"Sex Type Thing" is the debut single of American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kr ...

, released from their debut studio album, ''

Core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the centra ...

'', in 1993. "Sex Type Thing" also appears on the greatest hits compilation album ''

Thank You "''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...

''. The song spawned a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

which received moderate rotation on MTV (at the height of the early 1990s grunge music scene). The single peaked at number 23 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart.

Lyrics and composition

Scott Weiland Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from ...

wrote the lyrics after a girl he was dating was

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

d by three high school football players after a party. Weiland has stated the song is an anti-rape statement, not a song simply about sex, saying: According to guitarist Dean DeLeo, the song " In the Light" by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

had a direct influence on the main riff in "Sex Type Thing". In an October 1997 interview in ''Seconds'' magazine, Glenn Danzig mentions the similarity of the main riff to the Danzig song " Snakes of Christ".

Live performances

Over the years, "Sex Type Thing" became the band's traditional closer at live shows. During some performances from 1999 until STP's 2002 break-up, the band would extend the song's ending into a jam session where Weiland would strip naked in front of the audience and then wrap his lower body in an

American flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

Music video

During the grunge explosion of the 1990s, the music video for "Sex Type Thing" is usually denoted as the single factor that drove Stone Temple Pilots into the scene. The video was in medium-heavy rotation on MTV during the time, and helped make STP a contender in the grunge era. The video itself hosts a very dark motif, showing the band performing in a

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

chamber, with singer Scott Weiland having bleached his hair blond, interspersed between clips of a dancer swinging on a chain and a woman surrounded by a ring of fire. This video is rather distinctive because it is the first to showcase Scott Weiland's trademark "dance". The set was used again for

Sunny Day Real Estate Sunny Day Real Estate is an American emo/indie rock band from Seattle, formed in 1992. The band currently consists of founding members Jeremy Enigk (vocals, guitar), Dan Hoerner (guitar) and William Goldsmith (drums), alongside Greg Suran (gui ...

's "In Circles" music video in 1994.

Controversy

Upon the success of "Sex Type Thing", controversies regarding the song's lyrics emerged while STP was on tour opening for Megadeth. Weiland found himself in the position of defending "Sex Type Thing" to individuals who took the first-person approach he used in the song ("I am a man, a man/I'll give ya something that ya won't forget/I said ya shouldn't have worn that dress") literally. In a 1993 interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', Weiland expressed his frustration with the song's reception by saying "It was, 'All right, the " Cop Killer" controversy's dead, let's try to find something else'...I never thought that people would ever seriously think that I was an advocate of date rape."

Track listings

All live tracks were recorded at the Reading Festival 1993. CD single 1 # "Sex Type Thing" – 3:38 # "Piece of Pie" – 5:28 # "

Wicked Garden "Wicked Garden" is a song by the American rock band Stone Temple Pilots that appears on their debut studio album, ''Core''. The song was never released as a commercial single (only as a radio promo) but is still considered to be one of the band's ...

" (live) – 4:26 # "Sin" (live) – 7:52 CD single 2 # "Sex Type Thing" – 3:38 # "Piece of Pie" – 5:28 # "Dead and Bloated" (live) – 4:53 # "Sex Type Thing" (live) – 4:01

Charts

Release history

Appearances and covers

* The song appeared in notable TV shows and video games including ''

Gran Turismo 2 ''Gran Turismo 2'' is a 1999 racing game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to '' Gran Turismo''. It was well-received critically and financially, shipping 1.71&nbs ...

''. '' Charmed'', ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'', '' Guitar Hero: Aerosmith''. *The song has been covered live by

Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of pun ...

, a supergroup in which Weiland fronted from 2003 to 2008. *

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut ...

, Fuel, Papa Roach and

Theory of a Deadman Theory of a Deadman (abbreviated as Theory or TOAD) is a Canadian rock band from North Delta, British Columbia. Formed in 1999, the band is currently signed to Roadrunner Records as well as 604 Records. The band includes traits of music styles ...

have also covered the song live. * "Weird Al" Yankovic covered part of "Sex Type Thing" in his song "The Alternative Polka" off the album ''

Bad Hair Day ''Bad Hair Day'' is the ninth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was also Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before it was purchased by Volcano Records in 1999 and his final studio album t ...

''. * An electronic reworking of the song appeared in the episode "Let it Bleed" of ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

''. * The song was released as downloadable content on June 1, 2010, as part of Stone Temple Pilots Track Pack with "

Plush Plush (from French ) is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was extended to describe luxury accommodation, or s ...

" and " Between the Lines" for ''

Guitar Hero 5 ''Guitar Hero 5'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero V'') is a 2009 music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game was released internat ...

''. *"Into Sandy's City", a

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

track from '' Doom II: Hell on Earth'', is based on Sex Type Thing. *Psychosexyal covered this song off the covers álbum ''Songs to Stalk You By''.

References

External links

Stone Temple Pilots Official Website – Core

{{Authority control Stone Temple Pilots songs 1992 songs 1993 debut singles Atlantic Records singles Obscenity controversies in music Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Songs about sexual assault Songs based on actual events Songs written by Scott Weiland Songs written by Dean DeLeo Songs written by Eric Kretz