Queens of the Stone Age: ACL Taping: November 18, 2025

This was a weird one.  If you have followed along here, then you know that I freaking love the QOTSA.  Heavy and hard while still remaining tuneful and catchy.  I've seen them at least three times before, and their last ACL taping was a damn revelation to me.  But you could tell that this one was going to be different when you walked into the theater and the stage was set with a TON of equipment.  Two drum sets with lots of extra bits.  Multiple organ/synths.  A semi-circle of chairs with music stands in front of them.  A piano covered in candles (likely fake, couldn't tell).  The floor was a seating area - never seen that at a taping before.  And then the initial announcement solidified that notice, with the announcer coming out and explaining the following: the show was going to be split into three sections with short musical interludes in between; please do not make any sudden movements in the audience and try to use the restroom only during the interludes; be in your seat by 8 for the start or else you'd have to wait to come in until the first interlude.  Definitely different.

LOL.  My friend who hooked me up with the tickets just sent the pre-show communication, which he claims he did not read beforehand, which says this for "attire" for the show: "Dress with a sense of the occasion. That being the afterlife, the undead. Immortal chic have you. You'll want to be dressed as good as the music will sound."  WTF man.  Did AI write that?  And if I would have known, I could have gone full Dracula!

And then the show started - sort of - by a recording of crickets popping up in the darkness.  After a while, some creaking was added into that (whether that was a hanging rope with a body at the end of footsteps, not sure).  And finally, a tolling bell.  No music or really lighting has happened, and we are like 3 minutes into the show.  Finally, Josh Homme comes out from the audience, grabs one of those workshop lights where the back is shrouded in orange plastic and the bulb just blares light out the other side, and starts singing a cappella with that light thrust into his own face.  After a few lines, the band started slowly making their way on stage and joining in to "Paper Machete," as Homme started wandering into the audience and meandering around the stage.  It was very theatrical, very The Queens Take Broadway or that weird vampire puppet play from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  But I was honestly entranced.  Sucked me right in to the campy theater of it all.

This will get you an idea of what it felt like - the solo start and then adding in other instrumentation:

Supposedly, at the time they were filming this, Homme was in dire need of treatment for cancer and was in bad pain, but they really wanted the opportunity to perform in these Paris catacombs so he gutted it out.

The set definitely leaned into the newer albums, and when they picked a track from an older album (that I knew better) it was usually one of the slower, introspective tunes that sounded great with the horn and string sections that showed up after the first few songs.  Like, "Mosquito Song," the album closer from my fav, Songs for the Deaf, is already a semi-acoustic oddball with some orchestral flourishes, so it made good sense for that to be part of the set here in their goth vampire mode.  But it meant we didn't get any of the hits.

And that was my main beef here, because I went into this experience with earplugs in hand, ready to have my face melted with the heavy riffage that attracted me to these dudes in the first place.  And this show was very freaking cool - like nothing I have seen before!  But the thought that I had this morning on my dog walk that it was like going to get your favorite burger, and then instead giving you the best turkey burger patty you've ever had.  That turkey burger could be legitimately great, but when you were wanting your favorite cheeseburger, it will feel like a disappointment.

Oh, and one other quibble that most of what Homme said was dumb as shit. I was cringing either because it was dime-store ass philosophy garbage like "the fragility of the human soul is something I am considering now, and the methods we retain that soul despite the crushing despair of" blah blah blah.  That was not actually one of his riffs, I wasn't writing them down, but they were all pretty brutal.  And then some lady yelled out that she loved him, and he told her his room number and seemed genuinely to want her to come to his room to get it on.  Like I said, weird.

But another bit of schtick that he was doing that was genuinely funny - he had a meat cleaver that he was carrying around, tossing in the air, and brandishing towards audience members from only inches away.  He wandered the audience a bit, at one point sitting in a guy's lap and chugging part of his cocktail.  Those bits made it pretty darned fun.  And overall, even with the odd gothic re-framing of these songs, it was a really good show and a fun experience I am so glad to have had.

Probably too late to get in on it, but apparently they are doing the same show at Bass Concert Hall tonight.  Get get amongst it.

Quick Hits, Vol. 373 (HAIM, Jade Bird, Lifeguard, Clipse)

It is not in this review, but when I tell you that I just ran onto Spotify to add Snocaps when I saw something about a new album by the Crutchfield sisters and MJ Lenderman, I mean that I did that shit like a crazy person while grunting HELL YEAH under my breath.  As soon as I finish one more stream through Clipse, that is getting rolled up and smoked into my earholes.

HAIM - I quit.  I think a tighter set would have benefitted this album, because there are some really good ones on here and then there is some filler than could have been dropped out of the 53 minute runtime.  Some oddly placed but immediately recognizable references though, with George Michael popping up in "Gone" and U2 grinding its way into "Now It's Time".  I honestly find that one to be unnecessary and distracting.  But then I think some of these tunes, "Relationships," "Down to be wrong," "Everybody's trying to figure me out" are pretty great (even if I sort of miss the harder edge of their prior music).  The stream count on the album was actually interesting.  Would not have expected for one song to have more than 30 million and then no other song crack 10.  I guess my judgment on filled tunes wasn't so wrong.  "Relationships" is the one with 31.2 million.

Am I weird for really wanting to see the outside of that Land Cruiser when they were first just standing around the outside of it?  But I legit like the chorus to that one, and then the bridge is even cooler with that funky bassline popping up.  Enjoyable at times, unremarkable at others.  Too bad, I was hoping for another top tier disc like Days Are Gone.

Jade Bird - Nobody.  I really want to like this, and at times I can convince myself that I do, and then I'll be listening again and think about how strained her voice sounds.  She doesn't always strain it, she can have a lovely voice, but she just does some thing with it where she'll push harder than she needs to, I guess for effect, and it makes me turn.  But, I will say "Avalanche" is pretty purely lovely without any of that.  But "Dreams" has some of the straining.  I don't know, I keep listening - its only four songs - and my critique seems less valid each time.  These are pretty songs.  Check out "Who Wants" with 568k streams.

Hey vocals make me think of Jewel on the chorus here.  And again, such a pretty tune.  I'll never understand why actors think they should remove the phone from their hand and look at the handset as they are arguing.  Has any real person ever, in the history of mankind, thought that they should pull back the camera-free handset of an old school telephone to eyeball it in the middle of a heated argument?  That is horseshit.  Anyway, nice little EP.

There is a YouTube ad I keep getting served for an R&B song that makes me want to die.  The young lady sings something to the effect of "OOOOOH, I want you to come through, AND fillllll this vacancy" as she writhes in front of a motel.  Stop showing me this!

Lifeguard - Ripped and Torn.  This is one that I probably should have just tried a time or two and then deleted.  My friend Marshall gave it a very positive review, and its a little two discordant and jarring for me.  Some bits, I'm like, oooh, cool, this is like some punky old Devo and its neat! But then a moment later I'm like oh no, please stop that sound.  I guess this is garage rock, maybe experimental punk?  Pretty basic set of drum beats, jagged guitar riffs, and unremarkable bass.  Top track is called "It Will Get Worse," and has 231k streams.  Only one other track breaks the 100k mark.

That fluffy little doodle is going to bite your ankle bro!  Run!  But yeah, this song has much less of the dissonant pain-inducing bits, just a good straight-forward power rocker.  "Like You'll Lose" has a droning quality to the singing that keeps it in my brain, even as the chiming guitar drives me away.  This one may be your new favorite, but it's not doing it for me.

Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out.  The negative influence of excitement, man.  When this was released, if you read the people on Twitter, the Mona Lisa of rap had just been released.  I think part of why I am disappointed is just that this thing was released as though it was the comeback of the century, and then it's just kinda fine.  I thought Hell Hath No Fury was a freaking cool as shit rap album.  And don't get me wrong, this isn't a hard no by any means.  It just doesn't have much in the way of the immediate bangers, the unstoppable perfect rap tracks.  The beat in "So Be It" is cool as hell, but the lyrics are kinda just okay.  Ever since Bend It Like Beckham, if you give me some rap featuring Middle Eastern flavor, I'm intrigued.  The lyrics in "Birds Don't Sing" are very affecting, and yet the beat is pretty tame.  The top single was "Ace Trumpets," and I can't get over the line where he says "yellow diamonds look like peepee."  How can I suggest a song that says that childish ass shit?  C'mon y'all.  I wanted to use a song from this for my Music League entry, but just couldn't locate the killer track that would knock people over.  But you will absolutely see me right now in my office bobbing my head to the "Inglorious Bastards" or "M.T.B.T.T.F." beats.  "Chains & Whips," which features Kendrick, is the top streamer with 28.4 million streams.

Yeah, that is a good rap song.  This feels like the rap album people are supposed to like - that Kendrick album called something like Uncle Granny and the Power Buddy or whatever.  I'm supposed to appreciate it for the skill applied, and I think I do, but I also kind of want something that bangs and gets me excited.  I'll probably keep it around and keep wandering through it, but I am a little disappointed that it didn't sound instant classic.

Quick Hits, Vol. 374 (Lord Huron; Tyler, The Creator; Tyler, The Childers; The Black Keys)

Today is election day here in Austin, and I still have yet to really wrap my head around the Proposition Q thing that has everyone up in arms.  A very large tax increase, which is not especially welcome, but also it will pay for a lot of the things that everyone claims to want.  I can see the Anti- side, that we already give the City plenty of money to do all of the things that we want if they would just be more efficient with what they are given.  But I can also see the Pro- side, that if we really want to fix some of the hot button issues in Austin - police response times, homelessness, park improvements - then we need to put our money where our mouth is and pay for those fixes.  The tax increase sounds like it would be significant too - about $800 a year.  I'll just stop thinking about that and listen to some pleasant music.

[Edit from later, that Proposition got its ass kicked.  And the Mayor immediately put out a pretty good statement that was like "FAFO, hoes!"  Not quite, but pretty much said "the people have spoken and they didn't want those extra taxes, so we are going to be very transparent now about where all the money is going and why you can't have the local services you want to have."  ALSO ALSO, multiple people in my neighborhood have mentioned that they saw a website claiming that our taxes would have gone up by $75,000 a year.  WTF.  It is one thing to bend the truth to fit your narrative in an election, but shouldn't there be penalties for outright lies?]  Anyway, back to the tunes.

Lord Huron - The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1.  Kind of an obnoxious album title.  Ever since this guy's ACL shows many years ago, I have had a very soft spot in my heart for him.  I saw his show both weekends, and the second weekend, I remember standing in the crowd by myself, laughing with pure joy at parts of the show until I had tears leaking out of my eyes during "Meet Me In The Woods."  He's great.  But then recently I saw that when he is coming to Austin (or he may have already come by now) he will be playing the Moody Center.  Which makes no sense to me.  This is not a Moody Center band.  This is a two-sold-out-nights-at-Moody-Theater or nice night at Moody Amphitheater, but I don't see a sold out 18k crowd, even if he does have a song with 3.3 billion streams now (!?!?!).  Only one tune on here cracks ten million streams, and yet they expect 18,000 people to shell out $250 a piece for the show?  Curious how that went.  Anyway, getting back to the actual review, this album is beautiful.  And it's not just all lovely, pastoral balladry (although those songs are great), there are also detours into spoken poetry read by Kristen Stewart over a driving beat, or the twangy rock of "Watch Me Go" or "Used to Know."  But the overall feel is definitely one for me of listening to something beautiful and nice.  "Nothing I Need" is that hit track with 10.7 million streams.

Comes on like a My Morning Jacket song with that looping picking bit, and then the running drums clacking like a diesel running hard.  But also, lyrically, that song is great too - all of us right now are heavy on the things that we want but not the things that we need.  

I know I am writing too many asides today, but I went and volunteered at the Central Texas Food Bank yesterday morning, and when I got home and was talking through the experience with my wife, we decided that we needed to give some money to them during this especially fraught period for folks who need food.  According to their statistics, $100 will provide 300 meals.  THREE HUNDRED!?!  What the shit!  So, me spending $40 on a lunch at Cedar Door last week would have fed 120 people a meal?!?  Good gravy.  Anyway, a drop in the bucket but I hope we can get some of this shit straightened out about caring for our neighbors in the community.

Now, for something completely different...

Tyler, The Creator - DON'T TAP THE GLASS.  I read a new article about this fella the other day, about how he keeps getting re-cancelled as each generation of fans finds his old edge-lord online crap being a true asshole to just about every demographic he could think of.  For me, the bigger issue is that I think his music is butt.  So, this one came out with some sort of pronouncement how he was going back to the basics of a good-time rap album instead of trying to be deep and inscrutable.  And it kind of works.  All weekend long, ESPN kept playing commercials that use "Stop Playing With Me" in the background and it started to worm its way into my brain.  The title song got me moving in my chair a little, and Busta Rhymes piping up in "Big Poe" gets me feeling kind of hype too. The pop-forward "Sugar on My Tongue" or "Don't You Worry Baby" are less interesting for me though.  Of course, that pop forward stuff is the big hit because the kids love the Tyler stuff that I can't stand - every damn time.  "Sugar on my Tongue" has 222 million streams (and of note, nothing else even cracks 90 million).

Would probably be great fun to dance to like a crazy person, but I don't get much from the beat or the lyrics.  Also, that video is super freaking weird!  I am glad I heard this so that I could say that I enjoyed a little taste of Mr. The Creator, but I'll let this one go on back to the water.

Tyler Childers - Snipe Hunter.  My first impression of this one was pretty negative, but as I have listened along over time, I like some pieces of it more.  Sort of feels like he is trying to do a Sturgill turn and make slightly weirder music after the prior turn to gospel-ish music.  He sings about darma, and even says some naughty words.  I wish he wouldn't scream so much on "Eatin' Big Time," because I dig the funky groove of the song itself.  Several of the tunes have fun lyrics - if you spent the time to dig in, you'll get fun (and maybe ridiculous) lines about spoiled deer meat or how koalas have either chlamydia or syphilis.  I like "Watch Out" about the copperheads being everywhere, and the guitar solo is yummy.  And "Bitin' List" makes me laugh - "to put it plain, I just don't like you, not a thing about the way you is.  And if there ever come a time I got rabies, you're high on my bitin' list." "Nose on the Grindstone" is great too - dark and brooding and like the classic Tyler that I want to hear.  "Oneida" is the top streamer though, with 24.6 million streams.

The waltz is underappreciated these days.  But this is a lovely little tune with well-worn lyrics.  I like it.  The funny thing is that this song just scoots on by when I listen to the album, I would not have pegged it as the hit track at all.  According to comments on that video, this must have been an old song that got reprocessed for this album, and people are very glad that Rick Rubin didn't ruin the original feel.  Agreed.

I am about to go watch Ryan Bingham tonight.  Looking forward to it even though I will not try to say that he is my favorite singer ever.  Hopefully the weather will be nice and I can just enjoy the evening.

The Black Keys - No Rain, No Flowers.  The opening track, also the title track, made me very unsure about this disc.  It is more pop-forward and generic than I am used to with them, and I really don't like it.  Not that they have been the grizzled rock throwback dudes for a while, but its too clean, too pop, too soulless.  I don't know if the fact that they had to cancel their whole tour last year for soft ticket sales made them think they needed to change up the vibe, but that isn't what I want from a Keys disc.  Not that it all sucks or anything - the guitar on "Man on a Mission" feels like the good old days, and the propulsive fun of "The Night Before" is good.  But I want grime.  I want unhinged guitar solos rippling with fuzz and balls.  I think you can tell that most listeners are not on board, as the first song has the most streams, the second song has the second-most, and the third song is in third place.  That is what it looks like when people try the disc out and have varying levels of ability to stick with it.  Imma give you "Man on a Mission" because it feels most like what I want.  Riffage.  4.6 million streams.

Looks like the area near Palm Springs.  But yeah, this leaves behind the pop sense and slick production to get us back to the riffage and straight-forward drum bashing.  That is what I desire.  Going to let this disc move on down the road and hope the next one is pure throwback.

Quick Hits, Vol. 372 (Massive Pile of Singles!)

A ton of singles have been festering in my New Stuff playlist for way too long, and so it is time to run through them and clear the top of my playlist out.  If my brain worked a different way, I could just delete the Nas single at the top of the list, which keeps bothering me, instead of feeling like I must destroy it all.  But that ain't me, babe.

• Nas - Define My Name.  Now, I made it sound like I hate this song, and I do not, but it is pretty mediocre.  Pretty good classic beat, but the lyrics get me no where. "when click sounds in they mouths was language for humans."  Nah, man.
• Soccer Mommy - Lost. Freaking beautiful.  I've had a soft spot for her for a while, and this one is right where I want her to be.
• Hozier - Nobody's Soldier.  Funky and driving in a really great way.  When this popped out back in 2024 around the same time as "Too Sweet" I figured a new disc was on the way.  No such luck.
• A$AP Rocky - Tailor Swif.  I had a discussion with someone the other day about how disappointing Rocky's raps have become to me.  I think the strength of the beats on that first mixtape obscured how lame his actual raps are.  Pretty nice beat, uninspired rhymes.
• BigXthaPlug - Change Me.  I like it.  His deep ass voice rumbling under those little flute notes make a vibe.  Not winning lyrical awards here either, but I still find it pleasing.
• Blvck Svm - mikealstott.  Laid back as hell and I dig it.  This song popped up as I was flying over the Smokey Mountains, and something about the smooth vibe of the beat combined with the beauty of floating over the mountains and forests made this song click.  Also, Mike Alstott was rad back in the day.  He assuredly has CTE, but he was fun to watch!
• LCD Soundsystem - x-ray eyes.  I've talked lots of smack about LCD over the years, but my stance has softened since.  This tune is kind of goofy, but it still gets me grooving.  I wonder if he'll ever release another real album?
• That Mexican OT - 1982.  Another cool beat with some laid back horn sampling going on, and I kind of dig his flow with that weird stuttering sound he does.  Pretty cool sound.
• Paul Simon and Edie Brickell - Bad Dream.  Classic blues riff to go with better sounding vocals than I expected at this stage.  Fine, but feels like something they did to check their mics in between real songs.
• Zach Bryan - High Road.  As usual, his output just seems insane, throwing more tunes out all the time.  But this one has great imagery as usual and has me seeing it all, and then a strong chorus that would be fun to yell along about his "Waiting by the telephone all fuckin' night" for someone who isn't going to call.
• Zach Bryan - This World's a Giant.  I like the addition of the horns, but this song isn't as good.
• SKLOSS - The Pattern Speaks.  This song freaking jams - the video embedded above...  The drummer for this band went to high school with me, and she used to have to sit next to me frequently because of the alphabet.  Had a big ol' crush on her for a while and asked her to some sort of band formal event, where I'm pretty sure I was too nervous to speak to her and made a mess of it all.  Anyway, she can bash the shit out of some drums now.
• Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tom Petty (!?!), and Jelly Roll - Last Dance With Mary Jane.  Absolutely not.  Atrocious shit.  You dare sully my sweet Tom Petty with this trash.
• Shakey Graves - Coupe Deville.  A bonus track added to the ten year anniversary version of this disc.  Definitely sounds like the classic stuff where he's making all of the sounds by himself, kicking the tambourine as he plucks the guitar.  Sounds great.
• Julian Baker and TORRES - Sugar in the Tank.  Baker is a real one, going from the indie excellence of BoyGenius over to this countrified collab.  These two sound awesome together.
• Sunflower Bean - Champagne Taste.  I like the fuzzy riffage and droning background riffage, but the singer's Gwen Stefani impression isn't working as well for me.
• Hudson Westbrook - Sober.  My girls seems to find this dude entrancing, but he's just kind of okay for me.  This song is pretty slick and I don't much care for it.
• Strange thing - two singles from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are greyed out.  Oh wow, it looks like they pulled their whole catalog from Spotify!  That is sort of wild.  According to the Internet, they did it to protest the fact that the CEO of Spotify invests in a company called Helsing that develops AI-powered military tech.  Huh.
• Quavo and Lil Baby - Legends.  I don't know if I will ever understand why people like either of these dudes.  Generic as can be...
• Little Simz - Free.  Great cooled-out beat, excellent flow, this gal just makes it all seem effortless as she cruises along on a track like this.
• Bob Mould - Neanderthal.  I saw a blurb the other day that Mould might be getting Sugar back together.  That would rule.  Copper Blue was a fantastic disc of pock rock.  This one comes at you hard, but has some tunefulness amid the pummeling.
• Nathaniel Rateliff and Gregory Alan Isakov - Flowers.  Lovely.  I wish GAI could have been there for weekend one of ACL this year - I find his stuff to be so comforting.
• Car Seat Headrest - Gethsemane.  This one is an entire adventure rolled into a 10:52 long tune. It builds on itself for a while, and then at 2:40 its like a harder edged song begins, and that continues to ramp up into the guitar assault at the end.  I dig it.
• Noah Cyrus and Fleet Foxes - Don't Put it All on Me.  Speaking of lovely things, this is so nice.  Not a normal Fleet Foxes song by any means, but kind of a countrified FF tune with Noah's great voice adding harmony.
• Sheck Wes and Travis Scott - ILMB.  Damn Sheck Wes for creating "Mo Bamba."  Now I come back, hoping, and get this dreck.
• Gus Baldwin & the Switch - (She's Gone) Arigato.  These local dudes opened for the Jack White show earlier this year, but they did an awful job of announcing their name, and so the group of guys I was with just thought they were called The Sketch.  After some digging, I finally found this tune which is a good time.  Very correct opener for Jack White.  Odd how some people sound British who are not.
• Caamp - Mistakes.  I thought these dudes were done for after they bailed on ACL in 2024 (and I thought the lead singer headed for rehab or something).  I guess they got it figured out enough to make a new song that sounds like an old Pete Yorn b-side mixed with a Strokes b-side.  That would be a weird collaboration.  Song is fine.
• Grocery Bag - Last Draw.  pretty sure I heard this one on KUTX on my drive home one day, and it rules.  Just pure fuzzy riffage under a gal droning menacing shit like "you'll be sorry!"  Gimme.
• Offset and JID - Bodies.  The Offset portion is lame, but J.I.D. is a stud and the nod to the Drowning Pool song makes me grin.  Forgettable song otherwise.
• Hudson Westbrook - Funny Seeing You Here.  Again with this kid.  I'm sure he's doing the single release thing to keep interest instead of saving songs up for an album.  Not bad, but also not very exciting for me.
• Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton - A Song to Sing.  A soft-rock, quasi-disco track from two country titans, and I just have to ask why?
• Hermanos Gutierrez and Leon Bridges - Elegantly Wasted.  Leon has become the master of finding excellent instrumental bands to contribute his vocals to.  This isn't as arresting as "Texas Sun," but it has a sweet funk to it.
• Culture Jam, Wale, and Pusha T - Damage Control.  Wale has had a few good guest versus, this is not one of them.  Honestly, Pusha doesn't go anywhere either.
• Zach Bryan and Kings of Leon - Bowery.  Pretty fun collaboration.  I'll allow it.
• Disclosure with Anderson.Paak - NO CAP.  Okay, yeah, this is a kind of fun collaboration too.  I've always enjoyed Disclosure's techno thing more than most others out there, so this one gets me bopping a little bit.

Okay, that got me into a better spot with my New Music. Let's get back into some albums, shall we?