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Xavier campus across from the Graham School of Management. Hello and welcome to another episode of Awesome albums here in WXAV88.3 FM and WXAV.com. I'm your host, Caesar and with me as always is Eddie and Eddie. Today we are talking about the sixth studio album from Queen to the Stone Age, like Clockwork.
Like Clockwork by Queen to the Stone Age and came out in 2013, so not super old, but not super recent. Now the most recent effort was villains and before villains came out, they released this album and very noticeable, really cemented and sustained the band's placement in rock and in the music scene. Yes. One thing I've noticed with Queen to the Stone Age is that Josh, Hami, the late singer always tries something new with each project.
And that's something that I've always appreciated because a band's discography can't really get stale if you try something new every time. And like Clockwork really stands out in Queen's discography as really emotional, really dreary and very melancholy. I would say this album is energetically melancholic or melancholic. I just really think this is one of their best.
Yeah, there's times on this album where they really break away from the Queens of the Stone Age sound and really strip it back and put a lot more emotion than you would normally think would come out of a Queens of the Stone Age album. Yeah. And I think they really blend energy and somberness in their songs really well. Like songs like My God is the Sun, I sat by the ocean in Calypsoia.
And there's times on this album where they really pick it up and they're like super energetic and they still deliver on what made them huge. Yeah. Great example, I sat by the ocean, you know, one of the biggest singles from this album. Yeah.
And definitely one of the most notable songs in their discography. Yeah. You know, Josh talks about, you know, saying by the ocean drinking a potion to forget somebody, but at the same time you have these, you know, rock and guitars that you could just jam out to. But if you know, they get to the lyrics, you know, Josh is upset.
There's no simple themes of depression throughout these lyrics. And, you know, segue into that, you know Josh's lyrics throughout this album are some of his best, some of my favorites. For example, like the Vampire Time and Memory, another very melancholic song, I would say very vulnerable for Josh because, you know, he ends a song with like, I feel no love and I feel no love. Or if I had a tail, you know, tears of pleasure, tears of pain, they trickle down your face the same.
Like I love homies songwriting. Yeah. I saw them. Yeah.
Bear with friends. The first line on it is, is there anyone out there or am I walking alone, you know, showing us his vulnerabilities and it comes off in all these songs. You're very introspective and reflective for Josh. But let's get right into the track listening with keep your eyes peeled.
A song that I think sets the tone very, very, I really, really, really love the dark sense in the song. Yeah. Like you said, it sets up the whole album for how it's going to sound and it's very eerie, very queens of the Stone Age. It's slow but heavy, but the parts in the song that burst out with a lot of energy are energetic, but they're self contained in a way.
You know what I mean? I agree. Like when he yells, wake me up. One of my favorite moments from that song, it's just funny.
I'm going back to that energetic, you know, melancholy feeling that throughout the entire album, that really makes this album stand out in their discography. Yeah. And then of course we talked about I sat by the ocean, the next song off of it. And like we said, it comes in at a good time.
It's the second song. So people who are still trying to go through the album will have a song that they can easily recognize and it still continues and builds upon the themes that they're building within the album. Yes. And then, you know, we already talked about the Vampire of Time Memory, but I just got to highlight like still amazing synth work in the Vampire of Time Memory.
Yeah. Almost reminiscent of like a Castlevania, Transylvania type sound in it, which fits with the theme of vampires, but Queens of the Stone Age is really able to make it their own. And you know, highlighting the album cover, there is a vampire on the album cover, which I love that album cover, by the way, just talk about that for a quick second. I mean, we have had like covers like, lullabies to paralyze or like rated R or like their self-titled album that just didn't really stand out in a way.
But I really like looking at the like clockwork album cover. Yeah, it's a real art piece. Yes. And really sticks out when you look at all their other album artworks.
Yes, I agree. And then we move on to If I Had a Tale. It's a groove, but again, with very, very heavy guitars on the chorus. Yeah.
And the transition from the last song into If I Had a Tale really works great with the theme of that this album is really connected. This isn't one of the only times that you see a song trailing into another one. And also I got to mention the last bits of it, there's some echoing. It's very weird, but Arctic Monkeys fans will be quick to recognize that Alex's Turner's voice is one of those people doing like the echo e howls and stuff and saying stuff.
And it comes off of this little relationship that Josh homey and Alex Turner has where Josh produced Humbug, the third studio album by Arctic Monkeys. So nice to see these artists crossing into each other's projects. And speaking of Alex Turner, Alex Turner was really the inspiration for the next song, Calypcia. Josh and Turner will exchange like lyrics every once in a while as I've learned.
The story goes that Turner sent the word Calypcia to Josh as a text and that's what Josh needed. And he made this song, you know, slow and steady and then just an eruption of noise. The dynamics between those two different movements within the song are a great contrast, but Queens of the Stone Age is really able to make it work for them. And there's really pretty solos in that song.
Yeah. And I would just like to mention again with the sense, if you listen, they're very, very sexy, I think they have a very like sexy undertone to that song. Yeah. And distinctly Queens of the Stone Age.
Yeah. Yeah. And we moved on to Fairbother Friends, which I was surprised to learn. And so many features on this song.
We have Elton John and Trent and Risner on backing vocals, Elton John and piano, and Dave Rowell on drums. Incredible. I didn't know that. Yeah.
Yeah. It's when I first heard the song, it really stayed out to me. But after a couple of lessons, and especially after learning about that, I've had a newfound appreciation for that song. It's a very electric song with a big finish at the end that just gets you pumped up.
Yeah. It's almost a bit motivational. It also gives off a sense of like motivation akin to like the Rocky Balboa theme song. And I might be getting that feeling because some of these artists that you mentioned worked on this song are huge names in the music industry and I would have no doubt that Josh Homie would have had some kind of inspiration from as a fan standpoint, but also as a fellow collaborating artist.
And then we get to what I think is the weakest track in the track listing, which is Smoot Sailing, not the biggest fan of it. I don't really have much to say about it. And honestly, it's kind of forget up to me. It's just that there's so many different things going on with a bunch of instruments.
And also, it kind of makes sense that you say that earlier before we started this conversation, we were talking about other albums and you're not the biggest fan of villains, the next Queens of the Sonya album. Yeah. And yet I feel like this song can be taken and be put onto their next album villains because the same style within the song can be found in other songs, like feet don't fail me, which is funny because feet don't fail me is actually one of my favorite songs on the villains. But I feel like they kind of perfected that on bones and Smoot Sailing is a song that just didn't really grab me.
After all my listens of this album and then we get to my favorite song on the album, I am pronouncing. And the story behind this song is that it's taken from the experience of Josh Homie when he was in a coma after any surgery that went wrong. And it is one of the darkest songs on the album. I mean, we have amazing guitar work on it.
I'm promising, but I mean, just like listen to the lyrics deeper, sleep further down the rabbit hole never to be found. This is my favorite course on the album. One of my favorite courses in a Queens of Stone Age song period. And it has a little bit of a groove to it.
Yeah. And it features that typical Queens of the Stone Age sound. It does go on for a bit. It's about a six minute runtime song, but you telling me the story about it coming from Josh Homie's experience of being in a coma.
It also makes kind of sense that is almost the ending song of the album because in situations like that, so many things can go so wrong so fast that for Josh Homie to be writing about being in this in limbo place really brings some new perspective to the track. Yeah. And like I said, it was one of the only songs that when I listened to on First Listen, it was just like eye opening and it's pretty amazing. I personally think it's one of their better songs.
And then the final song like Clonk War. The title track after, you know, we have that, you know, like I said, energetic melancholy from I If You're Missing, you know, winded down with a really sad piano ballad. It's a beautiful song. One of my favorite performances from Josh in terms of his vocals, really heavy.
But I feel like most of the album has been really heavy either in guitars, vocals, lyrics, piano, like the song. But, you know, at times it is very groovy, which I think, you know, Josh and company find a great balance within this album. Yeah, totally. And it's a proper closer.
Yeah. The album is definitely rounds out the album better than if let's say they were to end on I If You're Missing, this is a much better stopping point for the album and a good period for this project. Well said Eddie. Now that means that any highlights for you or what are your highlights for this album?
I would be lying if I didn't always jam to I Step By The Ocean and My God Is A Sun. Those two are some of my favorite tracks, but they are almost always said that these are top tracks from the album. But Calipseo, if I had a tail and my God is a son would be my top three tracks from the album. I agree with the clips.
He is one of my highlights too. I said, I If You're Missing is also a really amazing track off the album and songs like The Title Track, Like Clock Work and The Vampire Time and Memory are also one of my favorites. And like I said before, Smooth Stanley wasn't my favorite track. It was pretty forgettable and it didn't really flow with the album for me.
Right. And I would have to agree with you on that if there are any points in the album where it feels like it drags on just a bit too much. It would be a smooth sailing, even though it's a distinctly Queens of the Stone Age song, it just goes on for a bit. And that concludes our discussion of Like Clock Work by Queens of Stone Age.
Tune in next week when we talk about the self titled album by the Smiths. Thank you for listening to this episode of Awesome Albums here on WXAV88.3 FM and WXAV.com. Thank you very much for listening to this WXAV88.3 FM podcast. Be sure to visit our website WXAV.com for more information on your escape from ordinary radio.