Songs for the Deaf Edition Info Release Date Label ID Format Origin Notes No. 2002/08/26 Interscope - CD UK - [1] 2002/08/27 Interscope - CD US - [2] Tracks (order uncertain) The Real Song for the Deaf [1] [2] You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire [1] [2] No One Knows [1] [2] First It Giveth Number One [1] [2] Song for the Dead [1] [2] Sky is Falling [1] [2] Six Shooter [1] [2] Hanging Tree [1] [2] Go with the Flow [1] [2] I'm Gonna Leave [1] [2] Do It Again [1] [2] God is Radio [1] [2] Another Love Song [1] [2] Song for the Deaf [1] [2] bonus track [1] [2] Mosquito Song [1] [2] Who Plays What Song Josh Nick Singer Drummer DJ Guest Track Title 1. The Real Song for the Deaf spoken part unknown Josh none none none 1 may/may not be a QOTSA song 2. You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire guitar vox, bass Nick Dave (?) Casey Chaos from Amen none 2/6 could be Millionaire 3. No One Knows guitar, vox bass, whispers Josh Dave none Alain/Natasha 3/2 certain 4. First It Giveth Number One guitar, vox bass Josh Dave Alain Johannes none 4/3 could be First It Giveth 5. Song for the Dead guitar bass Mark Dave none none 5/4 certain 6. Sky is Falling guitar, vox bass Josh Dave none none 6/5 certain 7. Six Shooter guitar bass, vox Nick Dave unknown Gene Ween 7/1 could be Six Shooters 8. Hanging Tree guitar bass Mark Dave none none 8/7 could be Hangin' Tree 9. Go with the Flow vox, guitar bass Josh Dave none none 9/8 certain 10. I'm Gonna Leave guitar vox (?), bass Nick or Gene Dave none Gene Ween 10/9 could be Gonna Leave You or I'm Gonna Leave You 11. Do It Again vox, guitar bass Josh Dave none none 11/10 certain 12. God is Radio guitar bass Mark Dave unknown none 12/11 could be God 13. Another Love Song guitar vox (?), bass Nick or Pete Stahl Dave none Pete Stahl (?) 13/12 certain 14. Song for the Deaf vox, guitar bass Josh, Mark Dave Natasha Shneider/Dave Catching none 14/13 certain bonus track vox, guitar bass (?) Josh, Mark unknown none none none unknown 15. Mosquito Song guitar, backing vox bass Gene Ween, Josh unknown none Paz, Anna, Gene Ween, Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider 15 certain DJ Skits Six Shooters: [radio tuning, radio ad] Radio ad: K-L-O-N Los Angeles KLONE Radio, We play the songs that sound more like everyone else than anyone else. Klone, klone. DJ: (lead guitar part from Song for the Deaf plays in the background on a keyboard) Hey, all right, it's Kip Kasper, KLONE Radio, LA's infinite repeat. How we feelin out there? How's your drive-time commute? I need a saga. What's the saga? (song starts) It's Songs for the Deaf. You can't even hear it! First It Giveth: Translation by Jaime Moraleda of muchas-gracias.com Spanish: "Ustedes que son padres de familia...[station change] ...Buenas tardes señores y señoritas aqui esta el DJ Héctor Bonifacio Echeberría Cervantes de la Cruz Arroyo Rojas. Esta es la radio que saco a toda estacion donde el rock vive y no muere, vamos a escuchar un par de temas de Queens Of The Stone Age, primero vamos a escuchar First It Giveth..., que musica impresionante temible y verdaderamente ahora van a ver a ver a ver a ver aqui va aqui va aqui va aqui va..." English: "You, who are head of family... [station change] ...Good afternoon misters and ladies here is The DJ Héctor Bonifacio Echeberria Cervantes de la Cruz Arroyo Rojas. This is the radio that took very station out of the "Rock is alive and can't die". We are going to listen a couple of songs of Queens Of Stone Age, first we are going to listen First It Giveth. What an impressive, fearsome music and actually now you'll see, you'll see, you'll see, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes..." Translation by Juan J. Fernández [station changes] ... who are householders ... [station changes] Good evening, (little) ladies and gentlemen! Here is DJ hector Bonifacio Echevarria Cervantes De La Cruz Arroyo Rojas!! This is the radio that took very station out of the "Rock is alive and can't die. Let's take a listen to a couple of songs by QOTSA. First we'll listen to "First it giveth". What an impressive and fearsome music and actually now you'll see! Let's see, let's see, here it goes....!!! Translation by Norbert of muchas-gracias.com Spanish: "Ustedes que son padres de familia...[station change] Buenas tardes señores y señoritas aqui esta el Dj Actor Bonifacio Etxeberria Cervantes de la Cruz y (Rubi)Rojas esta es la radio que saco a toda estacion donde el rock vive y no muere, vamos a escuchar un par de temas de Queens Of The Stone Age, primero vamos a escuchar First It Giveth..., que musica impresionante temible y verdaderamente ahora van a ver a ver a ver a ver aqui va aqui va aqui va aqui va..." English: "You, who are head of family... [station change] ."...Good afternoon misters and ladies here is The Dj Actor Bonifacio Etxeberria Cervantes de la Cruz y (Rubi)Rojas this is the radio that take out all station where the rock lives and not die, we are going to listen a couple of songs of Queens Of Stone Age, first we are going to listen First It Giveth. What music astonishing, frightening and really now you are going to see to see to see to see here comes here comes here comes here comes...." [Thanks for all the translations, guys!] Millionaire Radio ad: K-R-D-L, Kurdle 109, We spoil music for everyone. [baby cry] Shut up, you little brat. DJ: Oh, K-R-D-L, the Kurdle. Elastic Ass with you here in Chino Hills, the last frontier. That's where we're at. [station changes] Second DJ: Huh, word. K-double O-L, you know what it spells and you know how we do. Live and direct comin to you from the middle of nowhere, the center of everywhere. You gotta check this band: Queens of the Stone Age. If you're not knowin, I'm here to let you know. Giving it my stamp of approval, you know what I'm sayin, so pick this up. [station changes] First DJ: And we're gonna spoil music for ya. This is, uh, Millionaire. Queens of the Stone Age. A song about something they'll (you'll) never be. [station changes] Radio ad: All death metal, all the time. God is Radio This is Tom Sherman. Down here at Baning College, we're promoting a blood drive. [record scratching] Oh, shit. [station changes] Not guilty [station changes] Welcome to South America. You're listening to AM 580. Laid back. Shiek. Little lamb, little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. [station changes] ...Eve showed Adam the apple. [station changes] ...Told me so to my face. [station changes] You cannot be saved. [station changes] Follow me, and I will... [station changes] Trust... [station changes] ...Good to know that he's walking with me. [station changes] ...Big rock as a weapon. [station changes] The devil is a black stone. [station changes] Let him cast the first stone. [station changes] Jesus, Jesus. [station changes] And you have fallen into the love that needs to be designed by the lord. Hallelujah, ya'll. I wanna hear a couple of hallelujahs. Song for the Deaf DJ (Natasha Shneider): This is W-O-M-B, the Womb. And if you, my pets, learn to listen, I'll let you crawl back in. Here is something you should drop to your knees for...and worship. But you're too stupid to realize yourselves. A song for the deaf that is for you. after Song for the Deaf DJ (Dave Catching): You're listening to W-A-N-T, the high desert, wonder valley favorite radio station. It's been a good night. Dave Catching here. Not saying goodnight, just saying. Notes Producer: Eric Valentine produced the first cut of the album in late 2001. The band didn't like it, so they got Chris Goss to help them produce it themselves in 2002. From the Masters of Reality site (News update April 20): Goss has also been doing quite a bit of guitar and vocal recording along with Dave Grohl on new songs being cut for the still unfinished QOTSA lp "Songs for the Deaf". The Queen's have broken off their relationship with producer Eric Valentine...creative differences. Whatever the squabble was, we know that QOTSA did the right thing. Chris touts the new lp, "I've never heard anything like it. Homme wants his dick sucked, and he deserves it. As a matter of fact, so do I." Guests: Gene Ween - guitar on Six Shooters, Mosquito Song, and I'm Gonna Leave. Vox on Mosquito Song (?). Paz (from APC) - strings on Mosquito Song. Anna (Paz's sister) - strings on Mosquito Song. Alain Johannes (Eleven) - DJ on First It Giveth, and some of the following: E-bow, Organ on Another Love Song, Piano on Mosquito Song, Flamenco Guitar on Mosquito Song and First It Giveth (?), Theremin on Six Shooters, Lap Steel. Natasha Shneider (Eleven) - DJ on Song for the Deaf, and some of the following: E-bow, Organ on Another Love Song, Piano on Mosquito Song, Theremin on Six Shooters, Lap Steel. Casey Chaos (Amen) - KLONE radio DJ (?). Production/Recording Dates: July 6, 2001 thru mid-August 2001 - pre-production; Song for the Deaf and two other tracks with Dave Grohl on drums (possibly Song for the Dead) recorded with Eric Valentine December 2001 - recording with Eric Valentine completed. sometime between January 2002 and March 2002 - QOTSA splits with Eric Valentine and gets Chris Goss to re-record and produce the album. end of April - recording with Chris Goss completed at Conway studios in Los Angeles. First Single: No One Knows "A few weeks ago the label informed the band that the raucous "Millionaire" would be the leadoff radio cut, then it became a tossup between that song, the tumbling but melodic "First It Giveth_#1" and the less rugged, hook-saturated "No One Knows." 'We were gonna get everyone with decision making power at the company to wear a T-shirt with one of the song titles on it,' joked singer/guitarist Josh Homme. 'Then we'd have them all fight in a big steel cage and whoever was left standing, the song on their shirt would be the single.'" - from MTV news July 12, 2002. The video for the song was shot in two parts: the first half on June 26 and 27, and the second half finished on July 15. Michel Gondry shot the video. Says Josh: "Michel Gondry did all those videos for Björk, and we're huge fans of Björk and those videos, so we're excited." - from MTV news July 12, 2002. NME says the single will be released in October. Promos: Songs for the Deaf promo photos, stickers, etc. have been available at concerts since May 27, 2002. QOTSA will release a short story either before the album is out or with the album in a limited form (perhaps with the vinyl edition): "Queens of the Stone Age have launched their comeback album by publishing a bizarre, decadent short story featuring the band snorting drugs off an air stewardess. In a nod to their druggy single ‘Feel Good Hit Of The Summer’, the in-flight menu in the story only serves "nicotine, Valium, Vicodine, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol". The story is a promotional device in the style of a pulp fiction book that may be given away in some form with the album, according to sources." - from NME's Queens of the Story Age I'm Gonna Leave in Spanish Nick said on the Radio 1 interview that there is such a track and that it will be a b-side, but Nick could be shitting everyone. A Limited Edition DVD with SftD: According to an add in the August issue of Guitar World, a limited edition DVD of will be sold with Songs for the Deaf. The DVD could be the March 7, 2002 show. The band recorded it with the intention of releasing it.... Little Sister: This song was supposed to be on the album, but it's not on either version of the album that's surfaced so far. Will it be a b-side? Does it even exist? Who knows.... Reviews Movie Poop Shoot's Advance Reivew Quotes About the Album Dean Wean: "Lastly, I was fortunate enough to play guitar on a few tracks on the forthcoming album from our brothers The Queens of the Stone Age, the record is called "Songs for the Deaf." When I'm excited about music I talk a lot of shit, but it's one of the best rock and roll records I've heard in years, and that's the triple truth. If you're like me and totally frustrated with all of the fake ass rock and roll on the radio these days, do yourself a favor and buy this record the day it's released--it blows away pretty much everything else out there." - from ween.com Josh, Dave: "[Gene] had all these other obligations when we started working on the record," singer/guitarist Josh Homme recalled. "So by day seven it was time for him to go." Knowing that the Foo Fighters were on temporary hiatus, Homme called his old pal Grohl and asked him to kindly step in and save the day. "I called Dave and said, 'Can you come right now?' " said Homme. "It was noon, and he said, 'I'll be there at 6:30,' and by 8 p.m. we had tracked a few songs." "I had joked before that I was pissed off they didn't ask me to play on [their last record,] R," Grohl said. "I was a huge fan of the band, and their music's really fun to play drums to because I'm used to playing more back in the back 4/4 sort of stuff. So this was a lot more interesting." - from MTV's Queens of the Stone Age Flex Their Star Power Nick Oliveri: How did the recording of Songs for the Deaf go? Our recording was good. We just finished the new record, which is kind of a concept record that has the radio flipping between songs, like the dial on a radio. And we have different DJs -- I don't mean scratching DJs, I mean DJs talking -- announcing songs and just kind of talking shit about how a lot of stations play the same thing over and over. We're just taking a chance, having a good time. We don't get played on the radio, so I figure we should talk shit about them. - Joe Rosenthal, Rollingstone.com, May 3, 2002 Josh Homme: About the Album Itself "It's sonically sparse, like the first Queens album, but I think the musical diversity is even greater than Rated R. And it's a concept album. I won't talk about the concept, but suffice it to say 'concept album' to me is usually a really bad term. So I use it as though it were good. I think the concept is really cool. Our philosophy was to make an album where the pace goes up and down and you really need to listen to the whole thing. The concept helps make that happen. "Guitar-wise it's also more like the first album in that it's mostly one sound. This time the guitar waits, all coiled up, then it strikes, bang, and pulls back again. I guess it's really about picking your spot. I don't want to wank and play leads over everything." About Dave Grohl's Involvment "It's the first time he's done that since Nirvana," claims Josh, "it's where he fuckin' should be. He's an amazing player and he shines on the drums, and I think we were looking for everyone to stand on their own, to be an individual. You hear everyone play parts. Dave played his ass off." So finally, why Songs For The Deaf?"I think we're a band that's trying to see what happens when you push certain buttons. We had some censorship issues in America so we called our record Rated R, which of course in America is the censorship thing. It was like, 'No need for you to censor us, we'll do it ourselves thank you, good night'. I think 'Songs For The Deaf' conjures up a lot of visuals and that's really the idea. In America no-one's playing songs for the deaf, but we are!" - Phil Ascott, February 2002 Guitarist Nick Oliveri again: "I think it's gonna take a lot of people by surprise," says bassist Nick Oliveri of the fifteen-track album. "Every record's supposed to be different and grow and move. To truly be a heavy band you have to be able to fuckin' break it down. Otherwise the heavy isn't just heavy, it's fuckin' noise." "Fortunately for us, we happen to know a lot of talented people," says Oliveri. "Dave Grohl had some time off from making the new Foo Fighters record and was hanging in L.A., and we were like, 'Dude, come rock.'" - Rolling Stone, Dec. 17, 2001 Dave Grohl: How did you end up on the new Queens Of The Stone Age album? "I've known those guys for a long time. I was a huge fans of the first Queens album and jokingly, when asked what was my greatest disappointment of 2001 I said that I hadn't been asked to play on their record. So they were nice enough to ask when it came time to make another record. One thing we have in common is a love of early Black Flag. In one of the songs that we recorded - I think it's called 'Song For The Dead' there's a nod to an early Black Flag record: the drum riff is me paying tribute to Bill Stevenson." - Dave Grohl, August 2001 issue of NME about Mark Lanegan: Early last month, erstwhile Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan decided to join his pals in Queens of the Stone Age for their current European tour, which kicks off Saturday (June 2) in the Netherlands. According to Lanegan's then-manager Greg Werckman, the moody singer only planned to sing a few numbers with the band, then pack up at the end of June and return to L.A. to concentrate on a new project with former Afghan Whig Greg Dulli. But the plans have changed. Not only has Lanegan engaged the services of new manager Brian Klein, but it now appears that he's joined the Queens army for "at least a year," according to insiders. While no one is saying whether he'll become a permanent member of the band, he will appear on the band's next album, which it will begin recording in July. "It looks like Mark will sing three of four songs, Josh [Homme] will sing three or four songs, and Nick [Oliveri] will sing two or three." - by Jaan Uhelszki, 2001/05/31 [Sonicnet] The Advance/Retail Debate Songs for the Deaf - What the Fuck?       Two versions of Songs for the Deaf, called the advance version and the retail version, popped up on the internet recently. There's some question over the validity of the versions. Below is a (very basic) summary of what's what. After you've read it, go to the poll and let your opinion on the controversy be known. Email with any further questions. Topic Advance Retail Release Date June 6, 2002 through Audiogalaxy June 10, 2002 through IRC Tracklist 1. Six Shooter 2. No One Knows 3. First It Giveth 4. Song for the Dead 5. Sky is Falling 6. You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire 7. Hanging Tree 8. Go with the Flow 9. I'm Gonna Leave 10. Do It Again 11. God is Radio 12. Mosquito Song 13. Song for the Deaf 14. bonus track 1. The Real Song For The Deaf 2. Millionaire 3. No One Knows 4. First It Giveth Number One 5. Song For The Dead 6. Sky Is Falling 7. Six Shooters 8. Hangin' Tree 9. Go With The Flow 10. Gonna Leave You 11. Do It Again 12. God 13. Another Love Song 14. Song For The Deaf (+ bonus track) 15. Mosquito Song Where Can I Get It? Kazaa/Morpheus or IRC Kazaa/Morpheus or IRC on the #mp3passion channel Who's Responsible for this? ? TEAM ESCAPE (according to the ID3 tag on the mp3s) Differences and Similarities "A" = Advance; "R" = Retail Different Songs: Mosquito Song on the advance is the same song as Another Love Song on the retail version; Mosquito Song on the retail version is a different song entirely and is not found on the advance. The Real Song for the Deaf (R) is not on the advance copy. Different Song Titles: You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire (A) is called simply Millionaire on the retail version. First It Giveth (A) is called First It Giveth Number One on the retail version. Six Shooter (A) is called Six Shooters on the retail version. God is Radio (A) is called God on the retail version. Sound Quality: The advance sounds much worse than the retail version; the advance sounds incomplete and poorly mixed; the retail version is more clearly split into stereo (instead of mono). Arguments for the Advance Copy/Against the Retail Copy There are radio skits before some of the songs: Millionaire has its own skit in which it is introduced by name. On the retail version, this skit is placed before Six Shooters, and Millionaire gets the skit that introduced Six Shooter on the advance (i.e. the two skits are switched and Six Shooters is introduced as Millionaire). It's possible that the two tracks that are on the retail and not the advance, Mosquito Song and The Real Song for the Deaf, are not QOTSA tracks. Anyone could have done a song like The Real Song for the Deaf, and Mosquito Song not only doesn't sound like a QOTSA song (although it is a beautiful song and it'd be great if it was their song) but neither Nick, nor Josh, nor Mark sings it. Therefore, there's no way to know if these are really QOTSA tracks. Six Shooter is arguably a better opener than Millionaire. Arguments for the Retail Copy/Against the Advance Copy Here's a post by Schu, one of the admins at the Foo Fighters board: The track listing on the promo i have is as follows: 1. The Real Song for the Deaf 2. Millionaire 3. No One Knows 4. First it Giveth_#1 5. Song for the Dead 6. Sky is Falling 7. Six Shooter 8. Hangin' Tree 9. Go with the Flow 10. Gonna Leave You 11. Do it Again 12. God 13. Another Love Song 14. Song for the Deaf 15. Mosquito Song Well I'm not sure where everyone got their copies, but one of mine came from Josh, and the other came from the label, so, "good" or not, it's what I got from them. And mine aren't CDR's, they are actual limited pressings with printed covers, etc. Not sure what else is out there and where people are getting stuff. Also there are different releases for international as well with different songs and track orders, and I've been told by the label that is part of the discrepency in what people have now. But interscope also likes to play games with album leakage so I'm assuming that is part of it as well. But literally, that track listing I posted above is "good" in terms of the listing relating direclty and correctly to what is actually *on* the advance cd that I have... The other one I have I was sworn to secrecy not to talk about and I'm guessing it's the real deal. According to Rolling Stone, the album is supposed to have 15 tracks. The retail copy does, the advance copy doesn't. Also according to Rolling Stone (or a similar source), the album is supposed to have strings provided by Paz (from APC) and her sister Anna; Mosquito Song on the retail version has strings; there are no strings on the advance copy. Gene Ween is listed as a guest on Mosquito Song; he could be the person singing the song. Theories 1. Someone is fucking with us. The band played a show on June 7 and then had a break until June 12. The advance came out on June 8 and the retail version on June 10. Now, while the band probably has better things to do than toy with their fans, it's possible (although unlikely) that they're behind this. Aside from the band, anyone with access to the album could be fucking with us. The ultimate question is motivation. Why would anyone want to do this? 2. They're both real. Record companies often change the tracklist of an album between the time the advance copies are sent and the retail copies are pressed. That could be the case here, and if so, then both copies are real. In fact, the tracklist we get on August 12/13 may be different from both of these. For instance, a song called Little Sister was supposed to be on the album, but it's not on either of these versions; it may be on the final release. 3. The advance is real. see the arguments above. 4. The retail version is real. see the arguments above. 5. Space monkeys from Xantos are responsible. Because they control everything. Pressing Info 1. unknown 2. unknown Cover Scans none yet main » songs and releases » the band » tour history » articles and gallery » qotsa online