Queens of the Stone Age Lullabies To Paralyze Interscope Records Released: 3.22.05 A little over a week ago, Lullabies to Paralyze , the fourth album from Queens of the Stone Age , turned 10.  Realizing that this particular volume of QOTSA's output doesn't necessarily garner the respect of its predecessors, 2000's Rated R and 2002's monumental Songs for the Deaf , Lullabies to Paralyze was, for me, an important album, one that occupied a great deal of my time and consideration for months following its release. Remembering 2005, as I saw it, The Strokes and The White Stripes were supplying rock journalists with all the content they required.  Garage was retro-chic and vintage blues was the shit.  While QOTSA's Songs for the Deaf had earned itself some very well-deserved acclaim, (aided in part by the star power and involvement of Dave Grohl ), Elephant and Room on Fire , both of which were the 2003 follow-ups to milestone releases for both The Strokes a...

If you're not in the mood to work through a crowd while digging for albums, check the record store's events calendar.  Mind you I'm certainly not against bands performing in record stores.  I was at Siren Records last night, doing a little overdue perusal and happy at the fact that the store was packed.  If music fans are in the store, it's likely they'll walk out with worthwhile purchases tucked under their arms and the store will carry on another day.  However, it had been a while since I'd had the opportunity to hang out at the record store and casually survey the wares.  To facilitate the night's acts, half the store had to be blocked off by a raised platform and obviously a drum kit and sound equipment, which leaves the other half of the store available for the audience, the bands' gear and merch.  Consequently, I couldn't shop a good portion of the store.  I was able to hit the new releases, the indie/punk/hardcore/metal section and the jazz...

Queens of the Stone Age ...Like Clockwork Matador Records Released: 6.4.13 Stereokiller review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Here's the complete set of Queens of the Stone Age 's ...Like Clockwork promo videos artistically conceived and executed by Boneface .  Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Yesterday, news of two new tracks from Queens of the Stone Age 's upcoming new album, ...Like Clockwork , surfaced via Consequence of Sound .  "I Sat By the Ocean" and "If I Had a Tail" were both recorded live for a radio session in Belgium. Being that there were six years of silence since the last QOTSA album, ( Era Vulgaris , which was reviewed in 2007 ), and myself being an admitted fanboy, the likelihood of any commentary regarding ...Like Clockwork having any real objective clout or lack of bias is small.  That being said, this will probably be something I cover after the anticipatory glow of the album fades, leaving behind the true product from which to assess its worth.  In the meantime, though, I'm enjoying the steady flow of singles that keep appearing, "My God is the Sun" and the recently released "I Appear Missing (Calling All Commas)." Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Some recent vinyl purchases. Amazon Purchase: Queens Of The Stone Age s/t Domino/Rekords Rekords Originally released: 9.22.98 Reissued: 5.17.11 The long overdue reissuing of Queens Of The Stone Age' s self-titled debut album, which spent way too much time out of print and hard to find, was something I'd been waiting on for some time.  Plans for the reissue spanned months and labels, (both Ipecac Recordings and Dangerbird were partnering with Josh Homme 's Rekords Rekords label before Domino wound up the big winner), and I, being the salivating fan, was tired of false promises. Nudity everywhere! But, the album finally came out:  A sweet double-LP featuring three bonus tracks, which were incorporated within the album's original sequencing.  It must be said that "The Bronze" fits in pretty well with the original flow and feel of the album, but "These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For" and "Spiders And Vinegaroons...

“Mickey Bloody Mouse” is a remix of Grinderman ’s “Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man” by Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme . The video displays a series of drawings of the band in montage form, sort of like viewing a comic book from left to right. The remix itself isn’t great. In fact, it’s pretty disappointing. Overlaying Nick Cave ’s vocals over and over again over a ticking clock provides too long an intro for a fairly anemic mix of an otherwise energetic and tense song. Think I’m wrong? Check out the song. For a review of Grinderman’s Grinderman 2 , click here . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Terroreyes TV posted a video of Le Butcherettes ’ “New York” from their latest album, Sin Sin Sin .  The video begins with a short interview-style explanation of the song from singer Teri Gender Bender followed by compiled tour footage. A Le Butcherettes show looks to be a good fucking time. Might have to try and check one out next time their in the neighborhood. The band was also just added to Queens of the Stone Age 's tour roster, but no Philly dates? All informations, links and dates come courtesy of Us/Them Group. Le Butcherettes added to QOTSA dates & Lollapalooza, post new video and announce more US & EU shows Click image above to watch video "Sin Sin Sin is absolutely necessary and essential." 4/4 stars -- WBEZ, Jim DeRogatis "They've created an album that both lives up to the legend of the live performance and also informs it. Imagine the innovation of the Locust infused into pop songs that clock in past one minute with a ...

Label-hopping, broken promises:  They've been dicking around with this reissue enough!  Queens Of The Stone Age have finally invested themselves and Rekords Rekords into a partnership with Domino Records and, with that, comes a stream of QOTSA's first album.  Enjoy . Keep in mind that, while you're there, it's likely you'll be prompted to pre-order the reissue.  Please do :  It's been out-of-print way too long. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

So, I'm not sure if the reported partnership between Rekords Rekords and Ipecac Recordings dissolved completely, but Domino Records is now the NEW entity dealing with Josh Homme 's label and the long-awaited Queens of the Stone Age reissue, which has now been pushed to March 7th.  The Mini Mansions and Alain Johannes albums that had been previously released by Ipecac will also be reissued by Domino. From Domino : The big news today is that Domino has joined forces with Queens of the Stone Age front-man, Joshua Homme’s Rekords Rekords label, marketing, promoting and distributing select titles from their impressive catalogue. The first title will be the seminal eponymous debut album from Queens of the Stone Age, which we will be reissuing on March 7th 2011. Excited is not really the word to describe how we feel about this newly forged working relationship. As well as releasing the debut Queens of the Stone Age record, Domino will also be releasing some very s...

11.14.10: The best comment I read regarding Mini Mansions ' Daytrotter session was this: Hell yeah! That Heart of Glass cover is the T-I-Ts. This assessment is beyond accurate. Their rendition of the Blondie classic was an unpredictable interpretation of the song, feigning seriousness but evading novelty. For that reason alone, you should check out their set. You can find the session here. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Mini Mansion ' self-titled full-length was released yesterday and so was this odd video for their first single, "Kiddie Hypnogogia." If you're interested in hearing more, some avenues for listening are available to you: To hear another single To hear the whole album Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

I was excited to hear that once the deal between Josh Homme ’s Rekords Rekords label and Ipecac Recordings was sealed, one of the albums to emerge from the partnership was the long out-of-print self-titled debut from Queens of the Stone Age . The release date, though, has been pushed off till early 2011. Doesn't matter: I'm still excited. Below are details. Via Speakeasy PR: The reissue of Queens of the Stone Age's self-titled debut has moved to Jan. 11, 2011 (for both the CD and vinyl release).  None of the other details have changed, original press release with track listing and information about the reinstated songs is below with new release information. Sept. 14, Los Angeles -- The track listing for Queens of the Stone Age , a reissue of Queens of the Stone Age's critically-lauded 1998 self-titled debut, reflects the band's original vision for the album with three tracks that were initially cut from the record reinstated. The sought after and long o...

Soundcloud is hosting the new self-titled Mini Mansions album, which will be released November 2nd via the new Ipecac Recordings / Rekords Rekords partnership. Think of it as Mike Patton and Josh Homme shimmering in a honeymoon afterglow. Mini Mansions is the product of Michael Shuman , who would otherwise be playing bass for Queens of the Stone Age . It comes across as toytronic psych pop, accessibly light and fluffy with an air of carnival-like spectacle attached. You can view a teaser for the album below: Check out the Soundcloud post here . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Via Speakeasy PR: REKORDS REKORDS TO RELEASE THREE TITLES THIS FALL: ALAIN JOHANNES, MINI MANSIONS AND WIDELY ANTICIPATED QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE REISSUE LOS ANGELES, Aug. 30 -- Joshua Homme 's Rekords Rekords, through a partnership with Ipecac Recordings, will release three albums this fall: Alain Johannes ' Spark (Oct. 5), Mini Mansions self-titled debut (Nov. 2) and a reissue of Queens of The Stone Age 's self-titled debut with three additional songs (Nov. 26). An artist-driven label, Rekords Rekords' newly formed affiliation with Ipecac Recordings actually dates back to 2003 when Homme's ongoing Desert Sessions series released an installment on Ipecac, re-connecting Homme with longtime friends and Ipecac co-owners Mike Patton and Greg Werckman . “Reports on the death of the record label have been greatly exaggerated," said Werckman. "Record labels like Rekords Rekords and artists like Joshua Homme continue to wage an assault on mediocrity an...

Via Speakeasy PR: David Yow, The Jesus Lizard/Scratch Acid front man, Unveils First Collection of Artwork At Echo Park's DIY Gallery on Aug. 14 LOS ANGELES, July 7 -- David Yow , legendary front man for The Jesus Lizard and Scratch Acid , makes his art exhibition debut with SOLO: the first ever one-man exhibition of paintings, collage and digital drawings by David Yow running Aug. 14 to Sept. 11 at DIY Gallery in Echo Park, Calif. The opening reception for SOLO , with Yow on hand as well as a celebratory evening featuring music and drinks, is Aug. 14 from 7:00 to 11:00 pm. The works created for this show are rooted in Yow’s personal and psychological history, and feature a broad spectrum of mediums. From acrylic, pencil, charcoal, crayon, hair, bugs, collage, and tar on wood, to line drawings digitally combined with photographic textures, Yow reveals an uncommon artistic perspective. In addition to original works for sale, DIY is offering signed prints of Yow’s poster for an...

"I Think I Lost My Headache" may be one of the most hypnotic rock songs I've ever heard. With news of a 2-disc reissue of Rated R , the second album (and first major label release) from Queens of the Stone Age , my mind goes directly to this song, its steel drums shuffling behind cymbal crashed rhythm, the stringy guitar phrases an eerie and magnetic introduction to sonic dismay and then that trumpeted outro that goes on forever. It's one of those moments that make Rated R as monumental as it is, a rock album that derided the so-called "garage revival" before it had really even begun to take shape while acting as a blueprint for their breakthrough album. Consider it QOTSA's Revolver , a drug-induced headtrip of excited neo-psychedelia, quick-chord retro punk and experimental proto-punk that wasn't quite refined enough for mass consumption, but perfect for anyone that knew what they were listening to. With follow-up Songs For The Deaf , QOTSA too...

My brother was nice enough to send me a text message about this hilarious video from Josh Homme , this year's Record Store Day Ambassador . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

John Garcia , the former lead singer of desert rock band, (and Josh Homme springboard), Kyuss , will be touring as Garcia Plays Kyuss . The intent is to basically revive the Kyuss legacy while possibly allowing Garcia to reinstate his rep as one of the progenitors of our modern idea of “stoner” music, the searing heat and persistent meander a commonality amongst most bands of this sort. In 1994, as grunge was fizzling out and all its alterna-progeny were desperately clinging to their superstardom, a friend lent me his copy of Welcome To Sky Valley . Soon after, I bought my own. Around bedtime, I would throw on my headphones, hit PLAY and stare at the ceiling while I was being calmly annihilated by their swells of crunching guitars and muddy rhythms. And, without trying to sound cliché, Kyuss really could transport you to those isolating places in your head where you could call out “Hello” and hear it echo for miles. Welcome To Sky Valley always sounded to me like reds, yellows ...

Them Crooked Vultures s/t Interscope Released: 11.17.09 There are times when actions beg questioning, even if you do appreciate the outcome. With Them Crooked Vultures , the supergroup venture joining Queens of the Stone Age singer/guitarist, Josh Homme , Foo Fighter Dave Grohl , and Led Zeppelin bassist, John Paul Jones , the possibilities alone seem so exciting. But, what’s the motivation behind joining three generations of musicians into what could ultimately be seen as a marketing ploy with rock roots? Even listening to the album you get the sense that Homme could’ve turned most of this material into a new Queens album as his characteristic falsetto and off-kilter riffs dominate most of the music and don’t necessarily aid in the development of anything particularly new. Grohl seems to be a draw, a re-tapped mainstream presence that gave the Queens the visibility they needed to put Songs For The Deaf in peoples’ hands. Jones? In the 90s, his involvement might’ve meant more. ...