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Interstate Love Song

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"Interstate Love Song"
Single by Stone Temple Pilots
from the album Purple
B-side"Lounge Fly"
ReleasedSeptember 9, 1994
Genre
Length3:14
LabelAtlantic
Composer(s)Robert DeLeo
Lyricist(s)Scott Weiland
Producer(s)Brendan O'Brien
Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology
"Vasoline"
(1994) 		"Interstate Love Song"
(1994) 		"Pretty Penny"
(1995)
Audio sample
"Interstate Love Song"
Music video
"Interstate Love Song" on YouTube

"Interstate Love Song" is a single by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Released in 1994, the song was released as the third single from the band's second studio album, Purple. One of the band's biggest hits, "Interstate Love Song" reached number one on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart on September 17, 1994, replacing the band's previous single "Vasoline". The song stayed at number one for 15 weeks, a record at the time, and gave the Stone Temple Pilots 17 consecutive weeks at number one. It also peaked at number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and in Iceland as well as number 20 in Canada.

"Interstate Love Song" has been hailed as one of the best songs of the 1990s[1] and was included on STP's greatest hits compilation Thank You in 2003. In 2009, it was named the 58th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[2] The song was ranked at number 17 on Australian alternative music station Triple J's Hottest 100 countdown of 1994, and Pitchfork ranked it at number 175 on its list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s."[3]

Background, recording and release

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Bassist Robert DeLeo brought in a song he had been working on when Stone Temple Pilots convened at Cole Rehearsal Studios in Hollywood, California, in March 1992. His brother, guitarist Dean DeLeo, said, "We were in Atlanta touring Core, and Robert was playing around with the chords and the melody in a hotel room. I had a feeling about that song immediately." Robert DeLeo stated it was originally a bossa nova song when he began writing it. When he played it for singer Scott Weiland, the vocalist started humming along and turned what was originally the melody for the song's intro into a chorus melody.[4] Stone Temple Pilots recorded the song during sessions for Purple at the Southern Tracks studio in Atlanta, Georgia. Weiland was able to complete his vocals for the song in one take.[4]

Upon its release as a single, "Interstate Love Song" reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed for fifteen weeks.[4] The song also reached number two on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 22 on the Top 40 Mainstream.[5] In 2015, Loudwire and Stereogum ranked the song number one and number two, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Stone Temple Pilots songs.[6][7]

Composition

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"Interstate Love Song" has been described as grunge,[8][9][10] alternative rock,[9][11][12] country rock,[10][12] and hard rock.[2] In an interview in 2019 bassist Robert DeLeo said that the composition had initially been a Bossa nova style song that he played on a cheap nylon string guitar during touring.[13]

According to Weiland, the lyrics are about the troubles he was having with his girlfriend, Jannina, at the time, saying, "The words are about the lies I was trying to conceal while making the Purple record".[14][15][16] "She'd ask how I was doing, and I'd lie, say I was doing fine," he wrote in his autobiography Not Dead and Not For Sale. "I imagined what was going through her mind when I wrote, 'Waiting on a Sunday afternoon for what I read between the lines, your lies, feelin' like a hand in rusted shame, so do you laugh or does it cry? Reply?'"[16]

Music video

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The music video, directed by Kevin Kerslake, has a washed-out color effect throughout the majority of the video and features a long-nosed protagonist escaping from an unseen pursuer. The protagonist's nose grows longer throughout the video (similar to Pinocchio), to symbolize the theme of lying in the song lyrics. At the beginning of the video, an early 1900s silent film-esque clip of the protagonist is shown.

Track listings

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UK and European CD single[17][18]

  1. "Interstate Love Song"
  2. "Lounge Fly"
  3. "Vasoline" (live)
  4. "Interstate Love Song" (live)

UK 7-inch and cassette single[19][20]

  1. "Interstate Love Song"
  2. "Lounge Fly"

German and Australian CD single[21][22]

  1. "Interstate Love Song" – 3:13
  2. "Silvergun Superman" – 5:16
  3. "Army Ants" – 3:46

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots' 'Interstate Love Song' Was One of the Best Songs of the '90s". Spin. December 4, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Vh1 Top 100 Hard Rock Songs". Archived from the original on August 27, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  3. ^ "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 200-151 - Page 3". Pitchfork.
  4. ^ a b c "The Greatest Songs Ever! Interstate Love Song". Blender. September 2005. Retrieved on July 31, 2008.
  5. ^ Stone Temple Pilots – Charts & Awards – Billboard singles. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on August 6, 2008.
  6. ^ Cornell, Jeff (February 24, 2015). "10 Best Stone Temple Pilots Songs". Loudwire. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  7. ^ DeVille, Chris (December 4, 2015). "The 10 Best Stone Temple Pilots Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  8. ^ Michael, Danaher (August 4, 2014). "The 50 Best Grunge Songs". Paste. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  9. ^ a b True, Chris. "Interstate Love Song – Stone Temple Pilots | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 200-151". Pitchfork. p. 3. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Yglesias, Matthew (May 21, 2007). "The Ultimate Nineties Alt-Rock Playlist". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Siegler, M.G. (December 4, 2015). "Leaving On a Southern Train... RIP Scott Weiland". 500ish. Medium. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  13. ^ Hart, Ron (August 22, 2019). "Hear Stone Temple Pilots Tear Into 'Interstate Love Song' Back In 1994: Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  14. ^ Ling, Dave (October 13, 2019). "The Story Behind The Song: Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots". Louder Sound. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  15. ^ Partridge, Kenneth (June 9, 2016). "15 Best Songs About Drugs". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Weiland, Scott (2010). Not dead & not for sale. David Ritz. New York: Scribner. pp. 155–156. ISBN 978-0-7432-9716-5. OCLC 744495676.
  17. ^ Interstate Love Song (UK CD single liner notes). Stone Temple Pilots. Atlantic Records. 1994. A7192CDX, 7567-85614-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Interstate Love Song (European CD single liner notes). Stone Temple Pilots. Atlantic Records. 1994. A7192CD, 7567-85615-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Interstate Love Song (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Stone Temple Pilots. Atlantic Records. 1994. A7192X, 7567-87192-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Interstate Love Song (UK cassette single sleeve). Stone Temple Pilots. Atlantic Records. 1994. A7192C.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ Interstate Love Song (German CD single liner notes). Stone Temple Pilots. Atlantic Records. 1994. 7567-85635-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ Interstate Love Song (Australian CD single liner notes). Stone Temple Pilots. Atlantic Records. 1994. 7567856352.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  24. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2655." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  25. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (27.10–2.11 '94)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). October 27, 1994. p. 16. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  26. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  28. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  29. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  30. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  31. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  32. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  33. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  34. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  35. ^ "Árslistinn 1994". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1995. p. 25. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  36. ^ a b "The Year in Music 1994" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-62. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  37. ^ "1995 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-76. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  38. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot 100 Singles Airplay" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-32. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
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