The members of STP discussed “Sex Type Thing” – the song released on the band’s 1992 debut “Core” that late Scott Weiland wrote the lyrics for after his girlfriend got raped by three high-school football players.
The lyrics were written from the perspective of a man committing rape, which made it quite controversial.
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Scott himself pointed out back in the day:
“This song is really not about sex at all. It’s about control, violence and abuse of power.”
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Dean DeLeo, guitarist: “I had the verse riff for a very long time. It was part of a song that I had written when I was about 16 years old.
“I wrote it on a beautiful summer day. I was out in my driveway – I might have been doing some gardening or something – and [Led Zeppelin’s] ‘In the Light’ came on, off [1975’s] ‘Physical Graffiti.’
“After the verse, a lick comes in and if you put ‘Sex Type Thing’ on the top of that lick, it just falls right in the holes.
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“What I was hearing when I was in the driveway, because it wasn’t entirely audible, was the notes between those notes. I ran right in, grabbed a guitar and transposed that onto guitar.”
Eric Kretz, drummer: “Scott’s lyrical content was pretty bold.
“Do you remember Ice-T and Body Count and N.W.A and, fuck, just how awesomely violent and shocking their lyrical content was at the time? I don’t want to speak for Scott, but that influenced us, like, ‘OK, how can you shock at this point?'”
Robert DeLeo, bassist: “Scott was very much against [sexual assault]. He was very sensitive to women’s feelings. But once it’s out there, it’s out of your hands and everybody takes it the way they want to.”
Dean: “Scott just did not dig when women were talked-down to.
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“Hanging out with that guy was harrowing, because you always knew a fight was going to ensue at some point. You get a few drinks in you, and there would be some guy at the bar yelling at his chick or treating her badly, and Scott was like, ‘Hey man, don’t talk to her like that.’ We’re like, ‘Whoa.’
“He had a great respect for the female power.”
Kretz: “Scott was definitely anti-rape, so when those lyrics came out, a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, my God. You’re promoting that?’
“He was like, ‘No, I’m not promoting it. It’s a lyrical twist having the point of view in the first person.’ It got a lot of backlash but once people realized what he was doing and the type of person that he was, it was like, ‘OK, we get it. Not everything is literal.'”