<>Queens of the Stone Age
(Interscope)
My fellow citizens of Rockinopolis, it is with great hope that I stand before you today. I know the few years behind us have been difficult for this great land. Our glorious history of powerful and creative sonic expression, which at the dawn of our great culture's golden age seemed boundless, has been marred in recent years. The plague of creative stagnation in the post-Nirvana era of our city, no doubt prolonged by the menacing corporate sphinx that has swept over us recently to force-feed our ears with its demanding riddle of \why is this crap popular?"" are certainly reasons for our decline as a great city-state.
And of course, this musical world in which we live has been changing. We must accept that our fine civilization of rock is no longer the powerful hegemon we once were in this new, multi-polar world of popular music genres. The neighboring lands of Electronica, Rapton and Orlando, among many others, have risen in power over recent years, to not only challenge our prosperity, but at times to seemingly overshadow our great legacy. While many of their contributions have indeed been great, there is no question that our might as an empire has declined as a result.
Despite our best efforts, including a poorly executed ""Return of the Rock"" video campaign, rock 'n' roll has suffered. Many, after years of merely scoffing at the naysayers, began to believe in their ""rock is dead"" gospel. But today, I say proudly unto the naysayers, ""nay."" For today there is a new promise of hope in our rock 'n' roll lives, a hope which excites the ears with its pure rock values and the respect it has for the traditions that made our rock 'n' roll nation great.
This new hope is nothing less than the new Queens of the Stone Age album, R (as in the movie rating). Lead singer/songwriter Josh Homme and his respectable lineup of ex-Dwarves and Screaming Trees members, including many other fine musicians, offer us a glimmer of promise in today's seemingly dismal rock 'n' roll world with their overdrive, distortion-powered, stoner rock.
The doubters among ye will listen to track one, ""Feel Good Hit of the Summer,"" hear its repeated chorus of Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol,"" think it over the top, and wish to dismiss this album at once as trite ramblings from over-drugged musicians. While I do not deny that there is little doubt the Queens consume their fair share of contraband substances, I ask you to remember that this is one of the founding principles of our great nation. Indeed, today, as I walked down Deep Purple Avenue, I thought to myself that perhaps it is time to once again move back to an era of stoner rock, for this is an area in which we met with much success.
For stoner rock's thick chords and loud fuzz please the ear, the tendency towards unconventional song structure invites innovation, and the disposition to jam makes for well-developed musical themes and intriguing song growth without the wankery of so many hippie bands from lesser lands.
Songs on R like ""Better Living Through Chemistry,"" in all of its five plus minutes of jam glory, start subtly with bongos and guitar, yet sacrifice not an inch of rock values despite these hippie inspirations as it builds to a satisfying conclusion.
Other songs, like ""The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret"" and ""Monsters in the Parasol"" are content to merely rock hard and fast, letting the merits of their rock intensity speak for itself.
Verbal description of this album doesn't do it justice. Indeed, with song topics ranging from hallucinations to jet planes to drugs, sex and well, more drugs, and even with the inclusion of a recorded bong hit, this album walks a fine line just below the realms of excessiveness. But being excessive can be one of the finer points of rock 'n' roll, and the Queens of the Stone Age know just when to say when. The sound is right and the innovation is there to return integrity to our proud nation.
Now, my fellow denizens of this great republic of rock, get ye this album, roll ye a joint and prepare to rock anew. Our future is in your hands.
