Queens of the Stone Age's "Songs for the Deaf" turns 20

From all albums I personally declare a classic, this is one of the most "out there". I have absolutely no history in Hard-Rock or Stoner-music, I couldn't stand KYUSS, I wasn't down for QOTSA's earlier stuff (though "Rated R" had some cool tracks), and I didn't really like the attitude and style of Josh Homme and company. On top of that, I was 2 or 3 years into Hardcore and Emo by 2002, and was getting into Screamo. A band like QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE was uncool as fuck in the perception of 17 year old me. But the hype was massive. And... it was real..

I don't know why, but I bought this album and I slowly but steadily got more impressed with it. "Songs for the Deaf" was on heavy rotation in 2002 and turned out to be one of my favourite records of the year. It was conceptualized as a magnus opus and it delivered in every possible kind of way. They knew they had something in the cooker, something to create a "one of a kind"-album and despite releasing four more albums, the QUEENS never came close to top "Songs for the Deaf".

So, what' so special about it? Well, first, the lineup. They got Mark Lanegan from SCREAMING TREES to perform with them but furthermore and more importantly they signed Dave Grohl from the FOO FIGHTERS as a guest star for the whole album. He didn't sing any word, but he played all the drums. Might seem common, but it was something special, cause it was the first time on a big stage since the end of NIRVANA, that Growl was playing the drums. It's an "all star"-lineup and all stars get their respective spotlight. While Lanegan has his moments he stays true to himself and is more introvert. Grohl on drums has many memorable moments, especially that "Song for the Dead"-intro is one for the ages. Weirdo Nick Olivieri and his massive bass possibly are the main players of the record, but Olivieri also get's the chance to sing a few songs. And Homme? I mean, he's the center piece of it all as the main singer and songwriter...

Secondly, the production is simply perfect. When it came out in 2002 most people were like "yeah, this is the shit", but 20 years later it sounds as fresh and powerful as ever and I think I'll probably say the same about it while celebrating the 30th or 40th of "Songs for the Deaf". The production is as timeless as timeless can get. Also, the whole radio show-concept of the record is pretty good. This kind of stuff is mostly hit or miss on any record, but I think here it adds to the value of the album. It's not overdone, but when it's done, it's done in a funny and cynic kind of way and simply iconic at times. Take the intro for the opener "Millionaire" (also the intro for the album), with the whole "clone radio"-stuff. I can't imagine this song/album starting without that sample...

The third and without a doubt most important part that makes this record something special is the songwriting. Homme was in his prime here, and he was throwing it all out, holding nothing back. That being said, Olivieri's input was crucial too and the different shades on this album are more than interesting. From heavy, downtuned stuff to radio-friendly, from soft to punk-y, from groovy to slowly crawling, from simple to progressive, it all fucking worked. Some of these songs are popping up every now and then in my big big playlist, but sitting down after a long time and listening from start to finish to this one-hour-long "monster", I'm once again stunned by the quality of those songs. Even the "lesser" ones are excellent in their own right. "Songs for the Deaf" is an album that flows perfectly from the first to the last track and has no filler to be found. Some might argue that the ending stretch may be the weakest part of the record, but they reacted appropiate while creating the tracklist, placing the epic title track (one of the highlights) as the second to last song. The odd ones in the final stretch are the two Olivieri-tracks "Another Love Song" and "Mosquite Song". They have a different style (the first one being the most Pop-ish song and the second one being a sensitive acoustic-ballad), but they are top notch nonetheless. 

Ultimately, this mentality is what really makes this album. Everything was allowed and everybody involved pushed its own envelope to create the best Rock-album of... all time? Maybe. But most definitely the best Rock-album of the 2000s!!