Picture it: you're in your 20s, you're
fed up with the way you feel, and you just want to get some of that
negative energy out of your system. What kind of song would you write?
Would it be something dark, or would it be loud, in-your-face rock and
roll? If you lean more toward the second option, "'Unglued'" is probably
the song for you.
The shortest song on Purple by
a 20-second margin ("Vasoline" is the only other song that clocks in
under three minutes), "'Unglued'" begins with an off-kilter guitar and
some pounding drums. It's not an overly complicated song, but this is
not really a time for layered proficiency. This is a time for letting it
all go.
Just, you know, shootin' pool with Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards down at the rock star clubhouse.
Anyone who has ever seen
STP live (or seen footage of one of their shows) knows that Scott
Weiland is inordinately fond of spinning and undulating across the stage
during songs, and whenever I hear "'Unglued,'" I think of his
serpentine ways. And maybe that's what he means when he sings, "I got
this thing that's comin' over me"--an irresistible urge to shake what
his mama gave him. Wouldn't you like to join in?
Fun fact: Robert DeLeo once expressed reservations about how Nirvana-like "'Unglued'" sounds. But--at least in the context of Purple, and to this listener's ears--it's pure Stone Temple Pilots.
Tomorrow we'll explore "Army Ants"!
Image via Below Empty.
-Cate-
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