Californian natives, Stone Temple Pilots came charging into 1992 with an alt-rock heavyweight of a debut album titled Core, which, despite facing criticism from detractors for being derivative of grunge predecessors like Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, spawned a string of massive hits, including Sex Type Thing, Plush and Creep.
Like many bands, STP has had a tumultuous history – late singer Scott Weiland's struggles with drug addiction and legal issues are well documented – but they evolved at pace, introducing psychedelic and glam influences to their follow up albums like 1994’s Purple and 1996’s Tiny Music… Form the Vatican Gift Shop, which all produced career-defining hits and solidified their place in rock history.
STP has given us plenty of alt-rock classics, as impactful today as when they first arrived in the 90s. From a pick of many – here are six of the best!
1. ‘Plush'
Plush arrived in 1993 as the second single from their debut album Core, and truly put STP on the map by topping the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and giving the band their first number-one single. It also won them an MTV Music Award for Best New Artist in 1993 and the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1994.
2. ‘Interstate Love Song’
From their second album Purple in 1994, Interstate Love Song is one of STP’s biggest hits. From the chunky riff with Led Zeppelin-esque swagger to the song’s incredibly catchy chorus and, of course, Scott Weiland’s undeniable vocals, it’s a slice of alt-rock perfection. If you need confirmation – the song topped the Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 15 weeks in 1994!
3. ‘Vasoline’
Also arriving on Purple was the virulent rocker, Vasoline in which STP frontman Scott Weiland addresses his struggles with addiction. Weiland elaborated on the metaphorical lyrics in an appearance on VH1's Storytellers, saying the song evokes "feeling like an insect under a magnifying glass."
4. ‘Creep’
This grungy coming of age ballad from Core showcases Weiland’s stellar soaring vocal as ponders the million-dollar theme of the 90s, teenage angst.
5. ‘Sex Type Thing’
Another hit from Core, Sex Type Thing is a driving rocker with a dark subject matter. Weiland wrote the lyrics to speak out about date rape, but the first person perspective meant the message was often lost in translation. To make his point clear, Weiland would ofter slip on a dress and smear his face with lipstick before performing the song.
6. ‘Big Empty’
STP wrote Big Empty for the soundtrack to the supernatural cult classic The Crow in 1994 and liked it so much they decided to include it in the tracklisting to Purple soon after. A year before they released the song, the band recorded a moving unplugged version for MTV that was added to rotation in place of an official music video.
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