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.
Village Gorilla Head
Tommy Stinson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You tried to stop it with an axe
You fill the holes with styrofoam
You drive your hammer with a nail
Plastic made of sheets
Your claustrophobic dreams
Your dyin to make it, feel so real
There's always something missing from your lips
You break the silence with a scream
He's never even seen you move your mouth
Watched you grind your teeth
Feeling so complete
You're dyin to make it
Feel so real, you laugh
You're dyin to make it, feel so real
The song Village Gorilla Head by Tommy Stinson talks about the emotional struggles of someone who seems to be dealing with a lot of pain inside. The opening line talks about how this person is bleeding from their laugh, which is a metaphor for how they try to hide their pain by pretending to be happy or make fun of it. They have tried to stop this pain with an axe, which again is a metaphor for how they have tried to get rid of their demons. However, they fill the holes with styrofoam, indicating that they have not been successful in their attempts to escape their pain. The hammer and nail represent how they forcefully try to push their way through their struggles.
The lyrics then talk about how this person's dreams are claustrophobic, which means they feel trapped in their own mind. Even in their dreams, they cannot escape their pain. They are trying to make their pain feel so real, indicating that they want to deal with it head-on rather than continue to ignore it. The line 'arm and arm you fall into your day' means that this person is uncertain and unsteady about their future. There is always something missing from their lips, meaning they do not have the words to describe or share what they are going through.
The line 'He's never even seen you move your mouth' refers to how this person has not spoken up about their struggles to others. The lyrics indicate that the person grinds their teeth and feel complete in doing so, which shows that they can only find solace in their pain. They laugh with a desire to make their pain feel real. Overall, the song presents the struggles of an individual in facing their demons and dealing with their pain.
Line by Line Meaning
I can see you're bleeding from your laugh
You are laughing so hard that you are hurting yourself.
You tried to stop it with an axe
You tried to stop the laughter by harming yourself.
You fill the holes with styrofoam
You try to fill the emptiness you feel with meaningless material things.
You drive your hammer with a nail
You try to fix your problems with quick fixes that only lead to more damage in the long run.
Plastic made of sheets
Your life is constructed of superficial and fake things.
Your claustrophobic dreams
Your dreams are limited by your own fears.
Your dyin to make it, feel so real
You are desperate to make your dreams and desires a reality.
Arm and arm you fall into your day
You go through your day on autopilot, not really engaging with anything or anyone.
There's always something missing from your lips
You can't quite express what you truly want or feel.
You break the silence with a scream
You are so frustrated with your life that you can't help but express it in an extreme way.
He's never even seen you move your mouth
You feel like no one truly understands you or your struggles.
Watched you grind your teeth
You are so anxious that you grind your teeth, even in your sleep.
Feeling so complete
Despite your struggles, there are moments where you do feel content.
You're dyin to make it feel so real, you laugh
You are so desperate to make your dreams come true that you sometimes feel like you're going crazy.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: TOMMY STINSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind