Stone Temple Pilots
Meadow

It took me several days to form an opinion on this single, and generally, on the new acquisition by the Stone Temple Pilots.

More than anything, I couldn't find the right words to properly consider Meadow.

STP - since time immemorial - have always lived their career tumultuously. Constant delays, constant disputes, and constant stops between one project and another. The family (the guys have known each other for thirty years) also loses a limb, a member who suffered more than the others at the mercy of his own demons, namely Scott Weiland. The dynamics cause the bereavement to occur, as if that wasn't enough, during the period of estrangement between Scott and his longtime companions.

Both "factions," amidst legal issues related to the band's brand and artistic projects, have released valid and acclaimed albums and EPs over the years.

Another tragedy, Bennington leaves, who was briefly tied to the band before deciding to continue on with Linkin Park (a wise choice in the opinion of this writer).

Months and years go by, and the three survivors evaluate over a thousand candidates to find a new voice. After keeping everyone on edge a bit on social media, the trio introduces former X Factor USA 2013 contestant Jeff Gutt with a concert organized by the radio station SiriusXM and simultaneously with the release of the single in question.

Now; far be it from me to want to judge the intentions of these fifty-year-olds who want to continue making music in peace, here are my premises:

1. Haters and ignorant people in general attacking Kretz and the DeLeo brothers as if they were responsible for the death of a friend make me sad and cause me deep indignation. No one can know the dynamics that led to the end of that relationship, and certainly, I don’t intend to cling to the suppositions of the sensationalist press.

2. The Stone Temple Pilots are not just Scott Weiland. I place everyone on the same level, otherwise it wouldn't have been a band but a solo project. Let's not forget that the splendid sound textures and trademark of the group (just think of Big Empty or the less famous And So I Know, for example) are attributable to the musicians and their verve. Just as the impressive stage presence and the damn crypticity of those tormented lyrics are attributable to the late Weiland. They worked because they had talent, all of them.

3. It's not up to me, you, or the masses to decide the professional future of three people who have suffered an immense loss. A bit of gratitude to these figures who over the years have brought beauty and quality is the least they deserve, in my opinion.

What doesn't allow me to give a rating, a judgment on Meadow and the new path so much evoked on the cover of the single, is a detail. The song begins as a beautiful hard rock ride should. Then he opens his mouth and:

Rise and shine Clementine, there is something about you. Do you think you can dance cause I’m willing to stay, fade away and ride on.

A few seconds are enough, and I'm sure 90% of listeners will put a hand over their eyes. Just like the fourth Alien, this track could be titled The Cloning. The cadence of the notes is there, the style? Why even mention it. It's catchy, well recorded, and performed (of course) but the interpretation is a fundamental detail you can't overlook.

You go on YouTube and look for the presentation concert: let's see who this guy is. There he is, short dyed hair like Billy Idol which shouldn't remind me of the Weiland of '92. So that scenario can only take on color in my mind, and I imagine the four in the recording studio while Dean recommends Jeff to sing those lines (presumably written by himself at this point) with that tone and style. I hope I'm wrong.

I emphasize that the power of this track is objective. I highlight the adjective catchy and admit that it stuck in my head from the first listen, but.

Before listening to the alleged full album, as far as I'm concerned: Yin Yang and nostalgia for Between The Lines.