Watch Queens of the Stone Age’s Hilarious ‘Villains’ ‘Focus Group’
Forget music critics: Queens of the Stone Age decided to focus group their new LP, Villains, by seeking out the opinions of … their previous albums. In a goofy promo video, director Liam Lynch quizzes the band’s back catalog, with frontman Josh Homme voicing the highly opinionated album sleeves.
The earlier records each exhibit a distinct personality – from the drugged-out ramblings of their 1998 self-titled debut to the Minnesota accent of 2000’s Rated R. Queens of the Stone Age‘s critical hallmark, 2002’s Songs for the Deaf, mocks the bitterness of fans who stopped listening after the departure of bassist Nick Oliveri. “I’m not listening to [Villains] ’cause Nick’s not on it,” the album says, before inquiring about another previous member, drummer Dave Grohl.
Their underrated follow-up, 2005’s Lullabies to Paralyze, refers to its own black sheep status, and the chain-smoking cracked lightbulb on the cover of 2007’s Era Vulgaris complains that the band demoted him from artwork to “answering the phones like a chump.” Finally, the vampire that graces 2013’s …Like Clockwork adopts a Dracula-like delivery, pondering, “We were quite a spectacle, weren’t we?”
Lynch concludes that fans will have to make up their own minds upon the new LP’s August 25th release. “Opinions are like assholes,” the director says. “Some are shitty. Some are really amazing. So what’s your asshole of Villains?”