Queens of the Stone Age

Stugots, “Ooh Poo Pah Doo”

This is from an EP called Soupy Sales, a slab of fun, guttural noise rock. This tune, the closer to that EP, is different, as it’s a cover, was recorded live, and is just kind of a straightforward rock song. You can’t really tell that much about the band from this.

Skinnerbox, “I’ve Got To Know”

This is from the final Skinnerbox record, released after Moon Records imploded. It continues King Django’s approach of mostly playing it pretty traditional, although there are some punk elements here and there, some dub, some rocksteady, just lots of bits to keep things fresh.

Powerrun, “Pulse of the Night”

As someone who actually lived through the 80s, I have a real mixed opinion of stuff like this. Yes, there’s a nostalgia that tugs at me, and some of these sounds are genuinely fun. At the same time, it also evokes a lot of boring, dreary stuff from that period. I suppose that nobody is really trying to recreate the lame stuff, but a whiff of that stink still clings to it in my memory. Well, anyway, I do enjoy listening to stuff like this sometimes.

Serpent Column, “Pantheoclasm”

The other day, Plague Rages Podcast was complaining that there’s no great term for this sort of band, which isn’t really death metal, not tech death, just really out there, chaotic, and dissonant. I proposed “omnicore”, and honestly, that’s not such a bad term.

Queens of the Stone Age, “Tangled Up In Plaid”

Lullabies to Paralyze is a record that kind of ties together the strands of their previous albums. It kind of picks up the psych of Rated R, the musculature of Songs for the Deaf, the stoner vibes of the self-titled, and pulls it all together into a single record. It’s a consolidation of their skills that allowed them to kind of tie a bow on period of their career, allowing them to really go nuts with their next record.

Queens of the Stone Age, “Un-Reborn Again”

This comes from the most recent QotSA album, Villains, where they worked with producer Mark Ronson. The result is a little bit of a different feel to things. It’s a slick, glossy record, full of moves that I would characterize as more glam than anything else. This song is a great example, this is just all shiny, swaggering glam. It’s not an unfamiliar aesthetic in the QotSA catalog, but it’s definitely to the fore on this album. I do appreciate that they’re willing to change things up, so I like it a lot. They don’t have to keep re-making Songs For the Deaf, I can just go listen to that if I want to.

Vampire Weekend, “Unbelievers”

Vampire Weekend’s third album was a return to form to my ears. Contra was a little bit too scattered, and sounded a little bit tired, and just didn’t quite hang together. But Modern Vampires of the City had some of that ineffable charm back, with this song serving as a good example. This could easily have gone on the debut album, and that’s a high complement.

Flying Saucer Attack, “Rainstorm Blues”

Hmmm. I wonder what I’ve said about Flying Saucer Attack in the past? I’m sure I had opinions. I am also not going to look. I shouldn’t have to do all the work here! I tag these things, go look it up yourself!

Neutral Milk Hotel, “Song Against Sex”

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is a record that sort of became a shibboleth among indie dorks, the sort of thing you had to pledge allegience to in order to fit in among certain crowds. Or make fun of, to piss off those indie dorks. But mostly, people don’t talk about the first Neutral Milk Hotel record, On Avery Island, which to my ears is pretty comparable. Sure, the second album is better, but I don’t think it’s so MUCH better to explain the different reputations.

Isotope 217, “Kryptonite Smokes The Red Line”

Is it post-rock or jazz? Half of the band is from Tortoise, so that’s a big post-rock vote. But, they have multiple horns! So, jazz? But Godspeed You! Black Emperor have multiple horns, right? [checks] Hmm, only one listed. I’m going to say that more than one horn makes you into jazz. Gonna have to see if the horn rule holds up.

Noname, “Regal”

Noname is from Chicago, and first gained some fame working with Chance the Rapper. Her 2018 album, Room 25, is fantastic - jazzy, smooth, she has great delivery, it’s a real delight.

Queens of the Stone Age, “If I Had A Tail”

There were six years between the majestic, jagged Era Vulgaris and the return album …Like Clockwork, and that time was apparently spent with Homme thinking about bringing things back to the turn of the millenium. To my ears, this album sounds more like Songs for the Deaf than anything else, which is not a bad thing at all. It took a little bit for the album to grow on me, and while I’m still not sure I’d place it at the top of their pile, it’s a fine album from one of the best rock bands around.

Today’s tunes!

Queens of the Stone Age, “The Way You Used To Do”

2013’s …Like Clockwork never really grabbed me (despite extensive critical acclaim), so I was pretty delighted that 2017’s Villains got me pretty fired up. Mark Ronson helped to sharpen things up, and the whole thing feels pretty glam-y and fired up. This song, for instance, is just razor sharp, from Homme’s guitar tone to the vamp of his lyrics.

Today!

Queens of the Stone Age, “You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire”

This is one of those songs where that little opening background riff will just pop into my head and stay there for hours and hours, just looping. It’s not unpleasant! This album just smokes, front to back.

Gorilla Biscuits, “(Untitled Hidden)”

I think I’ve introduced this old-ass straight-edge hardcore band before, so instead, I’ll just mention that they contributed personnel to Quicksand, which we heard from yesterday. As for the track itself, on my copy of Start Today, there is a series of little sub-10 second “songs” which are indistinguishable and unnamed. And, because of stupid tech limitations, I can’t tell which one this is. So, I’ll do another song today.