Scratch a Track: Music Review and Commentary Podcast · The Dude and Grimm Show

Did STP rip off Pearl Jam? - Stone Temple Pilots - Core - Album Review

·50 min·3 clips

"Sex Type Thing" drew criticism because Scott Weiland wrote it after his girlfriend was raped by three football players.

Scratch-a-Track spends the whole conversation treating Core like a record that still deserves a debate. The hosts open with jokes about the title and quickly settle into the album review. They make a point of how nice it is to get a 47-minute record on a single disc. That turns into a small rant about albums that overcomplicate the physical format for no good reason. Side one gets a thumbs-up right away. They also note that "Piece of Pie" starts side two, which gives the sequencing a little extra shape in their minds. From there the talk slides into the band's earlier name, Mighty Joe Young. One of them recalls that a lawyer told the group the name was already taken. That pushes the discussion toward the STP name and the motor oil logo connection. The name feels like part accident and part branding instinct. The conversation then returns to the music itself, especially the mood around "Dead and Bloated." They spend time on the idea that the song sounds dark and gritty without needing a complicated explanation. Scott Weiland's comments come up next. He said the lyrics were not really about a fixed story and were more stream of consciousness. He also said he was only 21 or 22 at the time and did not have much life experience to draw from. The hosts accept that, but they still seem curious about what the song is really doing. They like that the words seem to lock together even when the meaning stays blurry. The record's attitude matters as much as its literal content. That leads them into the bigger 90s-rock question hanging over the whole album. How much of this sounds like Stone Temple Pilots themselves, and how much sounds like the kind of thing the band, or even the record company, may have been expected to sound like? The show does not pretend to settle that cleanly. Instead it lets the doubt sit there while the hosts keep talking. They compare impressions, correct themselves in real time, and wander a bit before getting back on track. That looseness gives the review its shape. By the finish, they are still treating Core as a strong album, just one that keeps inviting arguments about influence, intent, and taste.

As heard by us

A messy, funny 90s-rock debate that still lands on the record's hooks and sequencing.

The episode treats Core less like a sacred artifact and more like a live argument about whether Stone Temple Pilots were a rip off or simply a band shaped by the same era.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you still argue over whether STP were borrowing or biting, this is your lane.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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