"The Stone" is a song by American band
Ashes Divide
Billy Howerdel (born May 18, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the founding member, guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle, as well as for his former solo project, Ashes Divide. Howerdel ...
and is their debut single from their debut album ''
Keep Telling Myself It's Alright
''Keep Telling Myself It's Alright'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Ashes Divide, the solo-project by A Perfect Circle guitarist Billy Howerdel. While efforts towards a Howerdel solo album were started even back in his time in ...
'', which was released on April 8, 2008. The music video for the song was released in March.
Background
"The Stone" is actually derived from a song done by Billy Howerdel during his time in
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ...
. An instrumental named "Army" has many similarities with this song. It was done during demo sessions that yielded material from their first album, ''
Mer de Noms''. It apparently wasn't deemed a fit for ''A Perfect Circle'' music, so Billy re-worked it on his own for years until it appeared in this form.
Howerdel said he had most of the verses written, but was stuck on the chorus, so he reached out to
Johnette Napolitano
Johnette Napolitano (born Jonette L. Napolitano; September 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and bassist for the alternative rock group Concrete Blonde.
Early life
Johnette Nap ...
, singer of
Concrete Blonde
Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...
, who wrote a few lines in the chorus, adding a "maternal" touch to it, according to Howerdel.
On the lyrics, Howerdel said, "It's this push-pull of protection, feeling the need or want to protect your loved ones in a way, but not being worthy enough with yourself to accept that same protection, that same kind of love. A lot of these songs are dealing with pushing people away, with not loving yourself enough to let somebody love you."
Track listing
# "The Stone" - 3:49
Chart performance
"The Stone" garnered attention from U.S. rock radio stations and has been regularly played on the airwaves. It peaked at No. 7 on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 10 on the
Modern Rock Tracks chart.
[ Hot Modern Rock Tracks, as of April 1, 2008/ref>
]
References
2008 debut singles
2007 songs
Island Records singles
Songs written by Billy Howerdel
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