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AboveAverage484

"Interstate Love Song" is the last great American rock and r

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"Big Bang Baby" isn't even the best song on its own album.

 

What's crazy is that this isn't really so far fetched of a question. Consider the songs with ten weeks or more on the Billboard mainstream rock charts:

 

21 weeks

* "Loser" by 3 Doors Down (2000)

20 weeks

* "It's Been Awhile" by Staind in (2001)

18 weeks

* "Higher" by Creed in (1999)

17 weeks

* "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down in (2002-03)

16 weeks

* "Touch, Peel and Stand" by Days of the New in (1997)

15 weeks

* "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots in (1994)

* "Heavy" by Collective Soul in (1999)

14 weeks

* "So Far Away" by Staind in (2003)

* "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day in (2005)

13 weeks

* "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones (1981)

* "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback in (2001)

* "Figured You Out" by Nickelback in (2004)

* "Pain" by Three Days Grace in (2006-07)

12 weeks

* "Like a Stone" by Audioslave in (2003)

* "Save Me" by Shinedown in (2005)

* "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers in (2006)

11 weeks

* "Mysterious Ways" by U2 in (1991-92)

* "Remedy" by The Black Crowes in (1992)

* "Fall to Pieces" by Velvet Revolver in (2004)

10 weeks

* "Lightning Crashes" by Live in (1995)

* "Scar Tissue" by Red Hot Chili Peppers in (1999)

* "Blurry" by Puddle of Mudd in (2002)

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Aw, c'mon. The whole song sounds like something the Rolling Stones left on the cutting room floor - even the delivery of the chorus treads a little too closely to "Jumpin' Jack Flash." I can't see it eclipsing "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart" or even "Lady Picture Show", as far as Tiny Music... is concerned.

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I'm not to be trusted when it comes to Stone Temple Pilots. Purple came out when I was 13 and "Big Empty" was on the soundtrack of my favorite movie at the time (The Crow). They might as well be imprinted onto my musical DNA.

 

With that out of the way, I'd probably side with "Interstate Love Song" as their peak as well, with "Sex Type Thing" (rape threat notwithstanding) and "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart" as their best stuff. "Glide" is all right, but Weiland's brave foray into the expressive world of falsetto almost single-handedly kills that one. "No Way Out" is my personal pick from No. 4, even though it almost seems like the song loses its way about three quarters of the way through. Fucking sitars.

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I saw Stone Temple Pilots in concert years ago. Someone decked Weiland with a shoe and he threatened to stop the show. Earlier, the guy from Local H broke a string during their big hit song. Entertainment!

 

Yeah, and "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" has to be their best song.

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Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face

Aren't "Interstate Love Song" and "Plush" like practically the same?

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For comparison, when I was 13, I thought the following albums were masterpieces:

 

Truth and Soul

The Reality of My Surroundings

American Must be Destroyed

Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

 

I suppose you could argue that STP were simply better than Fishbone, Gwar and King's X, but I can't buy any argument in favor of any of them.

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I don't totally feel the love for Trippin on a Hole in a Paper Heart. It has a decent chorus to it but the guitar work and riff kinda suck. Lady Picture Show is the best song on that album. Seven Caged Tigers is a really good one off that album too.

 

That said, Purple is their best CD. I know some will pimp Core, but that album has about 4-5 songs that are basically filler or just mediocre. Purple has all sorts of great stuff from start to finish. I still remember buying that CD when it came out and took it to school the next day (which was the last day of school...just took a look on amazon and that CD came out June 7, 1994).

 

Purple however was not quite the CD for me in the Summer of 1994. That would be Offspring's "Smash." I played the hell out of that.

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I am completely unapologetic. Sure, I had a few Stone Temple Pilots albums. Yeah, I saw Bush and Veruca Salt in concert. But you know what? Fuck you.

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Interstate is too short, even though its a great song and I love it. It needed another verse and chorus, because as I am really grooving out to it, the song is over.

 

Trippin is a great song. Dean DeLeo put a lot of subtle intricacies in the song that you have to listen for, although if you see a live video of the song, you can see what he is doing.

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Only thing I really remember about that song is the video creeped the hell out of me as an 8 year old for some reason.

 

My only other memories of STP are from their somewhat unsuccessful comeback attempt later in the 90s.

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Aren't "Interstate Love Song" and "Plush" like practically the same?

 

There are a few similarities, sure. Both song have southern-tinged leads into the verse and there are some definite structural similarities. The tone of the music is different, though - the latter is a completely transparent stab at creating a big power ballad, whereas the former is a more straightaway rock tune. "Interstate Love Song" has some other temporal quirks as well (the "Reply" / "Goodbye" tailend of the verse, in particular).

 

For comparison, when I was 13, I thought the following albums were masterpieces:

 

Truth and Soul

The Reality of My Surroundings

American Must be Destroyed

Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

 

I suppose you could argue that STP were simply better than Fishbone, Gwar and King's X, but I can't buy any argument in favor of any of them.

 

Within the context of mainstream American rock, compare "Interstate Love Song" to what's come after it, which includes Creed, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Linkin Park, and the later career works of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think there's an argument to be made for the Foo Fighters in this context ("Everlong" and "All My Life" immediately come to mind), but "Interstate Love Song" starts to look like an appealing choice when you consider the deluge of nu metal and post-grunge anathema that followed it.

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I was tooting Soundgarden's horn in them days. Had no knowledge of anyone who could even tentatively be described as their peers. Still, we had Blur and Pulp so it's buttons to you, America.

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Within the context of mainstream American rock, compare "Interstate Love Song" to what's come after it, which includes Creed, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Linkin Park, and the later career works of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think there's an argument to be made for the Foo Fighters in this context ("Everlong" and "All My Life" immediately come to mind), but "Interstate Love Song" starts to look like an appealing choice when you consider the deluge of nu metal and post-grunge anathema that followed it.

Compared to their contemporaries, yes, STP were tolerable, but I don't think the purpose of the thread was to argue that a great American rock song could only be considered within the realm of popular rock radio.

 

I suppose the use of "American" may connotate something big, which, in turn, can be popular. Is that what you're thinking? That the use of "American" must mean it has to be a grand statement, and not simply a descriptor of the song's origin?

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I'm with the MiB, Kinetic, & co. on Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart.

Also, I seem to be one of the few respectable gentlemen in this day & age who like Audioslave.

 

That list MiB posted is depressing. Puddle of Mudd, Staind, 3 Doors Down, etc. are the kind of bands my high school dropout truck driver brother likes. I love the guy, but, ya know...

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Sure there are probably better songs off of lesser-known bands' albums, but as far as songs that received pretty substantial airplay, it's probably the last truly great one.

 

Apologies for the title, too, I must add.

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