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Big Empty

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Not to be confused with The Big Empty.
"Big Empty"
Australian CD picture sleeve
Single by Stone Temple Pilots
from the album The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Purple
B-side"Lounge Fly"
ReleasedMay 22, 1994 (1994-05-22)
Recorded1993
StudioThe Record Plant
Genre
Length4:55
LabelAtlantic
Composer(s)Dean DeLeo
Lyricist(s)Scott Weiland
Producer(s)Brendan O'Brien
Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology
"Creep"
(1993) 		"Big Empty"
(1994) 		"Vasoline"
(1994)
Audio sample

"Big Empty" is a song by the American rock band Stone Temple Pilots that first appeared in 1994 on the soundtrack of the film The Crow. The band later included the song on its second album, Purple, and released it as the lead single from that album. The song reached No. 3 and No. 7 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts, respectively. The song won an MTV Movie Award for best song featured in a movie in 1995.[6]

Musically, the song has a similar format to the band's previous single "Creep", beginning with a slow, soft acoustic verse that leads into a loud and distorted chorus with a heavy guitar similar to "Plush".[7][8][9] "Big Empty" appears on the greatest hits compilation albums Thank You and Buy This.

Critical reception

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AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "'Big Empty' is a perfect encapsulation of mainstream alienation"[10] and praised it as a highlight on Purple.

Live performances

[edit]

The song was performed live for the first time during a taping of MTV Unplugged on November 17, 1993,[11] seven months before Purple was released. "Big Empty" was not included when their Unplugged episode debuted in January 1994. However, in May to help promote The Crow soundtrack, MTV placed the Unplugged performance of "Big Empty" into their heavy video rotation, as there was never an official promo video for the song. On STP's 2008 reunion tour, "Big Empty" was the opening song for every show except for the band's performance at the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on August 10.[12]

Charts

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Chart (1994/95) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 63
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[14] 50
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[15] 3
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[16] 7

References

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  1. ^ Childers, Chad. "25 Years Ago: Stone Temple Pilots Release 'Purple' Album". Loudwire. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Long, Christopher (June 2, 2019). "Stone Temple Pilots – "Purple" [Retro Album Review]". V13 Media. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  3. ^ Doherty, Niall (July 12, 2023). "How Stone Temple Pilots' Purple album captured a band at their peak". Louder Sound. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Reed, Ryan (September 12, 2022). "Stone Temple Pilots Albums Ranked". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  5. ^ Michael, Danaher (August 4, 2014). "The 50 Best Grunge Songs". Paste. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "1995 Movie Awards | Past Movie Awards | Awards Show Highlights and Winners | MTV". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. ^ True, Chris. "Big Empty - Stone Temple Pilots". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Deville, Chris (June 6, 2014). "Purple Turns 20". Stereogum. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  9. ^ Tucker, Kara (June 7, 2024). "Still Remains: Stone Temple Pilots' Purple at 30". Rock and Roll Globe. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Stone Temple Pilots: Purple – ". AllMusic. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  11. ^ "See Stone Temple Pilots Play "Big Empty" During MTV 'Unplugged' Session". Revolver. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Search for setlists: stone temple pilots (page 3) | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  13. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 21 May 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  14. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  15. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  16. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
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