Vasoline

This article is about the song by Stone Temple Pilots. For the skin care product, see Vaseline.

"Vasoline"
Song
B-side	"Meat Plow" "Andy Warhol" (live from MTV Unplugged) "Crackerman" (live from MTV Unplugged)"

"Vasoline" is a song by the band Stone Temple Pilots from their second album Purple. The song was the first single of the album (and also the second most successful, only behind "Interstate Love Song"), reaching #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks for 2 weeks. The song's odd sounding intro was created by Robert DeLeo, who ran his bass through a Wah-wah pedal to get the said effect. The song's lyrics were written by vocalist Scott Weiland. "Vasoline" also appears on the compilation albums Thank You and Buy This.

Composition and meaning

As like most other Stone Temple Pilots songs, the lyrics can be vague and hard to interpret, and many interpretations have been suggested by fans. During STP's performance of "Vasoline" on VH1 Storytellers, Scott says that the song is about "feeling like an insect under a magnifying glass."

Perhaps one of the strangest things about this song is the use of syncopation in the riff that the guitar and bass play. By itself, the riff sounds something like swung eighth notes alternating between the musical notes F natural and G natural. However, in reality the riff is an alternating sixteenth and eighth note pattern in 3/4 time over a drum beat in 4/4 time, creating a very odd sounding rhythm.

Music videos

The music videos (directed by Kevin Kerslake) were in heavy rotation on MTV when the single was released in 1994. There are at least three different versions of the video, labeled "X Version", "Y Version", and "Z Version". All versions are relatively similar, using parts of the same footage with some minor differences and shown in different orders. The single album art is taken directly from the music video.

Differentation

• X Version - begins with a shot of flypaper and then a laughing clown
• Y Version - begins with a butterfly-catching girl running up to the camera
• Z Version - begins with a man using a sharpening stone wheel

Notable Appearances

• "Vasoline" appeared in the video games Rock Band and SingStar Amped.
• "Vasoline" is played at some NFL stadiums during kickoffs.

External links

• "Vasoline (Version X)" music video on YouTube
• "Vasoline (Version Y)" music video on YouTube
• "Vasoline (Version Z)" music video on YouTube
• "Vasoline" ("VH1 Storytellers" performance) on YouTube