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"Paper Machete" is out, last teaser before release day I assume. (Also, at this point I'm pretty sure you can find the whole thing somewhere. I haven't looked, but I've seen pictures of people holding the record all over the place, and reviews are coming out.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYYe4deHctk This is definitely a throwback to the self-titled sound, and I'd say it's their most successful attempt so far. I generally prefer their more ambitious arrangements, but it's real fun for what it is. I'm also warming up to "Carnavoyeur" now, it's still not the most exciting song, but it's pretty well-written.
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Jun 15, 2023 02:16
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Sir Lemming posted:This is definitely a throwback to the self-titled sound It comes from the same vein as Little Sister, too, but all grown up. Big Sister.
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Jun 15, 2023 05:52
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This album is really really good
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Jun 16, 2023 07:09
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Mr Ice Cream Glove posted:This album is really really good Hell yeah it is. It's unexpected how it starts out with 3 songs that feel pretty indebted to the self-titled, but then progresses to stuff that's closer in style to the later era. (And the last track is extremely Them Crooked Vultures.) It's too early to rank it, but I feel good about saying it's up there with Like Clockwork. The less immediate songs like "Time & Space", "Made To Parade" and "Sicily" will take a little more time to evaluate. Jon Theodore must be thrilled that they finally gave him something to do 10 years after joining the band. I know he was on LC but only a few tracks, and some of them were pretty low-key. And Villains also didn't give him much to work with.
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Jun 16, 2023 11:36
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I guess this is a grower. I hope it is, anyway. Not feeling it overall.
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Jun 16, 2023 11:40
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Sir Lemming posted:Jon Theodore must be thrilled that they finally gave him something to do 10 years after joining the band. I know he was on LC but only a few tracks, and some of them were pretty low-key. And Villains also didn't give him much to work with. I’ve seen them live twice since Jon joined and that man is an absolute machine. It can’t be easy distinguishing yourself in a band that’s had Dave Grohl as a regular part of its lineup but it was only a matter of time.
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Jun 16, 2023 11:52
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If Elephants from Them Crooked Vultures is like literally watching a herd of elephants run by from afar, Sicily is you being tied to the ground as the elephants come trampling toward you. loving awesome!
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Jun 16, 2023 12:58
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I keep clamoring for another SftD but that's not gonna happen anymore is it?
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Jun 16, 2023 16:51
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Snapes N Snapes posted:I keep clamoring for another SftD but that's not gonna happen anymore is it? Yeah, I think I made peace with that around the time Like Clockwork came out. That was an album that simply could not have been made if their goal was to make another SFTD, and yet I'd say it accidentally recaptured some of that spirit. (The previous 2 albums also were not necessarily trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle; they just weren't quite able to convince me that was okay.) In some sort of weird mystical sense, I feel like when you make an album as magically perfect and definitive as SFTD, you just have to leave it alone and never try to do it again. You only get one. I mean, speaking of "Do It Again" -- even the weaker songs on the album are somehow just baptized into greatness by virtue of being on it. I couldn't bear to remove any of them.
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Jun 16, 2023 20:55
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I nabbed one of the glow in the dark LPs last night and I do not regret it. This album is immediately punchy like the self titled and Songs for the Deaf, but I think will reward repeated listens in the same way Lullabies to Paralyze does. With the lyrical, tonal, and musical references to their entire library, as well as some Eagles of Death Metal, this feels like it's not just the end of a trilogy, but a capstone to a career. Also, lol Feel Good Hit of the Summer at the end
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Jun 17, 2023 04:05
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I need to give it a few more listens, so far Emotion Sickness and Time and Place were two songs that jumped out at me straight away. I never really clicked with Villains beyond a couple of songs and Like Clockwork took a while too. It's absolutely a minor thing but I'm not that into the album cover after liking the last two from the same artist. For me Lullabies is at the top, perfect all the way through and I'm way into the back half. The self titled and Era Vulgaris are close behind. I love the whole run up to Era Vulgaris though and I'm a huge fan of how that album sounds. Turnin' on the Screw is an easy top album opener in my mind, I love it. Toast King fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Jun 17, 2023 |
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Jun 17, 2023 04:06
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I'm catching more lyrics on re-listens and wow, verse 3 of "Time & Place" has some great lines: I realize you're like a bummed cigarette Suicide in slow motion You're such a drag All that's left is a decent butt Your promises are smoke I'll see you inhale SonOfGhostDad posted:Also, lol Feel Good Hit of the Summer at the end Hold up, what? Is that on the vinyl run-out groove or something? I don't hear anything like it on streaming.
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Jun 17, 2023 13:45
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Listened to the new album a couple times and so far I’m liking it way way more than Villains. Sound mix sounds a lot more full than that album and it’s more interesting structure wise too. Not quite reaching the highs for me as some of the earlier stuff or Like Clockwork yet but I’m digging it a lot and feel like it will grow on me even more.
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Jun 17, 2023 14:17
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Sir Lemming posted:Hold up, what? Is that on the vinyl run-out groove or something? I don't hear anything like it on streaming. Yeah, it's on the last side of the vinyl, which is otherwise blank.
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Jun 17, 2023 15:27
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SonOfGhostDad posted:Yeah, it's on the last side of the vinyl, which is otherwise blank. drat, I've really been resisting the temptation to get it because it's a bit pricey but that does make me want it more.
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Jun 17, 2023 15:49
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To clarify, it's not exclusive to the glow in the dark edition. It's on the regular edition
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Jun 17, 2023 17:18
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drat, this album is good. So glad that QOTSA came back like this.
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Jun 17, 2023 18:30
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Definitely a huge improvement over Villains, but doesn't come close to earlier albums imo. It feels increasingly like a Josh Homme solo project under the Queens name, and I think it's really just missing the magic that prior collaborators brought maybe? It's one thing I've been able to pinpoint as something that feels missing or not quite right. It's tragic that he passed and wasn't really involved anymore anyways, but man do I miss hearing Lanegan on some tracks. Josh proved himself very well with LTP & EV as well, but drat is Oliveri's absence starting to become an increasingly large hole as well and as problematic as the guy may have been I'd say that Josh has made him seem quite tame with his own antics so I wish he'd just bring him back into the band because he added a lot more than just screaming. They seemed to reconnect kind-of since Josh had Nick provide some backing vocals on LC, but since then Nick and the other Kyuss guys wanted to revive that band which resulted in Josh suing them over the name which reeks of bitterness and pettiness considering they're all original members. QOTSA definitely suffers when it's more of a Josh project than a big collaborative process though and it would be so refreshing to have Nick come back into the fold with some songs, especially since we're hitting the point now where Josh is repeating vocal melodies in different songs. There's some good stuff on ITNR and I'm sure it's a grower but it's definitely cemented the feeling that the classic QOTSA is dead. The older albums had so much variety but a lot of this just blurs from track to track. I did note that Josh mentioned he has a 5-year plan in a recent interview and considering the mentions of vultures and both QOTSA & Foo Fighters being on tour right now, I am very much hoping that they're synced up to get together with JPJ and enter the studio for a second TCV album afterwards since everything is aligning for them to do so and it may be their last opportunity to get together and tour that band again. I imagine he also has more Desert Sessions in mind as well. SUNKOS fucked around with this message at 13:06 on Jun 18, 2023 |
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Jun 18, 2023 13:03
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I'm hoping that the 7 (!) songs they did back for the original TCV album that they recorded and were completely ready to play live get released. It's an odd move to go that far with them and just only play 2 live, and the one they did release only release a live recording of. Has there ever been any Queens songs they've only played live? I can only think of things like Make It Wit Chu where they were from another project and eventually get recorded by Queens after they played them live.
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Jun 19, 2023 18:12
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Run Dodo Run posted:Has there ever been any Queens songs they've only played live? I can only think of things like Make It Wit Chu where they were from another project and eventually get recorded by Queens after they played them live. Originally "The Fun Machine Took A poo poo & Died" was like that. It's hard to know how much Josh was just messing with interviewers, but allegedly they had recorded it in the studio for Lullabies but then lost the tapes, and they only released a studio version of it later as a bonus for Era Vulgaris.
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Jun 19, 2023 19:10
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SUNKOS posted:It feels increasingly like a Josh Homme solo project under the Queens name So I guess this is a question of artistic interpretation, because to me this album sounds more like a full band effort than anything in a long time. I would put that cohesiveness as one of the strengths of ITNR, imo it benefits greatly from a stable band that has been playing together for a pretty long time and where everyone is really getting their chance to shine.
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Jun 20, 2023 00:16
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Yeah I think you could accuse the prior 2 albums of being that -- even though LC would be a really good solo project -- but I don't really see it here. It does continue to use that sonic palette, but it feels like it's finally putting that stuff onto an actual QOTSA record in a way the others weren't. What's certainly true is that nothing since SFTD has felt quite so... effortless. It's like what makes QOTSA unique used to just happen automatically in the studio, and now they have to fight really hard for it to happen. Those first 3 records really don't sound a whole lot like each other at all, but they had whatever "that" was. But if they do keep putting in the effort and the results are as good as this, I can definitely live with it.
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Jun 20, 2023 00:30
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Calling any of the last few records, including this one, feels like a huge insult to the rest of the band and diminishes their talents. In my opinion.
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Jun 20, 2023 01:09
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Run Dodo Run posted:I'm hoping that the 7 (!) songs they did back for the original TCV album that they recorded and were completely ready to play live get released. It's an odd move to go that far with them and just only play 2 live, and the one they did release only release a live recording of. Has there ever been any Queens songs they've only played live? I can only think of things like Make It Wit Chu where they were from another project and eventually get recorded by Queens after they played them live. There were an additional 7 songs? I imagine if they do another TCV album they'll start fresh but I like to think there would be some sort of reissue with those additional songs as bonus tracks? They've done it with prior albums and it's great getting some really good non-album tracks and being able to add them in to the track listings. As far as I know there's other Queens songs that started out as Desert Sessions songs as well, not just Make It Wit Chu. SFTD had a few Desert Sessions songs iirc. Electro-Boogie Jack posted:So I guess this is a question of artistic interpretation, because to me this album sounds more like a full band effort than anything in a long time. I would put that cohesiveness as one of the strengths of ITNR, imo it benefits greatly from a stable band that has been playing together for a pretty long time and where everyone is really getting their chance to shine. This is why I made a point of highlighting collaborators (particularly vocalists) to illustrate my point and then elaborated further on the variety that they brought. I'm surprised that they haven't done a couple songs with Iggy for the album, given how close they are (recently read an interview with Josh talking about him yet again and saying how he'd taken him to a steak house, which is why he's on my mind as an example) and given Iggy's deep baritone voice, he would definitely add a lot just through his presence on one or two songs. I'm sure he'd be down if asked as well. Would love to hear Tom Waits on a QOTSA album too, but I don't know if he'd be willing or even makes/performs any more (?) although Josh is definitely a fan since they covered Goin' Out West and I'd love to see what they came up with having him in the studio for a song or two also. The band is at the stage of their career where they don't need to worry about playing every album track live because they can't, the catalog is too big and people want to hear the older tracks as well, so not being able to take Iggy or Tom Waits on tour wouldn't be an issue anyway, they could just be album-only tracks. This is just me though, not everyone will like everything  I just miss the variety and feel like there's missed opportunities, and I'm just zeroing in on vocals as one example.The REAL Goobusters posted:feels like a huge insult to the rest of the band and diminishes their talents. In my opinion. ...but enough about Villains 
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Jun 20, 2023 03:32
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Re-listens have mostly only improved my opinion of the album. One critique I do have is that it definitely feels like there's room for roughly 2 more songs near the end, right around "What the Peephole Say" and "Emotion Sickness". Like, 1 song after each seems like it would be pretty much perfect. I'm envisioning relatively straightforward QOTSA rockers. The epicness of "Sicily" and "Straight Jacket Fitting" don't feel completely earned. Especially the latter because it feels like we were just there with "Made To Parade". I don't think the album is too short per se, it's more just the flow of it. I think it starts incredibly strong, it only starts to lose momentum later. I'm glad "Emotion Sickness" is in the back half, though, because that's definitely one of their strongest songs in a while.
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Jun 20, 2023 12:20
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Run Dodo Run posted:I'm hoping that the 7 (!) songs they did back for the original TCV album that they recorded and were completely ready to play live get released. It's an odd move to go that far with them and just only play 2 live, and the one they did release only release a live recording of. Has there ever been any Queens songs they've only played live? I can only think of things like Make It Wit Chu where they were from another project and eventually get recorded by Queens after they played them live.
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Jun 20, 2023 15:20
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This YouTube channel has been putting up videos of Queens live performances at festivals over in Europe the last few days: https://youtube.com/@QOTSAarchiveFULL They sound really good. I just grabbed tickets to the show in Forest Hills this morning, so I'm pretty stoked. Also, these videos reminded me of how good "Smooth Sailing" is. Hot drat!
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Jun 20, 2023 22:21
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5bex7VIcC0
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Jun 21, 2023 14:12
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Matt Berry is a treasure and that is a really good promo, the way he pronounced some of those track names is brilliant. Hope they get him back for the next Desert Sessions and he can contribute more. Would love a song about that Renwick customurrrrr. Sir Lemming posted:Re-listens have mostly only improved my opinion of the album. One critique I do have is that it definitely feels like there's room for roughly 2 more songs near the end, right around "What the Peephole Say" and "Emotion Sickness". Like, 1 song after each seems like it would be pretty much perfect. I'm envisioning relatively straightforward QOTSA rockers. The epicness of "Sicily" and "Straight Jacket Fitting" don't feel completely earned. Especially the latter because it feels like we were just there with "Made To Parade". Interesting seeing what different people like, imo the first half just blurs together but the second has some standout moments that are quite memorable, inventive and distinct. I'm kinda torn on Carnavoyeur though since it's one of the better tracks on the album and definitely sounds distinct and fresh, but I can't make my mind up on the ending/final minute of the song. I like what they do with the strings and then ending with the drums coming back in really heavy to close out the song but considering it starts with Jon bashing away and sounds like he's about to let loose and just go nuts on the drums (which I think everyone wants to hear?) instead it just loops and slowly fades out for those strings to come in and I dunno. It does sound good but at the same time whenever I imagine an alternate version where Jon's going apeshit for that final minute it sounds incredible. Siciliy is a great track too, again because of the use of strings which also makes it stand out and very distinct. Emotion Sickness has grown on me too mainly because it sounds so much like an EV track which is a very good thing. Kinda wish we had a track with Troy or Dean going wild on synths and Josh developing a groove around it.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:09
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SUNKOS posted:There were an additional 7 songs? I imagine if they do another TCV album they'll start fresh but I like to think there would be some sort of reissue with those additional songs as bonus tracks? Yeah, they're all on BMI's artist catalogue for Josh: https://repertoire.bmi.com/Search/C...23DVw%253d%253d Bombs Away, Break Glass, Dead Wrong, HWY 1, I Should Have Let Them Go, Orca and You Can't Possibly Begin To Imagine are all listed as TCV. I was behind the lighting desk at one of their shows and got chatting to the op, and he should me that they were all programmed and ready to play on that tour, they just only played two. There's a few songs that are obviously Queens songs (written by Dean, Troy, Josh and Mikey). We Make A Pretty Good Pack, That's A Lot Of Blood, Mary Leaves, Golden Record, Drive and Disperser are all on there, not sure what era they're from but they could date back to Like Clockwork based on the writers and there's no sign of them either!
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Jun 21, 2023 20:21
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This is really sweet. Probably getting a little choked up about Lanegan too. https://twitter.com/flexollie/status/1671675039173734403 SUNKOS posted:Interesting seeing what different people like, imo the first half just blurs together but the second has some standout moments that are quite memorable, inventive and distinct. To be clear, I think the songs are really good in the second half too, but it's the track sequence I'm not sure about.
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Jun 22, 2023 14:30
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My blue translucent record came in today and I’ve had the glow in the dark since the listening parties. I want to keep one sealed. It’ll be likely the GITD since I’m guessing it got pressed way less. What would you guys do? Might have to cross post to the vinyl thread
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Jun 22, 2023 16:17
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I haven't listened to a ton of QotSA (or Josh Homme in general) so maybe ignore me, but I like this album overall. Favorite track is Emotional Sickness, it hits some perfect sweet spot for me and I can't escape that chorus. I think overall I like Villains better, but maybe this one needs more time to grow on me.
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Jun 23, 2023 07:09
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qotsa they give me at least a moment in every single song. just a moment of something unique, that I can’t get anywhere else. even if the rest of the track pails to the moment; there will be a groove, a progression, a tone, a feeling. whatever that is, you can find it in every song, even the “lesser,” tracks. name one qotsa song and there is a moment in that track, that is unique to anything in their catalogue, that elevates the song for that section. a lot of the time, entire songs stand out over all, between some more poppy, dancy, or experimental tunes. we all love the big hitter songs, and we all love sftd. everything they’ve given us, collaborative or singularly visioned, has been outstanding in the scheme of contemporary music. we love them, and I love this new album. notes on itnr? Idfk, track order? …more songs…? what criticisms could I even suggest, me being an ant who crawls atop this spinning rock? ps. if bowie is like a space goth, homme is a desert goth pirate, and I'm here for it.
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Jun 24, 2023 00:08
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Sir Lemming posted:This is really sweet. Probably getting a little choked up about Lanegan too. In The Fade is one of their best songs, on (IMHO) their best album. Rated R has such a huge special place in my heart, It's fantastic. In Times New Roman has definitely grown on me over more listens. I like the run from Paper Machete to Time & Place a whole lot, and Sicily and Emotion Sickness are really good too. The album does overall feel quite samey in sound though, when I compare to their older stuff. Thank god it's better than Villains though.
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Jun 26, 2023 09:29
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Idk, this album forced me to actually give Villains a fair chance, since I really didn't when it came out. I actually like it a lot, and my opinion on it has done a 180. It's got a lot of funky, groovy parts that I like. Even the production is better than I remember.
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Jun 27, 2023 03:27
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Hot take, the production on Villains was always great. I just don't think it got enough chances to shine. It was easy for people to get mad about Mark Ronson because he seemed like a trendy choice, but the guy knows what he's doing. To me, the songs failed the production, not the other way around. A lot of them just don't really go anywhere. It's still not a bad album. Just not one I ever felt compelled to buy. (I know the role of a producer is nebulous and sometimes includes giving direction to the songwriting itself, so maybe he can be blamed, but it's hard to say. QOTSA seems like the kind of band that mostly just uses the producer to affect the sound of the album.)
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Jun 27, 2023 12:44
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He’s just kind of a boring producer imo. That album was so forgettable for me. The songs weren’t there and the sound wasn’t either. I haven’t listen to it since it came out so I’ll try to give it another shot. It doesn’t help it was the first album after Like Clockwork too. Which imo is incredible.
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Jun 27, 2023 12:59
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The album sounded very demo-esque, imo. A track like Feet Don't Fail Me should be a thunderous banger but it sounded so thin and unfinished and... weak? On any other Queens album it would have been superb but it's a frustrating listen on Villains due to the overwhelming feeling of "This could have been great" that's unshakable. Same applies to other songs as well, they're not bad but the recordings sound very demo-like. Imagine those tracks recorded during any other era of the band and they'd have been so much better. Evil Has Landed, The Way You Used to Do etc. are good songs trapped in poor production which makes for a very frustrating listen.
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Jun 27, 2023 16:18
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New album is pretty good. I've listened to it a bunch. I got tickets for the Michigan date August 3rd. Checked out the opener bands... Viagra Boys are my new favorite thing and I have listened to them more than the new qotsa album.
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Jun 30, 2023 21:22
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