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.
