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In honor of Queens Of The Stone Age’s latest album, perfectionit seemed fitting to look back and count down our top 10 favorite songs. In the process, we confirmed an obvious truism: This is easily one of the most enjoyable big-time rock bands of the 21st century. In fact, this top 10 confirms that QOTSA can go up against the great bands at any time.
Let’s run down.
10. “Regular John” (1998)
At the time of their self-titled debut album in 1998, Queens Of The Stone Age were much more out of the nu-metal and post-grunge age. Hard rock was dominated by Pearl Jam rip-offs and dreadlocked bands with DJ access. At the same time QOTSA did two things well at the same time – they seemed to return to the purity and simplicity of hard rock of the seventies, and they rejected the clichés of that music in a smart way. But that is over understanding things. They just rocked harder than almost every band of their generation. The gloriously heavy “Regular John” – the first song on their debut album – sets the tone for the album and their entire career.
9. “I Never Came” (2005)
There are fast QOTSA songs, there are mid-tempo QOTSA songs, and there are slow QOTSA songs. But only a small number are suitable as poems. “I Never Came” fits that bill – sort of. It’s a love song gone wrong, where Josh Homme laments, “Love so good, love so bad / It won’t die, yeah.” But it’s not just romantic. There is a sinister undertone throughout, hinting at an explosion that – as the title suggests – will never come. But the sense of drama, and Homme’s slinky falsetto, are two signs of what makes this band great.
8. “If Only” (1998)
Another canny rocker from the debut, which surprised the cultists of stoner-metal in the late nineties but few people outside of that world. QOTSA didn’t catch on with a wider audience until a few albums later, which seems strange given the catchiness of “If Only”. The paradox of this band is that, for much of their history, they have been seen as a slightly left of center band in the mainstream rock world. And yet the albums are, for the most part, really accessible and even (at times) very poppy. Considering what was really on the radio in 1998 – a pretty bad time for “rock radio” music – it’s crazy that “If Only” wasn’t a big hit.
7. “I was sitting by the sea” (2013)
…Like Clockwork It’s QOTSA’s watershed moment for many reasons – it’s one of their best and most adventurous records, it marked their return after a six-year hiatus between studio efforts, and it ensured their career would continue well into the 21st century. But for the differences between that album compared to previous QOTSA releases (it’s hard to imagine, for one, Elton John appearing on any other QOTSA album) it retained Homme’s ability to write perfect rock songs that demand to be played a million times on a million car stereos. Clockwork there are many tunes like that (shout out to “If I Had A Tail” and “My God Is The Sun”) but the most irresistible is “I Sat By The Ocean,” a Zen partition that hits like a Mike Tyson uppercut, a Led Zeppelin epic as reinterpreted by Tom Petty.
6. “Feel Good Summer Hit” (2000)
Definitive version of QOTSA 1.0. At the very moment when rock music had reached its peak – when the most popular bands were both extremely bombastic and extremely eager to talk about their feelings – “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer” from Rated R he came and cleared away all the BS Just a simple riff and a lyric listing the most effective chemical stimulants, the song hits the nervous system like a weekend binge. Although the best trick is how stupid this song is. That has a lot to do with Homme’s understated sense of humor and his ability to celebrate and prepare the rock lifestyle in the same place. This is a party song, and it’s also a “party” song, with a light touch on the quotation marks.
5. “Go With The Flow” (2002)
Fans can argue their picks for the best QOTSA album. Rated R is a perpetual candidate, while 2005 Attractions To Paralyze and …Like Clockwork A long-time fan favorite. What is not up for debate, however, is the difference on the most important QOTSA record. That has to be Songs For The Deafthe album that broke them into the mainstream and which also stands back as their most popular and influential musical statement. This is perhaps the greatest hard rock album of the 21st century, both old school in sound and philosophy and a contemporary satire of rock radio culture. The irony is that at this time Homme was mocking the conformity of the music industry, he was also producing a series of hit songs that dominated the radio. Like “Go With The Flow,” one of the fastest and catchiest QOTSA tracks ever.
4. “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret” (2000)
In fact, as we have already noted, Homme was writing popular rock songs long before QOTSA started having real hits. This highlight of Rated R remains one of the catchiest tunes in the band’s catalog, with a bass line that echoes “Sympathy For The Devil” connecting the verses (which are even darker than the chorus) with the sludgy guitars that explode at the song’s climax. Although Homme’s voice is the most impressive element of “The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret”, it is often the most overlooked weapon in the band’s arsenal. While many of his contemporaries were screamers or catchers, Homme’s sly (almost gentle) tenor proves that you don’t have to bend back to a “hard” sound to be the coolest guy in the room. The more Homme plays it, the more it draws you in.
3. “First He Gives” (2002)
Of Homme’s many clear forward ideas Songs For The Deafthe most brilliant was also, it seems, the most obvious: Put Dave Grohl behind the drum kit. Yes, Grohl had been a timekeeper on at least a couple of Foo Fighters albums – although that was largely kept under wraps. But in QOTSA, Grohl was freed by just being a drummer. And his triumphant playing absolutely elevates the record. Among the songs where this is more obvious – outside of the title sequence, which we have not listed here, to our regret – is “First It Giveth,” which marries a riff in the style of Black Sabbath with Grohl’s frenetic time keeping, a marriage of metal and punk that reflects the overall vibe of the album.
2. “In The Fade” (2000)
Despite Homme’s charisma as QOTSA’s frontman, it’s also true that the band set themselves apart early on by featuring a rotating cast of singers. Like a movie full of good character actors, QOTSA could put in Nick Oliveri for the “pissed off punk rocker” songs or Mark Lanegan for the “bad but sensitive” tracks. On the final count, the band’s greatest masterpiece has to be “In The Fade,” a “seize the day” anthem with an incredible groove from a man who had at least nine lives. Coming from most people, a sentiment like “you live until you die” may sound like an unfamiliar cliché. But coming from Mark Lanegan, it sounds like solid wisdom.
1. “No One Knows” (2002)
Their most popular song – and one of the most popular rock songs of anyone in the last 25 years – for a reason. “No One Knows” delivers exactly the endorphin rush you want from a rock anthem, but it doesn’t really feel like a typical rock song. The tempo in the verses isn’t that unusual – it’s a simple 4/4 time signature – but the way the slashing riff bobs and weaves in an unpredictable fashion makes it so. appearance complex. Although it was never somehow useless or complicated. It’s just a way of making “No One Knows” feel fresh and surprising, even as “No One Knows” has settled into a long life as the kind of classic rock that everyone he knows and loves.
