It's been 20 years since Third Eye Blind released its self-titled debut album, and the band is celebrating by giving us a time-warp to every alternative kid's bedroom in 1997—complete with one of those Mandala wall tapestries and a half-eaten pizza.The website opens with a throwback to AOL Instant Messenger. Stephan Jenkins, is that you? "Now, 20 years later, we're bringing it back to you," the band writes. "This is for you." And whoops, I'm crying.
The interactive bedroom on the site is a time-warp to 1997, complete with a Nintendo 64, a record player, a bulky wireless phone, and one of those giant CD-sleeve binders that you could whip out and flip through to impress your crush. The only thing ruining the illusion is that the site isn't built in Flash, which was released a year earlier.At least 17 parts of the room are interactive, with various songs or pop-ups appearing from each. The CD case and speaker both open a Spotify widget for the 20th anniversary album of Third Eye Blind and the eight extra tracks alluded to in the intro. A poster brings up the band's upcoming tour dates. I feel personally targeted by all of it, even the multi-colored retractable pen on the desk by the ancient desktop computer.Clicking around the room, one wonders if we can ever put the past away. I wish I could get back there, someplace back there.