Dead & Bloated – Stone Temple Pilots

If you’ve listened to a rock radio station, or streamed some sort of 90s rock radio on Spotify or Apple, chances are you have come across STP and probably this song. Best known for its jarring and blunt intro, vocalist Scott Weiland is actually singing into the pickup of a guitar to achieve the effect on his voice. (I couldn’t find the clip on YouTube, so the link goes to Facebook, but should be viewable even without an account) In live performances, Scott would sometimes utilize a megaphone to replicate the effect as well.

I used to ponder the lyrics of this song, wondering if I was missing some metaphor in the badass intro or something. It turns out, no, it just sounds really edgy and cool. Regarding the lyrics, Weiland said it “doesn’t really mean anything. It’s just stream-of-consciousness words. I mean, at the age of 21, 22, I didn’t have a whole lot of life experiences. So it’s more about the vibe, the angst and that kind of thing, as opposed to actual life experiences.” Scott Weiland unfortunately passed away in 2015, leaving only Eddie Vedder alive as the remaining vocalist of the grunge giants of the 90s.

Link to the song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCx_uiSdC_c

Link to the vid of Scott yelling at a Les Paul to achieve the vocal intro – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1009697876519892

Link to a live performance – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slvxKDKEJ6Q