When it comes to alternative rock from the '80s and '90s, the canon arguably starts with the Pixies and My Bloody Valentine and ends with Pearl Jam and Radiohead. That much has been debated and decided since the close of the 20th century.
So where does Stone Temple Pilots fit into that haphazard hierarchy? You decide.
The recently reunited STP seems to have already decided for itself, signing on Pixies front man Black Francis as an opener for select dates on its comeback tour. The prolific troubadour joins STP at the Hollywood Bowl on June 24, and tags along for further dates in Arizona, Texas and Colorado.
But who should be opening, and who should be closing?
this audio or video is no longer availableFrancis has matured much since his Pixies days, as his mellower excursions into Americana and folk found on efforts like 2005's Honeycomb or 2006 Fastman Raiderman have illustrated. And while he's recently abandoned Frank Black in deference to his better-paying Pixies pseudonym, and turned up the noise on his 2007 effort Bluefinger and 2008 miniature concept album Svn Fngrs, he has moved well beyond retreading his hits from yesteryear.
Meanwhile, in a stalled career mired in drugs and drama, Stone Temple Pilots have the same amount of albums as the Pixies – five, to be exact. Black Francis has triple that in his solo career alone. Been there, done that.
So while Stone Temple Pilots is back in action, in a perfect world the band would arguably be opening for Black Francis, not the other way around. No matter how many MTV Video Music Awards it has won.
We're just saying. Your take?
Photo: BlackFrancis.net
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