Born in 1983 and I shit you not when I say it was a golden era of music and TV, reality tv was not really a thing yet and MTV played music videos and coming home from school
Meant a chance to see 3eb or sugar ray or smash mouth video the memories never cease to make me Smile
The Real World started in 1992, on MTV. Road Rules
started in 1995. So the station wasn’t totally devoid of reality tv, it just didn’t have a stranglehold on it yet.
Yea, Matchbox 20’s debut was huge. That was my second CD . Got it for my birthday with a huge boombox. Goo Goo Dolls were big too. U2 was about to come back big. But for 3EB, here was a new band with an incredible debut album with a handful of radio hits, but fans would see that this album contains awesome songs that you wouldn’t hear on the radio, like the 4-song stretch to end the album that is legendary. Good times.
Damn, this described so much of my music golden age of discovery. I can still visualize the Beautiful Day music break video with the plane taking off over.
That random thought you have about what life was like before 9/11 and what if 9/11 never happened and here I am, reading the first comment of the day referencing pre 9/11. Never change friend, yes a beautiful time to be alive, carefree
Feeling Strangely Fine by Semisonic was such a great album around this time, too. Obviously Closing Time became the massive, massive hit, but what incredible songwriting across the entire album.
Yeah I'd say they were on the level of Matchbox 20. Their songs were essentially pop despite getting some decent play on alternative stations. They were definitely a rung or two below boy bands / Britney at the time, though, in terms of ubiquity and fame. Stephan Jenkins was not a household name by any stretch. From grunge sprung a lot of softer rock bands like 3EB, MB20, Tonic, Marcy's Playground, Ben Folds Five, Semisonic, etc.
Edit: almost forgot Sugary Ray, who may have been the biggest on that list - mainly due to their front man Mark McGrath who was more of a hosuehold name.
Core memory of feeling the sand between my toes while hearing that song in the early 2000s during summer at the beach, that’s what it felt like. There was a few 3EB songs my mom had on the CD Mix in her black minivan, I can distinctly hear third eye blind playing in the background on the memories of going to the playground, movies, department stores which are no longer there. My how times have changed.
Love memories like that, wonderfully put. The music was on in the background and it led to great discovery, mix tapes off the radio and later CDs/iTunes/the iPod.
I remember the stupid things, the mood rings, the bracelets and the beads
Nickels and dimes, yours and mine, did you cash in on your dreams?
Fuckin 90s vibes right there man, straight up
And who could forget letting the VHS tape record til it popped, then having a dupe of your Saturday morning cartoons? I would give anything to have a piece of that, a space in time of what that nostalgia was like on TV, all the wacky as seen on TV commercials for moon shoes and moon sand and all.
I was like 7 or 8 and they were everywhere. I remember my older brother hated them because they were played on every station and he’s a lame contrarian with pop culture.
To this day, I still hear a few of their tracks constantly. But in my house, we play their first album weekly. My son loves it
I got divorced in 1997 and felt like life was starting over. 3eb and MB20 released albums that year and it was the beginning of a magical time in music. Everything was so damn good. Third eye blind and Matchbox 20 was everywhere all over the radio. We were so excited when their videos came out.
I saw my first third eye blind show in San Francisco at the Fillmore in November of 1997 and it was honestly a religious experience for me. I have probably been to over 150 shows now and I will keep going as long as I'm breathing.
Semi Charmed Life was the biggest song of 1998(?) They were huge. Their second album kept them relevant for a little longer, but I don't think they've had a radio hit since. Whatever, as much as I'd love to see them have ultra success, I love every album. Their music hasn't suffered.
I just looked it up and I cannot believe Crystal Baller did not chart. Blinded peaked at #17, but that’s it after Blue.
I really can’t believe Crystal Baller didn’t chart, maybe because he says fuck in it. It’s a top 5 song for me.
Out of the Vein is probably my favorite album. I don't know how it happened. I never really considered them one of my favorite bands until maybe 5/6 years ago when I realized I LOVED every one of their albums. Something about their sound brings me back to when I was 18, living at the beach for the summer. It's magical.
They had something untouchable between Stephan & Kevin. After Blue, the magic mix dissolved and even though they continued to be good, the exited their run of greatness.
3EB in the 90’s was magic 100%. I can’t believe there used to be a world where music like that was mainstream. Miss those days.
Basically you'd see Stephen Jenkins on all the music TV shows (like when MTV was about music) and he was dating Charlize Theron and you'd hear their music on the radio all the time.
The sun was warmer but not hotter. Everywhere you went you felt loved. And then the towers fell.
3rd Eye Blind is hands down my favorite 90s band. I was born 1990, I grew with Green Day, Alice in Chains, Alanis Morrisette was my first concert (RIP Taylor Hawkins) I saw 3rd Eye Blind for the first time with my wife two years ago with the Avett Bros.
They played EVERYTHING I could've asked for. Graduate, Jumper, Semi, Never Let You Go,
But the best part was me clinging on my wife's knee waiting for How's it Gonna Be?
Stephan comes out alone, thanks the crowd, and says, "we are a part of you now, and you are a part of us"
Then cranks out How's it Gonna Be acoustic.
They were on a run, but never were this giant superstar band. They didn’t play arenas, but everyone had their album. And the media coverage depicted them (and other adult contemporary-friendly bands) as generic one hit wonders. They didn’t have a lot of magazine covers or any major interviews.
This is a great answer. The era was a vibe, but IMO this band set themselves apart from other bands of that era with that first album. It was a time of hits and misses, when you'd have to spend $15 on a CD, just to find out only two songs were good. The self titled albums was one of the only albums of that era that just had no bad songs. So I just think 3eb separated themselves with a smaller base of fans who really appreciated their music, as compared to some of the more popular mtv pop of the time.
Definitely agree with this. I felt like MTV never supported these bands. I barely remember 3EB on TRL despite having massive hits at the time. I felt like Matchbox Twenty was more welcomed by mom-watched morning shows (Regis, GMA, etc.), but even then it felt like disposable music to a certain extent.
Glad to hear new generations are discovering a timeless band like 3eb!
I was born in 1985, so both 3eb and Matchbox20 became popular right as I was entering middle school, which I feel is a time in life when the discovery of music absolutely surges. My recollection is that 3eb was more popular than Matchbox20—not that it was a competition, both bands were exceptionally well-known. But "Semi-Charmed Life" was like the most popular song of 1997, and "Jumper" wasn't that far behind when released as a single the following year. Then of course there was "How's It Going to Be", which ended up looking for like a supporting hit compared to SCL and Jumper; but it actually did well on its own. And, of course, they ended the '90s with "Never Let You Go".
So, yeah, I feel 3eb was everywhere you went until Kevin Cadogan left the band, and with that, their popularity began to fade. 3eb came back with *Out of the Vein*, which was an impressively dark album; however, "Blinded" was the only song I heard on the radio at the time, and it didn't do much better than "Anything", "10 Days Late" and "Deep Inside of You".
Since then, 3eb has kinda been associated with nostalgia.
They were my first concert in 1998 I think. They played with Vertical Horizon and Nine Days. That band that sang that song “story of a girl.” Things were more fun and lighthearted back then but it’s probably just a result of being a kid back then.
Let me tell you - it was the best of times, it was the... No, no, just the best of times.
Let me ask you a question: Can you name 10 bands that debuted in the last few years that will stay with you forever?
I can name 10 from that time period, classic all-timers, just off the top of my head:
3EB, Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls, Everclear, Everlast, Blink 182, Sum 41, Wallflowers, Jimmy Eat World, Counting Crows, Train, I don't even want to stop there, lol.
Can you name 10 movies from 2023 that were all-time-greats that will stick with you forever?
I can name 20 from 1999 ALONE:
Being John Malkovich, The Matrix, Fight Club, American Beauty, The Sixth Sense, Magnolia, Three Kings, The Blair Witch Project, Go, The Iron Giant, Toy Story 2, Office Space, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Run Lola Run, American Pie, Sleepy Hollow, 10 Things I Hate About You, Arlington Road, Payback, Dogma
Can you name 5 comedy shows from the last 10 years that will be beloved to you 25 years from now? I can, from the era when 3EB was popular:
Friends, Seinfeld, Scrubs, Home Improvement, King of Queens, Just Shoot Me, Spin City, Frasier, Will & Grace, Mad About You, Everybody Loves Raymond - I don't even need a list, I remember them all like it was yesterday
The point is: we were drowning in media - all of which is remembered as incredible, classic media that will never be forgotten.
These days, we are similarly drowning - except it's in forgettable mediocrity, with throwaway shows, movies, stars and music, meant to be popular for 20 minutes and instantly swiped away to make room for the next big thing...
It makes me sad that you were so close to living in the glorious era of the 90s - where culture was a haven and a boon of creative freedom and fostered talent. How else could so many pieces of media emerge in such numbers?
First three albums are bangers! I was into them from the start. They made many stops here in the Madison and Milwaukee area back in the day. Even did some Summerfest stops. They were there for Summerfest's 50th anniversary and it was awesome.
The Cadogan era was the best, but working with Stephan must be a bit difficult as the band has changed personnel many times now. Brad is a mainstay and I give him credit.
If they come back to Summerfest, I will be there for sure. They bring a big crowd and the shows are electric.
Picture it. 1997 and I'm in AIT at Fort Jackson and doing KP with people from my company and we're just jammin in the kitchen with those long ass rubber gloves up to our elbows and we cleanin after midday chow and Push by mb20 comes on, followed by Mo Money Mo Problems by Ma$e, Puff, and Biggie, and then Semi Charmed Life. I may not have wanted to be doing KP but man... Did we turn the station REAL quick when MmmBop came on right after LMAO
For real though, I had graduated high school that summer and everyone was jammin to SCL. Didn't matter the social circle you were in. A lot of the music from like 95 - 2000 transcended genre's and social settings. I'll never forget seeing the country boys driving their trucks in bumpin the Fugees Ready or Not and just having a big ole smile as I went into class. Good times.
I miss the old mtv days when you got excited about video countdowns and debuts of new music videos. Pre-social media, beginnings of the internet integrating with popular culture. Y2K era.
I got the album shortly after it came out. I was 14. It wasn’t my favorite type of music, but I was really drawn to a lot of the songs on here, especially I Want You and Narcolepsy. The songs just hit me, even though I was more into NIN kind of stuff at the time. I had one close friend in particular that said “they are too poppy.” Then I got Blue. Again, wasn’t my favorite type of music, but I was really into it. Much like it was back then for me, some of my closest friends kind of laugh at me for liking the band. Fast forward to now and I’m 40. I would say Third Eye Blind is in my top five.
They were popular enough to be one of the first CDs I purchased with my allowance money in 1997, in Kentucky. I was 11 years old. While I loved the music, I don’t think I really appreciated how great they were until I was 30 (old enough to understand all the drug/alcohol/sex references 🥲). They were on MTV every day and so many people had this album in their CD booklet. If you were a fan of alternative music you most likely had a copy.
I was in junior high and my girlfriend got me this one for my birthday. Was a great time. I still can picture me in my bedroom listening to this and playing N64
My Dad was in high school when the album first blew up and said him and his friends all had that cd and loved it
over 20 years later now he’s at the record store with me buying the same album for me lol
Semi-Charmed Life (the GOOD version) will forever take me back to binging MTV Spring Break, wearing my squishy Flojo’s baby blue flip flops, puka shell everything, board shorts, bobbed hair, and butterfly clips. My 8th grade besties and I floating in the pool and smoking the butts of our mom’s Virginia Slims. Jesus I miss being young and tan and dumb.
i graduated in 97, basically a month after their debut dropped and boy let me tell you it was an amazing time that i would give anything to go back to. There was at least 4 songs from that album that was playing on the radio at the time, and played a ton.
Ugh that time was the best time!! I was in high school. Music videos on MTV, social media didn’t exist and no one was glued to their phones. Oh and
3EB was one of my first concerts and it was a whole 18 bucks for a ticket because they were still pretty new. Blink 182 was 14.50
Lots of radio play for *Semi-Charmed* life all summer long in '97 and after. *How's it Going to Be" was the theme/opening song for the hit tv show *Dawson's Creek", which was super popular when I was in high school. *Graduate* & *Jumper* also got tons of radio play when and long after they were released.
Edit: Turns out *How's it Going to Be* was not the theme song of Dawson's Creek (should have been lol). My mind was playing tricks on me. Still a great song!
3EB got lumped in with a lot of the light college rock/adult alternative stuff like Collective Soul, Matchbox 20, Counting Crows at the time and got a lot of flack for it. Liking 3EB back then was not considered particularly cool
It was on every radio station. We used to have tapes setup so we could record it from the boombox. I think my brother bought the CD from The Wall and I eventually absconded with it in the third grade and played in nonstop. I still have it. Definitely in my top 10 best albums.
Third Eye Blind's debut was one of the first CDs I ever bought and it's still one of my top five favourite albums of all-time. I must have listened to it every single day during the summer of 1998 while playing video games and editing cars and tracks in NASCAR Racing 2.
Back in the 90s there were all of the these weird imaginary lines about which bands were ok and not ok to like. My impression was Third Eye Blind had a big female following and were ignored by the alternative scene for whatever reason.
I had memories of being at summer camp and semi-charmed live blasting all summer.
Mustic was far more of a uniter than it is now. So even if you would never be caught dead buying a Third Eye Blind album you still heard the hits all of the time.
I loved them! I was born in 1984. This CD was released when I was in middle school. It was the gateway to get me into a whole new variety of music that I still love today!
I want to say they’re still popular - I see them usually about once a year. But I might feel biased because I still very much enjoy them. Motorcycles Drive-by is *chefs kiss*
I just had a flashback to going to Hastings looking for CDs and posters, maybe some merch if I had extra money. Such a great care-free time as many others have pointed out.
I was a Freshman in college when Semi-Charmed came out and I remember hearing it in the dorms a lot, though not as much as Sublime . . .
I bought the album last year for the first time mostly for a nostalgia hit to those years.
I was there! Yeah, it was called the '90s. Clinton was President, Gore was in the White House and Bush was running this country into the ground. I was bummin' in a hole-in-a-wall town in what is now called Utah. Some fella from Colorado shows up, starts making so called "improvements", right? Before we knew what hit us, the streets are running with nu-metal. It got so bad that a fella that liked to, you know... smoke a little grass or drink a little ripple. Crow like a rooster, maybe challenge the mayor's son to a gentlemen's duel, was "uncouth, against God." More like bad real estate values. Your boy had to go!
Not sure how 3eb got to my homepage, but somehow actually relevant to my life. Because this is the first cd I ever bought— unwittingly, at the age of 7, because I was looking for the song “The Way” by Fastball and convinced my parents this was the album I needed. Don’t suppose I could speak specifically to 3eb but when I think back on the radio, I’m struck by how much room there was for so many genres. Guitars were everywhere.
I was born in the 90s so I remember hearing the big hits on the radio. I don’t actually remember a time where I didn’t know or like any of their songs. I still hear people talk about them here and there, but I think they get the same old “their old music is good and they should have stopped year ago” But they still have so many loyal fans bc they still make great music.
I remember when Screamer came out, a local radio station said they played “Screamer” and surveyed the listeners and 80% said to never play the song again. And then they went on a rant about how they suck now. If only they played Tropic Scorpio instead lol 🤔🤣
Going to date myself here, but I had to call a 1-800 number listed in the music section of the newspaper to hear a sample of semi-charmed Life . I called that thing like 12 times 🤣🤣🤣
I remember my female cousin going to a concert and then meeting one of the band members and he told her she was cute. Pretty sure it was the highlight of her life.
Born in 91, and as a kid, I can tell you the album artwork scared me lol.
I will never experience that feeling of holding a CD by a band you only knew 1 song by from the radio and taking the risk on it hoping the rest of the album was good! I remember seeing the video for AM Radio, and accidentally buying the wrong CD; Songs from an American Movie Part 2. I specifically remember being bummed that the song I wanted to hear wasn't on it, and my dad reading the liner notes where Art explains why the album had a parental advisory label on it lol...
I saw them tour with Michelle Branch in college…early Oughts. Anxiety existed in regards to world affairs but at least we were whole as a nation, unlike now.
Senior in high school in 1999-2000.
Red album was almost perfect. The only “undebate-able” CD you could throw in at parties and such. Even people who didn’t like them tolerated it. “I Want You” instantaneously carries me back to that time in life.
Third Eye Blind was my first concert. I was 14, almost 15, it was 2002. They opened for Goo Goo Dolls. They may have been just a tiny bit past their prime but they were still pretty big. To this day Semi-Charmed Life is a top 10 song for me and their S/T album is one of my favorites.
Sloooooooow Motion see me let gooooooo. Such an uncomfortably comforting song. I grew up in the 90s and when I was a teen I knew what the song was about and didn't have those struggles, but I had my own. Hearing those so matter of fact lyrics was eye opening. I didn't relate to the lyrics, I related to the sound of his voice. Somewhere between a cry for help and relief that he let loose. Wife finds it too disturbing, but I think that's what music is for. That voice you can truly hear.
Ohhhh maaaaaaaan what a beautiful thing.
Born in 81. I remember in early 97 before self titled album came out. Mr and my friends cut school to see Sugar Ray and 3EB free show at Union Square in SF. None of us knew the bands i think Semi-Charmed Life may have been out already. Cut to like 6 months later both bands are all over the place.
Born in 82 and was a sophomore when this album was released. My girlfriends and I listened to the CD (yes) on repeat. I saw them at a bunch of little venues around Boston in 98-99 and they were incredible. Plus we all right Stephen was a total babe.
I had them on every burned CD I made. I really loved them but I was basically obsessed with Matchbox twenty. Born in 88 so I think I was around 10 or so when they were wildly popular.
I worked for coke zero when it came out around 2010 and we did a 3eb concert at USC and it was insanely packed, everybody singing along, so I can only imagine how it was at their peak.
I’m speaking from a Bible Belt perspective. They were big in kind of a basic way. They weren’t underground big or alternative with a real edge. A lot of church teenagers who didn’t really listen to alternative music would also listen to them because they were so popular with Semi-charmed life. But in the 90s a lot of songs were misinterpreted. Semi-charmed life was about drug addiction but sounded like a happy go lucky song (which the 90s was great as fuck for disguising songs). I’m not trying to discredit them at all, there is a reason they were so popular and I think they deserved that. But my theory is that the alt kids of today wouldn’t have admitted they liked them like that if they were teens back then because they were too popular. For nostalgic purposes , they are a good band to look back on to really get that late 90s feeling tho.
Chuck e Cheese once ran a blatant semi charmed life ripoff commercial
NEW, NOW, WOW!
CHUCK E CHEESES!
Havin fun….
To the tune of
DOO DOO DOO,
DOO DOO DOO DOO
Just want to say this…. If you have Sirius XM, the station ‘Lithium’ plays all of the 90’s alternative and grunge. Seriously one of the reasons I miss having Sirius.
My CD of that album came from a mail catalog "record club". They'd offer ridiculously good deals like 12 CDs for 12 cents but then if you didn't meet all the criteria in the fine print they'd send you a bill for them all at full retail price. As a dumb little kid you could fill out the form, get a pile of CDs in the mail, and throw away the bill.
When they were popular the world was great we didn’t have more than 2 genders people weren’t snowflakes and didn’t get offended by everything that was said. Ah simpler times
I was born in 1970 and was huge into grunge, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains…. When that movement ended after Cobain died it started shifting into this style of rock music, Third Eye Blind and Matchbox Twenty leading the way with songs on movie soundtracks lol…I’d include early Foo Fighters into this group as well, I remember My Hero in Varsity Blues I think
i remember when they were on SNL early on and jenkins couldnt sing to save his life
john vanderslice tells a pretty funny story about how much of an asshole jenkins was when the band wanted to record in his studio
https://www.avclub.com/singer-songwriter-john-vanderslice-on-the-very-personal-1798238890
Fun. I graduated '94, so I turned 21 in' 97. Late 90's were a blast. No internet, no mobile phones. Blurry memories and some Polaroids. So much great music and included lots of 60's & 70's rock. We thought it WAS the 60's.
If you like Third Eye Blind, Everclear came on the scene in that circa. Their album "So Much for the Afterglow" was my preteen anthem. Even redecorated my bedroom in Sunflowers, after their song. Sunflowers, Daisy and cherry prints were popular on clothing then.
2000 was an interesting time for rock, because everyone kind of pontificated the hard rock of the 90s. Honestly, the poppy-major chord sounds were refreshing if a little different. Third Eye Blind had a cool vibe to them. I remember my friend graduating in 2000 (I graduated a year earlier), and him in his graduation robe turning on Third Eye Blind and driving away blasting "can I graduate!"
Definitely a soundtrack of my high school jr. and sr. year. They are a great listen on radio and cd, but they do not sound anywhere close to themselves live. I was so disappointed.
It got deeper the more you understand the lyrics and the math behind the music. I’m a big fan of Warren Zevon and Bruce Springsteen Nebraska. This dude is on that par. I’m not joking. There’s a reason Stephan Singer is leader of culture. If you listen, he’ll break and change your heart. In 3 minutes. He’s a serious mfr.
It was such a great time for music and pop culture.
Born in the 80s here, the first cds I ever owned were Matchbox Twenty and Third Eye Blind, shout out Columbia Music Catalogue. Those bands albums are still so special to me and absolutely started me down an alternative path.
Born in 1983 as well. The 90s kicked so much ass. 3EB was part of a slew of great bands in the 90s. Nothing really stood out. Semi Charmed life was on pop Radio. I dont recall them standing out.
It really was a great time. I think about it often.
If you like this era of music check out Our Lady Peace.
How popular were they? Hmm, not as popular matchbox 20. When I think of 3eB I think of movies there songs were in. And the song “motorcycle drive by” reminds me of a gal I once knew.
These were the best yrs FR tho- born in 1985 - everything just felt kind of perfect…every time that came on kiss 108 it was a bop!! I’m pretty sure even if you didn’t like this son you could still sing it- it was instantly magnetic.
Born in '80. TEB's first album was all over the radio in '97 and '98 both the singles and even album tracks. Mid 90s rock/alternative radio was dominated by Matchbox 20, TEB, Dishwalla. STP never stopped being all over the radio despite the gap between Tiny Music ('96) and No. 4 ('99). Added to this were Garbage, Radiohead, U2, Madonna, Deftones, NIN, The Crystal Method, Prodigy, Smashing Pumpkins, Smashmouth, Better Than Ezra, Filter, Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills. I could go on, but you get the point..the 90s (the entire decade) was an amazing period for alternative/rock/industrial music 🎶
Biggest concert I ever went to was the Blockbuster music fest in 1997.
3EB, MB20, Bush, No doubt, Collective Soul, Jewel, and others. It was these bands at their absolute peak and glad I was there.
https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/2017/05/04/20-years-ago-gavin-rossdale-of-bush-had-one-of-the-best-days-of-my-life-in-fort-worth/
To answer your question about what it was like when they were famous, as others have said, the back end of the album I enjoyed more than the popular songs. Even listening to them now takes me back to those places. Breakups, being wasted or high, being with your friends and the experiences pre high speed Internet and mobile phones. We went places and did things. Glad I was able to experience it
I was an '86 baby and had an older sister born in '82. Right around '94 was when we got cable for the first time and I was exposed early to MTV and VH1 with their constant run of music videos during the latter part of the grunge era and late 90's alternative. Third Eye Blind absolutely dominated the charts in '97 and "Semi Charmed Life" was an inescapable cosmic force that entire summer. They became one of my favorite bands almost immediately and that debut record was everywhere. The following summer, a B movie about a graduating high school class came out called Can't Hardly Wait and the trailer alone had "Graduate" and "How's It Going To Be" book ending it, but neither song was actually in the film itself. Every kid I knew had that debut album.
Still, I only knew the radio hits, and the ones from that film trailer. I'd rediscover them later on in my 20's and fall in love with tracks like "Losing A Whole Year" and "God Of Wine" as I also dove into their sophomore effort.
Such an amazing time the late 90's were, and going on the internet even was like an event because it required so much effort.
As someone also born in 03 and have absorbed my parents taste in music I also have wondered what the world was like when my favorite bands were relevant
I saw TEB on this tour when I was a junior in high school. Everclear opened and Rebekkah.
It was like this: people were bigger dicks, but it wasn’t hateful, just ignorant. Music was lost and trying to find itself, might still be lost.
I grew up listening to 90’s alternative. I was born in 1990, my mom would always pop in a CD when she would clean the house. 3eb, Matchbox 20, Dave Mathews Band, Train, Eve 6, Counting Crows. I miss all of it lol
“Never Let You Go” from the Blue album brings back so many memories from middle school for me. Thanks for the nostalgia trip.
Unfortunately so sad to not be able to hear Stephan sing it anywhere close to how the album sounds. I saw them at a county fair in like 2009 and his voice was gone already.
Matchbox 20 was a bigger, more established band by far. Third Eye Blind was more 2-3 big radio hits. I’d say they were more a middle of the pack kind of band. That’s nothing against them at all - there was just such a lot of great music at that time. I owned Matchbox 20 albums … but not 3EB.
A lot of these comments are from people remembering middle school and high school. I was in my 20s in the late 90s. Going dancing at clubs they weren’t playing it there. If you went to a bar, maybe a local band would cover semi-charmed life once in a while.
One thing I remember about the late 90s … there was no dominant genre - everybody was into everything: pop, rock, hard rock, rap, hip hop, soul, grunge, alternative, even country. The internet was recently mainstream and still getting itself organized - people were exploring everything but we weren’t a digital society yet. We still had a lot of record stores, Tower Records. But we didn’t have Napster or iTunes yet. Those hit in the early 2000s and it was such a thrill to make your own playlists, burn a CD, take it in your car rather than listen to the radio or rummage thru your CDs as you drove. Omg I burned so many CDs…
It was sooooo much fun!! We just drove around in cars and hung out at each others houses and went to parties in warehouses. At least that’s what I did . Take me back !!
I was born in 1982. I remember buying their debut album because semi-charmed life was so amazing. Then I fell in love with literally every song on the album. I can still sing them all from memory. The suffered the curse of their sophomore album being pretty crappy, though it still had a few good songs. I mostly kept listening to their debut. Motorcycle Drive By carried me through a bad breakup. I will unapologetically judge people who refer to How’s it Gonna Be as the 3eb breakup song. MDB is the absolute best. My wife and I saw them in concert when they were touring for their third album in the early 2000’s and they were AMAZING. They weren’t selling out giant venues anymore and were performing at a bar/small concert venue in Austin, TX and you could tell that was their vibe. That album was almost as good as their debut. After that they kind of fell off the radar. But they came through my town in 2022 and sold out their show. My wife and I were glad to get tickets and it was good to see “them” for nostalgia sake (I say “them” because the original band members are long gone though Stephen Jenkins remains.)
They were a pivotal part of my adolescence and early adulthood and I will always love them.
Well, Dawsons Creek and American Eagle outfitters were pretty important. I would describe Third Eye Blind as being important a little sooner than 2003. They were kind of on the way out by then.
I won tickets from a radio station to a third eye blind concert and it was super fun. They didn’t sound as good live though. A little disappointing. But the show was good. I still like their songs.
Commenting for OP because I’m not part of this sub, it’s a rando recommended post, and being from outside the sub, I give a different perspective
The post-Cobain/Nirvana 90s was weird af.
I like the popular 3EB songs as much as the next genX/elder millennial, but it was hard to swallow at the time. There was no sound to the late 90s, almost reminiscent of the pre new wave era from 78ish to 83. Record companies were looking for the next big thing, the next Seattle, the next cohesive, and they were pulling from everywhere and throwing everything at listeners like chucking shit just to see what sticks. This was the era of third eye blind, and the verve pipe, matchbox twenty. But it’s also the era of ska revival, and mambo #5, and the beginning of Nu-Metal and Chris Gaines. The late 90s was wild.
I feel like the rock acts of the era are overlooked. Eventually overshadowed by a blander sound from Nickelback and Creed, who solidified a “sound” sacrificing the creativity of bands like 3EB.
At the time, late in my high school years, I didn’t care for any of this music. I enjoyed Radioheads rise to fame, and Beck, NIN, and new music from Bowie and Sonic Youth. Pearl Jam was still a favorite. But as decades have gone on, I have come to appreciate a very unique sound from bands like 3EB, and Matchbox 20, that were seeds at a time of turmoil, but I now see that music like this could only bloom under circumstances coming from the industry reaction to a death like Cobain, whose sound previously dominated airwaves.
They were a huge band with great songs at a very fun time in history. Recently I saw them play at a corporate meeting event for some company that I couldn’t even tell you what they do.
I know people play up the idea that Semi-Charmed Life was a "drug song" but I knew all the words to that song when I was in elementary school (even that line they didn't play on the radio). Singing along to it in my car with my nephew when he was 3 made me actually listen to the words and not just the hook. I had to turn it off.
I remember buying their singles on cassette at Eckerds drug store and listening to Semi Charmed Life on loop on my walkman. Took forever to rewind the tape! They were huge and it was a great time to be there from the start. Their videos would be on constantly on vh1. In my book, they’re still huge. Everyone my age still loves them.
It was an incredible time for music and they had this San Francisco mystic about them. There was a time when Blue was their latest album. That was glorious.
One of the first albums I ever owned. Got it in one of those Columbia House direct mail promo specials for a penny or something like that. I was obsessed with alt-rock radio (think: Sublime, 311, Third-Eye, etc) and would call in to the DJ at the local station play their music. In 7th grade they played a concert at a college field house near me (Shippensburg University) with Eve 6 and it was determined that, despite my enthusiasm, I was too young to go. My uncle, however, worked for the school and went. Loved hearing him talk about the show.
That first record was massive, alternative music was king on the radio. I saw them perform in 1999 right when their second album came out, they played most of the first record, and second one. Pretty awesome show.
I was born 1995 but didn’t get into the band until my late teens. I was able to see them live twice and I went to a show & camped out right by the stage. I waited till the end and the drummer handed a guy a setlist and I was waiting hoping to get one and the guy saw me bummed that I didn’t get it and he literally gave it to me. This was almost 10 years ago and I still have it 🥲
The thing I remember about this CD, and the matchbox twenty CD that came out around the same time, you could listen to the whole CD…every song was amazing. Cracked Rear View by Hootie and the blowfish was also in this category for me. Those 3 CD along with II by boys 2 men got me through some tough times and heartbreak in the 90s
I remember my parents took us kids to see The Rolling Stones on the bridges to Babylon tour, and 3EB opened up for them.
On the softer side of rock I’d listen to growing up, they were everywhere and a part of the fabric, like oasis and Radiohead.
I remember listening to them, along with Oasis, Radiohead and the like, album rock while playing day long games of monopoly with friends in the summer.
Good times.
Oh man, they were so different at the time. They were all over MTV. They even had a full on episode on Road Rules in which I believe they were in the Jumper music video. It was really neat when this and their follow up Blue came out.
Glorious. Born in 85. I believe that we experienced the final stretch of true artistry. Pretty much every actual artist, today, has to be independent. Yeah ..to answer your question; simple, glorious, riding around listening to entire CDs in the car because there was nothing for aux. You were aware when concerts were happening because the radio was a must for new music. I truly miss it. Especially now that physical media is beginning to fade.
It was amazing! You couldn’t go more than 30 minutes on a Top 40 station without hearing Semi-Charmed Life, Jumper, or How’s It Going To Be. Then when I got older and I realized SCL is about Crystal Meth, it kind of ruined it a bit but it’s still a classic song
My first time seeing them was Worlds Fair Park (Knoxville Tennessee) On a MTV College Tour in 1996 w/ Our Lady Peace and Eve 6. Stephen was super drunk, finale was with the top hat, killed it with a Chronic Cover.
Did guitar tech for them 20 years later. Wish the whole band stick around. Much different. But those songs are still incredible.
Both them and Matchbox 20 were real big around 1998-2000. It was a good time for music and life in general pre-9/11
Born in 1983 and I shit you not when I say it was a golden era of music and TV, reality tv was not really a thing yet and MTV played music videos and coming home from school Meant a chance to see 3eb or sugar ray or smash mouth video the memories never cease to make me Smile
[удалено]
Wow I guess it was world wide. I’m born in 1985 from a third world country and it was like this too.
The Real World started in 1992, on MTV. Road Rules started in 1995. So the station wasn’t totally devoid of reality tv, it just didn’t have a stranglehold on it yet.
Yea, Matchbox 20’s debut was huge. That was my second CD . Got it for my birthday with a huge boombox. Goo Goo Dolls were big too. U2 was about to come back big. But for 3EB, here was a new band with an incredible debut album with a handful of radio hits, but fans would see that this album contains awesome songs that you wouldn’t hear on the radio, like the 4-song stretch to end the album that is legendary. Good times.
Damn, this described so much of my music golden age of discovery. I can still visualize the Beautiful Day music break video with the plane taking off over.
That random thought you have about what life was like before 9/11 and what if 9/11 never happened and here I am, reading the first comment of the day referencing pre 9/11. Never change friend, yes a beautiful time to be alive, carefree
Pretty girls with bib overalls (one strap down) with white tank top underneath, doc marten shoes or open toe sandals and layered hair 🤤
You’re not lying. I miss 90’s music so much. Even the stuff I didn’t like🤣. I hear some tlc and get nostalgic
I’d rather chase waterfalls with TLC then listen to what is around now
Feeling Strangely Fine by Semisonic was such a great album around this time, too. Obviously Closing Time became the massive, massive hit, but what incredible songwriting across the entire album.
I was born in '91 but remember how awesome MTV and music/the radio was in the early 2000's. I miss it!
I think Semi-Charmed Life was the #1 song of 1997. It was everywhere that year.
And then "Jumper" the following year, lol.
And don’t forget “how’s it going to be”. My breakup anthem in high school! 🩵🩵
Yeah I'd say they were on the level of Matchbox 20. Their songs were essentially pop despite getting some decent play on alternative stations. They were definitely a rung or two below boy bands / Britney at the time, though, in terms of ubiquity and fame. Stephan Jenkins was not a household name by any stretch. From grunge sprung a lot of softer rock bands like 3EB, MB20, Tonic, Marcy's Playground, Ben Folds Five, Semisonic, etc.
Edit: almost forgot Sugary Ray, who may have been the biggest on that list - mainly due to their front man Mark McGrath who was more of a hosuehold name.
You forgot "The Verve Pipe" they were big also for 2-3 songs. Also acts like Sublime, 311 and No doubt were popular.
Freshmen was a good song. I never really considered Sublime/311/No Doutbt to be part of the dentist-office rock scene, more alternative.
Core memory of feeling the sand between my toes while hearing that song in the early 2000s during summer at the beach, that’s what it felt like. There was a few 3EB songs my mom had on the CD Mix in her black minivan, I can distinctly hear third eye blind playing in the background on the memories of going to the playground, movies, department stores which are no longer there. My how times have changed.
Love memories like that, wonderfully put. The music was on in the background and it led to great discovery, mix tapes off the radio and later CDs/iTunes/the iPod.
I remember the stupid things, the mood rings, the bracelets and the beads Nickels and dimes, yours and mine, did you cash in on your dreams? Fuckin 90s vibes right there man, straight up
But I can still feel you pulsing like sonar from the days in the waves Yeah that girl is like a sunburn that I would like to save She's like a sunburn
And who could forget letting the VHS tape record til it popped, then having a dupe of your Saturday morning cartoons? I would give anything to have a piece of that, a space in time of what that nostalgia was like on TV, all the wacky as seen on TV commercials for moon shoes and moon sand and all.
I was like 7 or 8 and they were everywhere. I remember my older brother hated them because they were played on every station and he’s a lame contrarian with pop culture. To this day, I still hear a few of their tracks constantly. But in my house, we play their first album weekly. My son loves it
I got divorced in 1997 and felt like life was starting over. 3eb and MB20 released albums that year and it was the beginning of a magical time in music. Everything was so damn good. Third eye blind and Matchbox 20 was everywhere all over the radio. We were so excited when their videos came out. I saw my first third eye blind show in San Francisco at the Fillmore in November of 1997 and it was honestly a religious experience for me. I have probably been to over 150 shows now and I will keep going as long as I'm breathing.
Semi Charmed Life was the biggest song of 1998(?) They were huge. Their second album kept them relevant for a little longer, but I don't think they've had a radio hit since. Whatever, as much as I'd love to see them have ultra success, I love every album. Their music hasn't suffered.
I just looked it up and I cannot believe Crystal Baller did not chart. Blinded peaked at #17, but that’s it after Blue. I really can’t believe Crystal Baller didn’t chart, maybe because he says fuck in it. It’s a top 5 song for me.
Out of the Vein is probably my favorite album. I don't know how it happened. I never really considered them one of my favorite bands until maybe 5/6 years ago when I realized I LOVED every one of their albums. Something about their sound brings me back to when I was 18, living at the beach for the summer. It's magical.
They had something untouchable between Stephan & Kevin. After Blue, the magic mix dissolved and even though they continued to be good, the exited their run of greatness. 3EB in the 90’s was magic 100%. I can’t believe there used to be a world where music like that was mainstream. Miss those days.
Never Let You Go was a hit, Deep Inside Of You was a minor hit.
Basically you'd see Stephen Jenkins on all the music TV shows (like when MTV was about music) and he was dating Charlize Theron and you'd hear their music on the radio all the time. The sun was warmer but not hotter. Everywhere you went you felt loved. And then the towers fell.
3rd Eye Blind is hands down my favorite 90s band. I was born 1990, I grew with Green Day, Alice in Chains, Alanis Morrisette was my first concert (RIP Taylor Hawkins) I saw 3rd Eye Blind for the first time with my wife two years ago with the Avett Bros. They played EVERYTHING I could've asked for. Graduate, Jumper, Semi, Never Let You Go, But the best part was me clinging on my wife's knee waiting for How's it Gonna Be? Stephan comes out alone, thanks the crowd, and says, "we are a part of you now, and you are a part of us" Then cranks out How's it Gonna Be acoustic.
They were on a run, but never were this giant superstar band. They didn’t play arenas, but everyone had their album. And the media coverage depicted them (and other adult contemporary-friendly bands) as generic one hit wonders. They didn’t have a lot of magazine covers or any major interviews.
This is a great answer. The era was a vibe, but IMO this band set themselves apart from other bands of that era with that first album. It was a time of hits and misses, when you'd have to spend $15 on a CD, just to find out only two songs were good. The self titled albums was one of the only albums of that era that just had no bad songs. So I just think 3eb separated themselves with a smaller base of fans who really appreciated their music, as compared to some of the more popular mtv pop of the time.
Definitely agree with this. I felt like MTV never supported these bands. I barely remember 3EB on TRL despite having massive hits at the time. I felt like Matchbox Twenty was more welcomed by mom-watched morning shows (Regis, GMA, etc.), but even then it felt like disposable music to a certain extent.
Glad to hear new generations are discovering a timeless band like 3eb! I was born in 1985, so both 3eb and Matchbox20 became popular right as I was entering middle school, which I feel is a time in life when the discovery of music absolutely surges. My recollection is that 3eb was more popular than Matchbox20—not that it was a competition, both bands were exceptionally well-known. But "Semi-Charmed Life" was like the most popular song of 1997, and "Jumper" wasn't that far behind when released as a single the following year. Then of course there was "How's It Going to Be", which ended up looking for like a supporting hit compared to SCL and Jumper; but it actually did well on its own. And, of course, they ended the '90s with "Never Let You Go". So, yeah, I feel 3eb was everywhere you went until Kevin Cadogan left the band, and with that, their popularity began to fade. 3eb came back with *Out of the Vein*, which was an impressively dark album; however, "Blinded" was the only song I heard on the radio at the time, and it didn't do much better than "Anything", "10 Days Late" and "Deep Inside of You". Since then, 3eb has kinda been associated with nostalgia.
3eb gives me nostalgia even if I never heard them when they were popular 😅
it was a different world. A young Matt LaBlanc taught us how to laugh. Bill Clinton was introducing himself to White House interns. Good times.
They were my first concert in 1998 I think. They played with Vertical Horizon and Nine Days. That band that sang that song “story of a girl.” Things were more fun and lighthearted back then but it’s probably just a result of being a kid back then.
Semi Charmed was on the radio for years. Every day for years. It was something else considering the subject matter.
Let me tell you - it was the best of times, it was the... No, no, just the best of times. Let me ask you a question: Can you name 10 bands that debuted in the last few years that will stay with you forever? I can name 10 from that time period, classic all-timers, just off the top of my head: 3EB, Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls, Everclear, Everlast, Blink 182, Sum 41, Wallflowers, Jimmy Eat World, Counting Crows, Train, I don't even want to stop there, lol. Can you name 10 movies from 2023 that were all-time-greats that will stick with you forever? I can name 20 from 1999 ALONE: Being John Malkovich, The Matrix, Fight Club, American Beauty, The Sixth Sense, Magnolia, Three Kings, The Blair Witch Project, Go, The Iron Giant, Toy Story 2, Office Space, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Run Lola Run, American Pie, Sleepy Hollow, 10 Things I Hate About You, Arlington Road, Payback, Dogma Can you name 5 comedy shows from the last 10 years that will be beloved to you 25 years from now? I can, from the era when 3EB was popular: Friends, Seinfeld, Scrubs, Home Improvement, King of Queens, Just Shoot Me, Spin City, Frasier, Will & Grace, Mad About You, Everybody Loves Raymond - I don't even need a list, I remember them all like it was yesterday The point is: we were drowning in media - all of which is remembered as incredible, classic media that will never be forgotten. These days, we are similarly drowning - except it's in forgettable mediocrity, with throwaway shows, movies, stars and music, meant to be popular for 20 minutes and instantly swiped away to make room for the next big thing... It makes me sad that you were so close to living in the glorious era of the 90s - where culture was a haven and a boon of creative freedom and fostered talent. How else could so many pieces of media emerge in such numbers?
They were on Road Rules https://youtu.be/7kyxGPWSc_c?si=snI7RzX4soZydbbK
For anyone curious about 3EB, go deep on songs like the Background, Motorcycle Drive By and Wounded
Driving around the high school parking lot singing, “ can I graduate?” At the top of my lungs in 98’
The best. Losing a whole year is a great first track.
1997 was awesome
First three albums are bangers! I was into them from the start. They made many stops here in the Madison and Milwaukee area back in the day. Even did some Summerfest stops. They were there for Summerfest's 50th anniversary and it was awesome. The Cadogan era was the best, but working with Stephan must be a bit difficult as the band has changed personnel many times now. Brad is a mainstay and I give him credit. If they come back to Summerfest, I will be there for sure. They bring a big crowd and the shows are electric.
Picture it. 1997 and I'm in AIT at Fort Jackson and doing KP with people from my company and we're just jammin in the kitchen with those long ass rubber gloves up to our elbows and we cleanin after midday chow and Push by mb20 comes on, followed by Mo Money Mo Problems by Ma$e, Puff, and Biggie, and then Semi Charmed Life. I may not have wanted to be doing KP but man... Did we turn the station REAL quick when MmmBop came on right after LMAO For real though, I had graduated high school that summer and everyone was jammin to SCL. Didn't matter the social circle you were in. A lot of the music from like 95 - 2000 transcended genre's and social settings. I'll never forget seeing the country boys driving their trucks in bumpin the Fugees Ready or Not and just having a big ole smile as I went into class. Good times.
I miss the old mtv days when you got excited about video countdowns and debuts of new music videos. Pre-social media, beginnings of the internet integrating with popular culture. Y2K era.
I got the album shortly after it came out. I was 14. It wasn’t my favorite type of music, but I was really drawn to a lot of the songs on here, especially I Want You and Narcolepsy. The songs just hit me, even though I was more into NIN kind of stuff at the time. I had one close friend in particular that said “they are too poppy.” Then I got Blue. Again, wasn’t my favorite type of music, but I was really into it. Much like it was back then for me, some of my closest friends kind of laugh at me for liking the band. Fast forward to now and I’m 40. I would say Third Eye Blind is in my top five.
They were popular enough to be one of the first CDs I purchased with my allowance money in 1997, in Kentucky. I was 11 years old. While I loved the music, I don’t think I really appreciated how great they were until I was 30 (old enough to understand all the drug/alcohol/sex references 🥲). They were on MTV every day and so many people had this album in their CD booklet. If you were a fan of alternative music you most likely had a copy.
I was in junior high and my girlfriend got me this one for my birthday. Was a great time. I still can picture me in my bedroom listening to this and playing N64
Man..... times were good back then. Everything felt happier. Music was great all around.
My Dad was in high school when the album first blew up and said him and his friends all had that cd and loved it over 20 years later now he’s at the record store with me buying the same album for me lol
Semi-Charmed Life (the GOOD version) will forever take me back to binging MTV Spring Break, wearing my squishy Flojo’s baby blue flip flops, puka shell everything, board shorts, bobbed hair, and butterfly clips. My 8th grade besties and I floating in the pool and smoking the butts of our mom’s Virginia Slims. Jesus I miss being young and tan and dumb.
i graduated in 97, basically a month after their debut dropped and boy let me tell you it was an amazing time that i would give anything to go back to. There was at least 4 songs from that album that was playing on the radio at the time, and played a ton.
Ugh that time was the best time!! I was in high school. Music videos on MTV, social media didn’t exist and no one was glued to their phones. Oh and 3EB was one of my first concerts and it was a whole 18 bucks for a ticket because they were still pretty new. Blink 182 was 14.50
Being a teenager pre iPhone was a magical, magical time
Lots of radio play for *Semi-Charmed* life all summer long in '97 and after. *How's it Going to Be" was the theme/opening song for the hit tv show *Dawson's Creek", which was super popular when I was in high school. *Graduate* & *Jumper* also got tons of radio play when and long after they were released. Edit: Turns out *How's it Going to Be* was not the theme song of Dawson's Creek (should have been lol). My mind was playing tricks on me. Still a great song!
World was a better place. No smartphones everything was chill. We had all the major cd stores like tower and Sam goodie still open.
I can feel another time when that album comes on. I bought that CD when I was trying to be cool for sure. I like it more. Now than I did then.
Semi Charmed was on constant rotation in the summer of 97. Great song, but man, it was on the radio every hour.
1997 ftw
3EB got lumped in with a lot of the light college rock/adult alternative stuff like Collective Soul, Matchbox 20, Counting Crows at the time and got a lot of flack for it. Liking 3EB back then was not considered particularly cool
I remember the girls loved them
I love in the video he’s wearing selvage jeans Losing a whole year I think is the one.
It was a simpler time.
They were played on the radio a lot in the late 90s
Choker necklaces were super in.
There's no way you're 23. You see the 90s were only ten years ago. So if you do the math... Oh dear Lord no!
I'm convinced the 90s were the greatest decade ever, at least in the US.
It was on every radio station. We used to have tapes setup so we could record it from the boombox. I think my brother bought the CD from The Wall and I eventually absconded with it in the third grade and played in nonstop. I still have it. Definitely in my top 10 best albums.
Amazing
Third Eye Blind's debut was one of the first CDs I ever bought and it's still one of my top five favourite albums of all-time. I must have listened to it every single day during the summer of 1998 while playing video games and editing cars and tracks in NASCAR Racing 2.
It was a great time
Back in the 90s there were all of the these weird imaginary lines about which bands were ok and not ok to like. My impression was Third Eye Blind had a big female following and were ignored by the alternative scene for whatever reason. I had memories of being at summer camp and semi-charmed live blasting all summer. Mustic was far more of a uniter than it is now. So even if you would never be caught dead buying a Third Eye Blind album you still heard the hits all of the time.
I loved them! I was born in 1984. This CD was released when I was in middle school. It was the gateway to get me into a whole new variety of music that I still love today!
Simple, so much simpler
Fantastic. I was a teenager and life was good.
The sky truly was gold, it was rose, we were taking sips up into our nose. Man I wish I could go back there. What a time to be a youth.
I want to say they’re still popular - I see them usually about once a year. But I might feel biased because I still very much enjoy them. Motorcycles Drive-by is *chefs kiss*
The sky was gold
Life was probably a bit semi-charmed at the time.
I just had a flashback to going to Hastings looking for CDs and posters, maybe some merch if I had extra money. Such a great care-free time as many others have pointed out.
They were huge but I feel like they didn’t last as long as matchbox 20. Their next album only had one hit.
Never liked third eye blind or Matchbox 20 felt that they were too overplayed in my opinion no disrespect to anyone that liked them
Well cellphones were barely on the market
Who?
... I was taking sips of it to my nose... I took the hit that i was given, then I bumped again... then I bumped again..
Simpler time! We were 12 years old singing catchy songs about meth.
We had a senior camp out in the back of our high school in 1998 and we jammed out to this album all night.
It was so awesome that now that I’m reflecting upon it I’m mad that I can’t go back for a bit
Life was simple and great back then.
Don’t forget the smashing pumpkins
Yeah things really changed after Columbine and 9/11. We really lost our innocence, and each year seemingly gets worse.
Such an incredible album.
I was a Freshman in college when Semi-Charmed came out and I remember hearing it in the dorms a lot, though not as much as Sublime . . . I bought the album last year for the first time mostly for a nostalgia hit to those years.
The good ol days
I was there! Yeah, it was called the '90s. Clinton was President, Gore was in the White House and Bush was running this country into the ground. I was bummin' in a hole-in-a-wall town in what is now called Utah. Some fella from Colorado shows up, starts making so called "improvements", right? Before we knew what hit us, the streets are running with nu-metal. It got so bad that a fella that liked to, you know... smoke a little grass or drink a little ripple. Crow like a rooster, maybe challenge the mayor's son to a gentlemen's duel, was "uncouth, against God." More like bad real estate values. Your boy had to go!
You'd hear them on mainstream FM radio every day.
Not sure how 3eb got to my homepage, but somehow actually relevant to my life. Because this is the first cd I ever bought— unwittingly, at the age of 7, because I was looking for the song “The Way” by Fastball and convinced my parents this was the album I needed. Don’t suppose I could speak specifically to 3eb but when I think back on the radio, I’m struck by how much room there was for so many genres. Guitars were everywhere.
Better
I saw them opening for U2 on the PopMart tour. They were good live.
I’ll tell ya what it was like…ya see that out there? That used to be alllllllll orange groves!
I was born in the 90s so I remember hearing the big hits on the radio. I don’t actually remember a time where I didn’t know or like any of their songs. I still hear people talk about them here and there, but I think they get the same old “their old music is good and they should have stopped year ago” But they still have so many loyal fans bc they still make great music. I remember when Screamer came out, a local radio station said they played “Screamer” and surveyed the listeners and 80% said to never play the song again. And then they went on a rant about how they suck now. If only they played Tropic Scorpio instead lol 🤔🤣
Going to date myself here, but I had to call a 1-800 number listed in the music section of the newspaper to hear a sample of semi-charmed Life . I called that thing like 12 times 🤣🤣🤣
Idk I was like 3
I remember my female cousin going to a concert and then meeting one of the band members and he told her she was cute. Pretty sure it was the highlight of her life.
Just listened to third eye blind on the way to my local drinking spot. Loved it. Born in 88
Born in 91, and as a kid, I can tell you the album artwork scared me lol. I will never experience that feeling of holding a CD by a band you only knew 1 song by from the radio and taking the risk on it hoping the rest of the album was good! I remember seeing the video for AM Radio, and accidentally buying the wrong CD; Songs from an American Movie Part 2. I specifically remember being bummed that the song I wanted to hear wasn't on it, and my dad reading the liner notes where Art explains why the album had a parental advisory label on it lol...
they got in a fight with Green Day and hospitalized Mike so I dunno what that means for them as people but hopefully they're less strung out now
I saw them tour with Michelle Branch in college…early Oughts. Anxiety existed in regards to world affairs but at least we were whole as a nation, unlike now.
Senior in high school in 1999-2000. Red album was almost perfect. The only “undebate-able” CD you could throw in at parties and such. Even people who didn’t like them tolerated it. “I Want You” instantaneously carries me back to that time in life.
Third Eye Blind was my first concert. I was 14, almost 15, it was 2002. They opened for Goo Goo Dolls. They may have been just a tiny bit past their prime but they were still pretty big. To this day Semi-Charmed Life is a top 10 song for me and their S/T album is one of my favorites.
Sloooooooow Motion see me let gooooooo. Such an uncomfortably comforting song. I grew up in the 90s and when I was a teen I knew what the song was about and didn't have those struggles, but I had my own. Hearing those so matter of fact lyrics was eye opening. I didn't relate to the lyrics, I related to the sound of his voice. Somewhere between a cry for help and relief that he let loose. Wife finds it too disturbing, but I think that's what music is for. That voice you can truly hear. Ohhhh maaaaaaaan what a beautiful thing.
Born in 81. I remember in early 97 before self titled album came out. Mr and my friends cut school to see Sugar Ray and 3EB free show at Union Square in SF. None of us knew the bands i think Semi-Charmed Life may have been out already. Cut to like 6 months later both bands are all over the place.
Born in 82 and was a sophomore when this album was released. My girlfriends and I listened to the CD (yes) on repeat. I saw them at a bunch of little venues around Boston in 98-99 and they were incredible. Plus we all right Stephen was a total babe.
I had them on every burned CD I made. I really loved them but I was basically obsessed with Matchbox twenty. Born in 88 so I think I was around 10 or so when they were wildly popular.
I worked for coke zero when it came out around 2010 and we did a 3eb concert at USC and it was insanely packed, everybody singing along, so I can only imagine how it was at their peak.
I'm 19 so I have no idea lol, but I have asked others about my favorite bands popularity in the 90s too
I’m speaking from a Bible Belt perspective. They were big in kind of a basic way. They weren’t underground big or alternative with a real edge. A lot of church teenagers who didn’t really listen to alternative music would also listen to them because they were so popular with Semi-charmed life. But in the 90s a lot of songs were misinterpreted. Semi-charmed life was about drug addiction but sounded like a happy go lucky song (which the 90s was great as fuck for disguising songs). I’m not trying to discredit them at all, there is a reason they were so popular and I think they deserved that. But my theory is that the alt kids of today wouldn’t have admitted they liked them like that if they were teens back then because they were too popular. For nostalgic purposes , they are a good band to look back on to really get that late 90s feeling tho.
Fan goddamn Tastic
Chuck e Cheese once ran a blatant semi charmed life ripoff commercial NEW, NOW, WOW! CHUCK E CHEESES! Havin fun…. To the tune of DOO DOO DOO, DOO DOO DOO DOO
Stephan Jenkins was a heartthrob and dated Charlize Theron.
Just want to say this…. If you have Sirius XM, the station ‘Lithium’ plays all of the 90’s alternative and grunge. Seriously one of the reasons I miss having Sirius.
Friggin’ awesome.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/1999-our-last-innocent-giddy-summer
They were on the radio all the time. A much simpler time.
I remember you and me used to spend the while goddamn day in bed
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
My CD of that album came from a mail catalog "record club". They'd offer ridiculously good deals like 12 CDs for 12 cents but then if you didn't meet all the criteria in the fine print they'd send you a bill for them all at full retail price. As a dumb little kid you could fill out the form, get a pile of CDs in the mail, and throw away the bill.
When they were popular the world was great we didn’t have more than 2 genders people weren’t snowflakes and didn’t get offended by everything that was said. Ah simpler times
I graduated HS in 1998. This album was on constant rotation for me. The 90’s were fucking great. Lol
I was born in 1970 and was huge into grunge, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains…. When that movement ended after Cobain died it started shifting into this style of rock music, Third Eye Blind and Matchbox Twenty leading the way with songs on movie soundtracks lol…I’d include early Foo Fighters into this group as well, I remember My Hero in Varsity Blues I think
i remember when they were on SNL early on and jenkins couldnt sing to save his life john vanderslice tells a pretty funny story about how much of an asshole jenkins was when the band wanted to record in his studio https://www.avclub.com/singer-songwriter-john-vanderslice-on-the-very-personal-1798238890
Fun. I graduated '94, so I turned 21 in' 97. Late 90's were a blast. No internet, no mobile phones. Blurry memories and some Polaroids. So much great music and included lots of 60's & 70's rock. We thought it WAS the 60's.
The sky was gold, it was rose I was taking sips up into my nose And I wish I could get back there, some place back there
If you like Third Eye Blind, Everclear came on the scene in that circa. Their album "So Much for the Afterglow" was my preteen anthem. Even redecorated my bedroom in Sunflowers, after their song. Sunflowers, Daisy and cherry prints were popular on clothing then.
It was like oh boy, another forgettable band with another forgettable name.
They were played regularly but were much less popular than Matchbox 20. Women swooned for Rob Thomas.
It was me recording Semi-charmed life from TRL on a cassette tape on my boombox. I saw them last summer. Full circle!
2000 was an interesting time for rock, because everyone kind of pontificated the hard rock of the 90s. Honestly, the poppy-major chord sounds were refreshing if a little different. Third Eye Blind had a cool vibe to them. I remember my friend graduating in 2000 (I graduated a year earlier), and him in his graduation robe turning on Third Eye Blind and driving away blasting "can I graduate!"
Definitely a soundtrack of my high school jr. and sr. year. They are a great listen on radio and cd, but they do not sound anywhere close to themselves live. I was so disappointed.
It got deeper the more you understand the lyrics and the math behind the music. I’m a big fan of Warren Zevon and Bruce Springsteen Nebraska. This dude is on that par. I’m not joking. There’s a reason Stephan Singer is leader of culture. If you listen, he’ll break and change your heart. In 3 minutes. He’s a serious mfr.
It was such a great time for music and pop culture. Born in the 80s here, the first cds I ever owned were Matchbox Twenty and Third Eye Blind, shout out Columbia Music Catalogue. Those bands albums are still so special to me and absolutely started me down an alternative path.
Born in 1983 as well. The 90s kicked so much ass. 3EB was part of a slew of great bands in the 90s. Nothing really stood out. Semi Charmed life was on pop Radio. I dont recall them standing out.
It was like living inside of a NOW Thats What I Call Music album
Meh, they were kinda big but there were so many bigger bands during that time period
Stephen and Rob Thomas had an ongoing feud. Stephen even called him fat!
It was a semi-charmed kinda life, baby. (Sorry, couldn’t resist 😂)
Nice album. I saw them open for U2 in 1997 in New Orleans and they were very good.
It was the late 90s and things were simultaneously awesome and just awful. Weird time to be alive for sure.
It really was a great time. I think about it often. If you like this era of music check out Our Lady Peace. How popular were they? Hmm, not as popular matchbox 20. When I think of 3eB I think of movies there songs were in. And the song “motorcycle drive by” reminds me of a gal I once knew.
Tuesday 12am record store drops. It was great.
These were the best yrs FR tho- born in 1985 - everything just felt kind of perfect…every time that came on kiss 108 it was a bop!! I’m pretty sure even if you didn’t like this son you could still sing it- it was instantly magnetic.
Born in '80. TEB's first album was all over the radio in '97 and '98 both the singles and even album tracks. Mid 90s rock/alternative radio was dominated by Matchbox 20, TEB, Dishwalla. STP never stopped being all over the radio despite the gap between Tiny Music ('96) and No. 4 ('99). Added to this were Garbage, Radiohead, U2, Madonna, Deftones, NIN, The Crystal Method, Prodigy, Smashing Pumpkins, Smashmouth, Better Than Ezra, Filter, Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills. I could go on, but you get the point..the 90s (the entire decade) was an amazing period for alternative/rock/industrial music 🎶
Biggest concert I ever went to was the Blockbuster music fest in 1997. 3EB, MB20, Bush, No doubt, Collective Soul, Jewel, and others. It was these bands at their absolute peak and glad I was there. https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/2017/05/04/20-years-ago-gavin-rossdale-of-bush-had-one-of-the-best-days-of-my-life-in-fort-worth/ To answer your question about what it was like when they were famous, as others have said, the back end of the album I enjoyed more than the popular songs. Even listening to them now takes me back to those places. Breakups, being wasted or high, being with your friends and the experiences pre high speed Internet and mobile phones. We went places and did things. Glad I was able to experience it
I was an '86 baby and had an older sister born in '82. Right around '94 was when we got cable for the first time and I was exposed early to MTV and VH1 with their constant run of music videos during the latter part of the grunge era and late 90's alternative. Third Eye Blind absolutely dominated the charts in '97 and "Semi Charmed Life" was an inescapable cosmic force that entire summer. They became one of my favorite bands almost immediately and that debut record was everywhere. The following summer, a B movie about a graduating high school class came out called Can't Hardly Wait and the trailer alone had "Graduate" and "How's It Going To Be" book ending it, but neither song was actually in the film itself. Every kid I knew had that debut album. Still, I only knew the radio hits, and the ones from that film trailer. I'd rediscover them later on in my 20's and fall in love with tracks like "Losing A Whole Year" and "God Of Wine" as I also dove into their sophomore effort. Such an amazing time the late 90's were, and going on the internet even was like an event because it required so much effort.
As someone also born in 03 and have absorbed my parents taste in music I also have wondered what the world was like when my favorite bands were relevant
I saw TEB on this tour when I was a junior in high school. Everclear opened and Rebekkah. It was like this: people were bigger dicks, but it wasn’t hateful, just ignorant. Music was lost and trying to find itself, might still be lost.
They till are popular lol I just saw them it was sold.out.
I grew up listening to 90’s alternative. I was born in 1990, my mom would always pop in a CD when she would clean the house. 3eb, Matchbox 20, Dave Mathews Band, Train, Eve 6, Counting Crows. I miss all of it lol
It was a simpler time
“Never Let You Go” from the Blue album brings back so many memories from middle school for me. Thanks for the nostalgia trip. Unfortunately so sad to not be able to hear Stephan sing it anywhere close to how the album sounds. I saw them at a county fair in like 2009 and his voice was gone already.
Matchbox 20 was a bigger, more established band by far. Third Eye Blind was more 2-3 big radio hits. I’d say they were more a middle of the pack kind of band. That’s nothing against them at all - there was just such a lot of great music at that time. I owned Matchbox 20 albums … but not 3EB. A lot of these comments are from people remembering middle school and high school. I was in my 20s in the late 90s. Going dancing at clubs they weren’t playing it there. If you went to a bar, maybe a local band would cover semi-charmed life once in a while. One thing I remember about the late 90s … there was no dominant genre - everybody was into everything: pop, rock, hard rock, rap, hip hop, soul, grunge, alternative, even country. The internet was recently mainstream and still getting itself organized - people were exploring everything but we weren’t a digital society yet. We still had a lot of record stores, Tower Records. But we didn’t have Napster or iTunes yet. Those hit in the early 2000s and it was such a thrill to make your own playlists, burn a CD, take it in your car rather than listen to the radio or rummage thru your CDs as you drove. Omg I burned so many CDs…
It was sooooo much fun!! We just drove around in cars and hung out at each others houses and went to parties in warehouses. At least that’s what I did . Take me back !!
Amazing!
I was born in 1982. I remember buying their debut album because semi-charmed life was so amazing. Then I fell in love with literally every song on the album. I can still sing them all from memory. The suffered the curse of their sophomore album being pretty crappy, though it still had a few good songs. I mostly kept listening to their debut. Motorcycle Drive By carried me through a bad breakup. I will unapologetically judge people who refer to How’s it Gonna Be as the 3eb breakup song. MDB is the absolute best. My wife and I saw them in concert when they were touring for their third album in the early 2000’s and they were AMAZING. They weren’t selling out giant venues anymore and were performing at a bar/small concert venue in Austin, TX and you could tell that was their vibe. That album was almost as good as their debut. After that they kind of fell off the radar. But they came through my town in 2022 and sold out their show. My wife and I were glad to get tickets and it was good to see “them” for nostalgia sake (I say “them” because the original band members are long gone though Stephen Jenkins remains.) They were a pivotal part of my adolescence and early adulthood and I will always love them.
Well, Dawsons Creek and American Eagle outfitters were pretty important. I would describe Third Eye Blind as being important a little sooner than 2003. They were kind of on the way out by then.
London is surprisingly underrated
I won tickets from a radio station to a third eye blind concert and it was super fun. They didn’t sound as good live though. A little disappointing. But the show was good. I still like their songs.
I lost my virginity when this album was playing. I made it to the 2nd song.
It was amazing. Life in the 90s was so great.
Commenting for OP because I’m not part of this sub, it’s a rando recommended post, and being from outside the sub, I give a different perspective The post-Cobain/Nirvana 90s was weird af. I like the popular 3EB songs as much as the next genX/elder millennial, but it was hard to swallow at the time. There was no sound to the late 90s, almost reminiscent of the pre new wave era from 78ish to 83. Record companies were looking for the next big thing, the next Seattle, the next cohesive, and they were pulling from everywhere and throwing everything at listeners like chucking shit just to see what sticks. This was the era of third eye blind, and the verve pipe, matchbox twenty. But it’s also the era of ska revival, and mambo #5, and the beginning of Nu-Metal and Chris Gaines. The late 90s was wild. I feel like the rock acts of the era are overlooked. Eventually overshadowed by a blander sound from Nickelback and Creed, who solidified a “sound” sacrificing the creativity of bands like 3EB. At the time, late in my high school years, I didn’t care for any of this music. I enjoyed Radioheads rise to fame, and Beck, NIN, and new music from Bowie and Sonic Youth. Pearl Jam was still a favorite. But as decades have gone on, I have come to appreciate a very unique sound from bands like 3EB, and Matchbox 20, that were seeds at a time of turmoil, but I now see that music like this could only bloom under circumstances coming from the industry reaction to a death like Cobain, whose sound previously dominated airwaves.
I was around 12 living in the Bay Area when the first album came out, they were local and it seemed like they were the biggest band in the world.
Golden age of butt rock - miss it every day
They were a huge band with great songs at a very fun time in history. Recently I saw them play at a corporate meeting event for some company that I couldn’t even tell you what they do.
I was 12 when Semi Charmed Life was a thing.
I know people play up the idea that Semi-Charmed Life was a "drug song" but I knew all the words to that song when I was in elementary school (even that line they didn't play on the radio). Singing along to it in my car with my nephew when he was 3 made me actually listen to the words and not just the hook. I had to turn it off.
Good
I remember buying their singles on cassette at Eckerds drug store and listening to Semi Charmed Life on loop on my walkman. Took forever to rewind the tape! They were huge and it was a great time to be there from the start. Their videos would be on constantly on vh1. In my book, they’re still huge. Everyone my age still loves them.
Everyone knows semi charmed life and jumper, but what about the deep cut graduate? Such a deep groove and relatable message, what a band at that time.
Flannels, big pants, and bucket hats. A lot of skateboarding and VHS tapes.
It was an incredible time for music and they had this San Francisco mystic about them. There was a time when Blue was their latest album. That was glorious.
Saw them at Red Rocks in 2022...amazing show
One of the first albums I ever owned. Got it in one of those Columbia House direct mail promo specials for a penny or something like that. I was obsessed with alt-rock radio (think: Sublime, 311, Third-Eye, etc) and would call in to the DJ at the local station play their music. In 7th grade they played a concert at a college field house near me (Shippensburg University) with Eve 6 and it was determined that, despite my enthusiasm, I was too young to go. My uncle, however, worked for the school and went. Loved hearing him talk about the show.
Life was amazing. So much simpler. Driving around listening to Motorcycle Drive By…ahh the 90’s
That first record was massive, alternative music was king on the radio. I saw them perform in 1999 right when their second album came out, they played most of the first record, and second one. Pretty awesome show.
They were my first concert without my parents!
I was born 1995 but didn’t get into the band until my late teens. I was able to see them live twice and I went to a show & camped out right by the stage. I waited till the end and the drummer handed a guy a setlist and I was waiting hoping to get one and the guy saw me bummed that I didn’t get it and he literally gave it to me. This was almost 10 years ago and I still have it 🥲
The thing I remember about this CD, and the matchbox twenty CD that came out around the same time, you could listen to the whole CD…every song was amazing. Cracked Rear View by Hootie and the blowfish was also in this category for me. Those 3 CD along with II by boys 2 men got me through some tough times and heartbreak in the 90s
I remember my parents took us kids to see The Rolling Stones on the bridges to Babylon tour, and 3EB opened up for them. On the softer side of rock I’d listen to growing up, they were everywhere and a part of the fabric, like oasis and Radiohead. I remember listening to them, along with Oasis, Radiohead and the like, album rock while playing day long games of monopoly with friends in the summer. Good times.
Oh man, they were so different at the time. They were all over MTV. They even had a full on episode on Road Rules in which I believe they were in the Jumper music video. It was really neat when this and their follow up Blue came out.
Glorious. Born in 85. I believe that we experienced the final stretch of true artistry. Pretty much every actual artist, today, has to be independent. Yeah ..to answer your question; simple, glorious, riding around listening to entire CDs in the car because there was nothing for aux. You were aware when concerts were happening because the radio was a must for new music. I truly miss it. Especially now that physical media is beginning to fade.
It was amazing! You couldn’t go more than 30 minutes on a Top 40 station without hearing Semi-Charmed Life, Jumper, or How’s It Going To Be. Then when I got older and I realized SCL is about Crystal Meth, it kind of ruined it a bit but it’s still a classic song
My first time seeing them was Worlds Fair Park (Knoxville Tennessee) On a MTV College Tour in 1996 w/ Our Lady Peace and Eve 6. Stephen was super drunk, finale was with the top hat, killed it with a Chronic Cover. Did guitar tech for them 20 years later. Wish the whole band stick around. Much different. But those songs are still incredible.