Press Play

Album: Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop (1996)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This instrumental opens the third Stone Temple Pilots album, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. It came out of an impromptu jam where the band, plus producer Brendan O'Brien, picked up instruments and started playing. Robert DeLeo explained to Songfacts: "Dean [his brother, Dean DeLeo] had a really cool '60s Hagström 8-string bass. He just plugged it in, and Eric [Kretz] started playing a beat. Brendan had a tambourine and I had Dean's guitar. It was kind of a goof."
  • The title came about when Brendan O'Brien told the engineer to "press play," meaning to record their jam. Dean DeLeo thought it would be a good name for the song.
  • This is one of the few instrumental contributions from STP lead singer Scott Weiland, who played percussion on the track. Weiland was a wild card at this time; he was arrested on drug charges in May 1995 and started taking on side projects outside the band. The recording sessions for Tiny Music went well, but soon after the album was released in March 1996, they had to stop touring so Weiland could enter rehab. They didn't play another show with him until December.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Scott Stapp

Scott StappSongwriter Interviews

The Creed lead singer reveals the "ego and self-fulfillment" he now sees in one of the band's biggest hits.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Daniel Lanois

Daniel LanoisSongwriter Interviews

Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.