Sex Type Thing
{{Short description|1993 single by Stone Temple Pilots}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Sex Type Thing
| cover = Sextypething1.jpg
| alt =
| caption = One of several covers used in the UK
| type = single
| artist = Stone Temple Pilots
| album = Core
| B-side = * "Piece of Pie"
- "Wicked Garden" (live)
- "Sin" (live)
| released = {{start date|1993|03|15}}
| studio = Rumbo (Los Angeles)
| genre = * Grunge{{cite magazine|last=Frost|first=Deborah|date=March 12, 1993|title=Core (1993) Music Review|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|issue=161|url=https://ew.com/article/1993/03/12/core/|access-date=February 9, 2010}}
- alternative metal{{Cite web |last=Kanner |first=Matt |date=2016-04-27 |title=7 in Heaven: Rock Never Dies |url=https://www.portsmouthnh.com/seven-in-heaven-rock-never-dies/ |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=PortsmouthNH.com |language=en-US}}
| length = 3:37
| label = Atlantic
| composer = * Dean DeLeo
| lyricist = Scott Weiland
| producer = Brendan O'Brien
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Plush
| next_year = 1993
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = stone temple pilots sex type thing sample.ogg
| description = "Sex Type Thing"
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|rcA1WiZTKFg|"Sex Type Thing"}}}}
}}
"Sex Type Thing" is the debut single by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, released from their debut studio album, Core, in March 1993. It also appears on the greatest hits compilation album Thank You. The song spawned a music video which received moderate rotation on MTV (at the height of the early 1990s grunge music scene). The single peaked at number 23 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart.
Music video
During the grunge explosion of the 1990s, the music video for "Sex Type Thing" is usually denoted as the single factor that drove Stone Temple Pilots into the scene. The video was in medium-heavy rotation on MTV during the time, and helped make STP a contender in the grunge era. The video itself hosts a very dark motif, showing the band performing in a dungeon chamber, with singer Scott Weiland having bleached his hair blond, interspersed between clips of a dancer swinging on a chain and a woman in a prom dress surrounded by a ring of fire who then is being menaced before she rips her clothes off. Footage of a wild man dancing plays throughout. This video is rather distinctive because it is the first to showcase Scott Weiland's trademark "dance"."''https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s3lmr09oVg
". Music video on Youtube. Retrieved June 13, 2005. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208062527/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s3lmr09oVg |date=December 8, 2014 }}
The set was used again for Sunny Day Real Estate's "In Circles" music video in 1994.{{Cite web|url=https://russellbates.com/work/sunny-day-real-estate-in-circles/|title=Sunny Day Real Estate"In Circles" | Russell Bates – Director|access-date=December 4, 2019}}
Controversy
Upon the song's success, controversies regarding its lyrics emerged while STP was on tour opening for Megadeth. Weiland found himself in the position of defending "Sex Type Thing" to individuals who took the first-person approach he used in the song literally. In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone, Weiland expressed his frustration with the song's reception by saying "It was, 'All right, the "Cop Killer" controversy's dead, let's try to find something else'...I never thought that people would ever seriously think that I was an advocate of date rape."{{cite web|url=http://www.belowempty.com/articles.php?s=story&id=9|title= Hard To The Core|date=August 1, 1993|publisher=|access-date=April 17, 2010}}
Track listings
All live tracks were recorded at the Reading Festival 1993.
CD single 1
- "Sex Type Thing" – 3:37
- "Piece of Pie" – 5:28
- "Wicked Garden" (live) – 4:26
- "Sin" (live) – 7:52
CD single 2
- "Sex Type Thing" – 3:37
- "Piece of Pie" – 5:28
- "Dead and Bloated" (live) – 4:53
- "Sex Type Thing" (live) – 4:01
European CD single
- "Sex Type Thing – 3:37
- "Wicked Garden – 4:04
- "Plush (Acoustic)" – 3:52
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!scope="col"|Chart (1993) !scope="col"|Peak |
| Australia (ARIA){{cite web|url=https://www.bubblingdownunder.com/2025/06/week-commencing-7-june-1993.html| title=Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing June 7, 1993|website=Bubbling Down Under|access-date=June 7, 2025}}
| 138 |
| {{single chart|UK|60|date=19930327|rowheader=true|access-date=October 20, 2022}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|23|artist=Stone Temple Pilots|rowheader=true|access-date=March 6, 2021}} |
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col"|Region !scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Format(s) !scope="col"|Label(s) !scope="col"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
| scope="row"|United States
|January 1993 |Radio |rowspan="3"|Atlantic |{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} |
|---|
| scope="row"|United Kingdom
|March 15, 1993 |{{hlist|12-inch vinyl|CD}} |{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=17|date=March 13, 1993}} |
| scope="row"|United Kingdom (re-release)
|November 15, 1993 |{{hlist|12-inch vinyl|CD|cassette}} |{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Music Week|page=25|date=November 13, 1993}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.stonetemplepilots.com/index.php?module=discography&discography_item_id=2#section_top Stone Temple Pilots Official Website – Core]
- [http://www.lyrics.com/sex-type-thing-lyrics-stone-temple-pilots.html Lyrics at Lyrics.com]
{{Stone Temple Pilots}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Stone Temple Pilots songs
Category:Atlantic Records singles
Category:Obscenity controversies in music
Category:Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer)
Category:Songs about sexual assault
Category:Songs based on actual events
Category:Songs written by Scott Weiland