Queens of the Stone Age is a rock band from Palm Desert, California, United… Read Full Bio ↴Queens of the Stone Age is a rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States. The band is frequently labeled stoner rock, although they reject the label. They developed a style of riff-oriented, heavy music which the band's founder and mastermind Josh Homme described as "robot rock", saying that he "wanted to create a heavy sound based on a solid jam, just pound it into your head". Since then, their sound has evolved to incorporate a variety of different styles and influences.

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...

I Was a Teenage Hand Model
Queens of the Stone Age Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Cozied up to the toilet
Face stuck to the floor
I met expectations
That I was tryin' to ignore

Job had such patience
I wonder, what's that like?
One hundred thousand million

That's what you like
So I was thinkin'

So these cities are sprouting
Like a spit in the eye
And this world isn't waiting
It's just passing me by

I just peak in the window
Lookin' inside
The butcher's got a fork in your face

I'm standing alive
And I was singin'

Overall Meaning

"I was a teenage hand model
I was a teenage hand model
Darkness settles in
Like a chemical reaction or a loss of oxygen
And you're one step nearer to your goal of gamma rays
Then ecstasy turns to terror
Night erased, but not for long
The walk home's a stiff one
Shoes are soaked, I'm alone
To cry these tears

The lyrics of Queens of the Stone Age's song "I Was A Teenage Hand Model" tell a story of a person who is going through a rough time. The first verse talks about being cozed up to a toilet and not being able to meet expectations. The singer thinks about the patience of the people who seem to be successful and rich. The second verse talks about how cities are growing and the world is passing by. The singer is just peeking through the window, looking at what other people have, while they have nothing. He refers to a butcher who has a fork in someone's face, which could be interpreted as a reflection of what the singer feels about his own life.

The chorus of the song, "I was a teenage hand model" is like a sarcastic statement on how the world is into superficiality and how easy it is to fall into the trap. The last verse is about how darkness settles in, and how the person is closer to getting to their goal of gamma rays but how ecstasy turns to terror. The night is erased, but not for long, and the person is walking home alone, with tears in their eyes. The song is a representation of disconnection from the world and one's own self.

Line by Line Meaning

Cozied up to the toilet
I was leaning on the toilet in a very comfortable way

Face stuck to the floor
My face was glued to the ground and I couldn't move it

I met expectations
I reached the level that was anticipated of me

That I was tryin' to ignore
Even though I was trying to avoid it

Job had such patience
The work was very demanding and required a lot of patience

I wonder, what's that like?
I'm curious to know how that feels like

One hundred thousand million
An astronomical number

That's what you like
That's the kind of thing you enjoy

So I was thinkin'
So I had this thought

So these cities are sprouting
These cities are growing extremely fast

Like a spit in the eye
As if it's an insult