PW's Song Of The Week: SONG OF THE WEEK: 10/4/20

Saturday, October 3, 2020

SONG OF THE WEEK: 10/4/20

SONG: "You Can't Quit Me Baby"

ARTIST: Queens Of The Stone Age

ALBUM: "Queens Of The Stone Age"

YEAR: 1998

PLACE OF ORIGIN: Palm Desert, California

YEARS ACTIVE: 1996 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"You Can't Quit Me Baby" appears to be a parody of blues legend Leadbelly's song "My Baby Quit Me". The Leadbelly song is about a man who is woeful that his woman left him, whereas Queens Of The Stone Age's "You Can't Quit Me Baby" is about a man who never actually got the girl, but refuses to let her go anyway. He's infatuated with her, in a stalkingly, creepy way.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1998 - Queens Of The Stone Age (Loosegroove Records)

* peaked at #122 on the Billboard 200 on 6-4-11 (re-release)

2000 - Rated R (Interscope Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2002 - Songs For The Deaf (Interscope Records)

* peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 on 9-14-02

* certified gold

2005 - Lullabies To Paralyze (Interscope Records)

* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 on 4-9-05

2005 - Over The Years And Through The Woods (Interscope Records)

* peaked at #186 on the Billboard 200 on 12-10-05

2007 - Era Vulgaris (Interscope Records)

* peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200 on 6-30-07

2013 - Like Clockwork (Matador Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 8-22-13

2017 - Villains (Matador Records)

* peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 on 9-16-17

MY THOUGHTS ON QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE:

Queens Of The Stone Age formed out of the ashes on the band Kyuss in 1996. Originally called Gamma Ray, the band released an EP under that moniker in 1996, but were forced to change their name due to facing a lawsuit from a German band of the same name. The band chose to call themselves Queens Of The Stone Age from that point on. Their debut album dropped in 1998 which garnered them some interest from major labels. The band opted to sign with Interscope Records and released five albums under that label. The band's third album, 2002's "Songs For The Deaf", is the one that skyrocketed the band to fame. The hit singles "No One Knows" and "Go With The Flow" helped the album be certified gold. This album also features Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame on drums. Queens rounded out their Interscope deal with two really good albums, 2005's "Lullabies To Paralyze" and 2007's "Era Vulgaris". In 2013, Queens inked a deal with Matador records and dropped "Like Clockwork". This is the band's only album to hit the #1 spot on the Billboard 200. The band's most recent release was 2017's "Villains". Rumors were circulating in 2019 that Queens are working on a new album. The rumor was put out there by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons who said that he contributed to some of the material and that Dave Grohl was once again a contributor as well. Queens Of The Stone Age is basically guitarist/vocalist Josh Homme's baby. He is the one constant in every album. It's his band. There have been a revolving door of band members and touring members and contributors through the years. Some notable artists that have appeared on Queens albums are Troy Van Leeuwen (A Perfect Circle), Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Alain Johannes (Eleven). The band's sound is often called "stoner" rock. Josh Homme likes to call their sound "robot rock" because of the repetition of the riffs. Almost if techno music was played through electric guitars. To me, their sound harkens back to 70's riff orientated rock like Led Zeppelin, Free and Deep Purple. I first got turned on to Queens Of The Stone Age from their song "No One Knows". I was struck by the groove of the song and the fact that the sound overall seemed very original to me. I think Queens is a really good band and Homme is super talented. I'm actually surprised that they only have one album that has been certified gold by the RIAA. In England, Canada and Australia, Queens has albums that have gone platinum as well as gold. It almost seems as if they are more successful outside the United States. Anyway, when it comes to "stoner" rock bands, Queens Of The Stone Age is the king of that mountain! They are a top tier riff rock band for sure.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Them Crooked Vultures

Eagles Of Death Metal

Foo Fighters

Soundgarden

The White Stripes

TEN QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. No One Knows

2. Go With The Flow

3. Little Sister

4. Make It Wit Chu

5. The Way You Used To Be