Its been over a year since Contraband was released.  And almost exactly a year since I bought it.  I was , at first somewhat sketchy about this album.  I'd been a Guns n' Roses fan for awhile but had never owned a Stone Temple Pilots album.  I was also, at the time, beginning to believe that modern rock was stuck in a stagnant sea of pathetic ballads and wanna be punk posers.  Contraband is true rock.  The kind of true rock the 80s was made of.  Its hard and heavy but still holds a very modern vibe and some echoes of the 90s grunge scene.  It is because of this record that I now own every STP album and Scott Weiland's solo record. (all of which are quite excellent).  Contraband basically lived in my cd player from july 2004 through September.  Its longevity and immense perfect have maintained it in my mind as being the best rock album of the new millennium and my favourite hard rock record of all time!