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Friday Full-Length: Queens of the Stone Age, Queens of the Stone Age

Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 6th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

Queens of the Stone Age, Queens of the Stone Age (1998/2011)

I try not to write about Queens of the Stone Age too often. They’re kind of a given. But every now and then I break out their 1998 self-titled debut, and sometimes there’s just nothing else that will do. As we head into a summery-feeling weekend after a long, chaotic, but still really good week, it’s one of those moments when this record fits perfectly and it feels like as long as I keep it on the sun will stay up.

Now 16 years old and every bit the snotnosed punk, Queens of the Stone Age‘s Queens of the Stone Age was Josh Homme‘s first real outing as a frontman. Yeah, they had done the split with his former band, the desert rock pioneers Kyuss, and the Gamma Ray recordings, but it was these songs that really first shone the light on his vocals — and in hindsight how much he was really feeling his way through becoming a singer — and the approach and style of lyric-writing that would become a staple over the course of QOTSA‘s albums, influencing more bands worldwide than anyone could reasonably be asked to count and bridging the generally mile-wide gap between underground and commercial viability. To listen to “Mexicola” or “You Would Know” or “Avon” now, it’s nowhere near as elaborate as the band’s sound would become — Homme is the sole remaining founder, he sang and played bass and guitar on the self-titled while Alfredo Hernandez (also Kyuss, Yawning Man) drummed — but the songwriting is still waiting for something to stand up to it more than a decade and a half later.

There are those who are Kyuss loyalists, and with the back and forth legal action and animosity between ex-member camps, get caught up in some argument of who’s right and who’s wrong and whatever. I’m not into picking one or the other and to choose sides and only listen to Queens of the Stone Age or Kyuss or Vista Chino or Brant Bjork or John Garcia seems to me a silly way of denying yourself good music on either end. The self-titled Queens of the Stone Age is a record that I’ve listened to and loved for years. To me, that seems more important than whatever litigation may or may not be undertaken.

Hope you enjoy. Note: This is the 2011 reissue version, so you get “The Bronze,” “These aren’t the Droids You’re Looking For” and “Spiders and Vinegaroons” in addition to the original tracklist.

I had that record on last night on the tail end of the ride back to Massachusetts from New Jersey. If you noticed a general lack of posts this week as compared to “normal,” it’s because The Patient Mrs. and I were back and forth a lot, seeing family and friends and trying to get in as much quality time as possible. Also my car broke down and that added some measure of complication. Whatever. Point is it all worked out and I’m pretty sure that had I not been singing along to “If Only” last night at the time, I’d have driven right into the median on I-93.

Before I put the laptop down and go to the grocery store to pick up dinner makings, I want to extend one more tremendous thank you to Diane Farris of Jersey City’s legendary WFMU for having me on her show yesterday afternoon. It was such an unbelievable pleasure to be there and to pick tracks and get to talk about music and this site on the air. If you didn’t hear it, the full playlist, comment board and audio archive is available here: http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/55937

Diane’s Kamikaze Fun Machine is on every Thursday from 12PM-3PM, and she does her Peer Pressure guest segments from 1PM on. Obviously I recommend listening.

Thanks as well to everyone who checked that out yesterday and left a comment to say hi or ask a question. It felt extra awesome to know people I knew were taking part in the show and hopefully enjoying doing so. Made me miss doing radio, which is something I haven’t really felt since I graduated college a decade ago.

Next week, reviews of Godflesh and the new split between Naam and Black Rainbows and White Hills and The Flying Eyes, as well as Deville‘s stop in Worcester and maybe a C.O.C. interview if it comes together in time. I’ve got some emailing to do to put that together, but I’m working on it.

Hope you have a great and safe weekend. Please check out the forum and the radio stream.

The Obelisk Forum

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