"Lady Picture Show"
A simple slate background with the name of the band and the song written in large light-yellow cursive
Single by Stone Temple Pilots
from the album Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
ReleasedNovember 6, 1996 (1996-11-06)
StudioWesterly Ranch, Santa Ynez, California
Genre
Length4:06
LabelAtlantic
Composer(s)Robert DeLeo
Lyricist(s)Scott Weiland
Producer(s)Brendan O'Brien
Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology
"Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart"
(1996)
"Lady Picture Show"
(1996)
"Tumble in the Rough"
(1997)
Audio sample
  • file
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Music video
"Lady Picture Show" on YouTube

"Lady Picture Show" is a song by American alternative rock band Stone Temple Pilots. It was the third single released from their third album, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. It was also one of three tracks on the album to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Scott Weiland wrote in his autobiography, Not Dead and Not for Sale, that the song "is about the horrific gang rape of a dancer who winds up falling in love but can't let go of the pain."[1]

"Lady Picture Show" also appears on Thank You, a greatest hits compilation released in 2003. It was also used in the unaired pilot episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer during the scene where Buffy is at The Bronze.

Composition

The song is known } for its striking resemblance to the style of music which was popular in the 1970s . It consists of a memorable opening riff, heavy use of the bass, as well as the use of a concert bass drum during the main chorus . The album (and this song especially) represents a milestone in STP's sound, for a large amount of psychedelic rock can be heard throughout the album. Scott Weiland's trademark low growl was replaced with a higher croon.

Music video

The music video was directed by Josh Taft.[2] The video is presented as an old film peep show; rendered nearly completely in black-and-white. Throughout the video, the band can be seen playing in a white room, with objects such as bubbles and shiny diamonds. Various shots of exotic dancers are seen dancing around the screen as well, along with shots of the band members playing. During Dean DeLeo's notable solo, the screen turns into the fuzzy color structure which was a trademark of the 1960s. The segment shows Dean playing in a colorful meadow, and then the video then fades back into black and white for the rest of the video.

Charts

Chart (1996–97) Peak
Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[3] 37
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[4] 6
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[5] 1
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[6] 53

Notes

  1. Not Dead and Not For Sale (Scribner, 2010), pp120
  2. http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=26794
  3. "Top Singles - Volume 64, No. 18". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  4. "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  5. "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  6. "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
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