Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart
{{Infobox song
| name = Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart
| cover = File:TOHIPA.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Stone Temple Pilots
| album = Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
| B-side = *"Pop's Love Suicide"
- "Ride the Cliché"
| released =1996
| recorded = 1995
| studio =
| genre = Alternative rock{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7318926/20-alternative-rock-music-videos-turning-20-in-2016|last=Richin|first=Leslie|title=20 Alternative Rock Music Videos Turning 20 in 2016|magazine=Billboard|date=April 12, 2016|access-date=March 22, 2021}}
| length = 2:56
| label = Atlantic
| composer = Eric Kretz
| lyricist = Scott Weiland
| producer = Brendan O'Brien
| prev_title = Big Bang Baby
| prev_year = 1996
| next_title = Lady Picture Show
| next_year = 1996
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart.ogg
}}{{External music video|{{YouTube|HVPzWkdhwrw|"Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart"}}
}}
}}
"Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" is a song by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, featured on their third album, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. An alternative rock tune, it was recorded in 1995 and released as the album's second single the following year. The track is also on the greatest hits album, Thank You. It was the most played song on Active rock radio stations in the United States in 1996.{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-RandR-IDX/IDX/90s/96/R&R-1996-12-13-OCR-Page-0092.pdf|title=Active Rock: 96 of 1996|publisher=Radio & Records|date=December 13, 1996|access-date=December 23, 2023}}
Track listing
- "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart"
- "Pop's Love Suicide"
- "Ride the Cliché"
Composition and meaning
The core music was written by drummer Eric Kretz, while the lyrics were written by Scott Weiland. Weiland stated in a radio interview that the very ambiguous and mysterious lyrics to the song alluded to a "very bad experience dropping acid."{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} In his autobiography Not Dead and Not For Sale (its title a reference to the lyrics of Trippin'), he adds that it "reflects my hunger for redemption".Not Dead and Not For Sale (Scribner, 2010), pp120 The song's chorus riff references Led Zeppelin's "Dancing Days",{{Cite web|date=2017-11-09 |title=The One after the Big One: Stone Temple Pilots, TINY MUSIC … SONGS FROM THE VATICAN GIFT SHOP
|url=https://www.rhino.com/article/the-one-after-the-big-one-stone-temple-pilots-tiny-music-songs-from-the-vatican-gift-shop |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Rhino |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822032934/https://www.rhino.com/article/the-one-after-the-big-one-stone-temple-pilots-tiny-music-songs-from-the-vatican-gift-shop |url-status=live}} which the band performed on Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin.
Critical reception
Sadie Sartini Garner of Pitchfork praised "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" as a representation of alternative rock "whose burning chorus would've fit on Alice in Chains' Dirt, and whose choppy, pepped-up verses cleared a happier path out of grunge that bands like Third Eye Blind would gladly follow."{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/stone-temple-pilots-tiny-music-songs-from-the-vatican-gift-shop-super-deluxe-edition/|title=Tiny Music… Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop (Super Deluxe Edition)|first=Sadie Sartini|last=Garner|website=Pitchfork|date=July 24, 2021|accessdate=February 28, 2022}}
In 2015, Loudwire and Stereogum ranked the song number six and number one, respectively, on their lists of the ten greatest Stone Temple Pilots songs.{{cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/best-stone-temple-pilots-songs/|title=10 Best Stone Temple Pilots Songs|first=Jeff|last=Cornell|website=Loudwire|date=February 24, 2015|accessdate=February 28, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1847187/the-10-best-stone-temple-pilots-songs/lists/|title=The 10 Best Stone Temple Pilots Songs|first=Chris|last=DeVille|website=Stereogum|date=December 4, 2015|accessdate=February 28, 2022}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1996) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Canadarock|1|chartid=3053|artist=Stone Temple Pilots|rowheader=true|access-date=April 9, 2021}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardradiosongs|36|artist=Stone Temple Pilots|rowheader=true|access-date=November 20, 2021}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|1|artist=Stone Temple Pilots|rowheader=true|access-date=November 20, 2021}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|3|artist=Stone Temple Pilots|rowheader=true|access-date=November 20, 2021}} |
Awards and accolades
The band has had seven songs reach the number one position on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" being their fifth single to reach the top. In 1997, the song received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards.
Appearances of the song
- Cover version is featured in Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero Mobile.
- Master track is featured in Guitar Hero: Smash Hits and downloadable content for Rock Band series.
- Since their 2008 reunion it has frequently been the band's closing song in concerts.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Stone Temple Pilots}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart}}
Category:Songs based on actual events
Category:Stone Temple Pilots songs
Category:Songs written by Eric Kretz
Category:Songs written by Scott Weiland
Category:Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer)
{{1990s-US-single-stub}}