"Sour Girl" | ||||
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Single by Stone Temple Pilots | ||||
from the album No. 4 | ||||
B-side |
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Released | April 16, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:16 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Composer(s) | Dean DeLeo | |||
Lyricist(s) | Scott Weiland | |||
Producer(s) | Brendan O'Brien | |||
Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"Sour Girl" | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Sour Girl" on YouTube |
"Sour Girl" is a song by Stone Temple Pilots. It was written by singer Scott Weiland and guitarist Dean DeLeo and released as a single from the band's fourth album, No. 4 (1999). "Sour Girl" was one of the band's most successful singles, and their only song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
Background
Scott Weiland talked about the song in his autobiography Not Dead & Not for Sale:
"Everyone is convinced that it's about my romance with Mary [Forsberg, second wife]," "But everyone is wrong. 'Sour Girl' was written after the collapse of my relationship with Jannina [sic]. It's about her. 'She was a sour girl the day that she met me,' I wrote. 'She was a happy girl the day she left me… I was a superman, but looks are deceiving. The rollercoaster ride's a lonely one. I pay a ransom note to stop it from steaming.' The ransom note, of course, was the fortune our divorce was costing me. And the happy state, which I presumed to be Jannina's [sic] mood, was because she had finally rid her life of a man who had never been faithful."
"Sour Girl" also appears on the compilation albums Thank You and Buy This. It is the only Stone Temple Pilots song to reach the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 78.[4]
Music video
A music video was released to accompany this single and stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was a fan of the band, as the female lead. At the time the video was made, Gellar was a popular star thanks to her TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her movies Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The video was directed by David Slade, whose later work includes episodes of Hannibal, and the movie The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
The video was nominated for Best Cinematography on MTV Video Music Awards in 2000.[5]
Track listing
- "Sour Girl"
- "Sex & Violence" (live)
- "Sour Girl" (live)
Charts
"Sour Girl" was one of STP's biggest hits since the Core and Purple era of the early 1990s. Billboard ranked "Sour Girl" at #88 on its list of the 100 Best Rock Songs of the 2000s.[6] The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. To date, this remains to be the band's only entry on the Hot 100.
Chart (2000) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[7] | 66 |
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[8] | 3 |
US Billboard Hot 100[9] | 78 |
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[10] | 3 |
US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[11] | 37 |
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12] | 4 |
Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | "Sour Girl" | MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography | Nominated[13] |
References
- ^ Shipley, Al (June 8, 2024). "Every Stone Temple Pilots Album, Ranked". Spin. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Stone Temple Pilots' Albums Ranked". Alt77. April 5, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Not Dead and Not For Sale (Scribner, 2010), pp138–139
- ^ "Stone Temple Pilots | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
- ^ "Rock On The Net: Stone Temple Pilots". www.rockonthenet.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
- ^ "Billboard Decade Ending Rock Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 269.
- ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7277." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ "MTV Video Music Awards | 2000 | Highlights, Winners, Performers and Photos from the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards | MTV.com". MTV. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2016-04-21.