Blue-Eye Soul

12/17/1999 4:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Wendy Hermanson

It doesn't matter what critics think of them. It doesn't matter what your snot-nosed Limp Bizkit-lovin' little brother or the übercool club kid down the hall thinks of them. In all honesty, it doesn't really matter what you think of them. Third Eye Blind are a band that debuted with a nuclear blast, and like all forces of such magnitude, it's their show to command.

3EB's initial effort seemed just another entry in the pop-rock category upon its release, along with a host of other catchy new bands like Matchbox 20 and Everclear. However, a closer listen to the first single, "Semi-Charmed Life," revealed wickedly clever lyrics that ultimately became a litmus test for the "coolness" of local radio. The edgier stations left the lines "Doing crystal meth will lift you up until you break" and "Those little red panties, they pass the test" intact, while tamer portals used an edited version. However, the opening verse, which sing-songed, "She comes 'round and she goes down on me," made the cut everywhere. Clearly, this was not your average pop tune.

Third Eye Blind went on to spawn an amazing five singles, a feat nearly unheard of for a debut. As with most popular records, the critics were quick to sneer. Still, all the critical panning in the world couldn't mask the album's undeniable smart touches, such as the soaring metal guitar licks sneaked into "Graduate" or the falsetto chorus of "Losing A Whole Year." It had no effect on 3EB's sales, either: the debut went on to sell over four times platinum.

"The connection that we have to our fans and our public is very direct, it's not filtered through the hyperbole of the media," says 3EB singer-lyricist Stephan Jenkins. "We're not a media band. I have no intention of being a media band. I see a lot of artists who make this whole career of talking about themselves, and the hype and the stuff supercedes the music. We are a band that comes very much directly from the music first, and we have no intention of changing that at all."

Two years after its phenomenal debut, 3EB have returned with the release of Blue, a sophomore effort that is no doubt weighted under the expectations of its preceding smash hit-maker. Jenkins is nonchalant about the inevitable pressure placed on the band. "We were on tour for two years and came out of it deeply confused for about six weeks, and then we went in and made a record," he shrugs. "We went in and experimented, and made a record under the same terms that we made the first record, which was the definition of what was working was exciting to us.

"My approach in producing the record was to try and capture the way it feels to be at a Third Eye Blind show," Jenkins adds, noting that 3EB played nearly 400 gigs in the past two years. "The concert experience is what I was interested in. I think we got a lot of juice in us and a lot to get out. So we wanted to get the ass-whooping frenzy aspect of Third Eye Blind."

Blue, a record which smacks far more of straightforward rock than its poppy predecessor, is being received well, according to Jenkins. "The response that I've got from the record this year has been shockingly good. I just can't believe it," he says. "When we put out the first album, I thought it was going to be a critics' record...I thought it was going to sell 300,000 copies and we were going to be sort of a Radiohead sort of band. Beloved by the few and unknown to the many. And it didn't work out that way." To say the least. Jenkins smiles wryly. "It's my life's work and I have put it out there for you, the intelligentsia, to judge," he drawls.

On a serious note, he is quick to acknowledge that Blue is a totally different record from 3EB. "I think that there are bands where a whole industry has been set up to copy their hit. And you listen back to the record and there are other complete frauds. They become karaoke artists of themselves. That is no way to sustain a career. We had three songs on the last record that were really big radio hit singles. I think it's safe to say that there are no songs on the new album that emulates any of those three songs. We already made those songs. The basic impulse for Third Eye Blind is to do things that are exciting to us, and repetition is not that exciting."

One song that is already causing controversy is "Slow Motion," a tune which was pulled from the record due to its lyrical content--a narrative about a kid who shoots his English teacher's son. In the light of 1999's Columbine tragedy, the song became a potential liability in the eyes of 3EB's record label. Jenkins insists that the song is not meant to incite violence--quite the opposite. "It was written about three-and-a-half years ago. Its statement is that we as a culture of consumers glamorize violence and suffering," he emphasizes.

Fans who wish to hear the song can still get their hands on a copy, however, since 3EB are planning to self-release an album containing the track. "In the wake of post-Columbine headlines, the label thought that the message of the song would get misconstrued, and that this would be the overriding focus of the album," Jenkins explains. "So the offer was that we could put this out ourselves on our own label on a sort of an independent distribution deal. Sometime next year, people can look forward to another eight-song album of new songs that is going to have the song 'Slow Motion' as it was intended to be heard.

"We're not a preachy band. We believe that people can think for themselves," Jenkins adds. "I believe you can address issues like gun violence, suicide, or sexual assault without being preachy, without underestimating the intelligence of the audience, and without being de-fanged." That said, "I strongly believe in gun control," he states emphatically. "Charlton Heston can kiss my ass."

It's clear that Jenkins is all about focusing on the music. When asked what he thinks of celebrity girlfriends (actress Charlize Theron is his main squeeze), Jenkins responds blandly with, "Depends on the celebrity girlfriend." When asked if he considers himself a rock star, he says sarcastically, "[What's] rock star behavior? You mean like a big line of coke between a slender 15-year-old's thighs? That kind of thing?"

No, Jenkins takes himself and his band seriously. "I think oftentimes when you meet us that we're not the bottle-smashing bastards that you thought we might be," he laughs. "A band that I would emulate would be the Clash, because musically they kept changing and doing things differently--but it always sounded like the Clash. And I think this is sort of tacit understanding of our band that we will always change musically and move and shift and grow, but hopefully hold on to some inner feeling that we are Third Eye Blind."