Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop

Grunge was the Stone Temple Pilots' stock-in-trade on their first two albums, but Tiny Music takes the group beyond such stylistic limitations. There's still plenty of grinding, metallic alt-rock here, thanks to "Pop's Love Suicide," "Big Bang Baby," and "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart." "Lady Picture Show" is a bracing blast of Beatlesesque pop, however, while "And So I Know" finds Weiland crooning over, of all things, cocktail jazz. The album's dozen tracks find the troubled singer musing (rather creepily) about the price of fame on "Adhesive" ("Sell more records if I'm dead... Hope it's sooner / Hope it's near corporate records' fiscal year"), and not apologizing for his bad behavior ("Tumble in the Rough" asserts, "I'm looking for a new stimulation"; bet you are, Scott). But they're rock stars, not role models, and Tiny Music is STP's edgiest, most accomplished effort. --Daniel Durchholz Amazon.com essential recording

Tiny Music...Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop

Stone Temple Pilots-Tiny Music ****

Tiny Music has quite a few things going for it. For one the title is by far the best album title from the 1990's, at least for an alternative rock band. Also Scott Weiland is at his lyrical peak as far as STP is concerned. DeLeo also plays the best guitar of his career. The tone is actually good here, Brendon O' Brien didn't screw up the production for once. Also his all around soloing and riffing is much better than any other STP album. This is also the groups most diverse selection of music in one place.

Tiny Music also has a few bad things going for it. For example this is the groups most diverse selection of music in one place. 'And So I Know' could do with out, it is really hit or miss depending on the mood. The albums intro 'Push Play' is incredibly annoying. 'Daisy' is decent but lets face it, DeLeo can't write an instrumental so maybe he should have stopped with 'Wet The Bed' from the bands debut Core. Other than that the album is solid.

'Tripping On A Hole In A Paper Heart' is poetry at its finest and easily DeLeos greatest guitar solo. 'Pops Love Suicide' 'Tumble In The Rough' and 'Big Band Baby' are just shy of classics and 'Art School Girl' is pure pleasure, and sounds like it would have fit in well on Purple.

No it isn't Core or Purple. It is much better than 4, and Shangra La De Da though. It is worth the price for 'Tripping On A Hole In A Paper Heart' alone but it is the unexpected turns that makes Tiny Music...Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop most memorable. September 26, 2008

One of the best song by STP

Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart is one of the best songs by STP, the rest of the Cd is great. I waited a long time to purchase this one but kept remembering hearing some of it tripping songs. It is different but a must have!!!!
August 21, 2008

There third best CD

This is an EXCELLENT CD! It's not quite as good a Shangri-La Dee Da" or "Purple" but it has pushed "Core" a little to the back and I really like "Core." Unlike many bands STP actually did get better with each CD. August 9, 2008

why was this album panned?

So this album showed STP departing from their "grunge-come-alternative rock sound" and yet for some reason enough so called purists think its just a bad album? Since when did experimenting have such a bad connotation with it? Actually, I'm glad most people didn't appreciate it, I think it's an album that truly showed the bands potential and scope of their sound, and most of the people listening in prior to this album were in it purely for the sound it provided in the early 90's. Get over it, grunge died in bum a long time ago, and thank god for it, STP needed to shed that terrible sub-genre label, as did many class bands from seattle at the time.

Amongst the controversy this album bought with it (scott weilands noticeable cocaine addiction and a sign that grunge was dying) this so called dark horse of an album is a gem in the STP discography.

Seemingly a lot more pop grunge then their previous albums, it takes two or three listens to really find the underlay and pure brilliance of this album. Scott Weiland sings as well (albeit differently) as in Core, with experimental distortion on vocals only now being mimicked by bands in the alternative rock genre.

Erractic, eccentric, and an invigorating album that is a fusion of different styles and a big step in experimenting for the band and yet does not lose what is now an STP sound. Without a doubt a gem in alternative rock music and greatly, greatly misunderstood.
February 24, 2008

Worth the effort

A quick peak at this album's Wikipedia page reveals that this album wasn't received too warmly on release. Entertainment Weekly scored it a C and Pitchfork spit line after line of profanity laced insults. Which strikes me as odd - this is a thoroughly enjoyable album, one that takes chances and breaks STP out of the mold. Whereas 'Purple' was characterized by a "smash your head into pulp" heaviness, "Tiny Music..." seemed light and airy.

I remember buying the album right when it came out. I was probably 14. This was when CD buying was a rare endeavor for me so I had to pick and choose carefully. I'd only heard "Big Bang Baby", which with it's video was extremely weird, and looking at the album art, I really started to wonder if I'd just wasted $20 bucks. After getting it home, giving it a few spins and letting it sink in, though, I have to say I was thoroughly satisfied with my purchase.

I won't try to describe the songs - plenty of people have already done that. This is an album that takes some time to get into and it's definitely a strong shift in style and dynamics for the band - and it pays off in spades. Now over a decade old, I still come back to this album quite frequently. A quick look at the play list reveals no duds. To me, this is a near perfect album - it plays and flows beautifully. Hopefully, 5 to 10 years from now, people will see this for what it is - STP growing and expanding as a band and making beautiful music while doing it.

If you buy this album expecting 'Purple', you're probably going to hate it. If you come in with an open mind and a love of pop, you'll find something to love in this album.

And just as an aside - yeah, Weiland is by no means a gifted poet. But when did we really start docking rock albums for that? I can think of plenty of Zeppelin songs that have near abysmal lyrics. As far as I'm concerned, it's not what the lead singer is singing but how they're singing it. February 19, 2008

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