OK guys I have been experiencing a miniature Queens of the Stone Age revival. They were my favorite band for a very long time and I made it a point to track down as much of their lesser-known material as possible. So without further ado, here is a nearly complete discography. The number of songs this band has recorded that are not here can probably be counted on two hands (I know I'm missing the second version of "Infinity," the cover of "Don't Talk to Me" by GG Allin, the cover of "Jealous Again" by Black Flag, the Spanish version of "Gonna Leave You," and a few remixes found on single discs. I also have only one of the versions of "The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died.") Considering the fact that they have recorded upwards of 100 songs, I'm not missing any original tracks, and I collected most of it literally one song at a time (this was when I didn't have soulseek or blogs or anything, just WinMX and Limewire ... ugh) I'd consider this to be pretty good.
I hesitate to call this band the best of the last 10 years, but only just. They're definitely the best band of the last 10 years to get the level of media exposure they got. I know this might be a daunting amount of music to get from a single band, but once you've absorbed the first few uploads here, you'll be all over the rest. This band has one of the best and most varied outputs in recent memory, and exploring it is extremely rewarding
In chronological order of release:
QOTSA/Kyuss Split
The 6 tracks on this CD might have more a highly concentrated level of awesome than any other single-disc tracklist in the history of rock music. It kicks off with Kyuss's absolutely flawless cover of Sabbath's "Into the Void," which is the only time I've ever heard a band totally beat Sabbath at their own game with one of their best songs (my pick for greatest cover of all time, by the way). "Fatso Forgetso" might be the best song Kyuss ever recorded, and "Flip the Phase" rounds out the Kyuss side perfectly with a pummeling monotonous groove of pure heavy. QOTSA's songs are hands down 3 of their best ... "If Only Everything" is simply a perfectly written song with a perfectly written riff, "Born to Hula" is a towering heavy space rock masterpiece, and the mysterious, swirling cascade of psychedelia that is "Spiders and Vinegaroons" abruptly resolves itself into a hammering 10-ton drum-driven behemoth that leaves you in awe.
If you only get one thing from this post, make it this one. It is entirely without weakness.
Kyuss side:
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?ott41bjgoby
QOTSA side:
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?3sjvm5kafys
QOTSA - Queens of the Stone Age
The self-titled debut is considered by many to be QOTSA's finest hour, and while there are many great things to be said for their later work, the gritty, unrefined purity of this album is kinda hard to fuck with. Josh Homme didn't even bother with recruiting Nick Oliveri for bass duty on this album, he just sat Alfredo Hernandez behind a drum kit and took care of the rest himself. It's perfect in its own way, and contains some of the greatest songs QOTSA ever wrote ("Regular John," "Mexicola," "You Would Know," "You Can't Quit Me Baby," etc.)
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?1jc30znjmyg
QOTSA/Beaver Split CD
This little nugget came out around the same time as the self-titled album. Beaver lays down some sweet Dutch stoner rock with their two tracks (you can really see why Kyuss used to tour around wearing shirts bearing their name), and QOTSA's pair of songs are some of the most robot-like of their career. "These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For" just doesn't sound human. QOTSA has a habit of putting their best songs on non-LP releases, and this is no exception.
Beaver side:
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?ld19nc1ihd1
QOTSA side:
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?jtmkvjex4bb
QOTSA - Rated R
In a lot of ways this is the least consistent of QOTSA's albums. It's got the rawest Nick Oliveri influence of all the QOTSA albums (see "Tension Head" and "Quick and to the Pointless"), one of the weirdest and least accessible robot-rock freakouts of all time ("I think I Lost My Headache"), the most psychedelic song they ever recorded ("Better Living Through Chemistry"), and some of Mark Lanegan's most beautiful work ("In the Fade"), as well as more straightforward Homme songs like "Leg of Lamb" and "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret," and just about every song is essential to the overall feel of the album. It's a really weird mix and it's beautiful, especially if you can get past the harsher parts where Nick is screaming about pedophilia.
(Note: "In the Fade" has the "Feel Good Hit of the Summer Reprise" section cut off, sorry guys.)
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?xwwbm5hper0
QOTSA - Feel Good Hit of the Summer single tracksThis is just 3 songs that were only released on the "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" single, "You're So Vague" and two covers ("Romeo Void's "Never Say Never" and The Kinks' "Who'll Be the Next in Line"). Continuing the trend of putting the best stuff on the little rarity discs, these are excellent. The Romeo Void cover in particular is awesome.
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?j23towv0xbl
QOTSA - Lost Art of Keeping a Secret single tracks3 more from a single disc ... this one has "Born to Hula 2000," the even-heavier redux of "Born to Hula" off the Kyuss split (THIS SONG IS SO GOOD OH MY GOD). It's also got a vicious Nick Oliveri vehicle in "Ode to Clarissa," a hilariously nasty punk song "about a girl named Michelle," and I've thrown in a live version of ZZ Top's "Precious and Grace" in lieu of the "Monsters on the Parasol" live recording that was on the real disc. Mark Lanegan tears shit up on that last track, by the way, it's boss.
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?mhnxb2xtmxd
QOTSA - Songs for the Deaf
This is the one that put QOTSA on the map, not least because Dave Grohl signed on for drums. He pummels the shit out of the kit, too ... "Song for the Dead" and "First it Giveth" have some of the best drumming you're likely to listen to. This album is packed with gems ... "Sky is Fallin'" and "Song for the Deaf" provide huge heavy slow-burning dirges, "Hangin' Tree" gives Lanegan some more time to shine, and of course "No One Knows" is one of the best rock songs written this century. There are very few weak points in this album and even those are debatable. Josh and Nick were at the peak of their partnership here and it shows.
Note: contains covers of "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" by the Kinks and "Bloody Hammer" by Roky Erickson, which were on the non-US releases.
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?5zmu5bykobv
QOTSA - Lullabies to Paralyze
The first album without Nick was a bit less than many fans wanted, but it still has some of the better songs in the QOTSA repertoire. "Tangled up in Plaid" and "Burn the Witch" are damn near perfect, and the supersleazy "You've Got a Killer Scene There, Man" might be the sexiest song QOTSA recorded (which is saying a lot). All in all, not QOTSA's best but still respectable (and, considering QOTSA's popularity at this point in their career, better than most of what else was out there at the time).
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?kj8mmeyzvmu
QOTSA - Era Vulgaris
The latest album is the masterpiece that "Lullabies to Paralyze" wasn't, quite. The latter had its good points and its failings. This one takes everything good about "Lullabies to Paralyze" and expands on it. Josh Homme has always been able to write magnificently good rock songs, and if he needed to prove it anymore, this would do it. If this is the new QOTSA sound, I'm all for it. Magnificent stuff.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1VRKUF7N
QOTSA - The Era Vulgaris Pocketbook CompanionThey don't let up! In between the "White Wedding" cover, "The Fun Machine took a Shit and Died," acoustic recordings of "3's and 7's," "Into the Hollow," and "Suture Up Your Future," and the ABSOLUTELY AWESOME "Goin' Out West," there's basically another whole album here and it's just as good as Era Vulgaris. It even includes the song "Era Vulgaris," which wasn't even on the album named after it! Great stuff.
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?ja1kgv0bdyr
QOTSA - miscellaneous awesome stuffIncluded: "18 AD" from the ancient, rare "Burn One Up" stoner rock compilation, "Infinity" from the Heavy Metal 2000 soundtrack (and my pick for the best song they ever recorded), a cover of Turbonegro's "Back to Dungaree High" from a tribute comp, an original Gamma Ray demo of "Give the Mule What He Wants" (before QOTSA were even named QOTSA), the "Make it Witchu" single, and covers of The Cramps' "Most Exalted Potentate of Love" and the Subhumans' "Wake Up Screaming," from the "First it Giveth" single disc. AWESOME.
(GUYS! Get this one! "Infinity" is in it! So is "18 AD!" I'm serious! It's fucking amazing!)
http://www.mediaf!re.com/?ezlbnyitxic