"Vasoline" was the second single off Stone Temple Pilots' second album Purple. It reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Album Rock Tracks, #2 on the Modern Rock Tracks and #38 on the Hot 100.
The song is about lead singer Scott Weiland's drug addiction. When he wrote the song he was still trying to hide it from his bandmates and his girlfriend, but he realized he was turning into a junkie. His drug addiction heightened after the success of Core . When he sings about searching and going blind, it relates to the cycle he started when he became an addict. In his autobiography Weiland said the song is about "being stuck in the same situation over and over again," adding "It's about me becoming a junkie."
During VH1's Storytellers, Weiland explained that when a fly gets stuck in Vaseline (note the spelling is different) they're not killed instantly, but struggle a while before ultimately meeting their doom. He added that the song is about "feeling like an insect under a magnifying glass."
Stone Temple Pilots "Vasoline" 1994
