Queens of the Stone Age

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Queens of the Stone Age is a Hard Rock group from the Palm Desert Scene, formed in 1995 by guitarist Josh Homme after his previous band Kyuss disbanded. Originally titled Gamma Ray, they were forced to change their name after a threat of legal action from an already existing band. The name comes from a joke made by one of Kyuss's producers, but Homme has since given a different rationale behind it.

The group started out by releasing two split CDs: one of the leftover Kyuss tracks and another with the group Beaver. The new material on those CDs and their first two official albums, Queens of the Stone Age in 1998 and Rated R in 2000, were essentially continuations of Kyuss and near indistinguishable as a result.

The group found its identity with the release of Songs For the Deaf in 2002. Largely abandoning their Stoner Rock origins in favor of a more accessible Hard Rock sound, it's a critically acclaimed album with the Grammy-nominated songs "No One Knows" and "Go With the Flow" (which also found their ways into Guitar Hero and Rock Band, respectively). It is their best selling album and the only one with platinum certification.

The group followed up with Lullabies to Paralyze in 2005 (named after a lyric from the track "Mosquito Song" from the previous album) and Era Vulgaris in 2007. While both have been given good press and each had a Grammy nominated song, they are neither as successful or as highly regarded as Songs For the Deaf (although Lullabies was a top-five album while Songs was not).

Discography:

Related Acts:

  • Queens of the Stone Age
  • Rated R
  • Songs For the Deaf
  • Lullabies to Paralyze
  • Era Vulgaris
  • An unnamed upcoming album that was worked on in 2011 and is expected to be released in 2012.
Queens of the Stone Age provides examples of the following tropes:
  • Album Title Drop: At the beginning of "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire," the DJ says "I need a saga. What's the saga? It's Songs for the Deaf. You can't even hear it!"
    • The album version of the song also contains a track hidden in the pregap called "The Real Song For The Deaf" which consists mainly of low frequencies that deaf people may be able to detect.
    • Interestingly, the title of "Lullabies to Paralyze" is dropped on its predecessor album.
  • Binge Montage: Ultra condensed in the form of "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer"
  • Berserk Button: Throw a bottle at Josh Homme, and he'll call you gay.
    • Moshing into women in front of Josh is also a very bad idea.
    • As is beating your girlfriend.
    • Hell, even mentioning Oliveri is a great way to get Homme to go on an angry diatribe about how much of a shitbag the guy is. He hates Oliveri.
  • The Big Bad Wolf: "Someone's In The Wolf"
  • Black Comedy: One of the fake radio bumpers on "Songs For The Deaf" includes a DJ slapping a crying baby.
  • Blue Eyes: Type 1 in "The Blood Is Love" "Open up your eyes to blue and glassy lake/Now swim 'til water and sky/Now are one/Out of two"
  • Burn the Witch: A song off Lullabies to Paralyze
  • Call Back: At the end of "The Sky is Falling," a DJ at KRNL ("We ruin music for everyone!") announces that the next song he's going to play is "Millionaire" by Queens of the Stone Age, which was the first track on the album. The station is changed before the song begins again.
    • Call Forward: "The Sky is Falling" plays in the background of the DJ's introduction to "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire."
    • "Millionaire" was actually the name of the demo version of You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar...
  • Cluster F-Bomb: Josh Homme swears a lot when you push his buttons.
  • Concept Album: Songs For the Deaf uses fake radio bumpers and the changing of stations as a framing device. It might also explain the heavily compressed audio, but whether it's intentional or just another victim of the Loudness War is unknown.
  • Darker and Edgier: Lullabies To Paralyze was this to some extent. It was decidedly darker and more sinister-sounding than the previous three QOTSA albums, no doubt due in part to all the turmoil surrounding Nick Oliveri's firing a year before its release.
  • Deus Est Machina: "God Is In The Radio"
  • Double Entendre: "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" could be implying a musical hit, or one of the narcotics listed in the song.
  • Epic Rocking: "The Fun Machine Took A Shit And Died"
  • Exploitation Film: The video for "3's & 7's". It captures the feel of the golden age of Seventies exploitation films quite nicely.
  • Fairy Tales: Somewhat a theme in Lullabies to Paralyze
  • I Am a Humanitarian: "Mosquito Song", the video for "Sick, Sick, Sick"
  • Intercourse with You: "Make It Wit Chu" is Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Additionally: "Do It Again", "Skin On Skin"
  • In the Name of the Moon: Josh Homme has been known to react violently to hecklers, and whenever he gets pissed the first thing he always says is "Hey you!"
  • I Will Wait for You: "This Lullaby"
  • Knuckle Tattoos: Josh Homme has the name of his grandparents, Cap and Cam, tattooed on his knuckles [1]
    • He now has the initials of his son, Orrin Ryder Homme, on the lower knuckles of his right hand.
  • Last-Note Nightmare: "I Think I Lost My Headache", "Make It Wit Chu"
  • List Song: "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer"
  • Long Title: "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire.", "I Think I Lost My Headache", "How To Handle a Rope (A Lesson In The Lariat)"
  • Mushroom Samba: "Monsters In The Parasol"
  • Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Generally in the 4 to 7 range. Occasionally they'll go down to a 3 (In The Fade) or up to a high 8 (Tension Head).
  • Non-Indicative Name: They're all male, not royalty and thoroughly modern.
  • The Power of Blood: "The Blood Is Love"
  • Slasher Smile: "Beware the smile/It hides all the teeth, my dear"
  • Supergroup: The Songs For The Deaf line-up was essentially a 90's alt rock supergroup, with Josh Homme & Nick Oliveri from Kyuss, Mark Lanegan from Screaming Trees and Dave Grohl.
  • Through the Eyes of Madness: "Song For The Deaf"
  • Title by Number: 3's and 7's
  • Word Salad Lyrics: At least half of their songs are comprised entirely of this, while others have snippets thrown in. In fact, Josh Homme himself has mentioned that he often writes lyrics in a deliberately vague manner so that the listener can interpret them in any way he/she chooses.

* kzzetrt* It's been a good night. Dave Catching here. Not saying 'good night'... just saying.*kzzztr*

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