LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 22, 2019…IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE TODAY IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF STP RELEASING THE SINGLE ‘BIG EMPTY’.
IN THIS SONG, LEAD SINGER SCOTT WEILAND LAYS OUT A SERIES OF IMAGES THAT FORM A VAGUE STORY INVOLVING A CAR, A CIGARETTE AND A CONVERSATION. WEILAND EXPLAINED THAT MANY OF HIS LYRICS ARE PUT TOGETHER FROM VARIOUS IMAGES THAT POP INTO HIS MIND, AND IT’S UP TO THE LISTENER TO PIECE THEM TOGETHER. WEILAND ALSO ONCE SAID THAT ‘BIG EMPTY’ WAS ALSO “ABOUT ABOUT F***KING IN THE BACKSEAT OF YOUR CAR.”
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS WROTE THIS SONG FOR THE 1994 MOVIE “THE CROW”
AND IT FIRST APPEARED ON THE MOVIE’S SOUNDTRACK. STP LIKED THE SONG ENOUGH TO LATER INCLUDE IT ON THEIR OWN ALBUM ‘PURPLE.’
A BIT OF TRIVIA CONCERNING THE SONG. IT WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED ‘ONLY DYING’ BUT WHEN THE STAR OF THE MOVIE BRANDON LEE WAS ACCIDENTALLY KILLED DURING FILMING, STP CHANGED THE TITLE OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE ACTOR.
‘BIG EMPTY’ WON AN MTV AWARD FOR BEST SONG FROM A MOVIE.
SURPRISINGLY, THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW STP SONGS TO BE RELEASE WITHOUT A MUSIC VIDEO. HERE’S A GREAT LIVE VERSION.
