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Cover of Purple by Stone Temple Pilots
Cover: Purple

Song · Stone Temple Pilots

“Vasoline” by Stone Temple Pilots

From the album Purple (1994)

“Vasoline” by Stone Temple Pilots appears on 100 radio countdowns from 37 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1994 on the album Purple. Its best result is #3 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #21 alternative song of 1994, #180 alternative song of all time and #137 of the '90s.

100countdowns
37stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

Watch

Stone Temple Pilots - Vasoline (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (Stone Temple Pilots). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Stone Temple Pilots sent "Vasoline" out to American rock radio on May 25, 1994, through Atlantic, as a calling card for Purple, their second album, and it announces itself before a single chord lands. That queasy, rubbery warble at the top is Robert DeLeo's bass pushed through a wah-wah pedal, a sound that wobbles like a warped cassette and sticks in your head for days.

Robert and Dean DeLeo built the music, Scott Weiland wrote the words, and Brendan O'Brien produced it with no fat left on the bone. The riff lurches and stomps, the verses coil up tight, and Weiland slides from a nasal sneer to a full-throated holler as the chorus hits. Grunge was supposed to be all flannel gloom; this has a glam strut in its hips and a pop hook in its back pocket.

Rock radio bit hard: it sat on top of Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart for two weeks. The band later put it on their greatest-hits set Thank You, and a live take turned up on the Family Values 2001 Tour compilation.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 3 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994 107
1994 17 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1994 91
1994 43 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1994 106
1994 20 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994 100
1994 22 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994 25
1994 54 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1994 100
1994 21 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 94 Songs of 1994 94
1995 15 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995 104

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 772 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 178 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 272 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 692 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 267 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 581 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 546 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 73 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 137 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 206 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 106 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 240 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 1176 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 193 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 720 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 71 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) 100
2000 1177 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 82 The Edge KEDJ Countdown 2000 (106 songs) 106
2001 1176 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 162 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 264 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 1175 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 107 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 102 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 235 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 1160 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 110 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 83 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1160 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 92 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 18 WBCN WBCN Grunge Top 104 (2004) 104
2005 87 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 1160 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 99 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 140 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 39 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 107 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 759 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 211 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 617 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 53 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 55 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 528 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 149 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2010 91 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 460 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 293 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 434 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 428 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 315 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 423 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 166 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2014 208 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 71 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2015 418 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 158 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2015 314 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 274 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 86 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 388 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2017 93 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 92 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 478 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 133 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 166 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 334 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 272 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 952 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 70 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 173 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2021 679 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 200 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 437 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 64 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 927 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 360 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 112 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 477 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 69 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 615 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 479 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 96 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 338 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 712 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 285 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 60 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2024 389 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 227 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2025 199 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 470 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 86 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2026 302 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 342 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Vaseline.

Charting alongside it in 1994

Best songs of 1994 →
  1. 1Black Hole SunSoundgarden
  2. 2CloserNine Inch Nails
  3. 3Self-EsteemThe Offspring
  4. 4Interstate Love SongStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5Come Out and PlayThe Offspring
  6. 6Basket CaseGreen Day

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