Plush (song)

"Plush" is a song by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. It is one of the band's biggest hits, and was released as the second single from the band's 1992 debut studio album, Core.

"Plush"
UK and European picture sleeve
Single by Stone Temple Pilots
from the album Core
B-side"Sin"
ReleasedMay 13, 1993 (1993-05-13)
Recorded1992
GenreGrunge[1]
Length
  • 5:13 (album version)
  • 4:19 (radio edit)
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Brendan O'Brien
Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology
"Sex Type Thing"
(1993)		 "Plush"
(1993)		 "Creep"
(1993)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Plush" on YouTube

Composition and inspiration

The song's chord structure was inspired by Robert DeLeo's love of ragtime music, and its lyrics were loosely based on a newspaper article Scott Weiland had read about a girl who had been found dead after having been kidnapped in the early 1990s. Weiland had also said that the song's lyrics are a metaphor for a failed relationship.[2]

Reception

The song was released in 1993 as Core's second single and became a major rock radio hit in the U.S., peaking at number one on the Album Rock Tracks and number nine on the Modern Rock Tracks. The song was also one of the first alternative rock songs to reach the number-one spot on the Album Rock Tracks chart during the height of the alternative rock/grunge scene. "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. "Plush" remains one of the biggest rock hits of the 1990s, and it still receives airplay on radio stations. The song also was voted number 12 on the Australian annual music poll Triple J Hottest 100 in 1993. In 2004, the song was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack on Radio X. The song appeared as a playable song in the music video games Rock Band 3 and Power Gig: Rise of the SixString in addition to the VH1 series Hindsight. 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. All of the songs in the top 10 were from the 1990s.[3]

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.

Acoustic version

Weiland and Stone Temple Pilots 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", 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 listing
  1. "Plush" [Edit] – 4:19
  2. "Sin" – 6:05
  3. "Sex Type Thing (Swing Type Version)" – 4:20
  4. "Sex Type Thing (Live on the Word)" – 3:32

Charts

References
  1. Michael Danaher (August 4, 2014). "The 50 Best Grunge Songs". Paste.
  2. Prato, Greg (June 13, 2012). "Plush". Rolling Stone.
  3. Trapp, Philip (January 14, 2020). "Nirvana Were the Most-Played Band of the Decade on Rock Radio". Loudwire. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  4. "Australian-charts.com – Stone Temple Pilots – Plush". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  5. "Ultratop.be – Stone Temple Pilots – Plush" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  6. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2235." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  7. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10 no. 38. September 18, 1993. p. 12. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  8. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (30.09–06.10)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). September 30, 1993. p. 20. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Plush". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  10. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 38, 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Stone Temple Pilots – Plush" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  12. "Charts.nz – Stone Temple Pilots – Plush". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  13. "Swedishcharts.com – Stone Temple Pilots – Plush". Singles Top 100. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  15. "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  16. "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  17. "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  18. "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  19. "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  20. "Árslistinn 1993". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 4, 1994. p. 16. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
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