Thursday, March 25, 2010

STP Couldn't Be Bothered to Record New Album Together


Once upon a time, Stone Temple Pilots were one of the first bands I rattled off when asked who some of my favorites were. Even after they released a couple of albums I could have cared less about, including the clunker Shangri La De Da, I still stood by a band I loved.
After they split off, Weiland becoming part of the mildly successful Velvet Revolver, and the DeLeos becoming part of the not-nearly-as-successful Army of Anyone; I still remained a fan.
I was cautiously optimistic at the thought of new music from a band I've loved for more than half of my life. Their new self-titled album is set to be released on a date that has personal meaning to me. May 25th is the date I was hired to be on-air at 93 Rock. That same night, I went to see Scott Weiland perform in Velvet Revolver.
Tonight I read about the making of this new record, and I was disappointed to say the least. Bassist Robert DeLeo has been quoted in an interview as saying all of the rest of the members of STP gathered without Scott to make music, while somewhere across the country, he was recording vocals. DeLeo attempts to put a positive spin on this concept by insisting: "...it's a great achievement being able to write and produce and do this record the way we did. I'm very, very proud of that."
Really? You're very proud of the fact that your band can't collectively get its shit together to make a record? You know, one of the most basic functions of being a member of a band? His quote may as well have read: "We can't stand to even be in the same room as Scott Weiland, but we'd like to prey on the loyalty of people that have been loyal fans of our band for the last fifteen years. So we thought we'd just phone this one in, and hope no one notices the difference"
Am I crazy here? Am I going off on an insane tangent, or does this not irritate anyone else?

7 comments:

  1. This represents the truth behind ANY reunion, I think... just preying on loyal fans. I wouldn't be surprised if more "reunions" start following this trend. Seriously lame.

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  2. Did Kretz record his drumbeats and solos and send them off to be copied and pasted on this album too?! I don't know man.. used to be a fan but I'm not sure what the future holds for them! Check this out, fast forward to 1:17 haha.. of course it's during one of my favorite songs by them and mostly due to The Crow :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iESTuN-IrUc&feature=player_embedded

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  3. I think your article is great and you have every right to feel the way that you do! It's a shame that band members seem to despise each other and try to release some crappy music and think no one notices that they don't get along...people are more intuitive than that!

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  4. Yeah, Heather, I agree with you...but don't insult my intelligence, ya know? If you're just gonna fake your way through it, why should I respect you? Buy your music? See you play? Eff that nonsense.

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  5. they weren't in that photo together either, its photo-shopped.

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  6. i read this in rolling stone last week and i also thought it was pretty lame. But sadly this is how some bands do things these days and its kind of a double edged sword. On one side the technology is advanced enough that 4 guys can record a song at the same time and dont even have to be in the same country, allowing for family time, side project time, drug time, whatever... on the other side of this how does this effect the creative process, not all being in the same room bashing out the music and sharing ideas face to face? Scott is a great singer and a brilliant frontman, but suffers from what the Van Halen Brothers call LSD (lead singer disease) where they feel that they are the band and that without them the band is nothing. And this usually ends in one of two ways, either you ruin all your credibility and run you and your bands name into the ground (like Axl) or humbly crawl back to where you started and actually attempt to make some damn music (like dlr) the only time they actually have to interact is on stage and some people choose to do just that,in the end it all boils down to a paycheck, which is bullshit...

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  7. Spano: I hadn't even noticed. Even more sad.
    TG: Well said, thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

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