Sex Type Thing

"Sex Type Thing"
One of several covers used in the UK
Single by Stone Temple Pilots
from the album Core
B-side
  • "Piece of Pie"
  • "Wicked Garden" (live)
  • "Sin" (live)
ReleasedSeptember 14, 1992 (1992-09-14)
RecordedMay 1992
StudioRumbo (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length3:37
LabelAtlantic
Composers
LyricistScott Weiland
ProducerBrendan O'Brien
Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology
"Sex Type Thing"
(1992)		 "Plush"
(1993)
Audio sample
"Sex Type Thing"
Music video
"Sex Type Thing" on YouTube

"Sex Type Thing" is a song by the American rock band Stone Temple Pilots from their debut studio album, Core (1992). Atlantic Records serviced the song to US radio on September 14, 1992, as the band's debut and lead single from the album. "Sex Type Thing" peaked at number 23 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart and spawned a music video which received moderate rotation on MTV.

Music video

During the grunge explosion of the 1990s, the music video for "Sex Type Thing" is usually denoted as the single factor that drove Stone Temple Pilots into the scene. The video was in medium-heavy rotation on MTV during the time, and helped make STP a contender in the grunge era. The video itself hosts a very dark motif, showing the band performing in a dungeon chamber, with singer Scott Weiland having bleached his hair blond, interspersed between clips of a dancer swinging on a chain and a woman in a prom dress surrounded by a ring of fire who then is being menaced before she rips her clothes off. Footage of a wild man dancing plays throughout. This video is rather distinctive because it is the first to showcase Scott Weiland's trademark "dance".

Controversy

Upon the song's success, controversies regarding its lyrics emerged while STP was on tour opening for Megadeth. Weiland found himself in the position of defending "Sex Type Thing" to individuals who took the first-person approach he used in the song literally. In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone, Weiland expressed his frustration with the song's reception by saying "It was, 'All right, the "Cop Killer" controversy's dead, let's try to find something else'...I never thought that people would ever seriously think that I was an advocate of date rape."

Live performances

On March 12, 1993, Stone Temple Pilots performed the song on the British television program The Word, where Weiland wore a dress, lipstick, earrings and a tiara. Addressing the crowd before the performance, Weiland said: " To all those people out there in TV land, who are sexist, racist and homophobic morons, turn off your TV and put in a Rambo video."

Track listings

European CD single

  1. "Sex Type Thing – 3:37
  2. "Wicked Garden – 4:04
  3. "Plush (Acoustic)" – 3:52

CD single 1

  1. "Sex Type Thing" – 3:37
  2. "Piece of Pie" – 5:28
  3. "Wicked Garden" (live) – 4:26
  4. "Sin" (live) – 7:52

CD single 2

  1. "Sex Type Thing" – 3:37
  2. "Piece of Pie" – 5:28
  3. "Dead and Bloated" (live) – 4:53
  4. "Sex Type Thing" (live) – 4:01

All live tracks were recorded at the Reading Festival 1993.

Charts

Chart performance for "Sex Type Thing"
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) 138
UK Singles (Official Charts)60
US Mainstream Rock Airplay (Billboard)23

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Sex Type Thing"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States September 14, 1992 Atlantic
United Kingdom March 15, 1993
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
Australia May 10, 1993
  • CD
United Kingdom (re-release) November 15, 1993
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette

References

  1. ↑ "Stone Temple Pilots – Core (1992) – The Year Grunge Broke". theyeargrungebroke.com. September 25, 2023. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  2. ↑ Frost, Deborah (March 12, 1993). "Core (1993) Music Review". Entertainment Weekly. No. 161. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  3. ↑ Kanner, Matt (April 27, 2016). "7 in Heaven: Rock Never Dies". PortsmouthNH.com. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Hard To The Core". August 1, 1993. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  5. ↑ Enis, Eli. "See Stone Temple Pilots' Wild "Sex Type Thing" TV Performance From 1993". Revolver. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing June 7, 1993". Bubbling Down Under. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Official Singles Chart on 27/3/1993 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  9. ↑ "More Radio Comments" (PDF). The Hard Report. September 4, 1992. p. 61. Retrieved June 5, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com. The first single to be added on the 14th is 'Sex Type Thing'.
  10. ↑ Bessman, Jim (January 9, 1993). "Stone Temple Pilots Take Off" (PDF). Billboard. p. 29. Retrieved May 20, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com. …'Core' and first single 'Sex Type Thing' have been worked at metal, alternative, and album radio since release in September…
  11. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. March 13, 1993. p. 17.
  12. ↑ "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 10/05/93: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 170. May 9, 1993. p. 19.
  13. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. November 13, 1993. p. 25.