Semi-Charmed Life
Encyclopedia
"Semi-Charmed Life" is Third Eye Blind
's first single off their self-titled debut album
, released in 1997. It was a major hit of the 1990s, reaching number four in the U.S.
, number one on the Modern Rock Tracks
and the Top 40 in the UK
. Furthermore, it has had a pervasive cultural impact, being featured in numerous movie soundtracks. VH1
has named the song as the 34th best song of the 1990s.
Beneath a catchy, upbeat melody, with rapidly spoken lyrics and references to popular culture, the song contains dark lyrics about a drug user's descent into crystal meth
addiction and his implied sexual activities while trying to "want something else."
The video features many scenes with motor scooters and a 1960 Chevrolet Impala filmed around San Francisco.
According to lead singer Stephan Jenkins
, the song was meant as a response to Lou Reed
's "Walk on the Wild Side" but from a San Francisco perspective. The style of the song reflects changes that were occurring in the San Francisco music scene, particularly a growing interest in hip-hop.
. Radio stations that chose not to edit the drug reference played the radio edit.
The music video also shortened the song, but in a different section. The song was cut to 2:41 from 3:09. The drug references were either intact or edited out of the video, depending on which television channel the video aired.
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...
's first single off their self-titled debut album
Third Eye Blind (album)
Third Eye Blind is the eponymous debut for the American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind, originally released on April 8, 1997. It spawned several singles, including top 10 charting "Semi-Charmed Life", "Jumper", and "How's It Going to Be"....
, released in 1997. It was a major hit of the 1990s, reaching number four in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, number one on the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
and the Top 40 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Furthermore, it has had a pervasive cultural impact, being featured in numerous movie soundtracks. VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
has named the song as the 34th best song of the 1990s.
Beneath a catchy, upbeat melody, with rapidly spoken lyrics and references to popular culture, the song contains dark lyrics about a drug user's descent into crystal meth
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
addiction and his implied sexual activities while trying to "want something else."
The video features many scenes with motor scooters and a 1960 Chevrolet Impala filmed around San Francisco.
According to lead singer Stephan Jenkins
Stephan Jenkins
Stephan Douglas Jenkins , is an American musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Third Eye Blind. Under Jenkins's leadership, Third Eye Blind has sold over eight million copies of four albums: Third Eye Blind , Blue , Out of the Vein , and Ursa Major...
, the song was meant as a response to Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's "Walk on the Wild Side" but from a San Francisco perspective. The style of the song reflects changes that were occurring in the San Francisco music scene, particularly a growing interest in hip-hop.
Demo
Several changes were made for the studio recording. In the demo version, Jenkins spoke during the verses as opposed to singing it. The chorus lyrics were originally "I want nothing else to get me through this…" as opposed to "I want something else to get me through this…" In the second verse, instead of "Doing crystal meth will lift you up until you break," the demo version went, "Crystal methylene will lift you up until you break." Finally, the reprise of the beginning of the second verse at the end of the song is omitted in the demo version.Radio edits
Released on the single were a "clean edit" and the "radio edit." Both edits cut to 2:20 from 3:07 on the album version. The differences between the two edits is that the clean edit has the words "crystal meth" censored through backmaskingBackmasking
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...
. Radio stations that chose not to edit the drug reference played the radio edit.
The music video also shortened the song, but in a different section. The song was cut to 2:41 from 3:09. The drug references were either intact or edited out of the video, depending on which television channel the video aired.
In other popular culture
- "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
included the song's chorus in the song "Polka Power!" on his album Running with ScissorsRunning with Scissors (album)Running with Scissors is the 10th studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 29, 1999. The album contains the hit single "The Saga Begins", a parody of Don McLean's song "American Pie".-Details:...
. - "Semi-Charmed Life" was featured in the 1998 film Dirty Work starring Norm MacdonaldNorm MacDonaldNorman Gene "Norm" Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years...
and Artie LangeArtie LangeArthur Steven "Artie" Lange, Jr. is an American actor, comedian and radio personality best known for his tenures with the The Howard Stern Show and the comedy sketch series MADtv....
. - The song was featured in the 1999 teen comedy American PieAmerican Pie (film)American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy film written by Adam Herz. American Pie was the directorial film debut of brothers Paul and Chris Weitz, and the first film in the American Pie film series...
, most notably in the final scene. - The song was featured in the initial scene of the 2006 film A Lot Like LoveA Lot Like LoveA Lot Like Love is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole. The screenplay by Colin Patrick Lynch focuses on two individuals whose relationship slowly evolves from lust to friendship to romance over the course of seven years...
. - The TV series Bill Nye the Science GuyBill Nye the Science GuyBill Nye the Science Guy is an educational television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998, hosted by Bill Nye and produced by Buena Vista Television. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations, making it the second first-run television...
did a parody of the song called Atoms in My Life. - The BYU comedy troupe Divine Comedy did a parody if the song called BYU Kind of Life.
- The song was on an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage WitchSabrina, the Teenage WitchSabrina the Teenage Witch is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a teenage fictional character named Sabrina Spellman. The character was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo. The comic's characters have also appeared in various other media...
. - The song was used in the U.S. trailer and commercials for the release of the New Line Cinema altered version of the Jackie ChanJackie ChanJackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
film Mr. Nice GuyMr. Nice Guy (1997 film)Mr Nice Guy is a 1997 Hong Kong martial arts action crime comedy film directed by Sammo Hung and starring Jackie Chan. It also stars Richard Norton as the villain, with whom Chan had worked in 1993 film City Hunter and Chan and Hung had worked in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. Hung makes a cameo as...
. - The song was used in the 1998 film Wild ThingsWild ThingsWild Things is a 1998 erotic thriller film starring Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Kevin Bacon, Denise Richards, Theresa Russell and Bill Murray. It was directed by John McNaughton. In some countries the film was released as Sex Crimes...
. - An excerpt of the song can be heard among the many sound samples used in the opening shot of the 1997 film ContactContact (film)Contact is a 1997 American science fiction drama film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both Sagan and wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film adaptation of Contact....
. - This song is featured in Guitar Hero: Van HalenGuitar Hero: Van HalenGuitar Hero: Van Halen is the third and final band-specific rhythm video game in the Guitar Hero series. As with the previous games Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica, the game features 25 songs from Van Halen along with 19 additional songs from selected artists that have been...
. It is a re-recording based on the radio edit. - Massachusetts' melodic-hardcore band Four Year StrongFour Year StrongFour Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson Massucco...
covered this song in their 90's tribute album, Explains It AllExplains It All-Notes:The end of the song, "Spiderwebs" is taken from the song, "This Love" by Pantera.-External links:*...
. - In DJ HeroDJ HeroDJ Hero is a music video game, developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a rhythm game spin-off of the Guitar Hero franchise. It was released on October 27, 2009 in North America and on October 29, 2009 in Europe...
, this song is mixed with the Jackson 5's "I Want You BackI Want You Back"I Want You Back" was released in 1969 and in early 1970s became a number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, along with a b-side cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents...
". The mix is playable in both DJ and DJ/Guitar formats. - Semi-Charmed Life was the name of a mission in Saints RowSaints RowSaints Row is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. It is the first title in the Saints Row series and is succeeded by Saints Row 2. A PlayStation 3 port was cancelled after protracted development time...
. - A similar recording to Guitar Hero: Van Halens edit was uploaded to the Rock Band NetworkRock Band NetworkThe Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2...
. - In 2011, the song was parodied by The FringemunksThe FringemunksThe Fringemunks are a music group created by Seattle musician David Wu in 2008 consisting of three "cloned" anthropomorphic chipmunks: Feebo, Notchy and Pie. They are known mostly for recapping all episodes of Fox television series Fringe with song parodies...
to recap FringeFringe (TV series)Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
episode 4.05, "Novation."
Peak positions
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
2 |
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30 Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie... |
3 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
33 |
| U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot 100 |
4 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
1 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 17 |
| End of year chart (1998) | Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 57 |