If rock does end up dying, as you speculate toward the end of this video, then it's twisted children both metal and punk will surely carry on in some perverted way.
@@coopsawright7225 Good mid-October 2023 to whoever wrote this comment. I'm interested in reading more about the death of rock. Like you, I also really like (and appreciate) metal as well as punk. I'm requesting you continue with your concept... What does happen if/when rock does die. There's not a rush (
rock will live on until the end of this world in some shape or form , as i stated, however God has something even better to replace it after the last day for His adopted children; this sadly is not accepted in most men's minds for the seed has yet to sprout , obviously bc we are not at the end yet. Was sad though as one of the final bastions of rock came to an end some 6 months ago / that being Midnight Oil , they won't be touring anymore. stay tuned and remember ROCK ON DUDE !!!@@JSnyder
The fact that era vulgaris is considered one of their worst albums is insane to me, that was the first album I heard by them and it was when I fell in love with their signature sound
Absolutely. I freaked out on that record but all my friends were like "meh." Villains and that Ronson clown is the one I hate. But even that one has some masterpieces on it.
That drunken stumble comes from polka. Homme's first guitar teacher was a polka player and you can hear how Homme uses it all the time once you start looking for it.
Great point! I'd known about the polka influence before, but I underestimated how much it does actually contribute to the 'drunken stumble.' Polka and oompah bands do this all the time.
@@yanyansenmusic I can already hear Warsaw being played with tubas. Never really spotted the polka/oompah influence before, but like he said, once you start looking for it it's all over the place.
Yeah fairly held opinions and all, but Fairweather Friends is my favorite song on an excellent record. I will admit it wouldn’t be half the song it would without Elton John’s over the top piano and Dave Grohl’s excellent drumming.
That description of a (later) QotSA album being like a drunken night out going weird gave me chills, one of the best explanations of their "soundfeel" I've ever heard. 👌
The true genius of Homme has never been fully appreciated. He is so talented it hurts. The off key in time rifts that he has made his own are so awesome. I haven’t heard any other artist like him ever. The guy is a rock god, for me he is the GOAT in his genre. His voice and guitar skill are second to none. From Kyuss to Queens, it’s been an amazing journey to be part of. Great analogy of Homme’s style, all of how I look at his music but explained mush more linguistically. Thanks.
Seeing them live was as good as you’d hope. I’m greedy and have always wanted to see Crooked Vultures live. Bought the cd at Best Buy the day it released. Cheers!
@@MrBuketman two more weeks and I get to see QOTSA two nights in a row. Have seen them once before but this will be the high light of my observational career. Lol Gunna be front and centre but not moshing. I'm there for the band and the music. Respect to Homme!
Fortress and FWF are great tunes. Just different than much of JH's catalog. I don't see why people hate on songs that deviate from the more famous/typical formula. My favorite bands branch out and evolve and experiment and play many styles. I applaud that desire to not just make the same album or song over and over again.
I really love both songs! Fairweather friends have in it this much of sonic richness that every time I hear it I can't get over how this number of sounds may create such beautiful unity.
There are a few things worth mentioning here. Firstly Queens of The Stone Age recorded a number of tracks on the neve console at sound city studios, Rated R, Lullabies and Era Vulgaris. There is also a thought that the production style of Songs for the Deaf was to make it sound like you are listening to it on the radio perhaps through low quality speakers. I 'm no expert and none of this is to say you are wrong, love the content and their music
Eric Valentine, their producer put out some videos with info on how they recorded SFTD some time ago on his own channel. But i think he had to take em down due to pressure from the band to keep things secret. According to Eirik from the Living Room Gear Demos channel, you can still find the videos somewere online. Plus he too has some great videos on his channel that talks more about this. At the end of the day, no one sounds quite like Qotsa.
Honestly, that jives with the radio voiceover clips on SFTD. Kinda tempted to play it over some crappy computer speakers now, see if that changes anything in the listening experience.
All that effort, yet they still produced only boring, empty turds without substance.... they'd be better off saving time, effort and money by recording on an old double tape player
I think it’s also really important to highlight the tightness of both tone and rhythm when it’s there, it’s the juxtaposition that really makes homme songs shine. When the whole song is a tight 4/4, the sudden drunken stumble hits way harder. When the whole song is loosey goosey and then the chorus comes in with a tight 4/4 it makes that mechanical “robot rock” hit way harder. Same goes sonically, when tight close drums burst out of a muddy hellscape of detuned guitars recorded on Nokias it makes the drums punch even harder
Fairweather friends rocks. It's such a cool song. I don't see or hear it on that. The other stuff I get and agree with. His playing is so unique. He's a killer guitar player. Fortress is an excellent song too. The mans just trying to give a little something for every flavor and taste and I think being varied and catering to different styles to serve the song is a great quality to have in your music. He keeps things changed up and that's why it never gets old
Come on man, give Fairweather Friends another try, especially if it's the composition you're complaining about. I think that's one of the most slept on songs by QotSA/Homme in general. Each part flows perfectly into the next, and every moment of the song has the right amount of space for every instrument present to shine. It's really well arranged in that sense. It may not be THE best QotSA song, but it's a crazy solid rock tune that's far better than many other bands' attempts at that type of sound.
I mean, even on LC (their strongest album compositionally), the track has always stood out for me. Seriously, as a song per se, it’s great plus it got all the fluorishes the production and an Elton cameo can give you.
I love how genius the end of that song is when it cuts of at "frie-" as he's singing "fairweather friends." The song just abruptly disappears, exactly like a fairweather friend.
He also plays with a subtractive technique, removing parts from a chord or taking bits out from a more complex structure. It’s really cool all tied together!
Feel is such a lost part of music. You don't have to be a metronome king, or a theory god. As long as you understand dynamics and feel, you're 80% there imo, and it leads to some great stuff, especially in the postrock world
My last band always talked about I should play to a metronome. Not that our or my timing was all over the place, we played tied and had feel, even musicians friends told us. Yet they couldn't get the idea out of their heads
Drunken Stumble is a great description. Homme's lead part in the break down at the end of 'My God is the Sun' is a great example. The rhythm and micro-bends give it that cool 'drunken' character.
The shade that Fairweather Friends gets always confuses me. Its my second pick from LC and LC is my favourite QotSA album overall. Fairweather Friends has so much forward push, its phenomenal.
Fairweather Friends and Smooth Sailing are the only two tracks I bother listening to from that album these days. Only thing that bugs me about Fairweather Friends is that Elton's piano is almost lost in the mix.
I just discovered your channel with this video. I am not being facetious, this is one of best breakdowns of a musical stylization that I’ve seen. Been a fan of QOTSA for so long yet I’ve never been able to put into words the magic that I feel their music is. Honestly, thank you so much for this breakdown. It made sense to me finally, why they are my favorite band of all time.
Exactly this! I was about to respond, and found your comment perfectly encapsulated what I was going to write. The video to 'Smooth Sailing' catches - for me, at least - the very essence of the 'Drunken Stumble' and why Homme remains my favourite musician after 50-odd years of listening, dancing, playing music.
Rage was 90s. And QOTSA are, and have been for decades, totally a household name in any household aware of music. Massive multi-platinum album Songs for the Deaf.
Great video! you hit all the marks... Josh is so underappreciated by the mainstream but I don't think he'd have it any other way. He's created a catalog of art that will influence music forever. I need this album as an artist & music fan. cheers.
Love the Homme and Grohl , but ive never liked the Foo Fighters... I agree with that reviewer... There just another pop band.😐 On the other hand he's a great person and i definately am happy to hear him play drums with anyone.
You're making a giant leap from a "neve sound" to something etherial. Listen to a song and tell me what desk it was mixed on. You can't. If you claim you can you're deluded. Homme's recordings are all well recorded regardless of what you claim, you're conflating production decisions and aesthetics with production quality.
i am no music expert but i think you better explain what so many are attracted to Homme, the sounds that seem wrong but sound so good. the drunken stumble is a good way to put it. Josh is one of the most interesting and creative guys in rock in the past 25 years!
I think it is also very noteworthy that he also incorporates that in his live performances! You oftem see him kind of stumbling from left to right while playing these "stumbly" parts, which seems to me as if this is actually exactly what he wants to express with it (assuming he's actually not just that drunk :))
I dig what you're saying, although I would argue Josh is as much an auteur in the earlier Queens of the Stone Age records as he is in the noisy later records. The claustrophobic, airtight sound of tracks like Little Sister and No One Knows really accentuate the sinister grooves! The sound is both brutish and heavy while unnervingly precise, like an evil robot attacking you! 🤖
Great analysis, really puts a pin in a huge part of what makes Homme's music so unique. Never a dull moment, almost always a sloppy little twist on something kinda familiar with a few curveballs thrown in there for good measure. ITNR... is a completely new sound for Queens (as always) but it's full of those little elements that connect some dormant pathway in the back of your brain that makes you go "oh, that sounds a little like Era Vulgaris meets the Self-Titled" or "this sounds like Lullabies to Paralyze meets TCV." As an aside, Tigercub is another band that knows how to use "feel" to elevate their songs. Anxiety is a major theme throughout a lot of their music, and they sell it by creating an almost claustrophobic soundspace, especially on their latest album. On a track like "The Perfume of Decay" or "Swoon" you get enveloped by this wall of sound that drowns out everything else, but you can still hear the "flaws" (and some little intentional flourishes) creeping in around you, reminding you that you aren't really safe--a cool example of the same technique Josh employs being used for a very different effect.
pretty sure the original label from qotsa spotted tigercub, and helped produce their second album ‘as blue as indigo’ and stated they were the next QOTSA, so it’s funny you mentioned that
He’s not a technical or accomplished guitar player but man can he write the coolest sounding shit and his leads for it are the perfect fit. So catchy in a weird way.
@@raisaulolopezlima2063 meaning he’s not a great guitar player but it doesn’t matter cause what he writes is what’s important. I’d rather listen to music that draws me in than someone who’s really great but their music is boring
@@aaroncall5274I disagree... i think he's an exellent guitar player. I dont think you have to be "technical" to be a good player... if you play good music on your guitar, which he does, your a good guitar player.
Dude, this video is nearly worthless. You ranted for 13 out of 14 minutes. The title is misleading. It should me "My ode to Josh Homme by Yan Yansen" because that's really all that's here.
Oh man, railing on fortress. I understand what your saying about the song relative to their others but he wrote it for his daughter and if you listen to it with that in mind I think it makes one of the best on that album. But their new album is their best since lullabies, there I said it. It’s new queens meets old queens in a dark alley , amazing
Great video! On a completely unrelated note: You need to up your tequila game! Get yourself some Fortaleza or Ocho. Do it for yourself and the rest of us agave lovers 😉
Josh was on an episode of one od Anthony Bourdain's series, and they showed a bit of how he likes to record. Watching that episode and seeing the "anything goes as long as it's cool" feeling, this analysis of his music makes perfect sense.
Fairweather friends is excellent too come on now. This was a Machiavellian plot wasn't it? Bad mouth two great songs to get the fans to RUSH to the comments. You dastardly villain
Up until Songs for the Deaf QOTSA was pretty much on the way to becoming the next great stadium rock band. Then there something broke in the middle of Lullabies. It is like when Radiohead decided after the OK computer album that they don't want all that attention and pressure and started to deconstruct their own statues. Then in 2007 there was a wink from them that they still are capable of doing popular music (In Rainbows) Josh is doing this in a more traditional way: having one or two popsongs on each album. Just enough to keep the attention on the band but don't increase it.
That song from Like Clockwork, I Appear Missing. another nuke of great music. QOTSA should be way more popular than they are. Alice in Chains is also still AWESOME today. Even Deftones still drops a decent album
Love that mentioned them crooked vultures a lot here, that was a fantastic album that was slightly different from a queens album. Was lucky to see them live. Great examples of what makes josh great.
Damn, that is a great analysis. For me, the imprecise way of Homme on doing things precisely it's catchy, and that's what hold me ultin the last minute of every album. Keep it up, my dude! You won one more sub
Cool video! The drums on Songs for the Deaf were actually recorded separate from the cymbals (like Dave would play the whole without cymbals, just hitting dummies, and then do it the other way around with the cymbals), so it was clinical to that point, the recording (Dave said it was a nightmare and never recorded that way ever again lol). But I think that's part of why this album sounds so great, that it has this clean, clinical precision in the production, contrasting strongly with the actual instruments playing super hard and distorted. It's like an atomic bomb of filthy contained in a little clean jar or something. I really like the production on the next two albums, and even Like Clockwork (which I think we saw a return to that more clean Neve sound), but it's hard to defend the production on the last two albums. Sometimes I wonder if I can't get past the sound and enjoy the songs, or if it's the other way around, the songs don't quite do it for me, so I can't like the sound, but I just think it's poorly recorded (and a lot of people seem to agree). I think cleaner songs like Fortress still sound awesome (only song I really like from the newer stuff), but the distorted ones, at this point, just sound reaallly, reaally messy, like fried chicken drowned in fat. Before the harder songs were crunchy and tasty, now they just sound messy, to me... And I wish it didn't, but I think they just took this "character" of recording a bit too far
Fantastic video!! The reason I have become such a big fan of Homme is that, as you said, bands like Foo Fighters want the institution of rock to stay alive... but Homme wants Rock to evolve.
Wonderful metaphor to describe Harrison's work on 'Something'. He's my favourite Beatle for that reason, I was always struck by the subtle sophistication and soulful understatement as he edged the band into territory they might not have gone otherwise. Homme's riffs always seemed to have that Iommi chug to me, going back to the Kyuss days. But once you've been put onto the polka element you can't unhear it.
This is fantastic, man. As a massive fan of Homme and Queens, i think you really captured a lot of their allure in a way I havent quite seen explained.
Awesome video, Josh' style is absolutely killer. This "wrongness" makes rock sound great. In a way, The Velvet Underground also has a way of sounding "wrong" in a right way
I'm not gonna scroll through 609+ comments. But has anyone said anything about Lanegan??? I mean...c'mon. "Lullabies to paralyze"? Lanegan had the Midas.
Really good video thanks! I would describe his style as sleazy which I absolutely adore. That TCV record is an absolute masterpiece in my eyes. Love the two new songs I’ve heard too. That live TCV show is peak Grohl and Homme. Homme is never boring to me. I’m not a fan of the production on Villains it feels over precise.
If you're interested in the musical tradition in which this style originated, I'd recommend checking out Kyuss (band Home played drums in before QOTSA), as well as other 'stoner rock/stoner metal' or 'desert rock' bands with historical ties to Kyuss and QOTSA!
"lumped together with mainstream contemporaries of 00's era rock music...like Soundgarden"!? Soundgarden didnt release any music, and for the most part, didn't even exist as a band between 1996 and 2012. Otherwise, great analysis.👍
The other thing he does is he only went ahead and INVENTED HIS OWN GODDAMN SCALE. I can't remember the specific intervals something like Root, minor ii, major III, augmented IV, V, major VI, Major VII. Most rock is your minor or minor pentatonic, whereas he's using this discordant major bastard child. The result is unsettling and misleading - we're so used to standard major and minor that the ear wants to hear those notes, but they always land elsewhere.
Far Out Man! What a great dissection. You have totally articulated my lack of better words of why Homme is GREAT. I wish I could take you in my pocket to parties 😂 It’s funny how a lot of people have only commented on the “Stinker” statement which was right at the end of this video and lasted about 3 seconds. I did cringe myself, only because I’ve got the stubborn mindset of “Homme Can Do No Wrong” Fortress is a heartfelt song for his children. Like an eerie yet beautiful lullaby from a ghost. It’s for them and not for us. Why put it on an album? Because Homme.
I think it's unfair to describe what you are as a "Neve sound." Neve consoles and their preamps, EQ's and onboard compressors/levelers are all transformer coupled. As such, yes, they create a level of "sweetness" but that sweetness is created via harmonics, i.e. harmonic _distortion._ In the 70's and 80's, studio equipment deliberately moved away from transformer coupled circuits and vacuum tubes (I believe you Englush guys call them "valves"). You can take a Neve console/preamp/module and _drive_ it well into "wrongness" if you like. You can make them pretty much sound however you want. I don't think what you're describing should be called the "Neve sound" so much as the "highly _produced_ sound." All those big records from Rumors to Nevermind weren't so slick because they were recorded using a Neve console - Neve consoles were simply _ubiquitous_ in big studios like Sound City for decades - those records sounded slick because they were given the full, big album, music industry treatment; producers and mix engineers with an ear for radio friendly recordings, double tracked vocals, everything recorded again and again until played _perfectly_ using the most high fidelity condenser microphones with the preamps set for maximum headroom and as such, fidelity. None of that comes down to the Neve used, those are all production and mixing decisions. I'd also say that, particularly once you get into the early 1980's, this all had _FAR_ morevto do with the SSL consoles these big records were _mixed_ on than the Neve consoles they were recorded on. Even then, recording into Neve and mixing on SSL has little to do with what you're describing as a record's "soundfeel" of "wrongness." That "wrongness," just like the contrasting slick records, is a production choice, not really a gear one.
Rock is dying, because electronica has more textures? Yeah. An infinite palliate of sampled sounds, set to loops in sequencers that fade in and out in mind-numbing repetition, saying nothing profound, and creating a giant intellectual devolution. Like Living Colour said, "Post-modernism: Is it?!"
@@digdugsmug I think Villains overall is an underrated album. Even though it is my least favourite QOTSA album out of all 8 they released! I think it is more to do with QOTSA setting the bar so high for themselves that it is relatively overlooked. I don't think that they have a bad album in their discography.
great video but that neve bit isnt really correct. those old neve consoles are from the early 70s and are anything BUT clean. people like them because they sound old and vibey- they saturate, smear transients and have a round warm low end. the EQ's are very wide and not precise at all so you can only use them to make broad, bold brush strokes. its closer to "lo fi" than it is to "clean". the reason rock musicians like it is because it basically instantly makes drums and bass sound like 70's. a great example of a modern "neve" sound would be radiohead's "bodysnatchers". that main guitar is what you get when you plug a guitar straight into the mic preamp and turn it up all the way- its basically a fuzz. id be willing to bet a lot of money that plenty of modern josh/queens material was also recorded on neve consoles or at least used neve preamps and EQ's.
Now you've got me thinking of some of my favorite "mistakes" that ended up making it into the final song and enhancing the experience. Stuff like Bon Scott coming in early on It's a Long Way to the Top or "Drums please, Fab?" in the Strokes' Ode to the Mets that completely change the way you engage with the song once you notice them.
I got almost 8 minutes in and nothing about playing technique has even really been mentioned. 8 minutes I’ll never get back. That’s on me I guess. Misleading video title.
Interesting analysis, I appreciate the video. I’m a huge Queens of the Stone Age fan. I think he uses production techniques as he likes and what fits the emotion of the song , or to evoke emotion. In some ways “Songs for the Deaf” and “Lullabies to Paralyze” were cleaner sounding records. But “Era Vulgaris” which was supposed to sound hard, dark, and bit fucked up given the inspiration for the album. “Like Clock Work” and “Villains” are very clear sounding professional albums full of personality with “Villians” probably being the most cleanest record they have produced. They new record sounds closer to “Era Vulgaris” with people describing it as a bit dark and abrasive. So they use production to evoke emotions and can easily go back and forth to clean to dirty
Great video! And I recommend giving Fairweather Friends another try. Especially in the context of the rest of ...Like Clockwork it's a climactic, grand, emotional song, that still embodies that typical Homme/qotsa vibe in the songwriting, imo. Also, hype for In Times New Roman!!
I do also think Smooth Sailing hits much harder when listend to after Fairweather Friends. With that transition "I don't give a sh*t about them anyways" it amplifies this vibe of "f*ck these toxic losers, lets move on and have our own party instead".
I just have one thing to say: QOTSA should record the accompanying live album to "In Times New Roman" in Switzerland, just so they can call the record "In Helvetica".
Really interesting views you shared here. Josh home really does push a genre that should be dead by now forward. I was never able to put it into words but you were able to properly explain that dirty feeling the songs have. I hope you make more video essays like that.
From what I've seen on your channel this is the first video of this kind you made. Please keep doing these musical analysis videos, you're excellent at it!! I've been listening to Josh Homme's music for at least 20 years now but I didn't realize many of the things you pointed out in this video. Very smart stuff and of course I'd love to see more of it. Many thanks!
Fairweather Friends and Fortress are delicious! What songs I could do without tho is Battery Acid and Run Pig Run. If they replaced those songs with Era Vulgairs and The Fun Machine EV would of been my top favorite album by them 🚬💡
Having just done some reading on Brian Wilson's methods of 'using the studio as an instrument', the way you describe Josh Homme's production and arrangements makes me feel like it's almost like he's turning that on its head. And as a Queens fan since day one, with Deaf ranking as one of my all-time favourite records, I LOVE this kind of deep-dive on Josh's sound! Amazing video ^_^ Except right at the end. I will NOT accept Fortress slander. But that's just me. xD
A very good explanation of Homme’s approach. QOTSA is underrated only because most people have such bland taste in music. I’m willing to bet that if you compared IQ scores of fan bases that QOTSA would have one of the highest scores.
Today, after listening to his music for about 30 years, I learned that his name in not pronounced like the French word homme (either with or without a silent h) - I'd always assumed it sounded like 'hom'
G'day everyone, my review of In Times New Roman... is live now on the channel. Please check it out, and thanks for watching 😁
probably wouldn't bring up lostprophets if u don't have to bossman
If rock does end up dying, as you speculate toward the end of this video, then it's twisted children both metal and punk will surely carry on in some perverted way.
Cursive does this A ton
@@coopsawright7225
Good mid-October 2023 to whoever wrote this comment. I'm interested in reading more about the death of rock. Like you, I also really like (and appreciate) metal as well as punk.
I'm requesting you continue with your concept... What does happen if/when rock does die. There's not a rush (
rock will live on until the end of this world in some shape or form , as i stated, however God has something even better to replace it after the last day for His adopted children; this sadly is not accepted in most men's minds for the seed has yet to sprout , obviously bc we are not at the end yet. Was sad though as one of the final bastions of rock came to an end some 6 months ago / that being Midnight Oil , they won't be touring anymore. stay tuned and remember ROCK ON DUDE !!!@@JSnyder
The fact that era vulgaris is considered one of their worst albums is insane to me, that was the first album I heard by them and it was when I fell in love with their signature sound
It's one of my favourite Queen albums!
Absolutely. I freaked out on that record but all my friends were like "meh." Villains and that Ronson clown is the one I hate. But even that one has some masterpieces on it.
Maybe not their best, but for me a close second
Yeah era vulgaris is high on my list, too. The epitome of Josh's "robot rock" vibe.
It's now considered one of their best.
It's been a year grower
That drunken stumble comes from polka. Homme's first guitar teacher was a polka player and you can hear how Homme uses it all the time once you start looking for it.
That was a great guitar moves episode.
Great point! I'd known about the polka influence before, but I underestimated how much it does actually contribute to the 'drunken stumble.' Polka and oompah bands do this all the time.
@@yanyansenmusic I can already hear Warsaw being played with tubas. Never really spotted the polka/oompah influence before, but like he said, once you start looking for it it's all over the place.
No he was a poker player, you've got the wrong poker
Was he really? I've seen that interview where he said, but I thought it was just one of his weird jokes with great deadpan
Hey, man, Fair Weather Friends and Fortress are great songs!
I knew someone would come for me 😂Look, Fairweather Friends is actually alright. And Elton John is on it, as far as I can remember.
Imma fight about FAIRWEATHER FRIENDS.
Nah they are both rubbish
@@Forestgravy90 the only rubbish QotSA song is little sister.
Yeah fairly held opinions and all, but Fairweather Friends is my favorite song on an excellent record.
I will admit it wouldn’t be half the song it would without Elton John’s over the top piano and Dave Grohl’s excellent drumming.
That description of a (later) QotSA album being like a drunken night out going weird gave me chills, one of the best explanations of their "soundfeel" I've ever heard. 👌
That description is literally a music video of one of the QOTSA songs too.
@@jamieryan1584Smooth Sailing!
Truth
Agree - I almost want to film a music video for that description - with Joaquin Phoenix, of course!
@@cpking7 Smooth sailing is the one you're looking for :) no Joaquin Phoenix but still great
The true genius of Homme has never been fully appreciated.
He is so talented it hurts.
The off key in time rifts that he has made his own are so awesome.
I haven’t heard any other artist like him ever.
The guy is a rock god, for me he is the GOAT in his genre.
His voice and guitar skill are second to none.
From Kyuss to Queens, it’s been an amazing journey to be part of.
Great analogy of Homme’s style, all of how I look at his music but explained mush more linguistically.
Thanks.
Seeing them live was as good as you’d hope. I’m greedy and have always wanted to see Crooked Vultures live. Bought the cd at Best Buy the day it released. Cheers!
@@MrBuketman two more weeks and I get to see QOTSA two nights in a row.
Have seen them once before but this will be the high light of my observational career. Lol
Gunna be front and centre but not moshing. I'm there for the band and the music.
Respect to Homme!
Could not agree more!!
Fortress and FWF are great tunes. Just different than much of JH's catalog. I don't see why people hate on songs that deviate from the more famous/typical formula. My favorite bands branch out and evolve and experiment and play many styles. I applaud that desire to not just make the same album or song over and over again.
I really love both songs! Fairweather friends have in it this much of sonic richness that every time I hear it I can't get over how this number of sounds may create such beautiful unity.
Fairweather Friends just made it onto my karaoke playlist. Love that song so much!
ITT: Fortress is great, you suck Yan 😂
Fuck fortress, but fairweather friends? Sir Elton John is gonna have your ass!
Great vid mate but Fairweather Friends a stinker? Nahhhh
Fortress is sooooo good, i can't handle this insolence. I vote with down vote.
This.
I love the intro but it does have a wobble
There are a few things worth mentioning here. Firstly Queens of The Stone Age recorded a number of tracks on the neve console at sound city studios, Rated R, Lullabies and Era Vulgaris. There is also a thought that the production style of Songs for the Deaf was to make it sound like you are listening to it on the radio perhaps through low quality speakers. I 'm no expert and none of this is to say you are wrong, love the content and their music
There you go! It's quite difficult to find definitive information on where songs were recorded and mixed. Thanks for the added info.
Eric Valentine, their producer put out some videos with info on how they recorded SFTD some time ago on his own channel. But i think he had to take em down due to pressure from the band to keep things secret. According to Eirik from the Living Room Gear Demos channel, you can still find the videos somewere online. Plus he too has some great videos on his channel that talks more about this. At the end of the day, no one sounds quite like Qotsa.
Honestly, that jives with the radio voiceover clips on SFTD. Kinda tempted to play it over some crappy computer speakers now, see if that changes anything in the listening experience.
@@musewolfman Well technically it's a concept album about driving from LA to joshua tree and listening to the radio the whole time so there's that.
All that effort, yet they still produced only boring, empty turds without substance.... they'd be better off saving time, effort and money by recording on an old double tape player
I think it’s also really important to highlight the tightness of both tone and rhythm when it’s there, it’s the juxtaposition that really makes homme songs shine.
When the whole song is a tight 4/4, the sudden drunken stumble hits way harder. When the whole song is loosey goosey and then the chorus comes in with a tight 4/4 it makes that mechanical “robot rock” hit way harder. Same goes sonically, when tight close drums burst out of a muddy hellscape of detuned guitars recorded on Nokias it makes the drums punch even harder
Bang on mate, couldn't agree more
Fairweather friends rocks. It's such a cool song. I don't see or hear it on that. The other stuff I get and agree with. His playing is so unique. He's a killer guitar player. Fortress is an excellent song too. The mans just trying to give a little something for every flavor and taste and I think being varied and catering to different styles to serve the song is a great quality to have in your music. He keeps things changed up and that's why it never gets old
First saw Josh in 1993 at the Warfield in SF in "Kyuss" and never stopped listening to his music.... It's exhilarating to follow his progression.
Come on man, give Fairweather Friends another try, especially if it's the composition you're complaining about. I think that's one of the most slept on songs by QotSA/Homme in general. Each part flows perfectly into the next, and every moment of the song has the right amount of space for every instrument present to shine. It's really well arranged in that sense. It may not be THE best QotSA song, but it's a crazy solid rock tune that's far better than many other bands' attempts at that type of sound.
I mean, even on LC (their strongest album compositionally), the track has always stood out for me. Seriously, as a song per se, it’s great plus it got all the fluorishes the production and an Elton cameo can give you.
I was enjoying this in depth analysis until fortress got slated.
I love Fairweather Friends!
@@drbiker5605 yeah, that’s literally one of my fav songs of theirs 😭
I love how genius the end of that song is when it cuts of at "frie-" as he's singing "fairweather friends." The song just abruptly disappears, exactly like a fairweather friend.
He also plays with a subtractive technique, removing parts from a chord or taking bits out from a more complex structure. It’s really cool all tied together!
Feel is such a lost part of music. You don't have to be a metronome king, or a theory god. As long as you understand dynamics and feel, you're 80% there imo, and it leads to some great stuff, especially in the postrock world
My last band always talked about I should play to a metronome. Not that our or my timing was all over the place, we played tied and had feel, even musicians friends told us. Yet they couldn't get the idea out of their heads
Great insight, really enjoyed your breakdown. I agree, Homme’s style is a breath of fresh air in rock music, and you articulated it perfectly!
Thank you mate
A breath of fresh air! Great insight! Such articulation! A breath of fresh air!
Drunken Stumble is a great description. Homme's lead part in the break down at the end of 'My God is the Sun' is a great example. The rhythm and micro-bends give it that cool 'drunken' character.
The shade that Fairweather Friends gets always confuses me. Its my second pick from LC and LC is my favourite QotSA album overall. Fairweather Friends has so much forward push, its phenomenal.
Fairweather Friends and Smooth Sailing are the only two tracks I bother listening to from that album these days. Only thing that bugs me about Fairweather Friends is that Elton's piano is almost lost in the mix.
@@bmjames...and My God is the Sun, right?
I just discovered your channel with this video. I am not being facetious, this is one of best breakdowns of a musical stylization that I’ve seen. Been a fan of QOTSA for so long yet I’ve never been able to put into words the magic that I feel their music is. Honestly, thank you so much for this breakdown. It made sense to me finally, why they are my favorite band of all time.
Exactly this! I was about to respond, and found your comment perfectly encapsulated what I was going to write.
The video to 'Smooth Sailing' catches - for me, at least - the very essence of the 'Drunken Stumble' and why Homme remains my favourite musician after 50-odd years of listening, dancing, playing music.
Rage was 90s. And QOTSA are, and have been for decades, totally a household name in any household aware of music. Massive multi-platinum album Songs for the Deaf.
Best weird drunken solo is the one in leg of lamb. It's a literal joke that goes perfectly with the general broken weirdness of the song
Great video! you hit all the marks... Josh is so underappreciated by the mainstream but I don't think he'd have it any other way. He's created a catalog of art that will influence music forever. I need this album as an artist & music fan. cheers.
Love the Homme and Grohl , but ive never liked the Foo Fighters...
I agree with that reviewer...
There just another pop band.😐
On the other hand he's a great person and i definately am happy to hear him play drums with anyone.
Your description of the 'drunken stumble' in Queens sound is spot on and probably the best way I've heard someone sum up their music.
You're making a giant leap from a "neve sound" to something etherial. Listen to a song and tell me what desk it was mixed on. You can't. If you claim you can you're deluded. Homme's recordings are all well recorded regardless of what you claim, you're conflating production decisions and aesthetics with production quality.
Fortress is phenomenal, in my opinion, but great video!
i am no music expert but i think you better explain what so many are attracted to Homme, the sounds that seem wrong but sound so good. the drunken stumble is a good way to put it. Josh is one of the most interesting and creative guys in rock in the past 25 years!
I think it is also very noteworthy that he also incorporates that in his live performances! You oftem see him kind of stumbling from left to right while playing these "stumbly" parts, which seems to me as if this is actually exactly what he wants to express with it (assuming he's actually not just that drunk :))
Agreed! I'm not a musician but this guy did a great job of explaining QOTSA style. I'll b b there in Pittsburgh in August 2023!
He writes songs that you can almost feel yourself sink into
I dig what you're saying, although I would argue Josh is as much an auteur in the earlier Queens of the Stone Age records as he is in the noisy later records. The claustrophobic, airtight sound of tracks like Little Sister and No One Knows really accentuate the sinister grooves! The sound is both brutish and heavy while unnervingly precise, like an evil robot attacking you! 🤖
Fairweather Friends is one of the best songs on that album
Great analysis, really puts a pin in a huge part of what makes Homme's music so unique. Never a dull moment, almost always a sloppy little twist on something kinda familiar with a few curveballs thrown in there for good measure. ITNR... is a completely new sound for Queens (as always) but it's full of those little elements that connect some dormant pathway in the back of your brain that makes you go "oh, that sounds a little like Era Vulgaris meets the Self-Titled" or "this sounds like Lullabies to Paralyze meets TCV."
As an aside, Tigercub is another band that knows how to use "feel" to elevate their songs. Anxiety is a major theme throughout a lot of their music, and they sell it by creating an almost claustrophobic soundspace, especially on their latest album. On a track like "The Perfume of Decay" or "Swoon" you get enveloped by this wall of sound that drowns out everything else, but you can still hear the "flaws" (and some little intentional flourishes) creeping in around you, reminding you that you aren't really safe--a cool example of the same technique Josh employs being used for a very different effect.
pretty sure the original label from qotsa spotted tigercub, and helped produce their second album ‘as blue as indigo’ and stated they were the next QOTSA, so it’s funny you mentioned that
Josh’s work in iggy post pop depression is fantastic and underrated. Live the band was incredible.
THIS!
He’s not a technical or accomplished guitar player but man can he write the coolest sounding shit and his leads for it are the perfect fit. So catchy in a weird way.
That’s because he’s an actual real artist, not just a musician
Buddy, can you elaborate more hes not being technical and all of that?? I would like to understand more whats this means. Im not a musician
@@raisaulolopezlima2063 meaning he’s not a great guitar player but it doesn’t matter cause what he writes is what’s important. I’d rather listen to music that draws me in than someone who’s really great but their music is boring
@@aaroncall5274I disagree... i think he's an exellent guitar player. I dont think you have to be "technical" to be a good player... if you play good music on your guitar, which he does, your a good guitar player.
Dude, this video is nearly worthless. You ranted for 13 out of 14 minutes. The title is misleading. It should me "My ode to Josh Homme by Yan Yansen" because that's really all that's here.
great analysis, keep it up.
You could also analyse the particular scales he uses in his songs, it really changed my way to create riffs.
Cheers!
So true dude. I could spend a whole vid talking about Homme's 'Improved Lydian' scale. Maybe I will 😉
IIRC he talks about it in his episode of Guitar Moves. Same episode as the background clips in this vid.
good analysis! the beauty of imperfection
Well said mate! Thank you
Oh man, railing on fortress. I understand what your saying about the song relative to their others but he wrote it for his daughter and if you listen to it with that in mind I think it makes one of the best on that album. But their new album is their best since lullabies, there I said it. It’s new queens meets old queens in a dark alley , amazing
Great video! On a completely unrelated note: You need to up your tequila game! Get yourself some Fortaleza or Ocho. Do it for yourself and the rest of us agave lovers 😉
Josh was on an episode of one od Anthony Bourdain's series, and they showed a bit of how he likes to record. Watching that episode and seeing the "anything goes as long as it's cool" feeling, this analysis of his music makes perfect sense.
Fairweather friends is excellent too come on now.
This was a Machiavellian plot wasn't it? Bad mouth two great songs to get the fans to RUSH to the comments. You dastardly villain
Up until Songs for the Deaf QOTSA was pretty much on the way to becoming the next great stadium rock band. Then there something broke in the middle of Lullabies. It is like when Radiohead decided after the OK computer album that they don't want all that attention and pressure and started to deconstruct their own statues. Then in 2007 there was a wink from them that they still are capable of doing popular music (In Rainbows)
Josh is doing this in a more traditional way: having one or two popsongs on each album. Just enough to keep the attention on the band but don't increase it.
That song from Like Clockwork, I Appear Missing. another nuke of great music. QOTSA should be way more popular than they are. Alice in Chains is also still AWESOME today. Even Deftones still drops a decent album
I love Fairwether Friends and Fortress
Love that mentioned them crooked vultures a lot here, that was a fantastic album that was slightly different from a queens album. Was lucky to see them live. Great examples of what makes josh great.
I see Josh Homme, I click on the video. And I'm glad I did, great analysis man! Subscribed!
You and me are the same my friend 😂Thanks very much!
Me2
Does anybody know the name of the song that plays at 2:45?
QOTSA - Kalopsia
Damn, that is a great analysis.
For me, the imprecise way of Homme on doing things precisely it's catchy, and that's what hold me ultin the last minute of every album.
Keep it up, my dude! You won one more sub
Cool video! The drums on Songs for the Deaf were actually recorded separate from the cymbals (like Dave would play the whole without cymbals, just hitting dummies, and then do it the other way around with the cymbals), so it was clinical to that point, the recording (Dave said it was a nightmare and never recorded that way ever again lol). But I think that's part of why this album sounds so great, that it has this clean, clinical precision in the production, contrasting strongly with the actual instruments playing super hard and distorted. It's like an atomic bomb of filthy contained in a little clean jar or something.
I really like the production on the next two albums, and even Like Clockwork (which I think we saw a return to that more clean Neve sound), but it's hard to defend the production on the last two albums. Sometimes I wonder if I can't get past the sound and enjoy the songs, or if it's the other way around, the songs don't quite do it for me, so I can't like the sound, but I just think it's poorly recorded (and a lot of people seem to agree). I think cleaner songs like Fortress still sound awesome (only song I really like from the newer stuff), but the distorted ones, at this point, just sound reaallly, reaally messy, like fried chicken drowned in fat. Before the harder songs were crunchy and tasty, now they just sound messy, to me... And I wish it didn't, but I think they just took this "character" of recording a bit too far
Also worth adding, millionaire and go with the flow are gene trautman on drums.
@@tecnoguy1136 Wow, Dave didn't record those? I didn't knew!
@@tecnoguy1136 Millionaire for sure, but Go With the Flow has Dave written all over it.. Where did you read that ?
@@cyyytr0nit's in the personnel section on wiki page for that album
Fantastic video!! The reason I have become such a big fan of Homme is that, as you said, bands like Foo Fighters want the institution of rock to stay alive... but Homme wants Rock to evolve.
Wonderful metaphor to describe Harrison's work on 'Something'. He's my favourite Beatle for that reason, I was always struck by the subtle sophistication and soulful understatement as he edged the band into territory they might not have gone otherwise. Homme's riffs always seemed to have that Iommi chug to me, going back to the Kyuss days. But once you've been put onto the polka element you can't unhear it.
I always wanted to know how to drain the energy out of a story.
Thank you kindly for the answer.
This is fantastic, man. As a massive fan of Homme and Queens, i think you really captured a lot of their allure in a way I havent quite seen explained.
The dicey tribute band we've hired for the funeral of mainstream rock. ❤🔥
Awesome video, Josh' style is absolutely killer. This "wrongness" makes rock sound great. In a way, The Velvet Underground also has a way of sounding "wrong" in a right way
I'm not gonna scroll through 609+ comments. But has anyone said anything about Lanegan??? I mean...c'mon. "Lullabies to paralyze"?
Lanegan had the Midas.
Really good video thanks! I would describe his style as sleazy which I absolutely adore.
That TCV record is an absolute masterpiece in my eyes. Love the two new songs I’ve heard too.
That live TCV show is peak Grohl and Homme.
Homme is never boring to me. I’m not a fan of the production on Villains it feels over precise.
If you're interested in the musical tradition in which this style originated, I'd recommend checking out Kyuss (band Home played drums in before QOTSA), as well as other 'stoner rock/stoner metal' or 'desert rock' bands with historical ties to Kyuss and QOTSA!
Most well-rounded, insightful and least pretentious examination of Josh's playing I've seen on TH-cam. Great video, mate.
"lumped together with mainstream contemporaries of 00's era rock music...like Soundgarden"!? Soundgarden didnt release any music, and for the most part, didn't even exist as a band between 1996 and 2012.
Otherwise, great analysis.👍
Ironically, their best album is the one done on the Neve lol
The other thing he does is he only went ahead and INVENTED HIS OWN GODDAMN SCALE. I can't remember the specific intervals something like Root, minor ii, major III, augmented IV, V, major VI, Major VII. Most rock is your minor or minor pentatonic, whereas he's using this discordant major bastard child. The result is unsettling and misleading - we're so used to standard major and minor that the ear wants to hear those notes, but they always land elsewhere.
Far Out Man! What a great dissection. You have totally articulated my lack of better words of why Homme is GREAT. I wish I could take you in my pocket to parties 😂
It’s funny how a lot of people have only commented on the “Stinker” statement which was right at the end of this video and lasted about 3 seconds. I did cringe myself, only because I’ve got the stubborn mindset of “Homme Can Do No Wrong” Fortress is a heartfelt song for his children. Like an eerie yet beautiful lullaby from a ghost. It’s for them and not for us. Why put it on an album? Because Homme.
I think it's unfair to describe what you are as a "Neve sound." Neve consoles and their preamps, EQ's and onboard compressors/levelers are all transformer coupled. As such, yes, they create a level of "sweetness" but that sweetness is created via harmonics, i.e. harmonic _distortion._ In the 70's and 80's, studio equipment deliberately moved away from transformer coupled circuits and vacuum tubes (I believe you Englush guys call them "valves"). You can take a Neve console/preamp/module and _drive_ it well into "wrongness" if you like. You can make them pretty much sound however you want. I don't think what you're describing should be called the "Neve sound" so much as the "highly _produced_ sound." All those big records from Rumors to Nevermind weren't so slick because they were recorded using a Neve console - Neve consoles were simply _ubiquitous_ in big studios like Sound City for decades - those records sounded slick because they were given the full, big album, music industry treatment; producers and mix engineers with an ear for radio friendly recordings, double tracked vocals, everything recorded again and again until played _perfectly_ using the most high fidelity condenser microphones with the preamps set for maximum headroom and as such, fidelity. None of that comes down to the Neve used, those are all production and mixing decisions. I'd also say that, particularly once you get into the early 1980's, this all had _FAR_ morevto do with the SSL consoles these big records were _mixed_ on than the Neve consoles they were recorded on. Even then, recording into Neve and mixing on SSL has little to do with what you're describing as a record's "soundfeel" of "wrongness." That "wrongness," just like the contrasting slick records, is a production choice, not really a gear one.
josh homme continues to amaze me, love his music and your analysis was great, keep it up!
Rock is dying, because electronica has more textures? Yeah. An infinite palliate of sampled sounds, set to loops in sequencers that fade in and out in mind-numbing repetition, saying nothing profound, and creating a giant intellectual devolution. Like Living Colour said, "Post-modernism: Is it?!"
the sound of qotsa and josh still amazes me, it's good to see that they start to receive more attention again. btw fortress is a very good song 👌
Yes, Fortress is very underrated.
Do some folks not like Fortress? Its one of my favorites on the album ffs 😆
@@digdugsmug I think Villains overall is an underrated album. Even though it is my least favourite QOTSA album out of all 8 they released!
I think it is more to do with QOTSA setting the bar so high for themselves that it is relatively overlooked.
I don't think that they have a bad album in their discography.
great video but that neve bit isnt really correct. those old neve consoles are from the early 70s and are anything BUT clean. people like them because they sound old and vibey- they saturate, smear transients and have a round warm low end. the EQ's are very wide and not precise at all so you can only use them to make broad, bold brush strokes. its closer to "lo fi" than it is to "clean". the reason rock musicians like it is because it basically instantly makes drums and bass sound like 70's. a great example of a modern "neve" sound would be radiohead's "bodysnatchers". that main guitar is what you get when you plug a guitar straight into the mic preamp and turn it up all the way- its basically a fuzz. id be willing to bet a lot of money that plenty of modern josh/queens material was also recorded on neve consoles or at least used neve preamps and EQ's.
Now you've got me thinking of some of my favorite "mistakes" that ended up making it into the final song and enhancing the experience. Stuff like Bon Scott coming in early on It's a Long Way to the Top or "Drums please, Fab?" in the Strokes' Ode to the Mets that completely change the way you engage with the song once you notice them.
I got almost 8 minutes in and nothing about playing technique has even really been mentioned. 8 minutes I’ll never get back. That’s on me I guess. Misleading video title.
Interesting analysis, I appreciate the video. I’m a huge Queens of the Stone Age fan. I think he uses production techniques as he likes and what fits the emotion of the song , or to evoke emotion. In some ways “Songs for the Deaf” and “Lullabies to Paralyze” were cleaner sounding records. But “Era Vulgaris” which was supposed to sound hard, dark, and bit fucked up given the inspiration for the album. “Like Clock Work” and “Villains” are very clear sounding professional albums full of personality with “Villians” probably being the most cleanest record they have produced. They new record sounds closer to “Era Vulgaris” with people describing it as a bit dark and abrasive. So they use production to evoke emotions and can easily go back and forth to clean to dirty
I think what I'm after is the cleaner production then because you think I ain't worth a dollar is top 3 queens songs for me 😂
Great video! And I recommend giving Fairweather Friends another try. Especially in the context of the rest of ...Like Clockwork it's a climactic, grand, emotional song, that still embodies that typical Homme/qotsa vibe in the songwriting, imo.
Also, hype for In Times New Roman!!
And Elton John sings/plays piano on it!
I do also think Smooth Sailing hits much harder when listend to after Fairweather Friends. With that transition "I don't give a sh*t about them anyways" it amplifies this vibe of "f*ck these toxic losers, lets move on and have our own party instead".
@@kv-5 so true! Man, I love that album hahaha
Yeah you should be ashamed of that jab at Fortress ha. You probably know more technically about music so are probably right but I love that song
I just have one thing to say:
QOTSA should record the accompanying live album to "In Times New Roman" in Switzerland, just so they can call the record "In Helvetica".
"Earfeel"...?
Leave Fairweather friends and fortress alone, the are fucking brilliant!
Very well written and intriguingly broken down. Thanks for your take on rock music and Homme!
Wow that jab at the end saying Fairweather Friends and Fortress sucks. Not cool man. Nice video though.
Queens doesn't have a bad song.
Genius? New album is boring AF. But that’s my op
The algorithm recommended your video, and it was a wonderful choice. Really interesting, compact analysis. Would love to see more! Great job.
Ive always loved rock records that didnt have a pop style production and mix. Rock needs to be dirty.
Really interesting views you shared here. Josh home really does push a genre that should be dead by now forward. I was never able to put it into words but you were able to properly explain that dirty feeling the songs have. I hope you make more video essays like that.
Good video yes. However I've never seen an opinion so bad as to the Fair Weather Friends and Fortress one lmao. Yiiikes.
From what I've seen on your channel this is the first video of this kind you made. Please keep doing these musical analysis videos, you're excellent at it!! I've been listening to Josh Homme's music for at least 20 years now but I didn't realize many of the things you pointed out in this video. Very smart stuff and of course I'd love to see more of it. Many thanks!
I've seen this guys name written a million times but always thought it was pronounced hom not hommy!
Fairweather Friends and Fortress are delicious! What songs I could do without tho is Battery Acid and Run Pig
Run. If they replaced those songs with Era Vulgairs and The Fun Machine EV would of been my top favorite album by them 🚬💡
What Battery Acid and Run pig Run are fantastic weird abrasive songs, to each their own everyone has their own tastes!
@@Heisenbinks agreed!
Ive never heard them referred to as "the fooeys" and i hope i continue to no longer hear this lol
I expected this video to have over 100 k views, but I’m very impressed, great editing and structure
Really appreciate that! Hopefully we get there!
Rambling. Getting paid by word count?
This is how you do a bad video.
Wha do you think of in Times New Roman ? Review soon?;)
Having just done some reading on Brian Wilson's methods of 'using the studio as an instrument', the way you describe Josh Homme's production and arrangements makes me feel like it's almost like he's turning that on its head. And as a Queens fan since day one, with Deaf ranking as one of my all-time favourite records, I LOVE this kind of deep-dive on Josh's sound! Amazing video ^_^
Except right at the end. I will NOT accept Fortress slander. But that's just me. xD
Great video, however “fooies” and “fooieish” has to stop 😂
A very good explanation of Homme’s approach. QOTSA is underrated only because most people have such bland taste in music. I’m willing to bet that if you compared IQ scores of fan bases that QOTSA would have one of the highest scores.
🤓
Fairweather friends and fortress are both absolute classics
Today, after listening to his music for about 30 years, I learned that his name in not pronounced like the French word homme (either with or without a silent h) - I'd always assumed it sounded like 'hom'
OUCH. I love fairweather friends
ARCTIC MONKEYS COMES TO MIND.. SMOOTH SAILING
Josh Homme owes his sound to Alain Johannes