Saturday Morning Soundtrack #74: "Lounge Fly" by Stone Temple Pilots (1994) [In Memory]

Been a long time since I did one of these (eight months, to be exact), which means that now is probably as good a time as any to take a look at another great song. A reader by the name of Juan R. contacted me and asked if I would help him figure out the meaning to this week's song. Since I hadn't done anything to recognize the passing of STP frontman, Scott Weiland, this is a great suggestion! I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but this one's for you, Juan . . . . 
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Saturday Morning Soundtrack @ Youtube

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"Lounge Fly" by Stone Temple Pilots (1994)

Stone Temple Pilots doesn't always get the respect they deserve. When they first emerged on the grunge scene, a lot of people were quick to write them off as pop-y grunge imitators. Still, the band paid it's dues, grew its fan base, and proved its naysayers wrong when their second album Purple, debuted at #1 on the charts. Purple was a great album, and it included a number of hit songs that the radio just loved, such as "Vasoline," "Interstate Love Song," and "Big Empty" (which I've written about in the past and will probably blog about here in the future). "Lounge Fly" is a song that sort of slipped under the radar, but (like so many non-hits) it deserves more recognition than it gets. (Also, if you're old like me, you'll recognize the beginning of the song as the lead-in for MTV News​ Break back in the 90s). 

A "lounge fly" is one of those creepy guys who hangs out in seedy Vegas cocktail bars where even the walls have carpeting. He's probably sporting a polyester leisure suit and a gold chain that he wears on the outside of his shirt. His sport of choice: hitting on women half his age. In some ways, the lyrics reinforce that idea--we are presented with a guy who is possibly self-aware of how sleazy he's become ("My bottle's empty," "I feel I'm sinking," "I wanna fuck, I wanna fuck") and who's looking for a woman to save him from himself (". . . you always refuel me," ". . . you won't let me drown me," ". . . do you need me?"). It's not an apology, exactly (though some stories claim that Weiland wrote the lyrics as an apology to his wife at the time for taking her money and spending it on drugs). It's something more helpless than that. We don't get the impression that the speaker in this song is entirely convinced that he's capable of change.

For the most part, the music itself doesn't reinforce the traditional image of the middle-aged comb-overed "Leisure-Suit Larry" type at all. It's dark and jocular, full of prickly menace. This is largely achieved by the chunky, driving rhythm drives the song (accomplished by recording a guitar and playing it backward to simulate the percussive sound of drums). That's what I like most about the song. It makes the tune difficult to pin down, to neatly categorize, and keeps it from becoming farcical. This is probably because Robert DeLeo (STP's guitarist who wrote the song) didn't consult with Weiland when he was writing it. (According to DeLeo, he was stoned on an airplane, afraid they were going to crash, and began penning the idea for this tune. He claims not to know what the lyrics mean.) At the midway point, things soften up momentarily, becoming swirly and dreamlike, but it's the sort of change that doesn't last. And before long--like our habitual lounge fly who just can't quit the lifestyle--we're back to the dark and sordid side.

It would be easy to draw parallels between this song and the life of Scott Weiland (who struggled with addiction and eventually lost his life to it). Perhaps, that's even what Weiland was doing himself. I prefer to listen to the song as a character piece--the story of someone else. All I know for sure is that songs like this make me miss the music of the early-to-mid 90s. I miss Scott Weiland's razor blade voice. I miss the dark commentary. And I'm reminded of just how much we lose whenever an artist of Weiland's immense talent passes.

Gone, but still appreciated

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So what do you think? Did I get it right or miss the mark? Please, feel free to weigh in using the comments below. And, if you would like to write a Guest Entry for the "Saturday Morning Soundtrack" series where you creatively respond to one of your favorite rock songs, don't hesitate to contact me with queries.