Album Rating: 5.0
I still stand by my statements. By defining I don't necessarily mean "The Best", they just encapsulate a lot of the music and vibes from the 90's most efficiently in my mind. Between all the genres of grunge, pop punk, post grunge, hell even boy bands they took a little from each even gave it their own take.
So to define 90's alt rock, I think 3EB has the perfect balance of everything, even just watch the music video for Semi Charmed Life.
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Album Rating: 5.0
I think people misunderstand me when I make statements like a band or song defining an era. I think to be a staple song/band/image of a time an place, it doesn't need to be the best, it's just the most succinct sample of a greater selection of music, clothing, images, feelings, ideas.
For instance, I think Green Days American Idiot is the record that defined the 2000's. Was it the best record of the 2000's. FUCK NO. But in one record, they encapsulated so many of the sounds, images and ideas that defined the decade. Pop punk was and emo was on the upswing, following 04's American Idiot bands like MCR, Taking Back Sunday, Fallout Boy, Hawthorne Heights and others exploded onto the scene. Even a lot of those bands emulated the glam feel, donning themselves in mascara and makeup and reserving their clothes to be black or red like goths. And what was the record about, it was political, anti bush, anti war, arguably most stand out events of the decade following 9-11. American Idiot is far from the perfect record, but if someone didn't know what the 00's was like, I'd hand them that record.
Now to compare that with 3EB. Sure, there was grunge, boy bands, hip hop clashes, etc, but I do think 3EB in a sense sums up the decade quite efficiently. Look again at the song and music video for Semi Charmed Life. It was the 90's, for the most part people weren't depressed or angsty wearing jeans and flannel, or popping caps in gang rivals. For the most part the 90's were upbeat, positive, the stock market was up, the unemployment rate was low, and even our President got a bj in the oval office, from an intern no less. Sonically I think Semi Charmed Life perfectly sounds like the positive nature of the 90's, but there's a catch. With all this positivity adults still found depression. You can pay for the kids school and own a new home and still think life's a pile of shit, fuck sake that's what American Beauty is about, and the song again reiterates a lot of the tones and moods of the 90's: we're successful, we should be happy, but we're not. And even aesthetically , 3EB blends a lot of the fashion trends of pop culture into their look, I'd say streaming some of the music videos and live performances they are the poster boys for a lot of the 90's looks, better than just jeans and flannel.
I could expound on this some more, but yea, they were far from perfect or "the best" in terms of 90's rock music, but if someone I knew wanted to know what the 90's was about in general, not just one trend or gimmick, I'd be hard pressed to find a better example that should top the bill.
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