If I even just "liked" the music, I think I could almost get over the lyrics.

Why do you say that?

I think they emphasize the overly sentimental (or, for lack of a better word, "cheesy") aspects of the song.

christ this album is brutal on the ears.

Here's my song-by-song rundown of S/T:

Life Wasted - Sounds like a bad Stone Temple Pilots outtake - embarrassing

World Wide Suicide - The riffs/melodies are lame - lyrics are awful

Comatose - A pretty good rocker - cool middle-8 - Eddie trying his best to sound like Daltrey

Severed Hand - As with WWS, the riffs in this song are half-assed and do nothing for me

Marker In The Sand - I love the swagger of the verse riff - chorus is kind of cheesy but it works

Parachutes - A gorgeous song in every way - one of Stone's best

Unemployable - Horrible lyrics but the music is so freaking good, I can overlook it

Big Wave - one of the best riffs on the album - another in a series of semi-complex rockers that most people don't get

Gone - A pointless dirge - not a hook in sight - wouldn't even make a good b-side

Wasted Reprise - WTF is the point of this?

Army Reserve - Decent but nothing amazing - reminds me of Help Help

Come Back - Everybody get out your barf bags

Inside Job - A very good closing song (all things considered) that is unfairly maligned for having trite lyrics

So all in all, I would say that more than half of the album is shit, and the middle of the album is the best part.

^
I agree with you about Big Wave and Parachutes. Both are great songs.

Army Reserve is nowhere near Help Help. The latter is fuckin' good, the former is above average. Help Help is one of my favorites on RA.

Life Wasted I actually like. I think it's a cool song, and I like the ending jam, sans the stupid fade-out. It may be kind of a rehash, but I still enjoy it.

WWS sucks. I hate that song.

Comatose is alright, but maybe a bit too much of the "trying too hard" factor?

Severed Hand is pretty cool. The jamming is top notch.

Marker is probably my favorite on this album, even with the cheesy chorus.

Unemployable is OK. Above average and I like the 70's rock style music.

Gone is a wasted opportunity. Just a boring song.

Wasted Reprise is OK too, but I don't really care either way about it.

Inside Job is meh. I've heard it on some days where I can tolerate it, and other days I hate it.

Semi-complex? Like the kind I have about my nipples?

thanks for this distinction

No problem friend.

I did say "sometimes" and not "always". Those three albums all have specific strengths and weaknesses that really even the playing field for me. No Code has the highest highs and the lowest lows. Vs. has the (dated sounding?) aggression that can be both positive and negative. S/T has strong songs and terrible production. I think that I would typically rate these three in the order of Vs., S/T, No Code. But that can change with my mood for sure.