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My Gen X Playlist: Plush – Stone Temple Pilots

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Daily writing prompt
You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. What’s it like?
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I was an early adopter to Starbuck’s third place. I needed a place to relax, read and have a cup of coffee. It didn’t have to be at Starbucks, but they were practically on every other corner so it was convenient. Sunday morning reading the paper was a standing ritual for me. I’d recognize the neighborhood regulars. Usually no words spoken, it was still too early for a conversation without caffeine. A nod of acknowledgment sufficed. And we were OK with that limited interaction.

If I needed to kill time, voilà! Coffee, iPhone and a scone. I’m comfortable sitting, reading by myself. Being alone doesn’t have to equate to loneliness. Sometimes time by myself is a welcomed treat.

Other times I’d stop for a cup of coffee to delay engaging the rush hour traffic home. Caffeine and rush hour traffic could be a recipe for road rage for others. But I’m the guy who can drink a venti coffee at 10:30 pm and sleep like a baby by 11:00. Coffee relaxes me. No road rage here.

I don’t mind if there is noise or a crowd. The more the merrier, I say. I can easily relax and read among the chaos of a coffee house. After all, it’s a third place for everybody, not just me.

I like 90’s acoustic music at coffee houses. Here is a cool acoustic version of the Stone Temple Pilots’ Plush.

With its seemingly random imagery — a mask that was found, search and rescue dogs on the prowl, inclement weather, etc. — it’s nearly impossible to decipher precisely what “Plush” is about. But during an episode of VH1 Storytellers, Scott Weiland finally spilled the beans. “The lyrics to this song were inspired by a true story,” the Stone Temple Pilots frontman recounted. “A girl was kidnapped and then later found tragically murdered back in the early part of the Nineties. So it gave me fuel to write the words to this song. However, this song is not about that, really; it’s sort of a metaphor for a lost, obsessive relationship.”

– rolling stone

Not many bands can pull off a song about a kidnapping and murder. I always wondered about the dog reference in the lyrics. Now I know. Despite the tragic inspiration, this song would still have a cozy feel played live in a small coffee house. I can imagine the audience swaying, even when the dogs do find her. Proof an acoustic performance can make any song feel good.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

And I feel that time's a wasted go
So where ya going 'til tomorrow?
And I see that these are lies to come
So would you even care?

And I feel it
And I feel it

Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?

And I feel, so much depends on the weather
So is it raining in your bedroom?
And I see, that these are the eyes of disarray
Would you even care?

And I feel it
And she feels it

Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?

When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it

Where ya going for tomorrow?
Where ya going with the mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?

When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
To find it
To find it
To find it

20 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: Plush – Stone Temple Pilots”

  1. I used to be the type of person that could drink coffee right before bed and still sleep like a stone. Nowadays, that’s not the case. ^_^ I keep it to one cup in the morning. I also used to do my reading and writing in coffee shops. They’re great for these things.

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    1. Starbucks created their coffee house with the philosophy that people can congregate in a place other than home or work. This “third place” represented another destination for people to gather and relax in a warm and inviting atmosphere. I liked the feeling of a different place other than home and work.

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  5. Wow, another surprising backstory to a chill song from Starbucks! Gruesome, but somehow relaxing. Haha!
    I know a lot of writers go to Starbucks to work, but I could never. I’m always too self-conscious, wondering what people think I’m doing there. I can’t concentrate when there is too much noise and conversation around me, but strangely I like to listen to music when I write.

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  8. My sweety and I have been on the decaf for several years. There’s a roaster in our city that does beans that actually taste like real, good coffee.

    I’ve never been much of a STP follower so appreciated you introducing me to this song. On a road trip in 2018 my musician son and I listened to a Canadian broadcaster, Alan Cross, who did a three-episode podcast series on Weiland back in 2017. Here’s a link to the first one in case you are interested. I remember it being pretty good: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ongoing-history-of-new-music/id1201968027?i=1000398379522 (with apologies if you’re not on iOS)

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