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“Go With The Flow” - Queens of the Stone Age
(Words/music: Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri, available on Songs for the Deaf, Interscope 2002)

Queens of the Stone Age third album Songs for the Deaf benefited from an enthusiastic endorsement of one of their biggest fans.  Their songwriting and production seemed ready for their moment in the spotlight on this album, channeling their raw energy into focused songs.  Still, it’s hard to imagine the album getting as much attention without Dave Grohl’s repeated endorsement of the band.  He believed so much in this band that he briefly became their drummer, recording Songs for the Deaf and even touring with the band.  Grohl seemed ready for an opportunity to play the drums again, so I imagine that factored into his decision.  However, I’m sure Grohl could have found many opportunities, so his choice to become one of Josh Homme’s supporting musicians reads as a strong endorsement of the band’s talents. 

To be fair, Songs for the Deaf isn’t a Grohl charity project; these are punchy songs that tread the line between being heavy and melodic.  “Go With the Flow” balances these two elements particularly well, weaving backing vocals and a constant lead guitar with Homme’s vocals.  The lead guitar rings with near constant vibrato and sounds like a theramin on steroids.  It gives the songs an eerie undercurrent and a dark edge to counter the overlapping vocals in the chorus.  Grohl Former Queens drummer Gene Trautman (thanks David for correcting me - Trautman plays on this song and one other) plays the drums in his heavy yet quick pace, but it’s the constant piano vamp that runs through the entire song that gives the song a sense of urgency.  By having the piano as a constant through most of the song, Grohl Trautman becomes free to embellish his part and he takes advantage to toss fills wherever he can fit them.  The final product accomplishes both of its goals by sounding urgent and heavy at first while revealing a more subtle arrangement underneath its bombast.  It’s the kind of balancing act that I wish Grohl paid more attention to in his day job (at least on their recent albums).

More on Queens of the Stone Age: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm