Song Of The Week: 2/3/13

Song: "Running Joke"

Artist: Queens Of The Stone Age

Album: "Era Vulgaris" (Bonus Track)

Year: 2007



"Running Joke" appears to be a song about how when you are young, through your imagination, there seems to be endless possibilities. A child's imagination doesn't seem to have any barriers or pitfalls attached to it. You can be anything you want to be, anywhere you want to be. You can aim as high as you want. As you grow older, you start to realize your own limitations and, perhaps, the dreams you once thought could come true become distant memories and your current reality could be quite harsh. "Running Joke" was a bonus track taken from the "Era Vulgaris" sessions that could be found as an Itunes bonus song or on the Japan and UK versions of "Era Vulgaris". Queens Of The Stone Age formed as a band out of the ashes of the band Kyuss back in 1996. Vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme is really the only constant member in the band as it usually has a revolving door of other artists and contributors. To name a few of the people that have either played on entire albums with Queens or have just contributed here and there are Troy Van Leeuwen, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees), Matt Cameron (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam), Nick Oliveri, Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Alain Johannes, and Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails). Queens Of The Stone Age's very first release as a band was 1996's EP "Gamma Ray". Shortly after they released their debut full length album "Queens Of The Stone Age" in 1998. 2000 would see the band begin to hit their stride with the release of "Rated R". Their popularity began to rise on the heels of the drug inspired single "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer". In 2002, "Songs For The Deaf" was released and the album would wind up achieving gold status, thanks in part to the Grammy nominated hit singles "No One Knows" and "Go With The Flow". This album also featured the drumming of Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters but would also be the last album to feature bassist and fan favorite Nick Oliveri. 2005 saw the release of "Lullabies To Paralyze" which debuted at number five on the Billboard Music Charts. The band also released their very first live cd/dvd that year entitled "Over The Years And Through The Woods". In 2007, the band released their fifth studio album, "Era Vulgaris". After ten plus years of recording and touring, between 2009 and 2011 the band took a little break from each other. Most members began taking up various side projects, most notable of these was Them Crooked Vultures which featured Josh Homme on guitar and vocals, Dave Grohl on drums and legendary musician John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass and various other instruments. Homme also found time to remaster, re-package and re-release Queens Of The Stone Age's first two albums, the self titled and "Rated R". In 2012, it was also announced that the band was back in the studio, hard at work on what will be their sixth studio album. Dave Grohl has officially signed on the be the band's drummer on the new album as well. Currently, the hope was to have the new album released in late 2012. However, it's looking more and more like new music will see the light sometime in early 2013. Be sure to expect more of the same big guitar riff orientated rock and roll that compares itself more to the likes of Led Zeppelin than most of the band's contemporaries!