My Tribute to Scott Weiland
Devon Anderson
Some people asked to see it, so here it is. Enjoy…
“’Cause I’m half the man I used to be…” The haunting lyrics filled my head before I even opened my eyes on Friday, December 4. I had no idea why I was thinking of this song, but it was in my head as I slid the unlock bar on my phone to see the news: Scott Weiland was found dead on his tour bus the night before. Subconsciously, somewhere, the Universe was telling me that one of the greatest music icons of my youth was gone from this world.
Scott Weiland defined my generation of friends as rock and roll listeners. When I think of middle school and high school, the songs from Core, Purple, and TinyMusic…Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop are attached to the memories. I listened to them for so long that the albums all bled together for me; all I knew was it was music that spoke to me, made me feel. This morning, when I sat down to pull up some of my favorite songs to head down Memory Lane with, I realized that my Stone Temple Pilots Spotify playlist is pretty much the entireThank You album, their greatest hits album released in 2003. Every word he sang on that album throws me back into the halls of my middle school, a bit awkward and feeling out of place, but knowing I had a place with Scott and the band. Where I came from, you were either a fan, or you were a fan. There was no alternative. And with the list of songs on this album, it’s impossible to pick a favorite.
Lyrically, Scott Weiland was a master. His words resonated with so many, and his emotions were laid bare for us all to hear. Vocally, very few could compare. His voice was bourbon poured over sandpaper, and it was impossible not to get drunk on the sound. When he sang, I listened. And when his voice bled through my speakers, or live the few chances I got to share in his live show experience, I felt the blood on my skin. He had a sound not many could replicate, though they tried. Musically, he was a legend, and he always will be.
Sure, Scott Weiland had his demons, and he was vocal about them and never tried to hide them. I feel that made him authentic; he knew he had vices and had no intention of being phony about them. However, I do not feel that defines him as a man, a musician, and a rock legend. I feel his music, his words, are what we live on now. He would not want us to remember him as anything short of authentic – a true picture of a rockstar and legend, living the fast and wild rockstar life. He leaves behind a family, including his two children and wife, and a core group of millions of fans who will now always remember where they were when they heard the news of his passing. His legacy will live on through the fans, his music, and his voice that we all had grown to know and love. We knew him as he wanted us to: as a musician, doing what he loved, and bringing us together. That was Scott.
Though Stone Temple Pilots will not be eligible for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction until 2017, it is with a heavy heart that I think that one day, when they are inducted, he won’t be there to physically see it. As I reflect on the memories I have that are saturated with his music, I keep coming back to the lyrics from “Trippin’ On a Hole in a Paper Heart”: “One more trip, and I’ll be gone. So keep your head up; keep it on. Just a whisper I’ll be gone.” He wouldn’t want us to mourn him in the traditional way; he would want us to remember him on stage, scarf around his neck, clad in leather, making sweet love to his audience through the microphone he cradled in his hands.
