10. “Dead & Bloated” (from Core, 1992)
Trendmongering 1992 debut Core was Stone Temple Pilots’ biggest album, but despite its thick selection of rightful rock radio standards, it wasn’t close to their best. Still, the album’s knuckle-dragging opener was always a highlight of STP’s live shows, Weiland hollering through a megaphone and preening like a sloshed demigod as his bandmates piled on the sludge.
9. “Sour Girl” (from No. 4, 1999)
“Sour Girl” was the only STP song to ever crack Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart, which makes sense: It’s the band’s most conventionally pretty hit, and they got Cruel Intentions-era Sarah Michelle Gellar to be in the video. The midtempo ballad about the end of Weiland’s first marriage is impressive on its own terms, but even more so for demonstrating that STP’s basic hard-rock tropes worked just as well when toned down to a soft-rock dynamic.
8. “Vasoline” (from Purple, 1994)
A song built for shimmying, “Vasoline” harnessed the power of repetition through a simple hammer-on riff and an intense staccato chorus. The basic ingredients are almost rudimentary, but they sound far from amateurish thanks to the instrumentalists’ impeccable skills and Weiland’s elemental charisma. Kretz deserves a special shout-out for nailing the shifts between skipping, stuttering verses and those breathless ballistic refrains.
7. “Days Of The Week” (from Shangri-LA DEE DA, 2001)
One dimension of STP’s repertoire that never got much play was their knack for exquisite little power-pop gems like “Days Of The Week.” Although the predominant image of the band involves a shirtless Weiland doing his best Jagger/Bowie/Iggy/Rollins impression while the band roars behind him, they were just as adept at channeling the Beatles and Big Star. Released on the historically ignored Shangri-LA DEE DA at the peak of nü-metal as STP’s career was stalling out, “Days Of The Week” was always destined for obscurity, but in another era it might have been as huge as it deserves to be.
6. “Lady Picture Show” (from Tiny Music… Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop, 1996)
Speaking of Beatles-inspired STP songs: “Lady Picture Show” glides with a grace most pop songwriters can only grasp at. It’s one of those songs that feels simple and effortless despite its meticulous construction, a feat best exemplified by Robert DeLeo’s all-star bass parts. The guy always had a faultless intuition for when to play it straight and when to pepper STP’s songs with clever low-end flourishes. Like Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood, his playing is never intrusive, but you almost always end up humming his parts.
5. “Pruno” (from No. 4, 1999)
STP were always masters of the churn. So many songs in their catalog combine guitar, bass, and drums into this gnarly undertow for Weiland to swirl around in. “Pruno” is one of the finest examples of its kind, an absolute crusher that shows off so many of this band’s strengths. The rhythm section interlocks with that crunchy blooz-rock riff in just the right way to accentuate its power, then Dean DeLeo shimmers into the background on the verses to let deeply musical drum and bass parts take the lead. As with so many of the best STP songs, it feels like a building in a constant state of collapse and reconstruction. And atop the controlled chaos, there’s Weiland delivering elegant (ahem) falsetto, bellowing heartily, and belting out one of the most wildly infectious hooks of his career.
4. “Big Bang Baby” (from Tiny Music… Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop, 1996)
An undeniable “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” ripoff — and an undeniably great “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” ripoff. As Weiland mumbles one of his most memorable vocal melodies, a buzzsaw power-chord riff snakes through the handclaps like fire burning through a fuse. When the explosion hits, good luck keeping yourself from grooving like Weiland, especially once the chorus branches out into that euphorically chiming “Nothing’s for free!” bridge. By the time it’s all over, they’re bashing out that initial riff with amps to 11 and Weiland is howling about a hole in your head where the birds can sing along and it’s the most exhilarating nonsense you can imagine.
3. “Down” (from No. 4, 1999)
The heaviest, rawest, most brutal song in STP’s arsenal, and — considering the person asking, “Will you follow me down?” — one of the most terrifying. This thing feels like a pile of bricks landing on you for four minutes straight, but you come out the other side feeling like a superhero.
2. “Interstate Love Song” (from Purple, 1994)
Besides one of the most memorable guitar riffs this side of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” — a wiry cascade that splashes into a wide-open chord progression like a cliff diver plunging into the ocean — Purple’s easy-riding highway anthem boasts STP’s most irresistible groove, nimble yet unobtrusive bass work, and some of Weiland’s most resonant lyrics. It’s a tune about literally moving on from someone who broke your heart, trying to escape heartbreak by hopping in a vehicle and getting as far away as possible. Yet from the beginning, “Interstate Love Song” felt like home.
1. “Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Hear” (from Tiny Music… Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop, 1996)
Like the rest of Tiny Music, “Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart” actually sounds like it’s made out of paper. There’s a weird brittle quality to the music that makes that album feel decades older than it really is. Yet the almost lo-fi sound does nothing to diminish the album’s power, especially on this song, its climax and crown jewel. Nothing else in STP’s catalog speeds along at such a brisk pace, with such a furious sense of purpose and regret. The verses practically boogie, so it’s a shock when the air-raid siren guitars show up, the minor-key chorus sets in, and Weiland tears into some of his most anguished outbursts on record. Here he grapples honestly with his bad reputation, his heroin addiction, his selfish behavior, and the all-too-real prospect of an early death. Never before or after did the chaos of Weiland’s real life seep into his rock-star posturing with such electricity. It always struck me as a gripping ellipsis; from now on, it will be something else.
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