Fancy-Ass Cosby Sweater-Wearin' Friday

We're getting real fancy this week. I mean Fine China fancy. In fact, if it gets fancier than this, I don't want any part it. Queens of the Stone Age have always been extra careful to not be careful and 2007's Era Vulgaris is not only no exception, it's the prime example. Queens' fifth record is an experimental affair, full of killer hooks, dirty-ass guitars and ZZ Top grooves. Add two special guest spots from Mark Lanegan and you got yourself a monster record on your hands.

The track that comes correct with the highest percentage of fancy is easily "Make It Wit Chu", an old Desert Sessions tune, reworked and tweaked with Josh Homme doing his best Lanegan impression on lead vocals. I swear , this is one of the sexiest songs ever written. Damn that handsome Josh Homme.

Check this out and feel free to make it wit yourself if need be. It's that good.

Sometimes You Just Get It Right The First Time

Look, I'm not going to talk about all the Queens of the Stone Age records today. Not even a few. Even though I know more about all their side projects, past projects, future projects and other mindless info...Enough to even bore me sometimes, I'm only going to speak on why the QOTSA self-titled debut is perhaps one of the most flawless records in rock n' roll history and that Josh Homme is a goddamn genius. A riff machine, who chose to simplify it all down to the basic elements of drums, vocals, bass and guitars. Little multi-layering and some of the sweetest grooves since "Cheap Sunglasses". There's a reason Billy Gibbons loves Queens (and not much of one for liking Nickelback).

The album is fucking perfect. "Regular John", "You Would Know", "I Was A Teenage Hand Model", and "Avon" just hit so hard and they groove like a motherfucker...Scratch that. 10 motherfuckers.

A lot of people don't know that this record (which has been out of print for about five years) does not feature Nick Oliveri at all. He's in the pictures on the sleeve and back cover but only began his time in Queens after recording was finished. It's all Josh and Alfredo Hernandez, who also plays drums on one of my favorite stoner records ever, Che (with Brant Bjork).
QOTSA have become one of my favorite bands and have employed some of my favorite musicians. They keep putting out amazing music and don't ever show signs of staleness. I just tip my hat to Stone Gossard and his Loosegroove Records imprint for signing Gamma Ray (the previous name of QOTSA) and putting out this fancy record.

"You Would Know" 1999
"Mexicola" 1999