1/12/2024 0 Comments 311 transistorKey track: "Down," the band's first big single, which sounds like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as played by a sentient bottle of Surge soda. Admit it: You've still got this in the secret CD wallet you keep in your car, and rap along to "Jackolantern's Weather" when you think no one is looking. Where Transistor challenged even longtime fans, the self-titled album is peak 311, capturing the band at its chillest ("All Mixed Up"), broest ("Hive"), cringiest ("Guns ") and catchiest ("Don't Stay Home"). PETE COTTELL.Īrriving in the direct aftermath of grunge, when the alt-rock airwaves were fiending for some posi-vibes to help wean itself off all the heroin dirges, the '90s' other Blue Album is where Omaha's chillest bros achieved their idealized form. Key track: "Use of Time," the album's contemplative centerpiece, which pivots between the band's signature reggae-lite sound and an impressive facsimile of Dark Side-era Pink Floyd. All of 311's muscles are flexed across Transistor's 21 tracks, from the tenacious punk-funk energy of "What Was I Thinking" and "Electricity" to the ambling psych reggae of "Inner Light Spectrum" and "Running." Even the haters can't deny that "Stealing Happy Hours" is a sleeper hit, now regarded as one of the band's best, thanks to heavy rotation toward the end of 311's marathon live sets. Aside from lead single "Beautiful Disaster," which adequately satisfied the thirst of alt-rock radio programmers, the rest of the record is basically one stellar deep cut after the next. So, in honor of 311 Day, we decided to dive into their discography, to figure out what's worth revisiting and what you should feel justified in avoiding.Ĭritics and new fans alike initially hated Transistor for its noodly ambition and failure to keep the party going after "Down" lit up the radio, but this sprawling, 64-minute epic has revealed itself over time to be 311's OK Computer. But any artist with that much staying power shouldn't be shrugged off so easily. Music snobs long ago dismissed 311 as a silly frat phenomenon.
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