Third Eye Blind

San Francisco–based Third Eye Blind is responsible for one of the few truly undeniable rock singles of the late '90s, the sardonic "Semi-Charmed Life." Released in the summer of 1997, the song balances blaring power chords against a mindlessly catchy wordless vocal refrain, and hit the top of the Modern Rock radio charts as well as #11 on the Billboard 100 singles chart. The band parlayed its "Semi-Charmed" success into several other singles -- the punkish "Graduate" and the more sedate, melodic "How It's Gonna Be." Third Eye Blind returned in 1999 with the competent, less-inspired Blue, an album that is notable for its attempts at re-creating the giddy earlier magic. "An Ode to Maybe" appropriates the "Semi-Charmed" vocal hook, while other tracks reveal Stephan Jenkins' affinity for borrowing melodies and chord sequences from new-wave hits. Only one song from the second album, "I'll Never Let You Go," had a (brief) life on the charts. Guitarist/songwriter Kevin Cadogan departs before Out of the Vein, leaving Jenkins as the driving musical force. He guides Third Eye Blind into utterly ordinary modern-rock-anthem territory, and though several songs have the fervent air of earlier works ("My Hit and Run," "Blinded"), they lack the undeniably alluring, incandescent hooks of the band's previous work. (TOM MOON)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide