Lady Picture Show

"Lady Picture Show"
Single by Stone Temple Pilots
from the album Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
Released1996
StudioWesterly Ranch (Santa Ynez, California)
Genre
Length4:06
LabelAtlantic
ComposerRobert DeLeo
LyricistScott Weiland
ProducerBrendan O'Brien
Stone Temple Pilots singles chronology
"Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart"
(1996)
"Lady Picture Show"
(1996)
"Down"
(1999)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Lady Picture Show" on YouTube

"Lady Picture Show" is a song by American alternative rock band Stone Temple Pilots. It was the third single released from their third album, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, and became their third consecutive number-one single on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Lady Picture Show" later appeared on the band's greatest hits album Thank You (2003).

Lyrical content

Scott Weiland wrote in his autobiography, Not Dead and Not for Sale, that the song "is about the horrific gang rape of a dancer who winds up falling in love but can't let go of the pain."[3]

Music video

The music video was directed by Josh Taft. The video is presented as an old film peep show; rendered nearly completely in black-and-white. Throughout the video, the band can be seen playing in a white room, with objects such as bubbles and shiny diamonds. Various shots of exotic dancers are seen dancing around the screen as well, along with shots of the band members playing. During Dean DeLeo's guitar solo, the screen turns into the fuzzy color structure which was a trademark of the 1960s. The segment shows DeLeo playing in a colorful meadow, and it then fades back into black and white for the rest of the video.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1996–1997) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] 37
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[5] 2
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[6] 53
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[7] 6
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[8] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1996) Position
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[9] 96
Chart (1997) Position
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[10] 43
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[11] 18
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[12] 41

References

  1. ^ Rolli, Bryan. "Stone Temple Pilots' Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop Remains a Prized Relic of the Grunge Era". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Makowski, Peter (November 4, 2024). "Scott Weiland: A guide to his best albums". Louder Sound. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Not Dead and Not For Sale (Scribner, 2010), pp120
  4. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Image 9720". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Image 9781". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  6. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Mainstream Rock Tracks". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53. December 27, 1996. p. 23.
  10. ^ "RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Alternative Tracks". RPM. Retrieved January 16, 2026 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  11. ^ "The Year in Music 1997: Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 52. December 27, 1997. p. YE-73.
  12. ^ "Best of '97: Modern Rock Tracks". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 5, no. 52. December 26, 1997. p. 30.