360 records from 2000: 13. Queens of the stone age: Rated R

Country: US
Artist: Band
Career: recording since 1998, 2nd album
Language: English
Genre: Hard rock


The story of how I missed my appointment with the QotSA.

It was that historical breeze, the flowery summer of 2000. The world was filled with college students and young people – just cause I happened to be both. The Gulf war was over if we wanted it. We were the future of the world and we didn’t even care about the future. There would be IT programming jobs for all of us. I think I’d just gotten on the internet in the last year!

Late june, finals over, I lost my equilibrium. Basically, I couldn’t stand up for falling down. Overworked, said the doctor. Lock yourself up in a darkened room with no noise for three days. (I hadn’t been without noise since I discovered Sonic Youth 7 years earlier!)

It wasn’t a major shock – I was just set to see Beck that night. Close call.

Anyway, my good friend visited me and brought along this new record, blue cover. ‘You’ve GOT to hear this!’ He put it on…

‘Nicotine valium…’

It hurt something awful. I told him it sounded fine and I’d definitely look into it.

And here we are…

It’s an undeniable record, rocks with precision and vision, these people are so focused on their simultaneously primal and fiercely intellectual goal, it can get scary.

Yeah.

At its best: The lost art of keeping a secret, Leg of lamb, Better living through chemistry