Great band. There's a great live version of "No one knows" circulating around. It was on a sky or BBC web page but has since been pulled down.
That's a lot of suns.....but hey you won't stop me or some other dude or dudette from listening to them.
I liked Kyuss a lot, so I got into these guys right away (starting with the split EP Kyuss did with QOTSA before any real QOTSA albums came out). Now, I think they're overrated. I really liked the first album, was lukewarm on Rated R except for a couple songs (Feelgood Hit of the Summer, Better Living Through Chemistry). The latest one blows, the band has become totally trendy, and their shows are packed with frat-boy dorks. They're going in a direction I hoped they'd avoid (FM friendly alt-rock sounds). Josh Homme's Desert Sessions CDs are more interesting, IMHO. And Nick Oliveri's Mondo Generator at least has an edge to it. I haven't heard Eagles of Death Metal (another Homme side project) yet, but they're coming to town soon so I may check them out. One band that has major tie-in with QOTSA is Masters of Reality (Chris Goss produces QOTSA and is the frontman for Masters). Masters of Reality is dimensions better, but plays the same kind of music as QOTSA. Homme, Oliveri and Dave Catching have all played with Masters on their recordings as well as live.
Blue Meanie, you echo my sentiments almost exactly. I think Rated R is the best rock album to come out in years but was overlooked by the mainstream because it lacked a "hit single". But that's fine with me. I'll let the jocks and frats rock out to the last album while me and my bro rock out to the first album (my bro's fave by far). Songs for the Deaf wasn't that bad. It has some good songs ("The Sky is Falling, "Go With the Flow", Song for the Deaf"), but lacks the direction and wholeness of the first two albums. It's safe to say their best days are behind them.
I think Dave Grohl really did some good work on the latest one. I loved A Song For The Dead. That was probably the best song on there. Watching the live performances featuring Dave gave them more of an edge, imo. I really liked the last album. And they are NOT over-rated! I don't know where you're pulling this from. The lyrics and musical range really showed in the last album. Not to say Rated R wasnt good...I love that album too.
Agreed. But it's pretentious as hell to bring in some heavyweight guest drummer for an album when you know he's not going to be in the band. They were just "getting the rub" from Grohl. I prefer God is in the Radio, First it Giveth, and Do it Again, but I'm not enamored with the disc as a whole, especially the totally cheesy radio dialing interludes. Have you actually gone to see them or are you talking about the live videos on the DVD disc that came with Songs for the Deaf? Last time I saw them was at Slim's in SF w/Grohl, right before SFtD came out (actually, part of that show's on the DVD from SFtD. But if they had to use a Foo on drums, I'd prefer Taylor Hawkins, who shreds live. Not that the show with Grohl sucked, just short, way too packed in a really small club, and they did the rock star thing of coming on two hours after the opener while everyone played sardine in the club. First time I saw them was at The Fillmore a couple years earlier, without Grohl, and the show was better, IMHO. More experimental jams, older songs, and Blag Dahlia from The Dwarves on guest vocals for a couple songs. Obviously. I think they're sort of overrated. Don't know how much you pay attention to reviews, features, etc., but I've really tired of Kerrang!, Rolling Stone, etc., telling me how brilliant these guys are. Good? Yes, very. But "brilliant?" They're not even as good as their previous incarnation (Kyuss). QOTSA are a damn good band, but they play short headlining shows (75 mins. is lame, IMHO), they release the wussiest songs from their albums as singles (meaning they have to use a significant part of their short shows playing "hits"), and Josh's voice doesn't hold up live. Do yourself a favor and check out the first album, way better than Rated R or Songs for the Deaf. Kind of like a cross between Kyuss and current QOTSA on songs like Mexicola, You Would Know, etc. You'd probably like the Desert Sessions discs, too, especially since several QOTSA songs originated on those (Avon, Millionaire, Hanging Tree, Monsters in the Parasol, "I'm Dead"). Again, I really like them, but am disappointed with where they've gone. Hopefully they'll regroup and return to taking more chances on the next album.