He then formed the short-lived bands Bash & Pop who in 1993 released one album Friday Night Is Killing Me and then later, Perfect, who released an EP in 1996 titled When Squirrels Play Chicken. In 1997 their album Seven Days a Week was shelved due to record company problems.
In 1998 Stinson appeared on Puff Daddy's "It's All About The Benjamins (Rock Remix)" along with Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana and Queens of the Stone Age drummer Dave Grohl. He also can be seen playing bass for the song in the music video. Stinson has been the bass player for Guns N' Roses since 1998.
In 2004, Stinson released a solo album Village Gorilla Head which was well-received by the music press. Also that year, Stinson's band Perfect finally released the shelved Seven Days a Week, which they retitled Once Twice Three Times a Maybe.
In the fall of 2005, Tommy joined Soul Asylum for a few gigs in tribute to Karl Mueller. Tommy and Dave Pirner (founding member of Soul Asylum ) were friends in High School in Minneapolis, MN. He also scored the Jennifer Garner movie Catch and Release.
In between touring and writing, he managed to produce Bobot Adrenaline's debut album Unfurled.
In December 2005, he reconvened with Paul Westerberg and Chris Mars to record two new songs for a Replacements compilation. Stinson further collaberated with Westerberg on the soundtrack to the Sony feature film Open Season, recording bass tracks for 'Love You in the Fall' and 'Right to Arm Bears'. The two also recorded 'Wild as I Wanna Be' but Sony reportedly rejected the song because they thought Westerberg sounded ill. The song was instead recorded by Deathray.
In the summer of 2006 Tommy played a few shows with Soul Asylum once more during a break in the Guns N' Roses tour.
During the early-to-mid years of this decade, a flier for a Tommy Stinson show tacked to a utility pole was visible in one of the commercial bumpers of Saturday Night Live.
Bite Your Tongue
Tommy Stinson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've borrowed insights
Should have borrowed someone else's mouth
And I have seen you fallin' through the door
When no one would even help you off the floor
You dyed your hair, you read Bukowski now and live by every word
You'd look the part
And I, heard from a man named Seth,
That life don't come to those who wait for death
When you kiss and tell
You leave a mark
Til someone else bites your tongue
You've got your poets and now
Your singers singing show tunes in the car
You weren't so clever
In your flowered prints and your ghetto scars
And I want to watch the sunset on the beach
Yeah, it's always been too far from my reach
You took a turn at Silver Lake
And now you're calling it your home
Too bad you can't grow up
You're growing down in your wedding gown
And I swear to god I've seen this play before
Yeah, I smelt the popcorn on the floor
When you kiss and tell you leave a mark
'Til someone else bites your tongue
The lyrics of Tommy Stinson's song Bite Your Tongue offer a scathing critique of someone who believes they have all the answers to everyone's problems. The lyrics describe this person as pretentious and fake, someone who has tried to fashion themselves after the "cool" poets and singers that they admire, but who ultimately wears out their clothes and ends up on the floor. The singer seems to have some sympathy for this person, having witnessed them falling, but also thinks they are out of touch with the reality of life.
The line "When you kiss and tell / You leave a mark / Til someone else bites your tongue" is particularly powerful, speaking to the idea that gossip can have consequences and that eventually someone else will come along and put a stop to it. The last verse speaks to the singer's desire to escape their surroundings and seek out beauty, but it also suggests that the person they are criticizing is unable to mature and is stuck in a never-ending cycle of self-destructive behavior.
Overall, the lyrics are a cutting commentary on the dangers of trying too hard to be cool and the pitfalls of not embracing the messiness of life. They offer a warning to those who think they have all the answers or who are too caught up in their own image, reminding us that ultimately we will all fall down and need help getting back up again.
Line by Line Meaning
You've got the answer for everything that's wrong with everybody else
You believe you know the solutions to other people's problems.
You've borrowed insights
You have adopted the opinions and views of others.
Should have borrowed someone else's mouth
You speak negatively and should listen to someone who speaks positively.
And I have seen you fallin' through the door
When no one would even help you off the floor
I have witnessed you struggling and failing without assistance.
You dyed your hair, you read Bukowski now and live by every word
You have recently made changes to your appearance and lifestyle, inspired by Bukowski's writing.
You'd look the part
If not for the clothes you wear that you're wearing out
Your clothes don't fit with the image you're trying to project.
And I, heard from a man named Seth,
That life don't come to those who wait for death
Seth believes that waiting for death won't bring success in life.
When you kiss and tell
You leave a mark
Til someone else bites your tongue
Your gossip may harm others, but eventually you will be silenced.
You've got your poets and now
Your singers singing show tunes in the car
You are now surrounded by poets and singers who listen to show tunes in the car.
You weren't so clever
In your flowered prints and your ghetto scars
Despite your attempts to be fashionable and edgy, you don't come across as clever.
And I want to watch the sunset on the beach
Yeah, it's always been too far from my reach
The beach is too far away for me to watch the sunset is my dream.
You took a turn at Silver Lake
And now you're calling it your home
Too bad you can't grow up
You're growing down in your wedding gown
You moved to Silver Lake and consider it your home, but you haven't matured.
And I swear to god I've seen this play before
Yeah, I smelt the popcorn on the floor
When you kiss and tell you leave a mark
'Til someone else bites your tongue
I've witnessed this behavior before and it always leads to someone getting hurt.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: TOMMY STINSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind