Certain people would have you believe that Queens of the Stone Age's third album, Songs for the Deaf, is the return of real ock -- a bonecrushing work of boundless imagination, the cornerstone in a new era of great ock, much like Nevermind was a decade beforehand. These people, coincidentally, happen to be in the same group that criticizes the Strokes and the White Stripes, claiming that those two bands are nothing but hype, while shamelessly indulging in breathless hyperbole whenever they speak a single word about QOTSA. Anybody who heard Songs prior to its release claimed it was the greatest ock album in years, at least the greatest since Rated R, setting up expectations impossibly high for this very good album. To begin with, this ain't accessible -- not because the music is out-there or unfamiliar (lots of Cream filtered through garage rock, prog-metal, album rock, and punk does not make one a Borbetomagus, nor does it make it "imaginative," either), but because it is so insular, so concerned with pleasing themselves with what they play that they don't give a damn for the audience. This extends to the production, which sounds like a stoned joke gone awry as it compresses and flattens every instrument as if it were coming out of a cheap AM car radio. Sure, that might be the point -- the album begins with radio chatter, and there are lots of jokey asides by a fake DJ -- but Deaf winds up being entirely too evenhanded and samey, since every guitar has the same beefy, mid-range, no-treble tone and Dave Grohl (aka the Most Powerful Drummer in the Universe) is pushed to the background, never sounding loud, never giving this music the muscle it needs. As such, it becomes tiring to listen to -- too much at the same frequency, all hitting the ear in a way that doesn't result in blissful submission, just numbness undercut with a desire to have some texture in this album. Once you get around this -- which is an effort; unlike, say, the Strokes' Is This It?, whose thin production worked aesthetically and enhanced the songs, this sound cuts QOTSA off at the knees -- there indeed is plenty to enjoy here since the band is very good. They're exceptional players, especially augmented here by Grohl on drums, Mark Lanegan on vocals, and Dean Ween on guitar, plus they're very good songwriters, whether they're writing technically intricate riff-rockers or throwbacks to Nuggets. All of this is sorely missing from most guitar rock these days, whether it's indie rock or insipid alt-metal, so it's little wonder that so many fans of great guitar rock flock to this, regardless of its flaws. But that doesn't erase the fact that, above all, QOTSA is a muso band -- a band for musicians and those who have listened to too much music. Why else did the greatest drummer and greatest guitarist in '90s alt-rock (Dave Grohl and Dean Ween, respectively) anxiously join this ever-shifting collective? They wanted to play with the prodigiously talented Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri, two musicians who share their taste and willingness to jam. It results in interesting music and an album that, for all of its flaws, is still easily one of the best ock records of 2002. But, to be needlessly reductive, the analogy runs a little like this -- QOTSA is King Crimson and the White Stripes are the Rolling Stones. Which one is "better" is entirely a matter of taste, but which one do you think plays to a larger audience, and is more about "real" ock?
From Blabbermouth.net: NME.com reports that QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE have announced details of their new album. "Era Vulgaris" will be the follow-up to 2005's "Lullabies to Paralyze".The band posted a bulletin on their MySpace page yesterday (February 14) entitled "I Was At The Sizzler Today" that revealed the details of the CD.The post said that among the tracks that would be included were "Int...
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^^Anyone else catch when QOTSA were on SNL and Ferrell made the cowbell appearance?A few favs from "Songs for the Deaf":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_for_the_DeafGo with the flow.First it Giveth.A different version of God is in the Radio
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He was in Kyuss, too. I think they had a direct line to the devil.
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Ya, ya, ya so it looks like im some preppy conformist SOD but in reality listening to music because it popular is like killing yourself because your friend told you its cool. (except it's the artists telling you its cool nowadays...) anyways hope sombody likes the same shite that i do.Many cheers.
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Earlier this Week Mogger MrFrost brought us the footage of Queens of the Stone Age frontman's Josh Homme tantrum onstage in Norway, after a young fan threw a shoe at him. Today, Homme is clearing the air. No, he's not apologizing for call the dude a "fucking pussy motherfucker" or for chucking a beer bottle back at the fan point blank. Homme is just clearing the air that he's no homophobe afte...
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Debatable. Not really, but can you Do It Again?
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I had to renew my drivers license yesterday, so i headed over to the DMV (or as Dane Cook calls is "satan's butt hole"). pushed the button, out comes the ticket. #117. looking up i see they are at #94. as i take my seat, i overhear some of the people around me angrily mumbling. "so... how long have you been hear?" i ask. "45 minutes" says a man. "they've helped four people in the last half hour...
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So, I won't even attempt to make this post as glorious as the one the disappeared into cyberspace. I'll just cut to the chase.A friend of mine was recommending this Guitar Hero video game to me, and I just did not think I would enjoy it. I figured the the rock songs and groups that I enjoy are far too few and far between for me to like this game.So, that makes twice in my life I've been wrong...
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I just wrote a BEAUTIFUL post about the Queens of the Stone Age song "Go With the Flow", and MOG ATE IT!!!It was too long for me to write all over again, and even if I did, there's no way I could capture the spirit of the original post.Fucking MOG gremlins.
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It's quite dead out here in the Mog-o-sphere...
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He was in Kyuss, too. I think they had a direct line to the devil.
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...but I feel like a millionaire...Just bought tickets to see Queens. It'll be on the 17th over in Houston, and they'll be supported by the Artic Monkeys (another awesome band). It's gonna be a killer show.This show will be the day after I go to ACL, and a week and a half or so before AIC. After going to three rock concerts my whole life, I'll be going to three in less than two weeks. Pretty fr...
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The post about QOTSA earlier got me listening to them continuously today. Here is my favorite video by them.
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From Blabbermouth.net: NME.com reports that QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE have announced details of their new album. "Era Vulgaris" will be the follow-up to 2005's "Lullabies to Paralyze".The band posted a bulletin on their MySpace page yesterday (February 14) entitled "I Was At The Sizzler Today" that revealed the details of the CD.The post said that among the tracks that would be included were "Int...
More >
^^Anyone else catch when QOTSA were on SNL and Ferrell made the cowbell appearance?A few favs from "Songs for the Deaf":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_for_the_DeafGo with the flow.First it Giveth.A different version of God is in the Radio
More >
Jack Black took a break from terrorizing red carpets with silliness and blanket Tropic Thunder promotion to join Queens Of The Stone Age the other night, at L.A.'s Music Box at Henry Fonda Theatre, in memory of cancer victim and QOTSA collaborator Natasha Shneider. In exchange for the tickets (which benefited the Natasha Schneider Memorial Fund ), the sold out crowd was treated to lots of Qu...
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The Karma, my portable audio device, is touted as the audiophile's player. So there's nothing quite like listening to ostensibly hi-fi thud rock with it, through a mono speaker on a 14" TV, which is running by coax to an RF convertor, which for some reason requires the DVD player (connected by RCA cables) to be turned on, with video being displayed. So we've got QotSA rumbling barely audibly, ...
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Summer is here. Try a little QOTSA on for both a summer anthem and summer mayhem! /u
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 "Songs for the Deaf")
