It all began with an interracial rap group called Puck & Natty. One half of this group was Berkley graduate Stephan Jenkins. Together, this duo's fifteen minutes of fame came on the 90210 soundtack, which gave Jenkins enough to buy groceries. The group eventually split, and Jenkins was on his way. Soon Arion salazar crossed his path, and on his heels was guitarist Kevin Cadogen. Once Brad Hargraves signed on, Third Eye Blind was born. Jenkins bought out his former partner, and claimed rights to the beginning of a catchy tune that would soon stick in all of our heads. "Do do doo, do do do doo, do do doo, do do do doo," became "Semi-charmed Life", and launched this band right into the hands of Elektra Records. The group signed on, and began recording their debut album, which Jenkins produced himself. In 1997,the album was released and went on to sell four million copies. Third Eye Blind's debut album contains an amazing combination of poetic lyrics and edgy music that make it an experience for the listener. The song,"Semi-charmed Life", may have started it all, but it soon became controversial. It was said to be, "A little ditty about Crystal Meth and oral sex."(Durchholz 1). These opinions did not stop millions of people around the world from eating up the groups next single, "How's it gonna be," a tune with a guitar solo that sent chills up my spine. Next came another catchy hit,"Losing a whole year", followed by "Jumper", a song about suicide. This song became the perfect background for PSA's. Maybe, afterall, there was more to this band than sex and drugs. This album has a bit of each of the necessary elements to becoming a hit. In fact, it has much more. Lyrically, it would take a Lit grad, such as Jenkins himself, to decipher the meanings of his words. Jenkins puts things in a different context rather than the traditional "I love you", "I hate you" lyrics filling up the airwaves. Rather than simply saying "I ...
