Plush (song)

"Plush" is a slow and steady [[grunge]],<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |author=Michael Danaher |date=August 4, 2014 |title=The 50 Best Grunge Songs |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html?p=3 |magazine=[[Paste Magazine|Paste]]}}</ref> [[alternative rock]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Single Stories: Stone Temple Pilots, "Plush" |url=https://www.rhino.com/article/single-stories-stone-temple-pilots-plush |access-date=January 31, 2022 |website=[[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino]]|date=September 20, 2017}}</ref> and [[hard rock]] song,<ref name=":1" /> combining a [[Country music|country]] riff and [[ragtime]] chords from [[Robert DeLeo]]'s guitar exercises,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=September 28, 2017 |title=Stone Temple Pilots Break Down 'Core' Track by Track |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/stone-temple-pilots-break-down-core-track-by-track-205714/ |access-date=April 21, 2025 |website=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US}}</ref> with "[[Heavy metal music|metal]] stylings."<ref name=":5" /> According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, the song is written in the key of [[G major]], and is set in [[time signature]] of common time with a tempo of 116 beats per minute. Weiland's vocal range spans two octaves, from E₄ to G₅.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2021 |title=Stone Temple Pilots "Plush" Sheet Music in G Major |url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0234455 |access-date=June 14, 2025 |website=Musicnotes.com |publisher=Universal Music Publishing Group |language=en}}</ref>

"Plush" is a slow and steady [[grunge]],<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |author=Michael Danaher |date=August 4, 2014 |title=The 50 Best Grunge Songs |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html?p=3 |magazine=[[Paste Magazine|Paste]]}}</ref> [[alternative rock]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Single Stories: Stone Temple Pilots, "Plush" |url=https://www.rhino.com/article/single-stories-stone-temple-pilots-plush |access-date=January 31, 2022 |website=[[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino]]|date=September 20, 2017}}</ref> and [[hard rock]] song,<ref name=":1" /> combining a [[Country music|country]] riff and [[ragtime]] chords from [[Robert DeLeo]]'s guitar exercises,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=September 28, 2017 |title=Stone Temple Pilots Break Down 'Core' Track by Track |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/stone-temple-pilots-break-down-core-track-by-track-205714/ |access-date=April 21, 2025 |website=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US}}</ref> with "[[Heavy metal music|metal]] stylings."<ref name=":5" /> According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, the song is written in the key of [[G major]], and is set in [[time signature]] of common time with a tempo of 116 beats per minute. Weiland's vocal range spans two octaves, from E₄ to G₅.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2021 |title=Stone Temple Pilots "Plush" Sheet Music in G Major |url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0234455 |access-date=June 14, 2025 |website=Musicnotes.com |publisher=Universal Music Publishing Group |language=en}}</ref>

Written in a hot tub at the Oakwood Apartments, "Plush" is 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.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Kabak |first=Zehra |date=February 18, 2025 |title=Stone Temple Pilots' 'Plush': The Real Meaning And Inspiration Behind The Song |url=https://metalheadzone.com/stone-temple-pilots-plush-the-real-meaning-and-inspiration-behind-the-song/ |access-date=April 21, 2025 |website=Metalhead Zone |language=en-US}}</ref> Weiland added, during an episode of [[VH1 Storytellers]], that:<blockquote>"A girl was kidnapped and then later found tragically murdered back in the early part of the Nineties. So it gave me fuel to write the words to this song. However, this song is not about that, really; it's sort of a metaphor for a lost, obsessive relationship."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Shteamer |first=Hank |last2=Spanos |first2=Brittany |last3=Hudak |first3=Joseph |last4=Bienstock |first4=Richard |date=2015-12-04 |title=Scott Weiland: 20 Essential Songs |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/scott-weiland-20-essential-songs-144164/stone-temple-pilots-sex-type-thing-1992-31376/ |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US}}</ref></blockquote>A third meaning of the song, Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz thinking about the future of themselves and their significant others, was mentioned by [[Dean DeLeo]] during a 2017 interview with ''MusicRadar'' for the 25th anniversary of ''Core''. The name "Plush", considered for an album title by the band, was chosen by Weiland, who was trying to get textures in with words and his thoughts, according to Kretz, also interviewed for the album's 25th anniversary.<ref name=":2" />

Written in a hot tub at the Oakwood Apartments, "Plush" is 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.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Kabak |first=Zehra |date=February 18, 2025 |title=Stone Temple Pilots' 'Plush': The Real Meaning And Inspiration Behind The Song |url=https://metalheadzone.com/stone-temple-pilots-plush-the-real-meaning-and-inspiration-behind-the-song/ |access-date=April 21, 2025 |website=Metalhead Zone |language=en-US}}</ref> Weiland added, during an episode of [[VH1 Storytellers]], that:<blockquote>"A girl was kidnapped and then later found tragically murdered back in the early part of the Nineties. So it gave me fuel to write the words to this song. However, this song is not about that, really; it's sort of a metaphor for a lost, obsessive relationship."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Shteamer |first=Hank |last2=Spanos |first2=Brittany |last3=Hudak |first3=Joseph |last4=Bienstock |first4=Richard |date=2015-12-04 |title=Scott Weiland: 20 Essential Songs |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/scott-weiland-20-essential-songs-144164/stone-temple-pilots-sex-type-thing-1992-31376/ |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US}}</ref></blockquote>A third meaning of the song, Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz thinking about the future of themselves and their significant others, was mentioned by [[Dean DeLeo]] during a 2017 interview with ''MusicRadar'' for the 25th anniversary of ''Core''. The name "Plush", considered for an album title by the band, was chosen by Weiland, who was trying to get textures in with words and his thoughts, according to Kretz, also interviewed for the album's 25th anniversary.<ref name=":2" />

==Release==

==Release==

"Plush" received mixed-to-negative reviews on release, with critics noting a lack of originality. Daina Darzin of [[Rolling Stone|''Rolling Stone'']] called the song "embarrassingly [[Pearl Jam]]-like," but added the band's "focus is indeed different. STP’s strong point is a muscular SoCal energy – primordially fierce, like those-tigers-kill-antelope nature films they’re always hawking on the [[Discovery Channel|Discovery channel]]."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Darzin |first=Daina |date=September 16, 1993 |title=Butthole Surfers, Stone Temple Pilots, Flaming Lips Invade New York |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/butthole-surfers-stone-temple-pilots-flaming-lips-invade-new-york-103560/ |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> [[The Atlantic|''The Atlantic'']] reader GillianAndersonCooper commented that "Weiland was doing an [[Eddie Vedder]] impression," and continued "he wasn’t the only one, but his was the most egregious." Another commenter agreed with him, adding, "being a Seattle native, I was not a fan when STP first broke. I considered them to be just another Seattle Sound wannabe band."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bodenner |first=Chris |date=December 6, 2015 |title=Track of the Day: 'Plush' |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2015/12/track-of-the-day-plush/625591/ |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=[[The Atlantic]] |language=en}}</ref>

"Plush" received mixed-to-negative reviews on release, with critics noting a lack of originality. Daina Darzin of [[Rolling Stone|''Rolling Stone'']] called the song "embarrassingly [[Pearl Jam]]-like," but added the band's "focus is indeed different. STP’s strong point is a muscular SoCal energy – primordially fierce, like those-tigers-kill-antelope nature films they’re always hawking on the [[Discovery Channel|Discovery channel]]."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Darzin |first=Daina |date=September 16, 1993 |title=Butthole Surfers, Stone Temple Pilots, Flaming Lips Invade New York |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/butthole-surfers-stone-temple-pilots-flaming-lips-invade-new-york-103560/ |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> [[The Atlantic|''The Atlantic'']] reader GillianAndersonCooper commented that "Weiland was doing an [[Eddie Vedder]] impression," and continued "he wasn’t the only one, but his was the most egregious." Another commenter agreed with him, adding, "being a Seattle native, I was not a fan when STP first broke. I considered them to be just another Seattle Sound wannabe band."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bodenner |first=Chris |date=December 6, 2015 |title=Track of the Day: 'Plush' |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2015/12/track-of-the-day-plush/625591/ |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=[[The Atlantic]] |language=en}}</ref>

[[AllMusic]]'s Stephen Thomas Erlewine had mixed thoughts on most tracks from ''Core'', but defended "Plush" as a "majestic album rock revival more melodic and stylish than anything grunge produced outside of [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] itself."<ref name="allmusicreview">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Core – Stone Temple Pilots |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/core-mw0000615017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119093434/https://www.allmusic.com/album/core-mw0000615017 |archive-date=January 19, 2025 |accessdate=February 9, 2010 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> ''[[Laut.de]]'s'' Sven Kabelitz, in his review of the [[The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack|The Crow's soundtrack]] (1994), praised Stone Temple Pilot's song on the album, "[[Big Empty]]", as "an outstanding piece" following in the footsteps of "Plush".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kabelitz |first=Sven |date=March 29, 1994 |title=It Can't Rain All The Time. |url=https://laut.de/Original-Soundtrack/Alben/The-Crow-124279 |access-date=July 4, 2025 |website=[[Laut.de]] |language=de}}</ref>

[[AllMusic]]'s Stephen Thomas Erlewine had mixed thoughts on most tracks from ''Core'', but defended "Plush" as a "majestic album rock revival more melodic and stylish than anything grunge produced outside of [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] itself."<ref name="allmusicreview">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Core – Stone Temple Pilots |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/core-mw0000615017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119093434/https://www.allmusic.com/album/core-mw0000615017 |archive-date=January 19, 2025 |accessdate=February 9, 2010 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> ''[[Laut.de]]'s'' Sven Kabelitz, in his review of [[The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack|The Crow's soundtrack]] (1994), praised Stone Temple Pilot's song on the album, "[[Big Empty]]", as "an outstanding piece" following in the footsteps of "Plush".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kabelitz |first=Sven |date=March 29, 1994 |title=It Can't Rain All The Time. |url=https://laut.de/Original-Soundtrack/Alben/The-Crow-124279 |access-date=July 4, 2025 |website=[[Laut.de]] |language=de}}</ref>

=== Retrospective reviews ===

=== Retrospective reviews ===

Retrospective reviews have been generally positive. The song was ranked at number 19 on [[Paste (magazine)|''Paste'']]'s list of "The 50 Best Grunge Songs", and declared "one of the movement’s most significant contributions," by Michael Danaher.<ref name=":0" /> ''Top 40 Weekly'' placed the song at number 42 on their "50 Best Hard Rock Songs of All Time" list, applauding Scott Weiland’s "intense, emotive vocals" and Dean DeLeo's "gritty guitar work."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=November 25, 2024 |title=50 Best Hard Rock Songs of All Time |url=https://top40weekly.com/best-hard-rock-songs-all-time/ |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=Top 40 Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref> The song was ranked at number five on ''The Daily Vault's'' list of "Elegant Bachelors: A Stone Temple Pilots Song Countdown", and labeled a "majestic, confident rocker" by Benjamin Ray, also praising Kretz's "spacious drums."<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Ray |first=Benjamin |title=Elegant Bachelors: A Stone Temple Pilots Song Countdown |url=https://dailyvault.com/article.php5?id=582 |access-date=June 12, 2025 |website=The Daily Vault}}</ref> ''[[Loudwire]]'' placed the song at number 2 on their "10 Best Stone Temple Pilots Songs" list, and credited "Plush" as the "the song that truly put STP on the map."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cornell |first=Jeff |date=February 24, 2025 |title=10 Best Stone Temple Pilots Songs |url=https://loudwire.com/best-stone-temple-pilots-songs/ |access-date=July 4, 2025 |website=[[Loudwire]] |language=en}}</ref>

Retrospective reviews have been generally positive. The song was ranked at number 19 on [[Paste (magazine)|''Paste'']]'s list of "The 50 Best Grunge Songs", and declared "one of the movement’s most significant contributions," by Michael Danaher.<ref name=":0" /> ''Top 40 Weekly'' placed the song at number 42 on their "50 Best Hard Rock Songs of All Time" list, applauding Scott Weiland's "intense, emotive vocals" and Dean DeLeo's "gritty guitar work."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=November 25, 2024 |title=50 Best Hard Rock Songs of All Time |url=https://top40weekly.com/best-hard-rock-songs-all-time/ |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=Top 40 Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref> The song was ranked at number five on ''The Daily Vault's'' list of "Elegant Bachelors: A Stone Temple Pilots Song Countdown", and labeled a "majestic, confident rocker" by Benjamin Ray, also praising Kretz's "spacious drums."<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Ray |first=Benjamin |title=Elegant Bachelors: A Stone Temple Pilots Song Countdown |url=https://dailyvault.com/article.php5?id=582 |access-date=June 12, 2025 |website=The Daily Vault}}</ref> ''[[Loudwire]]'' placed the song at number 2 on their "10 Best Stone Temple Pilots Songs" list, and credited "Plush" as the "the song that truly put STP on the map."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cornell |first=Jeff |date=February 24, 2025 |title=10 Best Stone Temple Pilots Songs |url=https://loudwire.com/best-stone-temple-pilots-songs/ |access-date=July 4, 2025 |website=[[Loudwire]] |language=en}}</ref>

''AllMusic''<nowiki/>'s Chris True described the song as big, lumbering and "wrapped up in metal stylings." He agreed with comparisons to Eddie Vedder, but insisted Stone Temple Pilots weren't the only band copying him.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=True |first=Chris |title=Plush Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/plush-mt0030285637 |access-date=May 10, 2025 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']]''<nowiki/>'s'' William Goodman declared the song is "powerful" with "layers of power chord slashes and twinkling riffs surround Weiland’s crooning."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodman |first=William |date=September 29, 2017 |title=Stone Temple Pilots’ Debut ‘Core’ Turns 25: Why the Critics and Haters Were Wrong |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/stone-temple-pilots-core-anniversary-7981788/ |access-date=July 4, 2025 |website=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[Ultimate Classic Rock|Ultimate Classic Rock']]<nowiki/>s'' Bryan Rolli brought up the song, alongside "Wicked Garden" and "Crackerman", as packing "supersized hooks and smoldering guitar riffs". He concluded that "Plush is a "megalithic [[Pop rock|pop-rock]] stomper."<ref>{{cite web |last=Rolli |first=Bryan |date=September 29, 2022 |title=30 Years Ago: 'Core' Permanently Dooms Stone Temple Pilots' Reputation |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/stone-temple-pilots-core/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref>

''AllMusic''<nowiki/>'s Chris True described the song as big, lumbering and "wrapped up in metal stylings." He agreed with comparisons to Eddie Vedder, but insisted Stone Temple Pilots weren't the only band copying him.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=True |first=Chris |title=Plush Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/plush-mt0030285637 |access-date=May 10, 2025 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']]''<nowiki/>'s'' William Goodman declared the song is "powerful" with "layers of power chord slashes and twinkling riffs surround Weiland’s crooning."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodman |first=William |date=September 29, 2017 |title=Stone Temple Pilots’ Debut ‘Core’ Turns 25: Why the Critics and Haters Were Wrong |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/stone-temple-pilots-core-anniversary-7981788/ |access-date=July 4, 2025 |website=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[Ultimate Classic Rock|Ultimate Classic Rock']]<nowiki/>s'' Bryan Rolli brought up the song, alongside "Wicked Garden" and "Crackerman", as packing "supersized hooks and smoldering guitar riffs". He concluded that "Plush is a "megalithic [[Pop rock|pop-rock]] stomper."<ref>{{cite web |last=Rolli |first=Bryan |date=September 29, 2022 |title=30 Years Ago: 'Core' Permanently Dooms Stone Temple Pilots' Reputation |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/stone-temple-pilots-core/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref>

== Legacy ==

== Legacy ==

Stone Temple Pilots had a steady rise to mainstream success. Early on, the band played in rooms that held 80 to 120 people, and bars with as little as 10 people, but after recording ''Core,'' they played to a crowd of about 800 people at a club in San Diego called Club 860. This was the moment Robert DeLeo sensed the band was getting big. Their debut single, "Sex Type Thing", was released on March 15, 1993 to heavy rotation on [[MTV]] and across radio, but "Plush" was their commercial breakthrough, and according to DeLeo, "changed everything" for the band. Reportedly, arenas they played at went from a third full to full. "People were there to see the band, people wanted to hear 'Plush.' They wanted to see that guy with red hair singing that song." he added. Eric Kretz similarly joked he "never heard of that one."<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Baltin |first=Steve |date=October 9, 2017 |title=Stone Temple Pilots' Dean DeLeo Talks Scott Weiland, Chester Bennington and 25th Anniversary of ‘Plush’ |url=https://variety.com/2017/music/news/stone-temple-pilots-dean-deleo-talks-scott-weiland-chester-bennington-and-25th-anniversary-of-plush-1202583053/ |access-date=June 14, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

Stone Temple Pilots had a steady rise to mainstream success. Early on, the band played in rooms that held 80 to 120 people, and bars with as little as 10 people, but after recording ''Core,'' they played to a crowd of about 800 people at a club in San Diego called Club 860. This was the moment Robert DeLeo sensed the band was getting big. Their debut single, "Sex Type Thing", was released on March 15, 1993, to heavy rotation on [[MTV]] and across radio, but "Plush" was their commercial breakthrough, and according to DeLeo, "changed everything" for the band. Reportedly, arenas they played at went from a third full to full. "People were there to see the band, people wanted to hear 'Plush.' They wanted to see that guy with red hair singing that song." he added. Eric Kretz similarly joked he "never heard of that one."<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Baltin |first=Steve |date=October 9, 2017 |title=Stone Temple Pilots' Dean DeLeo Talks Scott Weiland, Chester Bennington and 25th Anniversary of ‘Plush’ |url=https://variety.com/2017/music/news/stone-temple-pilots-dean-deleo-talks-scott-weiland-chester-bennington-and-25th-anniversary-of-plush-1202583053/ |access-date=June 14, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1994, "Plush" won in the category of "[[Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance|Best Hard Rock Performance]]" at the [[Grammy Awards of 1994|1994 Grammy Awards]]. The music video earned the band a [[MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist]] award in 1993. The song was also voted number 12 on the [[Australians|Australian]] annual music poll [[Triple J Hottest 100]] in [[Triple J Hottest 100, 1993|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.<ref name="MainstreamRockDecade2010-2019">{{Cite web |last=Trapp |first=Philip |date=January 14, 2020 |title=Nirvana Were the Most-Played Band of the Decade on Rock Radio |url=https://loudwire.com/nirvana-most-played-radio-rock-band-decade/ |access-date=January 23, 2020 |website=[[Loudwire]]}}</ref> The song is the band's second most popular on Spotify, with over 350 million streams, only losing to "[[Interstate Love Song]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stone Temple Pilots |url=https://open.spotify.com/artist/2UazAtjfzqBF0Nho2awK4z |access-date=June 14, 2025 |website=[[Spotify]] |language=en}}</ref>

In 1994, "Plush" won in the category of "[[Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance|Best Hard Rock Performance]]" at the [[Grammy Awards of 1994|1994 Grammy Awards]]. The music video earned the band a [[MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist]] award in 1993. The song was also voted number 12 on the [[Australians|Australian]] annual music poll [[Triple J Hottest 100]] in [[Triple J Hottest 100, 1993|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.<ref name="MainstreamRockDecade2010-2019">{{Cite web |last=Trapp |first=Philip |date=January 14, 2020 |title=Nirvana Were the Most-Played Band of the Decade on Rock Radio |url=https://loudwire.com/nirvana-most-played-radio-rock-band-decade/ |access-date=January 23, 2020 |website=[[Loudwire]]}}</ref> The song is the band's second most popular on Spotify, with over 350 million streams, only losing to "[[Interstate Love Song]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stone Temple Pilots |url=https://open.spotify.com/artist/2UazAtjfzqBF0Nho2awK4z |access-date=June 14, 2025 |website=[[Spotify]] |language=en}}</ref>