Essential Stone Temple Pilots Songs
I've been a fan of the band for nearly as long as I've been into rock music. They weren't "grunge" or alternative, but somewhere in the middle, and I'm glad they're back and hitting the road (and also the recording studio) with a new singer. I was able to make a road trip to the St. Louis area to see them at the end of 2013 on their first tour with Chester Bennington fronting the band.
No. 4 was the first STP album I purchased as a fan. It was released shortly after I entered high school and began shopping for not just rock and roll albums but also rock and roll t-shirts. No. 4 was on the first that I wore proudly, though it was a bit too big for me. I've always wanted track down a better fitting shirt.
9. "Black Heart" (High Rise EP)
STP recently rebounded with a new singer- Linkin Park's Chester Bennington. The move to select Chester as their singer has been met with mixed reactions but I support it. Chester is a fan of the band and actually wants to be there, unlike the previous singer who spent the last decade bouncing between bands and causing problems. Their first single together, "Out Of Time", sounded a bit more like a Linkin Park left-over but "Black Heart" caught my attention instantly. It's classic STP and would feel at home on Purple.
8. "Army Ants" (Purple)
I could honestly rank this whole album as 1 through 10. Sorry, Core fans. I felt like I was compromising my list by including a song from Core since I can't stand to listen to that album for very long, even though all of those songs are the "hits" that everyone knows.
7. "Seven Caged Tigers" (Tiny Music)
A gem from the end of the Tiny Music album. This album, and song in particular, takes me back to my first job that I had at a swimming pool for the Peoria Park District. Towards the end of the summer each of the 4 or 5 pools would form a "team" from their staff and compete in a "lifeguard competition." One activity was to create a banner for your team theme and I can fondly recall laying on the cold concrete at a few nights in a row, painting this giant bed sheet in the garage while this album was cranked up.
6. "Days Of The Week" (Shangri-La Dee Da)
It's like a rock and roll version of The Cure's "Friday I'm In Love."
It's very guitar-driven but I actually like the bass the most of all, although when that solo kicks in, it is pretty wicked, for lack of a better description.
4. "Interstate Love Song" (Purple)
A song that leans very much in the direction of Southern Rock/country music, which they did later on with "I Got You" that was in an earlier spot on my list. That's what makes Purple my favorite album- the depth of the musical compositions, as it's a more mature album from the band. No 'sophomore slump' with STP.
While "I Got You" is a recent favorite that grew on me as I was listening to their music before the show I attended in late 2013, "Sour Girl" is a long-time favorite. I actually bought the album because of seeing the "No Way Out" video on MTV2, but "Sour Girl" is the reason the album still ranks highly.
2. "Lady Picture Show" (Tiny Music)
Scott Weiland seems to sound different from album to album. The music on Tiny Music leans a bit more towards psychedelic rock, so I assume his lower range wouldn't work as well, instead he almost sounds like he's sucking on helium on songs like "Pop's Love Suicide" and "Art School Girlfriend"; on "Lady Picture Show" he actually sings. But I like the song more for the chorus. I'm terrible at describing it but the flow is a start/stop sound.
Most people have songs that are their favorite songs for sentimental reasons or they cling to their inital introduction to the band. For me, this would be "Big Empty" from The Crow soundtrack. It served as a great introduction to bands like The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, STP, and also Rage Against the Machine. It's like a perfect, musical time capsule of the mid-1990's.
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