in performance.
Related projects
Love, Schemel and Cobain also wrote and recorded various other songs unrelated to the recording session in Rio de Janeiro. A side project, known as Nighty Nite, arose the following month, in February 1993, in which Love and Schemel musicians "pretended [they] were two sisters from Marysville, [aged] seventeen and sixteen, [called] Dottie and Clara. [They] put the pitch way up on the four-trackMultitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
and [they] made up these really stupid songs" and Cobain also contributed. Three songs are known to exist; "Lemonade Nation," "Hello Kitty" and "Twister." Copies of the recording were sent to Maximumrocknroll, Kim Gordon
Kim Gordon
Kim Althea Gordon is an American musician, vocalist, artist, record producer, video director and actress. She has sung and played bass and guitar in the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, and in Free Kitten with Julia Cafritz...
, Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
, members of Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill was an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington in October 1990. The group consisted of vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band is widely considered to be the pioneer of the riot grrrl movement,...
and Fugazi, Calvin Johnson, and Slim Moon
Slim Moon
Slim Moon is the founder of the independent music label, Kill Rock Stars. He also started its sister label, 5 Rue Christine...
.