311 - Stereolithic

Out today, it's pretty good. I still haven't managed to tire of their upbeat reggae rock ridiculousness. They're getting more mature though; a lot of nice riffs and harmonised guitar solos on this one.

funny as I was on a grassroots kick a few weeks ago, I nay have to check this out.

that album cover is horrific though.

Yeah, they're rocking this weird hipstery psychedelia thing with their artwork lately; doesn't really match the music.

This one is an independent release, and with the same producer they had for Transistor, so it's pretty eclectic. It's a lot less poppy than the last one (which I must admit I quite liked).

I stopped being interested in them right before Transistor came out, but I later came to appreciate that album quite a bit. After that though I completely lost interest. They just had a string of completely uninteresting singles, including their useless cover of The Cure's "Love Song". Overall they just went the way of RHCP, Incubus, etc.

This album is definitely the best of the newer stuff they've made. But yeah not bad stuff overall.

I quite like how they've largely abandoned the record scratching—not that it was particularly offensive in their old albums, but hey it's good that they moved on from that trend.

There are some catchy as fuck hooks on this album! They've always been pretty good at that though.

311 still exists?

311's got the boom gmanyo

  On 3/11/2014 at 6:46 PM, sidewinder said:

They just had a string of completely uninteresting singles, including their useless cover of The Cure's "Love Song".

Few covers still piss me off and that's one of the few.

311 has kind of a jam band vibe to them, I've always come across a few huge fans who talk of their super long concerts. I think "Amber" is a great pop song, that's from 2001 if I recall correctly.

Between Modey's thumbs up and a good allmusic.com review, I'm going to check this out.

Mandatory post for cheap lols:

(for the record I actually like the original a lot, I can't deny it)

I mean, I'm not ashamed too that I was Sugar Ray. If "Someday" comes on the radio, I do not hesitate to turn that up.

I'm not sure I understand the jam band comparison, though I've never seen them live (they seem to have something against coming to australia) and haven't really listened to anything before the blue album. Not that there's anything wrong with getting jammy though!

  On 3/14/2014 at 5:36 AM, modey said:

I'm not sure I understand the jam band comparison, though I've never seen them live (they seem to have something against coming to australia) and haven't really listened to anything before the blue album. Not that there's anything wrong with getting jammy though!

I'm thinking of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/311_(band)#311_Day

Any 311 fan I've met really geeks out over their live music the same way a lot of Phish and String Cheese Incident fans do. It's not a bad thing at all.

They're certainly not a jam band but they appeal to a fan base similar to that of Dave Matthews Band. That wasn't always the case, but it has been for the last decade or so.

I saw them live with Cypress Hill headlining on the Temples of Boom tour in 95, so 311 was touring the blue album. Pharcyde opened but I got there too late.

Wow really? I just always assumed Dave Matthews Band was just shitty inoffensive MOR stuff. I've heard comparisons to Sublime too, who I thought also fell under that style. I can understand how some of 311's more mellow stuff can be associated with that, but they have that whole other side with punk/metal riffs and the big dreamy/buzzy Nick Hexum songs that kinda throws that comparison out the window, imo. I think that side (cf. songs like Eons or Beyond The Grey Sky) is what drew me to keep liking them beyond my original interest as a nu-metal/rap-rock teen, haha.

I wasn't saying their music sounds like DMB. Jam band was mentioned and I was saying it has more to do with the atmosphere they tend to be associated with, like with DMB. They are not a jam band either.

This whole thing is confusing now. Jam band should never have been mentioned. They have more in common with Incubus and Sublime.

Ah, gotcha!

when they came out, they did have a jammy feel... that snare sound, the clean guitar leads and a lyric or two about weed and the grateful dead. they certainly crossed a lot of genres and a lot if my phish/dead friends in the mid/late 90s dug what 311 were doing. they certainly weren't a jamband but appealed to fans though.

Kinda surprised at all the 311 love on WATMM...

That said, I have always begrudgingly liked "Amber."

I just remember being really impressed seeing them perform on a saturday morning variety show when I was 14 or so, so they're kinda a nostalgia thing for me.

I didn't realize 311 is still around! Might have to check this out.

still loving this album btw