History Music / QueensOfTheStoneAge

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 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", "Keep Your Eyes Peeled").
** Unusually, "Make It wit Chu" is a 2.
** ''Villains'' (the whole album) is mostly a solid 5. It's definitely the lightest QOTSA album in a while.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: The ''e'' at the end of Josh Homme's surname is not silent; it is not pronounced "Hom", and nor is it pronounced [[GratuitousFrench "'Om"]] for that matter.

** Ultra condensed in the form of "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", whose lyrics is nothing but a list of drugs.
--->Nicotin, Valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, alcohol, and CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-COCAINE!!

[[caption-width-right:333:The man [[IAmTheBand behind the band]].]]

Queens of the Stone Age is a HardRock group from the Palm Desert Scene, formed in 1996 by guitarist Josh Homme after his previous band Music/{{Kyuss}} disbanded. Originally named Gamma Ray, they were forced to change their name after a threat of legal action from an [[Music/GammaRay 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 Music/{{Kyuss}} tracks and another with the group Beaver. The new material on those [=CDs=] and their first official album, ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Queens of the Stone Age]]'' in 1998, showed Josh Homme slowly breaking away from the musical stylings of Music/{{Kyuss}} and coming into his own as an independent musician. However, the group found its identity with the release of ''Rated R'' in 2000, a mellower and more varied (but none-the-less hard) mix of stoner rock, grunge/alternative, classic rock and just a touch of heavy metal (with a few unorthodox musical experiments here and there, such as the use of steel drums in one song). The band solidified their newfound sense of identity with ''Music/SongsForTheDeaf'' in 2002. Largely abandoning their Stoner Rock origins in favor of a more accessible HardRock 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 ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' and ''VideoGame/RockBand'', 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 were given good press and each had a Grammy nominated song, they were neither as successful or as highly regarded as ''Songs for the Deaf'' (although ''Lullabies'' was a top-five album while ''Songs'' was not).

Joshua's other projects and acts he's performed with include Music/EaglesOfDeathMetal, which he rarely ever performs live with, The Desert Sessions, Fu Manchu, earthlings?, Music/ArcticMonkeys, Music/{{UNKLE}}, Music/LupeFiasco, and a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Homme_discography#Collaborations bunch of other people]].

Josh Homme is also part of the supergroup Music/ThemCrookedVultures, with [[Music/FooFighters Dave Grohl]] and [[Music/LedZeppelin John Paul Jones.]]

They now have an [[{{AwesomeMusic/QueensOfTheStoneAge}} awesome music page]].

* BadassBeard / BaldOfAwesome: '''NICK OLIVERI.'''

** ''Lullabies to Paralyze'' was [[UpToEleven even 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.

* NiceGuy: Despite his reputation for being a bit of a troublemaker (and his rocky relationship with Brody Dalle), Josh is known to be a very nice and friendly guy.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Despite its dark nature, their music often leans more on the idealistic side of the scale, with the lyrics on ''...Like Clockwork'' especially often containing an underlying sense of hope and desire to persevere, in the midst of all the trauma/tragedy present on the album. Similarly, ''Era Vulgaris'' was ([[WordOfGod according to Josh]]) actually intended as a ''celebration'' of the cultural zeitgeist, rather than a denunciation of it.
** The narrator in "Domesticated Animals", however, is pretty cynical. Also, the skits on ''Songs For The Deaf'' give a pretty cynical depiction of contemporary radio.

* Joshua Michael Homme III[[labelnote:*]]Also a member of The Desert Sessions, Music/{{Kyuss}}, Music/EaglesOfDeathMetal, and Music/ThemCrookedVultures.[[/labelnote]] Lead vocals, guitar (1996–now)

* Music/DaveGrohl: Drums (2002; 2013)

* Joshua Michael Homme III[[labelnote:*]]Also a member of The Desert Sessions, Music/{{Kyuss}}, Music/EaglesOfDeathMetal, and Music/ThemCrookedVultures.[[/labelnote]] (1996–now)
* Troy Van Leeuwen[[labelnote:*]]Also played in Failure, Sweethead, A Perfect Circle, and Enemy.[[/labelnote]] (2002–now)
* Michael Shuman[[labelnote:*]]The bassist of Wires on Fire and Mini Mansions[[/labelnote]] (2007–now)
* Dean Fertita[[labelnote:*]]Of Music/TheDeadWeather[[/labelnote]] (2007–now)
* [[Music/TheMarsVolta Jon Theodore]] (2013–now)

* ListSong: "Feel Good Hit of the Summer".

* AuthorAppeal: Josh seems to have an odd thing for [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalism]] and references it in a lot of songs and music videos. Including, but not necessarily limited to.

* KnuckleTattoos: Josh Homme has the name of his grandparents, Cap and Cam, tattooed on his knuckles [[http://www.celebritytattoosite.com/2010/05/josh-homme-tattoos.html]]

** The ironically-titled "Another Love Song"
** "Broken Box", which is about leaving a woman after she not only cheats on the narrator but ''has a child through the man she cheated on him with''.
* BurnTheWitch: A song off ''Lullabies to Paralyze''
* CallBack: At the end of "The Sky Is Fallin'", a DJ at KRDL ("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. In the background you can hear what sounds like a crappy version of "Millionaire" playing. The station is changed before the song begins again.
** CallForward: "A Song for the Deaf" plays in the background of the DJ's introduction to "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire".

** In "Fairweather Friends" (on ''...Like Clockwork''), as in "Walkin' on the Sidewalks" (on their debut, ''Queens of the Stone Age''), Josh uses the line "drink wine and screw." The two songs, however, use it in very different contexts[[note]]In the former song, the narrator says he'd like to escape the drudgery of daily life by doing this with his girlfriend. While, in the latter song, Josh complains that he's tired of so-called "friends" who like to "drink wine and screw women" with him but are nowhere to be found when he needs emotional support[[/note]].

** Both "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" and "3's & 7's" contain lyrics about "SecretKeeper taking (something) to the grave", and make reference to similar behaviour: secretiveness and lying.

* ClusterFBomb: Josh Homme swears a ''lot'' when you push his buttons.
** "Six Shooter" could be considered one, if you take its short one-minute length into account.
* ConceptAlbum: ''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 LoudnessWar is unknown. Each song on the album represents a different radio station the protagonist turns to as he drives ("You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire" is the 'screamo' station, "God Is in the Radio" is a religious radio station, etc).

* CoverVersion: A cover of Music/TheKinks' "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" appears at the end of the UK/Japan limited edition version of ''Songs for the Deaf''. At one point they even did "Who'll Be the Next in Line".
** They also did "Needles in the Camel's Eye" by Music/BrianEno, "White Wedding" by Music/BillyIdol, "The Most Exalted Potentate of Love" by Music/TheCramps, "Christian Brothers" and "Needle in the Hay" by Music/ElliottSmith, "Goin' Out West" by Music/TomWaits, "Never Say Never" by Music/RomeoVoid, "Petty Thug" by Music/{{Millionaire}} and "Not to Touch the Earth" by Music/TheDoors
** An appearance on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge saw the Queens do a cover of Music/RobinThicke's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouMIRFibxA8 Blurred Lines,]]" of all things. Featuring [[EverythingIsAnInstrument prescription pills used as percussion.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''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.

** And ''Lullabies to Paralyze'' was even darker than ''Songs for the Deaf''.
** The band took it UpToEleven with ''...Like Clockwork'', which is easily their darkest and most brooding album yet.

* DeusEstMachina: "God Is in the Radio"

* [[DudeLooksLikeALady Dude Sounds Like a Lady]]: Josh can hit some pretty feminine sounding high notes in songs like "I Never Came" and "In My Head" and Troy can do some feminine sounding backing vocals. ''Especially'' on and "Make It wit Chu" and "Smooth Sailing" where his backing vocals seriously sound like a woman.

* EpicRocking: "Someone's in the Wolf" (7:15), and "I Think I Lost My Headache" (8:40), along with several other songs lasting the better part of 6 minutes. Recently, "The Evil Has Landed" (6:31) has joined the list.

* EverythingIsAnInstrument: "You Would Know" uses scissors and a telephone for percussion.
** "Regular John" includes a telephone beeping rhythmically in the background.
** As does "Long, Slow Goodbye".

* FreezeFrameBonus: If you manage to wade through the insanity at the end of "I Was a Teenage Hand Model"'s LastNoteNightmare / EarRape, you will notice a phone call going on near the end. Most precisely, [[{{Foreshadowing}} Nick Oliveri calling Josh to tell him he's accepted the offer to join the band]].

* HiddenTrack

* IntercourseWithYou: "Make It wit Chu". Additionally: "Do It Again", "Skin on Skin"

* InTheNameOfTheMoon: Josh Homme has been known to react violently to hecklers, and whenever he gets pissed the first thing he always says is "Hey you!"

* LastNoteNightmare: The band became specialists at this on their first albums. "I Think I Lost My Headache", "Make It Wit Chu", [[EarRape "I Was a Teenage Hand Model"]], "In the Fade", "Tension Head"... there's a ''lot'' of instances.

** Check above on the EarRape entry for their biggest example at the end of their first album. No, really. Homme added LOUD SYNTH DISTORTIONS ''just in order to wake stoners up should they sleep while listening to his band''.
* LighterAndSofter: Arguably ''Era Vulgaris'' compared to ''Lullabies to Paralyze'', as the album was considerably more catchy and less grim-sounding (...with the exception of "Sick, Sick, Sick"). Also ''Rated R'' compared to the band's S/T album.

* ListSong: "Feel Good Hit of the Summer"

* MushroomSamba: "Monsters in the Parasol"

* PrecisionFStrike: From the "My God Is the Sun" video:
-->THE END IS REALLY FUCKING NIGH

* ShoutOut: [[Music/{{Radiohead}} "I want you to notice/when I'm not around"]] in "You Can't Quit Me Baby".

* SlasherSmile: ''"Beware the smile/[[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily It hides all the teeth, my dear]]"''

* SopranoAndGravel: "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire" alternates between screamed and sung vocals.

-->It's all in motion
-->No stopping now
-->I've got nothing to lose
-->And only one way '''up'''
** This is very clean, considering Josh Homme's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl33poJNSE4 stage manner]] and the fact that he drops the mother of all curses a mere ten seconds later
-->I'm burning bridges
-->I destroy the mirage
-->Visions of collisions
-->Fucking [[BilingualBonus bon voyage]]!

* BerserkButton: [[MemeticMutation 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.

* BingeMontage: Ultra condensed in the form of "Feel Good Hit of the Summer"
** And now there's the videoclip from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QetvK6ldl2s "Smooth Sailing"]], from ''...Like Clockwork''

Queens of the Stone Age is a HardRock group from the Palm Desert Scene, formed in 1996 by guitarist Josh Homme after his previous band Music/{{Kyuss}} disbanded. Originally titled Gamma Ray, they were forced to change their name after a threat of legal action from an [[Music/GammaRay 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.

!!Studio Albums

* ''Desert Sessions 11 & 12'' (2019)

* Dave Catching: Guitars and keyboards (1998–2000)
* Brendon [=McNichol=]: Guitars and keyboards (2000–2002)

* Music/DaveGrohl: Drums (2002 and 2013)

* Dan Druff: Bass and vocals (2005)
* Alain Johannes: Bass and vocals (2005–2007)

* Mike Johnson: Bass (1997)

* Van Conner: Bass (1998)
* Jason "The Kid" Albertini: Vocals (1998)
* Pete Stahl: Vocals (1998–1999)
* Mario Lalli: Guitar[[labelnote:*]]filled in for Dave Catching for a few shows in 1999; also co-wrote "Monsters in the Parasol" and "Millionaire"[[/labelnote]] (1999)

* LastNoteNightmare: The band became specialists at this on their first albums. "I Think I Lost My Headache", "Make It Wit' Chu", [[EarRape "I Was a Teenage Hand Model"]], "In the Fade", "Tension Head"... There's A LOT of instances.
** The album ''Songs for the Deaf''. The final 'official' song is [[TitleTrack "A Song for the Deaf"]], which features blood-curdling screams buried in the mix and lyrics about paranoia and betrayal. Then there's half a minute of silence, and [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment then a half-minute-long version of "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" with the lyrics replaced with laughing.]] And ''then'' comes the unsettling, LyricalDissonance-filled bonus track "Mosquito Song", probably the most nightmarish song in the band's catalog. And [[OverlyLongGag '''THEN''']], if you bought the UK/Japan limited edition album, this is followed by a cover of "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy", a song by Music/TheKinks.

** {{Subverted|Trope}} with the mysterious Carlo Von Sexron. Carlo played pianos, keyboards and bass on the first album and is very well known by the fandom. [[labelnote: note]]Because he's Josh Homme.[[/labelnote]]

** {{Averted|Trope}} again with Troy for the next next two albums. Troy has a sizable fanbase of his own, mostly for being [[SharpDressedMan neatly dressed]].

* OutOfCharacterMoment: Josh performs "I Never Came" without a guitar, which makes many fans feel a tad awkward.

** The only core studio members on the album ''Lullabies to Paralyze'' were Josh, Troy, and Joey.
*** This was also the case with the album ''Era Vulgaris''.

* TitleByNumber: "3's & 7's".

[[TheStinger ''It's been a good night. Dave Catching here. Not saying 'good night'... just saying.'']]

* CallBack: At the end of "The Sky Is Fallin'", a DJ at KRDL ("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.

* LongTitle: "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)"[[note]]only on the 2011 reissue; the original 1998 release doesn't include the subtitle[[/note]], "The Fun Machine Took a Shit & Died", ""You Got a Killer Scene There, Man...""[[note]]the quotes are part of the title[[/note]], "These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For", "I Was a Teenage Hand Model"... [[TropesAreNotBad damn]].

* NoEnding: "I Think I Lost My Headache" just cuts off at the very end. No silence or anything.

* {{Hunk}}: With his StupidSexyFlanders reputation (see EvenTheGuysWantHim above), his slighty more muscular build and his towering height (6'4"), Josh Homme pretty much would qualify (if only by a slight bit).