Saturday, December 5, 2015

Sad Type Thing - R.I.P. Scott Weiland

As a big-time fan of the 90's grunge and alternative scenes, I was saddened yesterday morning when I read that the frontman for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver was found dead on his tour bus at the age of 48.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots... that was the sound of rock radio for the decade twice previous.

I was sad, but not surprised.  Scott was never able to successfully control the demons that eventually lead him astray of both STP and Revolver.  Drugs are a hell of a thing and addiction is no laughing matter.

However, as it stands, we should honor the man for his artistic achievements and the profound affect he had on an entire generation of concert-goers with his charisma, good-looks and powerful voice.




For me, the band will always remind me of my college days.

It was in 2010 that STP initially reformed after a long hiatus.  At the time, I was just a long-haired college senior who had just inherited the keys and creative direction of the school's alt-rock radio station.  Their self-titled, return LP came across my desk along with many others that year.  It was a return to form that I absolutely ate up and it soon found itself in heavy rotation.

Thus, now whenever I hear Scott's voice, I'm instantly transported back to long summer days, when I was getting paid to listen to and approve new music, while kicking back and reading Billboard Magazine.  Yes, that was a PAID position.

So, thank you for that Mr. Weiland - your life had a profound affect on two generations of young ears.

I'll play you out with a few of my favorite cuts; first, the best song off of the aforementioned LP:




a show-stopping cover:




and my favorite, overall:




5 comments:

  1. Yeah, that was sad to hear. STP is well represented in my iTunes. His first solo album has some great songs too. Even that Scott Weiland & the Blasters album from earlier this year has several good ones. I saw a couple YouTube performance clips a while back where definitely wasn't doing well and it was grimly clear things weren't going to end well.

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  2. Waitaminute...did G just say Weiland and....the Blasters? The rockabilly outfit from back in the day? I gotta find that!

    Truly a sad thing when one of your rock heroes passes on. Just this same week Stones fans remembered the one year anniversary (is that what you call it?) of the passing of the Stones long time sax man, Bobby Keys.
    Who knows, maybe Bobby and Scott are jamming away up there together.

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    1. Oh yea, I remember that. That was already a year ago? Time flies by way too quickly. I don't know if they are; but I do know I would love to hear that,

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    2. Oops, sorry, the band was called Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts.. the album is called Blaster, hence my confusion; sorry to get anyone's rockabilly hopes up.

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  3. STP's first album was in the summer of the year between my junior and senior years of college. I got to see STP play here in Milwaukee at a 2000-person venue called The Tabernacle (an old Baptist Church in Downtown). They put on a great show.

    As you said, it was hardly surprising to hear that he had died. His drug problems were legion.

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