Whatever You Do, Don't Tell Anyone

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is from my first site that went under.

Note: this will be the second part of a series of artists that helped mold my musical tastes.

The days of listening to Oasis was starting to come to a sudden end.

As my love for music and the itch to hear new bands continued to blossom, the very band that caused me to return to music was slowly disappearing from my CD player.

Yet it would be that very band that caused me to find the next love that shaped the very core of my musical mindset.

I was working at Sam Goody's at the Water Tower Place, and I somehow persuaded my parents to allow me to get AOL, which was a big deal back in that day. During my endeavor on the net, I went to NME to catch up on some of the new and exciting bands I was starting to get into. During this time, I was starting to listen to Travis, Radiohead and The Verve, mainly because of my affinity with British music. Then I stumbled on a story about Noel Gallagher's new favorite band.

The article talked about the future of Oasis after they released Standing on the Shoulders of Giants just a half year prior. And at the end of the interview, Gallagher was asked about some of the new bands he's been listening to lately. Weird enough, he only mentioned one – Queens of the Stone Age.

Apparently Gallagher found out about this crazy band from California from one of his bandmates, and liked what he heard after listening the opening lines from Rated R. So I thought, if he liked it, then I really need to give this a try.

I immediately went out to find the album after reading the article. I opened up my music player and excitingly listened as Josh Homme's handiwork played over my speakers.

But it wasn't the guitar playing that lured me in.

It was the opening lyrics from Feel Good Hit of the Summer, just like Gallagher said in the NME interview.

Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy and Alcohol
Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy and Alcohol
Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy and Alcohol
Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy and Alcohol

C-c-c-c-c-cocaine

Whoa!

Are you kidding me?

The power of this opening track was stunning. I felt like I was having a flashback, like I was listening to Hello from Oasis just four years prior. And just like (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, every song off Rated R kept getting better, and better and better.

The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, Leg of Lamb, Auto Pilot, the Alice in Wonderland-like Better Living Through Chemistry, Monsters in the Parosal.

I was blown away by the first four songs off (What's the Story) Morning Glory? before I heard a song I didn't like. When I was listening to Rated R, I was starting to believe there wasn't going to be a song I didn't.

And I was right. Then Quick and to the Pointless started.

I don't even know what I'm doing here ... YEA YEA YEA!

I jumped out of my chair as the opening lyrics to Quick and to the Pointless blared over my speakers. Throughout the entire album, the punk qualities of Nick Oliveri and the trippy guitar playing from Josh Homme just flowed together so well that it was hard to deny this album was incredible from start to finish. I knew based off one listen why NME named Rated R its album of the year for 2000, and why Gallagher called Queens of the Stone Age his new favorite band.

Then I got to In the Fade, sung by Mark Lanegan, and I went nuts. I was a huge fan of the Screaming Trees because of hits like Nearly Lost You and All I Know. To know that one of my favorite singers from the 90s was playing in this relatively unknown band was thrilling yet comforting, so much so that it became the standout track for me.

As In the Fade progressed to the end, QotSA returned with a reprise of Feel Good Hit of the Summer, as if they were telling me, "Hey, we are still here."

This newfound love affair with Queens of the Stone Age grew exponentially as I came to the closer, I Think I Lost My Headache, and once Rated R came to an end, it immediately replaced (What's the Story) Morning Glory? as my all-time favorite album.

And just like the start of the Oasis era, Queens of the Stone Age was in my CD player for an extremely long time, and for nearly nine years (EDIT: make it 15 years now), Queens of the Stone Age has yet to be removed as my all-time favorite band.