WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.839 So you know the concept of the difficult sophomore 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:05.860 album, right? Oh, yeah, absolutely. It is the 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:08.099 classic industry cliche. Right, where there is 00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:11.179 just that crushing pressure band's face to follow 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:13.359 up a massive debut hit immediately. Yeah, you 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:15.099 basically have your whole life to write your 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:17.140 first album, and then what, like six months to 00:00:17.140 --> 00:00:19.120 write your second while you're exhausted on a 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:21.359 tour bus? Exactly. It is the make or break moment. 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:23.100 Yeah. But I want to throw a wrench in that gear 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:26.039 today for our deep dive. What happens when that 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:28.500 sophomore album doesn't take six months? What 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:30.719 happens when it takes a full 10 years? Well, 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:32.359 then you're usually talking about a very different 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:34.240 kind of beast. I mean, that's not a commercial 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:36.659 follow -up anymore. That is a total reinvention. 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:39.399 That is exactly where we are today. We are looking 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:42.600 at Scott Weiland. Oh, wow. OK. Yeah. And everyone 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:46.700 knows the hits. Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, 00:00:47.020 --> 00:00:51.079 the man was a rock icon, a frontman in the truest, 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.990 most charismatic sense of the word. But today 00:00:53.990 --> 00:00:56.390 we're leaving the stadiums behind. Right. We 00:00:56.390 --> 00:00:59.210 are zooming in on a very specific and honestly 00:00:59.210 --> 00:01:02.149 somewhat chaotic but fascinating project. His 00:01:02.149 --> 00:01:05.430 2008 solo release, Happy in Galoshes. I have 00:01:05.430 --> 00:01:07.230 to say, I just love that title. It paints such 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:10.109 a weird specific picture. It really does. And 00:01:10.109 --> 00:01:12.170 our mission for this deep dive is pretty clear 00:01:12.170 --> 00:01:14.890 for you listening. We aren't just doing a standard 00:01:14.890 --> 00:01:17.790 album review. We want to understand this specific 00:01:17.790 --> 00:01:21.060 slice of time. This is a moment where personal 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:24.500 tragedy, a decade of pent -up creativity, and 00:01:24.500 --> 00:01:27.280 some very diverse influences just all collided. 00:01:27.659 --> 00:01:30.040 Yeah, they collided to create this sprawling, 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:33.640 completely polarizing monster of an album. It 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:36.640 really is a window into a turbulent time. Definitely. 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:38.980 And to guide us, we've pulled together a ton 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:41.620 of great sources. We've got the original production 00:01:41.620 --> 00:01:43.780 notes, the chart history, the critical reception, 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:46.239 and some really revealing interviews Weiland 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:49.239 gave right when this thing dropped. It is a fascinating 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:51.819 case study of what happens when a rock star basically 00:01:51.819 --> 00:01:54.120 goes rogue. So let's unpack this. First, we have 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:56.040 to look at the timeline because that 10 year 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:59.400 gap is significant. Weiland released his first 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:03.439 solo record, 12 bar blues. way back in 1998. 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:05.560 Which we should probably know was a huge critical 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.300 darling. It was very avant -garde and very distinct 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:10.219 from what he was doing in Stone Temple Pilots. 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:13.020 Completely. Yeah. And then just silence, at least 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:16.400 on the solo front. It isn't until November 2008 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:19.939 that Happy in Galoshes finally appears. That 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:22.060 is an absolute lifetime in the music industry. 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:24.740 Yeah. So why the wait? Well, obviously he was 00:02:24.740 --> 00:02:27.419 busy conquering the world with Velvet Revolver 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:29.699 and dealing with the constant on -again -off 00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:33.020 -again drama of STP. Right, of course. But looking 00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:35.960 at the sources, Weiland himself actually makes 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:37.960 an interesting distinction between the two solo 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:40.280 albums. He gave an interview to the Pulse of 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:42.780 Radio, where he compared the two experiences 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:45.639 directly. Oh, really? What is he saying? He described 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:49.319 12 Bar Blues, that 1998 record, as a narcotic 00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:52.219 journey. Wow, that is pretty candid. Very candid. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:54.479 And knowing his history, it's probably an understatement, 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:57.099 but then he contrasts it with happy and galoshes. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:59.400 He said the new one was a little bit more focused 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.020 specifically because he wasn't on that same narcotic 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:04.560 journey anymore. Focused is an interesting word 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:06.620 choice, though, because as we're going to see 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:09.219 today, this album is kind of all over the place 00:03:09.219 --> 00:03:11.539 musically. It is, and he actually admitted that 00:03:11.539 --> 00:03:14.060 in the exact same breath. He said it's still 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:16.080 sort of all over the map because his influences 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.620 are so wide and varied. Yeah, that makes sense. 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:21.360 But the key difference was the mental state. 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:23.879 He wasn't chasing a high sound. He was chasing 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:27.400 a sound. Crucially, he was doing it on his own 00:03:27.400 --> 00:03:29.120 terms. I saw that in the production notes. This 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:31.080 wasn't a major label machine pushing him, was 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:33.219 it? Not at all. This was released on Soft Drive 00:03:33.219 --> 00:03:35.879 Records. Which was? That was Weiland's own label. 00:03:36.219 --> 00:03:38.879 And that context is vital for you to understand 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:41.879 this record. When you're on Atlantic or RCA, 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.889 you have... A and R guys in suits telling you 00:03:44.889 --> 00:03:47.210 to cut the tracklist down, or telling you that 00:03:47.210 --> 00:03:49.610 a song is too weird for radio. But when you own 00:03:49.610 --> 00:03:52.750 the label, you answer to literally no one. You 00:03:52.750 --> 00:03:55.229 have total creative autonomy. If you want to 00:03:55.229 --> 00:03:57.810 put a Catholic hymn next to a David Bowie cover, 00:03:58.370 --> 00:04:01.250 you just do it. Which perfectly explains why 00:04:01.250 --> 00:04:03.599 this thing ended up being so massive. which we 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:05.780 will get to. But before we talk about the sound, 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:08.120 we have to talk about the headspace. Weiland 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:10.439 mentioned being focused, but the sources paint 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:13.240 a picture of a guy going through the absolute 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:17.100 wringer emotionally. It was an incredibly heavy 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:20.019 time. In an interview with MTV News from that 00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:23.259 press cycle, Weiland didn't shy away from what 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:26.139 was fueling the songwriting. He pointed to two 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:28.800 major life events that anchored the album's themes. 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:32.079 The first being his marriage. Right. His separation 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:34.480 from Mary Forsberg. They had been husband and 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:38.000 wife for eight years. That's tough. It is a significant 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:41.319 chapter of life closing. And that heartbreak 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:44.100 is baked right into the DNA of these songs. You 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:46.860 can really hear the separation anxiety. And the 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:49.160 second one is even heavier, honestly. Yeah. The 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:51.500 death of his brother, Michael Weiland. That is 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:54.699 just tragic. And looking at the credits, There's 00:04:54.699 --> 00:04:56.980 a detail here that really stops you in your tracks. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:58.540 I think I know exactly what you're looking at. 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:01.019 Michael isn't just an inspiration for the songs 00:05:01.019 --> 00:05:03.800 in an abstract way. He's actually on the album. 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:06.339 Yes. Michael Weiland is credited with playing 00:05:06.339 --> 00:05:09.079 drums on the track, The Man I Didn't Know. Wow. 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:11.480 So when you listen to this record, it's not just 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:14.540 an artist mourning a loss. It is a posthumous 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:17.199 tribute featuring the person who was lost. It 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.139 adds this whole layer of ghostliness to the production. 00:05:20.420 --> 00:05:23.579 You are hearing the brothers play together, preserved 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:25.839 forever on this track. That honestly gives me 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:28.589 chills. It really recontextualizes the whole 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:31.689 project for me. It moves it away from being just 00:05:31.689 --> 00:05:34.129 a product and turns it into a memorial. It really 00:05:34.129 --> 00:05:37.009 does. And Weiland actually used the word hodgepodge 00:05:37.009 --> 00:05:39.709 to describe the album to MTV. He said it was 00:05:39.709 --> 00:05:42.670 a hodgepodge inspired by those marital woes and 00:05:42.670 --> 00:05:44.730 his brother's death. Which makes total sense. 00:05:44.910 --> 00:05:46.850 Right. And I think that explains why the tone 00:05:46.850 --> 00:05:49.769 shifts so drastically. Grief isn't linear. One 00:05:49.769 --> 00:05:51.790 minute you're angry, the next you're manic, the 00:05:51.790 --> 00:05:54.250 next you're just quietly reflective. Exactly. 00:05:54.269 --> 00:05:58.139 It is messy. reflects that chaos perfectly. So 00:05:58.139 --> 00:06:00.540 let's talk about how that chaos translated into 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:04.360 the actual sound. We've got this focus, but hodgepodge 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:07.339 emotional landscape. What actually comes out 00:06:07.339 --> 00:06:09.680 of the speakers? Well, genre -wise, the sources 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:12.540 tag it as neo -psychedelia and alternative rock. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.399 It is textured, it's layered, it's trippy. It 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:17.560 is definitely not a straight ahead hard rock 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:19.339 record, like you might expect from the Velvet 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:23.139 Revolver guy. And he had some serious help building 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:25.540 that sound. Who was behind the board? The main 00:06:25.540 --> 00:06:28.600 production team was Weiland himself and his longtime 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:31.899 collaborator Doug Green. Doug Green played guitar 00:06:31.899 --> 00:06:33.819 and bass on a lot of it too. They built these 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:37.240 lush, weird soundscapes together. But, and here's 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:40.079 a name that will perk up the ears of any audio 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:42.959 nerd select tracks were recorded by Steve Albini. 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:45.500 Steve Albini? Wait, the guy who did Nirvana and 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:48.680 the Pixies? The very same. The guy who famously 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.410 hates production tricks. That seems like such 00:06:51.410 --> 00:06:53.889 a massive clash of styles. I mean, Weiland is 00:06:53.889 --> 00:06:57.990 all about the glam, the layers, the Bowie -esque 00:06:57.990 --> 00:07:00.730 theatricality. Albini is all about setting up 00:07:00.730 --> 00:07:02.550 a microphone in a room and just hitting record. 00:07:02.750 --> 00:07:05.149 It is a huge clash, but that tension is part 00:07:05.149 --> 00:07:06.790 of what makes the album so interesting. You have 00:07:06.790 --> 00:07:08.990 this polished psychedelic production from Weiland 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:11.889 and Green, but then you have that raw, abrasive 00:07:11.889 --> 00:07:14.089 Albini touch cutting through on certain tracks. 00:07:14.110 --> 00:07:16.290 It really keeps you on your toes. That is a fascinating 00:07:16.290 --> 00:07:18.740 mix. But the credits list gets even weirder. 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:20.519 I was looking at the guest musicians and I had 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:22.420 to do a double take. Let me guess you saw the 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:25.899 No Doubt connection. I did. What is the entire 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:29.379 rhythm section of No Doubt? doing on a Scott 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:31.560 Weiland solo album. It's totally unexpected, 00:07:31.639 --> 00:07:34.279 right? You've got Adrian Young on drums, Tony 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:36.740 Kanal on bass, and Tom Dumont on guitar. They 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:38.980 all appear on the track Paralysis. That feels 00:07:38.980 --> 00:07:42.420 like such a 2008 collision of worlds. You have 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:45.860 the kings of SoCal, ska pop backing the king 00:07:45.860 --> 00:07:47.939 of grunge. It really does feel that way. And 00:07:47.939 --> 00:07:49.899 it shows that Weiland was just calling up friends 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:51.839 and people he genuinely respected. He wasn't 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:53.620 trying to build a super group necessarily. He 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:55.639 was just getting great players in the room. It 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:57.680 feels like a high budget jam session. among friends. 00:07:58.060 --> 00:07:59.660 And speaking of collisions, we have to talk about 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:02.600 the cover songs. Because there is a name on the 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:04.980 credits that seems to loom large over Weiland's 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:07.959 entire career. David Bowie. Yes. Weiland covers 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:10.100 fame. He does. And not just a straight cover 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:12.740 either. He brings in Paul Oakenfold. The DJ. 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:16.300 The electronic music legend himself. So you have 00:08:16.300 --> 00:08:18.399 Scott Weiland covering David Bowie with Paul 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:21.040 Oakenfold. It is this neo -psych dance -rock 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:24.189 hybrid. And the source notes that Weiland cited 00:08:24.189 --> 00:08:26.269 Bowie as one of his main influences, anyway. 00:08:26.470 --> 00:08:29.129 That makes total sense. Weiland always had that 00:08:29.129 --> 00:08:31.509 chameleon -like quality that Bowie had. He was 00:08:31.509 --> 00:08:33.730 always changing his look and his sound. Exactly. 00:08:33.870 --> 00:08:35.929 But think about the meta -commentary there for 00:08:35.929 --> 00:08:39.629 a second. Fame. Scott Weiland knew a thing or 00:08:39.629 --> 00:08:42.250 two about the dark side of fame. He was incredibly 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:45.649 famous and incredibly scrutinized by the tabloids. 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:49.409 And here he is deconstructing a song about exactly 00:08:49.409 --> 00:08:52.210 that over a club beat. It's almost self -satire. 00:08:52.470 --> 00:08:55.509 It's definitely very self -aware. Now, we mentioned 00:08:55.509 --> 00:08:57.389 earlier that he was on his own label, so he had 00:08:57.389 --> 00:08:59.750 no one tell him no. And that brings us to the 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:02.490 sheer size of this thing. Oh, yeah. It is a beast 00:09:02.490 --> 00:09:04.389 of an album. It was originally reported as a 00:09:04.389 --> 00:09:06.509 double album, right? It was. And depending on 00:09:06.509 --> 00:09:08.490 which version you bought, it basically was one. 00:09:08.750 --> 00:09:10.309 Break down the versions for us so people know 00:09:10.309 --> 00:09:12.309 what they're getting into. OK, so you have the 00:09:12.309 --> 00:09:14.409 standard edition. That's already substantial. 00:09:14.610 --> 00:09:17.570 It's 13 tracks, clocking in at about 52 minutes. 00:09:17.929 --> 00:09:20.710 That is a full meal for an album. A very solid 00:09:20.710 --> 00:09:23.049 LP length. But then you have the deluxe edition. 00:09:23.289 --> 00:09:26.250 This adds a second disc with 10 extra tracks. 00:09:26.610 --> 00:09:29.169 If you listen to the Deluxe version, the runtime 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:32.970 jumps to over 90 minutes. That is a feature film 00:09:32.970 --> 00:09:35.149 length. That is asking a whole lot of the listener. 00:09:35.289 --> 00:09:38.009 It is. And this is where that hodgepodge quality 00:09:38.009 --> 00:09:41.350 really comes out in full force. The Deluxe edition 00:09:41.350 --> 00:09:44.409 is where he really let his freak flag fly, especially 00:09:44.409 --> 00:09:46.830 with the cover songs. We mentioned Bowie, but 00:09:46.830 --> 00:09:48.549 there are some other surprising choices in there. 00:09:48.629 --> 00:09:51.669 There are. He covers the Smiths. The Smiths. 00:09:51.710 --> 00:09:54.799 Which song? Reel Around the Fountain. Man. That 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:57.179 is a deep cut. It really is. And it's a bold 00:09:57.179 --> 00:10:01.179 choice for a grunge era icon to take on Morrissey 00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:03.399 and Marr. But if you think about it, Morrissey 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:06.620 is the king of dramatic melancholy. Weiland was 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:09.220 in a deep depression. It actually fits perfectly. 00:10:09.320 --> 00:10:11.360 He strips away the jangle and just leans into 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:13.759 the sadness of the track. Totally. It makes a 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:15.480 lot of sense when you put it that way. And then 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:17.940 he covers a band called Palo Alto with a song 00:10:17.940 --> 00:10:20.840 called Some Things Must Go This Way. But the 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:22.600 one that stands out the most to me, the one that 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:25.299 really signals I am doing whatever I want, is 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:28.980 the track Be Not Afraid. The title sounds biblical. 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:31.879 It is. It's an untitled track on the album, but 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:34.500 it's actually a Catholic hymn written by Bob 00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:37.220 Dufford. Wait like a church hymn, like something 00:10:37.220 --> 00:10:39.779 you would hear at Sunday mass. A literal hymn, 00:10:39.820 --> 00:10:42.379 and it closes out the standard album. You've 00:10:42.379 --> 00:10:45.899 got songs about crashing and paralysis and fame, 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:49.620 and then a Catholic hymn telling you not to be 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:52.279 afraid. That is heavy. especially considering 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:54.159 the grief we talked about earlier. Precisely. 00:10:54.259 --> 00:10:56.259 It feels like a moment of trying to find some 00:10:56.259 --> 00:10:58.779 spiritual grounding after, like, 90 minutes of 00:10:58.779 --> 00:11:01.399 sonic exploration. He's not looking for a pop 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:03.519 hook there. He's looking for salvation, or at 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:05.559 least peace. And again, going back to the label 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:09.659 situation. Yeah. No major label A &R rep is gonna 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:11.740 let you end a rock album with a Catholic hymn. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:13.980 Never. They would've cut it immediately. That 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:16.700 is the sound of pure autonomy. And for those 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:18.559 who just wanted the hits if there were any on 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:21.419 a project like this, What were the key tracks 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:23.519 that people might actually recognize? Well, the 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.200 first single was Missing Cleveland. That's a 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.559 Green and Weiland co -write. It is probably the 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:31.100 most radio -friendly track on there. Then you 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:32.940 had Paralysis, which we mentioned with the No 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:35.980 Doubt guys, and another original called Crash. 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:38.080 Missing Cleveland sounds like such a classic 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:41.259 rock title. It definitely leans into that alternative 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:44.000 rock radio sensibility. It has a big chorus. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:46.419 So he's got this double album. He's got No Doubt. 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:49.840 He's got hymns. How do you even begin to market 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:53.440 something like this in 2008? Ah, 2008. The great 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.000 transition era of the internet. I can literally 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.139 hear the dial -up tone in my head right now. 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:00.419 It wasn't quite dial -up, but it was definitely 00:12:00.419 --> 00:12:04.019 the Web 2 .0 Wild West. The marketing strategy 00:12:04.019 --> 00:12:06.659 relied really heavily on MySpace. Of course it 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:08.860 did. The golden age of the top eight. Exactly. 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:12.100 The album was available to preview on Scott Weiland's 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:14.580 MySpace page. They released Missing Cleveland 00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:17.759 there first. Spin .com was also a big... They 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:20.080 had exclusive streams of Paralysis and Crash. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:22.960 It was very blog -focused promotion. And did 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:24.960 they do some kind of video series, too? Yes, 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:27.179 they did webisodes. They released four webisodes 00:12:27.179 --> 00:12:29.539 directed by Rocco Garino to promote Crash. It 00:12:29.539 --> 00:12:33.220 was very much about giving fans that behind -the 00:12:33.220 --> 00:12:35.240 -scenes digital access that was just becoming 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:37.659 popular then, just clips of him in the studio 00:12:37.659 --> 00:12:39.480 being scoffed. And I saw something in the notes 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:42.710 about a fan vote. That's right. In early 2009, 00:12:42.870 --> 00:12:44.649 they announced a campaign where fans could vote 00:12:44.649 --> 00:12:48.149 for the second single. The choices were Paralysis 00:12:48.149 --> 00:12:51.879 Blind Confusion or Killing Me Sweetly. That is 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:53.820 actually pretty forward thinking. Engaging the 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:56.659 base before engagement was a corporate marketing 00:12:56.659 --> 00:12:59.539 buzzword. It was really smart. But despite the 00:12:59.539 --> 00:13:02.080 innovative marketing and the massive name attached, 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:04.960 the commercial performance was modest. What are 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:07.519 the actual numbers? It debuted at number 97 on 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:10.720 the Billboard 200. Ouch. For a guy who played 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:15.139 arenas, that is a thud. Yeah. It sold about 10 00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:18.789 ,500 copies in the first week. By STP standards, 00:13:18.970 --> 00:13:21.149 that is a blip. That is a rounding error. But 00:13:21.149 --> 00:13:23.070 maybe that is just the trade -off for creative 00:13:23.070 --> 00:13:26.269 control. Exactly. It wasn't designed to be Interstate 00:13:26.269 --> 00:13:29.009 Love Song Part 2, and the reviews reflected that 00:13:29.009 --> 00:13:30.929 completely. The critics were totally divided. 00:13:31.009 --> 00:13:32.850 It was a love it or hate it kind of situation. 00:13:33.129 --> 00:13:35.330 Completely. On the positive side, All Music gave 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:37.669 it 4 out of 5 stars. They loved the ambition 00:13:37.669 --> 00:13:40.350 of it. Rolling Stone gave it a respectable 3 00:13:40.350 --> 00:13:43.590 .5. They appreciated the texture and the weirdness. 00:13:43.730 --> 00:13:46.190 But not everyone was on board, clearly. No. Entertainment 00:13:46.190 --> 00:13:49.379 Weekly gave it a C minus. A C minus. That is 00:13:49.379 --> 00:13:52.919 rough. That is barely passing. It is. But their 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:55.580 argument was valid from a pop perspective. They 00:13:55.580 --> 00:13:58.500 thought it was a mess. Too long, too self -indulgent. 00:13:58.750 --> 00:14:01.610 And to be fair, when you release a 90 -minute 00:14:01.610 --> 00:14:03.850 double album with hymns and synth pop covers, 00:14:04.370 --> 00:14:06.110 you're going to alienate the people who just 00:14:06.110 --> 00:14:08.269 want a tight rock record. It sounds like he was 00:14:08.269 --> 00:14:10.490 making it for himself first and foremost. That 00:14:10.490 --> 00:14:13.409 is absolutely the feeling you get. This was catharsis. 00:14:13.409 --> 00:14:15.649 This was purging the system. Now, looking back 00:14:15.649 --> 00:14:18.269 from where we stand today, this album holds a 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:20.970 very specific and kind of sad place in history. 00:14:21.149 --> 00:14:24.490 It does. It stands as Scott Weiland's final main 00:14:24.490 --> 00:14:27.269 solo album of original material released during 00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:29.899 his lifetime. That is a really sobering fact. 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:32.940 He did release another solo album in 2011 called 00:14:32.940 --> 00:14:34.639 The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, but that 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:36.320 was a Christmas cover album. Right. Traditional 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:38.600 songs. White Christmas and all that. Exactly. 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:40.700 So if you want to know what was going on in Scott 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:42.779 Weiland's creative mind, what he was writing, 00:14:42.940 --> 00:14:44.679 what he was feeling, what he wanted to say to 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:47.519 the world, happy and galoshes, is effectively 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:50.700 the final chapter of his original solo songwriting. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:53.419 It is the last transmission. It is. And that 00:14:53.419 --> 00:14:55.620 gives it a weight that maybe people didn't appreciate 00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:57.779 back in 2008 when they were just voting for singles 00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:00.700 on MySpace. Back then it was just Scott's weird 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:03.980 new project. Now it is Scott's final statement. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.419 It really changes how you listen to it. It forces 00:15:06.419 --> 00:15:08.940 you to listen closer. You are hearing an Argus 00:15:08.940 --> 00:15:11.860 trying to make sense of his world, the divorce, 00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:14.360 the death of his brother, the fame, and just 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:17.220 putting it all on tape without a filter. So let's 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:19.720 recap this journey for everyone listening. We've 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:22.320 got a rock icon stepping away from his massive 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:25.120 bands to make a record on his own indie label. 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:28.379 It takes 10 full years to arrive. And he is grieving 00:15:28.379 --> 00:15:31.159 his brother and the end of his marriage. He brings 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:33.340 in everyone from Steve Albini to the drummer 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:36.440 of No Doubt. He covers David Bowie and the Smiths. 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:38.860 And he caps it all off with a literal Catholic 00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:41.700 hymn. And the result is this polarizing, sprawling 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:44.440 double album that sells modestly, that stands 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:46.720 as his final original solo statement. That is 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:49.929 the story of Happy and Galoshes. It is messy, 00:15:50.070 --> 00:15:53.529 it is long, but it is painfully real. You know, 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:55.250 before we go, I want to leave you with one final 00:15:55.250 --> 00:15:57.590 thought to mull over. Think about that title 00:15:57.590 --> 00:16:01.570 again. Happy and Galoshes. It is very evocative. 00:16:01.809 --> 00:16:04.269 We know the album is full of tragedy. We know 00:16:04.269 --> 00:16:07.769 it's focused but chaotic. So is that title ironic? 00:16:08.169 --> 00:16:10.289 Is he making a joke about pretending to be happy? 00:16:10.789 --> 00:16:13.889 I have thought about that a lot. Galoshes are 00:16:13.889 --> 00:16:15.970 rain boots. You wear them when it is storming 00:16:15.970 --> 00:16:18.360 outside. Right. So maybe it is not irony. Think 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:21.039 about a kid in rain boots. They don't hate the 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.259 rain. They jump in the puddles. They are resilient. 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:26.899 That is a beautiful way to look at it. Maybe 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:29.600 amidst the divorce and the death and all the 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.519 chaos he was trying to find that feeling again. 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:34.360 That ability to stand in the rain and just be 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:37.700 okay. To be happy in galoshes. Finding the joy 00:16:37.700 --> 00:16:40.090 in the storm. I think that is the perfect place 00:16:40.090 --> 00:16:42.789 to leave it for today. I totally agree. If you 00:16:42.789 --> 00:16:44.509 haven't listened to the album or if you skipped 00:16:44.509 --> 00:16:46.549 it back in 2008 because of the mixed reviews, 00:16:46.789 --> 00:16:49.490 go give it a spin. It is a lot to digest, but 00:16:49.490 --> 00:16:51.730 it is definitely worth the time. Thanks for taking 00:16:51.730 --> 00:16:53.870 this deep dive with us. Always a pleasure. And 00:16:53.870 --> 00:16:55.909 to everyone listening, we will catch you on the 00:16:55.909 --> 00:16:56.610 next deep dive.