Plush (song)
1993 single by Stone Temple Pilots From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Plush" is a song by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, released in August 1993 as the second single from their debut album, Core. It became their first single to top the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, and went on to become that listing's number-one song of 1993. The song remains one of the band's most recognizable and biggest hits, with even an acoustic version doing well on radio.[2]
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| "Plush" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
UK and European sleeve cover | ||||
| Single by Stone Temple Pilots | ||||
| from the album Core | ||||
| B-side | "Sin" | |||
| Released | August 23, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | May 1992[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Brendan O'Brien | |||
| Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Plush" on YouTube | ||||
Composition and inspiration
"Plush" is a grunge,[3] alternative rock[4] and hard rock song,[5] combining a country riff and ragtime chords from Robert DeLeo's guitar exercises.[6] Written in a hot tub at the Oakwood Apartments, its lyrics were loosely based on a newspaper article lead singer Scott Weiland had read. In the early 90s, a girl had been found dead after being kidnapped in the band’s hometown of San Diego.[7] Weiland adds, during an episode of VH1 Storytellers, that:
"However, this song is not about that, really; it's sort of a metaphor for a lost, obsessive relationship."[2]
A third meaning of the song, Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz talking about the future and what’s going to happen with the women in their lives, is mentioned by Dean DeLeo in an interview with MusicRadar.[8] The name "Plush" was chosen by Weiland, who was trying to get textures in with words and his thoughts. Early on, it was thrown around for an album title by the band.[6]
Release
The band didn't know "Plush" was going to be a big song, but knew it would get attention, as did Atlantic Records, who suggested it as Core's first single. Not wanting to be a one-hit wonder, it was instead released as the album's second single. The song became a major rock radio hit in the United States, peaking at number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart and number nine on the Modern Rock Tracks chart; on the former listing, it was the most successful song of 1993. "Plush" won in the category of "Best Hard Rock Performance" at the 1994 Grammy Awards. The music video also earned the band an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 1993. The song was also voted number 12 on the Australian annual music poll Triple J Hottest 100 in 1993. According to Nielsen Music's year-end report for 2019, "Plush" was the fourth most-played song of the decade on mainstream rock radio, with 133,000 spins.[9]
Critical reception
"Plush" received mixed-to-negative reviews on release, with critics noting a lack of originality. Rolling Stone's Daina Darzin called the song "embarrassingly Pearl Jam-like."[10] The Atlantic reader GillianAndersonCooper commented that "Weiland was doing an Eddie Vedder impression."[11] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, while critical of other songs on Core, labeled it "a majestic album rock revival more melodic and stylish than anything grunge produced outside of Nirvana itself."[12] In recent years, "Plush", and the band in-general, is seen more positively. It was ranked #19 on Paste's list of "The 50 Best Grunge Songs", who declared the song "one of the movement’s most significant contributions." [3] Top 40 Weekly placed the song #42 on their "50 Best Hard Rock Songs of All Time" list, praising Scott Weiland’s "intense, emotive vocals" and Dean DeLeo's "gritty guitar work."[5]
Music video
The award-winning music video, directed by Josh Taft, was released in 1993 and had heavy rotation on MTV. It combines a visual interpretation of the song's lyrics with footage of Weiland singing with the band as a lounge act in an empty bar. There are two different versions of this video, with minor differences. On the Thank You bonus DVD, the last shot of the video features a woman looking at a mirror image of herself viewing her whole body while the mirror image drifts away. In another version, she is looking at a mirror image of her face, with water (possibly rain) dripping down the reflection of the mirror.[citation needed]
Acoustic version
Summarize
Perspective
| "Plush (Acoustic)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Stone Temple Pilots | ||||
| from the album Thank You | ||||
| Released | October 14, 2003[13] | |||
| Recorded | 1992 | |||
| Studio | MTV Headbangers Ball | |||
| Genre | Acoustic rock | |||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Plush (Acoustic)" on YouTube | ||||
Weiland and guitarist Dean DeLeo performed an impromptu acoustic version of "Plush" on the MTV show Headbangers Ball in 1992. The recording was originally only available on a CD single from the United Kingdom for their single, "Creep", the European CD single for "Sex Type Thing," and on the German promotional radio release "Plush (unplushed)", but it was not officially released anywhere else until it appeared on the band's 2003 "greatest hits" compilation, Thank You, alongside the original studio recording. While this acoustic rendition did not chart on any U.S. or international charts, it did get moderate airplay when the original version had heavy airplay on radio at the time. A rare first take of the same acoustic version on MTV's Headbangers Ball was also available, but it was only found as a B-side to the rare "Crackerman" single. It has the same length and processing as the original electric version, and also uses the last part of the original electric version.
Track listings
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UK 7-inch and cassette single[14][15]
UK 12-inch single[16]
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UK and Australian CD single[17]
Japanese mini-CD single[18]
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[41] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
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‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
References
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