While in high school, Homme got together with locals Brant Bjork, Chris Cockrell (later replaced by Nick Oliveri) and John Garcia resulting in the formation of Kyuss (firstly known as "Sons of Kyuss"). Queens of the Stone Age formed in 1997, rising from the ashes of Kyuss and began playing together during the now legendary Desert Sessions. Homme has drawn all of the members from that diverse group of musicians for Queens of the Stone Age. The band originally formed under the name Gamma Ray, but almost faced a lawsuit from the European metal band of the same name.
Queens of the Stone Age have gone through many line-up changes since first breaking into the hard rock scene. Their most recent line-up includes: Josh Homme (guitar, vocals), Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboards, backing vocals), Jon Theodore (drums, percussion), Michael Shuman (bass, backing vocals), and Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals).
Former core members include Joey Castillo, Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider, Mark Lanegan, and Nick Oliveri, among other members and contributors. In 2002, regarding the band line-up, Homme said: "It really is more of a musical experiment… It keeps moving and reinventing itself. That way we never get painted into a corner."
Dave Grohl recorded drums, percussion and backing vocals on Songs for the Deaf and toured in support of the album in 2002 before returning to the Foo Fighters. Grohl also made a live appearance in 2007, to play Make It wit Chu, and recorded tracks on …Like Clockwork, following Joey Castillo's departure.
Mark Lanegan has long been an on/off vocalist for the band, toured from 2001 to 2005 and made live appearances in 2007 and 2010. He has recorded with the band on all albums except for their self-titled debut album. Lanegan has also played keyboards in live performances during the tour preceding the release of Lullabies to Paralyze, before Natasha Shneider joined the band.
Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri were seen as the only two consistent Queens of the Stone Age members. Oliveri had previously played alongside Homme in the band Kyuss and joined Queens of the Stone Age as its permanent bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist, in 1998, upon the release of its debut album, Queens of the Stone Age. Being friends since childhood, the two meshed well together. Oliveri's punk background brought an element of danger and attitude to the Queens' live shows. As the band's two core members, the duo recorded the breakthrough albums, Rated R and Songs for the Deaf, together. Oliveri's unique "howling" singing style made him easily distinguishable on songs such as Six Shooter from the album Songs for the Deaf; he also displays a more melodic singing style in Rated R songs such as Auto Pilot.
However, Homme fired Oliveri in 2004 for excessive partying and an alleged incident of domestic abuse (an accusation which Oliveri strongly denies). The duo repaired their friendship shortly afterwards. Oliveri, however, did not return to the band. In 2013, upon hearing that former contributor Dave Grohl was recording drums for the band's sixth studio album, …Like Clockwork, Oliveri asked Homme if he too could return on bass guitar. Homme ultimately did not grant Oliveri's request. He does, however, appear on backing vocals on the album track, If I Had a Tail.
Diskographie:
1997 - Kyuss / Queens of the Stone Age
1998 - Queens of the Stone Age / Beaver Split
1998 - Queens of the Stone Age
2000 - Rated R
2002 - Songs for the Deaf
2002 - Sample This School Boy
2002 - 2002-10-29: Rock City, Nottingham, UK
2002 - 2002-11-06: Stockholm, Sweden
2003 - Songs For The Deaf Tour Edition
2004 - Stone Age Complication
2005 - Lullabies to Paralyze
2005 - Lullabies To Paralize Tour Edition
2005 - MTV Unplugged (Berlin 2005-06-10)
2005 - Over the Years and Through the Woods
2006 - 2005-12-20: Los Angeles, CA, USA
2006 - Over The Years And Through The Woods
2007 - The Definitive Collection Of B-sides & Rarities
2007 - Era Vulgaris
2008 - Era Vulgaris Tour Edition
2013 - ...Like Clockwork
2017 - Villains
2023 - In Times New Roman...
How To Handle A Rope
Queens of the Stone Age Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A bitter pill to swallow cause maybe you're..
..In a blanket haze of ephedrine
I'm wonderin' where the hell you been
So come on and right this wrong, you know
You got it all right
You got a feeling
You got it all right
You got a feeling
There's devils and ropes around your neck
You can't even know
You can't hear it?
Can't hear it
Ain't got a mind to deal with anymore
Saboteur! infiltrator! maybe more.
If you're not blind and deaf, how can we pollute your head?
So come on and right this wrong, you know
And I got it all right
I got a feeling
You'd rather open up your wrist, and let it go
I got it all right, yeah
I got a feeling
There's devils and ropes around my neck I can't even know
'Cause they can't hear it
Can't hear it
Can't hear it
Can't hear it
The lyrics of Queens of the Stone Age's song "How to Handle a Rope" suggest a feeling of frustration towards somebody who is too affected by drugs (a "blanket haze of ephedrine") to see the danger they are in (with "devils and ropes around their neck"). The singer seems to be fed up with this person, urging them to "right this wrong" and warning them that they are being influenced by saboteurs or infiltrators. The lyrics also suggest a feeling that people can become too passive and unable to think for themselves, leading them to be easily swayed by outside forces (hence the line "If you're not blind and deaf, how can we pollute your head?"). The repeated refrain of "Can't hear it?" at the end suggests a sense of hopelessness towards this person's inability to recognize their own peril.
Overall, the lyrics of "How to Handle a Rope" convey a sense of frustration and urgency towards somebody who is in danger but unable or unwilling to see it. The metaphor of devils and ropes suggests a sense of peril or threat, while the repeated refrain highlights the difficulty of trying to make somebody see something they are unwilling or unable to see.
Line by Line Meaning
Too late to think & filter anymore
It's too late to think about this situation objectively
A bitter pill to swallow cause maybe you're..
It's hard to accept, but you might be to blame for this
..In a blanket haze of ephedrine
You're in a confused and dazed state of mind
I'm wonderin' where the hell you been
I'm wondering where you've been and what you've been doing
So come on and right this wrong, you know
You need to take responsibility and fix this mistake
You got it all right
You think you have everything figured out
You got a feeling
You have a sense of what's going on
I'd rather open up my wrist, let it go
I'd rather harm myself than deal with this situation
There's devils and ropes around your neck
You're in a dangerous and risky situation
You can't even know
You're not aware of how bad things really are
Can't hear it?
Are you not listening?
Ain't got a mind to deal with anymore
I don't have the mental capacity to handle this anymore
Saboteur! infiltrator! maybe more.
Someone is intentionally causing harm or disruption
If you're not blind and deaf, how can we pollute your head?
If you're aware of what's going on, how can we manipulate you?
I got it all right, yeah
I think I have everything figured out
There's devils and ropes around my neck I can't even know
I'm in a dangerous and risky situation that I might not even be aware of
'Cause they can't hear it
They're not listening or paying attention to what's happening
Can't hear it
They're not listening or paying attention to what's happening
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JOSH HOMME, ALFREDO HERNANDEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lsmola
Early QOTSA albums are by far best driving albums out there.
@DKHD176
without question.
@dk5468
Agreed 100%
@carterrouch3917
Wish this remaster was on cd
@Ryan-rf8qp
Correct.
@mathiaskrokus3849
I concur
@RiposteBK
Best riff on the album, absolutely banging still to this day
@J4CKTR1PP3R
Word...
@CRN8091
Fuck yeah 🤘🏼
@JTstratman13
The first album is killer, I’ll never forget my first listen!