try closeing mediamonkey after you have cleared the now playing list and see if it closes faster then.?

Scripts or plugins can do it, or if background processes are running in MM when you close it down, though it will usually warn you about those.

I have noticed that often when I close down Media Monkey the application appears to have gone but when I check in Task Manager it is still running.
I have to END PROCESS to kill it off but this effects MM remembering where it was at on restart.
What could be causing MM to not close down cleanly?