27September
Third Eye Blind was a four-piece band from St. Francisville, and was the nominal opening act for Oasis when they came to town in April 1996. As usual, Oasis were tedious and boring, but their support act were brilliant, taking the end-of-concert encore instead of the nominal headliners.
Later that year, the group signed to Elektra records, and released their first album in 1997. On its surface, Semi Charmed Life
was a bouncy pop album; dig a little deeper and it reveals its themes of melancholia and a lack of control. For instance, the title track (music and lyrics: Stephan Jenkins) is about a drug user and their sexual activities, and perhaps their wish for continued thrills.
As far as the UK was concerned, this was it for the Blind. The group mined four more radio hits from their debut album, and another four from 1999's Blue
. Their 2003 album Out of the Vein
was lost in the wash as Elektra merged into Atlantic, and a contract-ending compilation double album, A Collection
was released in 2006; this last work has not received a UK release. Liner notes for this compilation confirmed that Semi charmed life
really was a response to Lou Reed's Walk on the wild side
.
