“Semi-Charmed Life,” the record’s lead single and biggest hit, leads it off. Third Eye Blind’s success likely stemmed in part from its ability to be both palatable to older fans of soft rock and yet retain the slightest of edges for the alternative crowd.Īnd after these first two songs, we get the stretch that made Third Eye Blind stars. Quietly strummed guitars and soft vocals eventually lead into a hard-charging yet inoffensive chorus. “Narcolepsy,” meanwhile, showcases a kind of radio-friendly pop rock that has fallen out of favor in the two decades since its release.
Jenkins isn’t quite a rapper, but the verses here certainly bare some hip-hop influence - call it talk-singing with swagger. “Losing a Whole Year” announces itself in attention-grabbing fashion, with wall-smashing power chords and a shouted refrain from Stephan Jenkins.
The opening two tracks, “Losing a Whole Year” and “Narcolepsy,” aren’t the band’s most recognizable songs, but they provide a strong introduction to its songwriting abilities and style. In the public eye, the hits shine so bright that people are blinded to the other songs, but 20 years later, Third Eye Blind remains a satisfying listen front to back. I’ll grant you that it’s not the greatest tragedy of our time, but still, Third Eye Blind’s self-titled debut is a first-class overlooked album, and probably the best work to come out of the ’90s’ mostly forgettable “bubble grunge” phase. Make me famous.”Īnd so Third Eye Blind still ends up confused with Semisonic, despite decidedly not being one-hit wonders. “The kid from ‘The Mickey Mouse Club?’ Seriously? Ah, fuck it, dude. Sure, they have scored more lasting, mainstream hits than any fledgling band today can even dream of, but their short window of success has forever confined them to the title of “ ’90s band.” You can almost imagine the deal with the devil that lead singer Stephan Jenkins made when he was unsigned in San Francisco: “Yeah, I’ll make you sextuple platinum, but you’ll end up as a consistent Justin Timberlake punchline.” Third Eye Blind is a band both immortal and scorned.
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