| April 2003 - Rolling Stone (Australia): Favourites - Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age
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by staff writer |
The head Queen still can't work out why rock radio doesn't play the Ramones
"Well I've thought about this for many years," deadpans Josh Homme. "I knew some day, somewhere, someone would want my list of favourite records." The charismatic frontman and guitarist of Queens of the Stone Age is nothing if not eclectic. You don't see many lists that throw in Black Flag, Bjork - and Johnny Cash.
Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
"I first heard this a long time ago, but then I went back to it after a 10 year gap. Just playing in a prison in general and playing songs about escape is bizarre. The man in black - before Will Smith there was Johnny Cash. It's a record to go back to. He's like an original punk. Not punk rock, but just punk."
The Subhumans - Worlds Apart
"They're an English Punk band that started playing around 1980. They had a much different throw to it than everyone else, they were very political and they jammed. Kyuss got a lot of inspiration from them. They had an album where a whole side of vinyl was just one song. Kyuss understood that, took that. Some of the Queens songs are way too long, too. There's other records that I could choose that I like as much, but the fact that their final record was as good as their first one, I admire that sort of consistency. That's what I would shoot for; I want my last record, before I die, to be my best one."
The Misfits - Legacy of Brutality
"This is where The Misfits should have stayed: sort of dark, Elvisy, garage, Roy Orbison freakout. Two minute songs that sound like they're wearing fluffy jackets, the sound is so woolly. Just the way it's sexy. . ."
Black Flag - My War
"I like the production on it, the way it sounds: It sounds tough. And it's from a phase where they were quite experimental and doing strange things with songs. It's one of their last albums, when they started to almost become a heavy jazz freakout thing. Rollins is very muscly. But so am I."
Roy Orbison - Box Set
"I hate it when people play the victim, and Orbison was never like that. He was like, 'You're leaving me?' His only reaction was surprise. And when you read about Roy Orbison you realize he got pounded his whole life. Stuff like, he'd go on tour and there was a fire at his house and his wife and kids burned (to death). Then he spent three years in his room in his mother's house and wouldn't come out. Until Johnny Cash actually went over there and said, 'Roy. Come out of here'. And people don't cover Roy Orbison because it's simply that they can't sing it.
Bjork - Homogenic
"All her records are so groundbreaking; they're like a reassurance to me that modern music is about delivery: you can have a 52-piece orchestra and a guy playing champagne glasses and someone rubbing a balloon - and if you do it right, it's amazing"
Blondie - Parallel Lines
"I love Blondie. I like what this album did in its time frame. And Debbie Harry is just smart, tough, sexy all at once. It's like, 'What do I do?!' I like girls that make other men scared. Lot's of guys' versions of respecting those girls is to panic, like 'I need to go to the bathroom!' - but I love it. 'Heart of Glass', it's the perfect music for a sunny day, and it's not always raining."
The Ramones - Rocket to Russia
"It's so hard to pick the best Ramones record. I go back to the first five records all the time. Because the Ramones are just so ugly, in every aspect of what they are. How can classic rock radio not play the Ramones? 'Hey ho, let's go!' I mean everyone should know that. Everyone who likes rock music and doesn't know what that is should go to back to the end of the line - next!"
The Stooges - Raw Power
"Some Stooges enthusiasts like this one the least, because it's not Ron Asheton playing guitar. But I say to those people, uh, whatever, don't get weird on me. To me, this record - I'm talking about the one Bowie did, not the remixed one - from start to finish, it is truly raw power. It's like go! Hit the switch! It's dick-swinging, cutting yourself, let's fuck, I'm high, yeah! It is what rock & roll sounds like when it comes off the tap. It you take the craziest band you've ever heard, and you play Raw Power first, your Craziest Band Ever will sound like a bunch of pussies."
Thanks to Katie for typing this one up!
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