…AND THUS ENDS MY INTEREST IN THEM CROOKED VULTURES

Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 12:00pm by Axl Rosenberg

Honestly, I was never that excited about Them Crooked Vultures, for the simple reason that supergroups are anticlimactic nine out of ten times (and the fact that Queens of the Stone Age haven’t made a record I’ve wanted to listen to more than once since Songs for the Deaf didn’t help). Still, I was open to giving the band a shot.

Then I heard their first single, “New Fang.”

When Gary Suarez described this band’s music as “seriously generic and geriatric classic rock,” he wasn’t kidding.

Now, I didn’t see the band live with Gary, and I’ve heard none of their other music. So maybe this is just a case of the band/label/management/whomever choosing a shitty first single; maybe the rest of the album will rock.

But I’m not encouraged. A first single should be a band putting their best foot forward to make a strong initial impression; what if this really is TCV’s best foot?

-AR


68 COMMENTS on “…AND THUS ENDS MY INTEREST IN THEM CROOKED VULTURES”

  1. David Hulsey says:

    How could you have expected this to sound ANY different? I’m seriously stumped about this. And how in the fuck can anyone justify listening to a Queens of the Stone Age album AT ALL? Maybe…MAYBE their first album one time before you realized it sounded nothing like Kyuss.

  2. groverXIII says:

    I’ll wait til I hear a decent quality version before I really pass judgment… but I liked it.

  3. trailofsmoke says:

    I like this song. I’m not sure what you were expecting Axl.

  4. jason says:

    It’s not that bad…not terribly interesting either. I also agree that QOTSA hasn’t been up to snuff, save a handful of songs, since SFTD. How ’bouts a new Probot album, Dave?

  5. Moose_knuckle says:

    They were the secret band at leeds festival and i totally missed them. Was pretty pissed at first and then i heard them, then i wasnt so pissed.

  6. How could you NOT like this song? It’s a fresh twist on a old style, and it’s being done by three of the best musicians you could ask for.

  7. Chimp-0-Neg says:

    sounds like regular recent QOTSA = not really that interesting.

    I expected more from this.

    I’M NOT ANGRY…. just disapointed.

  8. earthsherm says:

    what other “generic” bands does this sound like? just asking, i cant think of a song like it…doesn’t mean its good though

    • Chimp-0-Neg says:

      like generic QOTSA. I seriously rinsed Songs For the Deaf back when it was released, but have found every single Queens release since then to be utter yawn indusing twollocks.

      Like this tune here.

  9. Bram says:

    I agree with the “what did you expect” posts. This sounds like exactly what I’d expect it to sound like. A perfectly servicable song that comes off like a combination of all three of the main members’ more notable bands. Songs for the Deaf is a masterpiece, but it’s also a 7 year-old album. Homme and Grohl aren’t going to catch that lightning in a bottle again, and as legendary as he is, John Paul Jones isn’t as unpredictable as Nick Oliveri. Any “supergroup” is less than the sum of its parts with the possible exception of Down.

  10. SlickerDrip says:

    Anything you throw Josh Homme into turns to boredom. If I’m gonna listen to a retro rock supergroup, it’ll be the Raconteurs.

  11. cosk says:

    im surprised at the backlash in hate this is getting. did you seriously expect it not to sound like this?

    • aaron m. says:

      i don’t think it’s that anyone hates it. it’s far too unmemorable to hate. the best thing that you can say about it is that it’s middling at best, and that’s probably the most offensive thing about it – that it doesn’t even try. it stays in the grey area that most radio rock music exists in, happily wallowing in its own mediocrity.

  12. DICKHOLE says:

    i agree its lame and hes right queens havent made a good album since songs for the deaf super groups are lame!!!!!!! except for shrinebuilder my fucking god they rule!!!!!!!!

  13. SeanN says:

    It may be a tad bit boring, but its still heaps and mounds above the last few Eagles of Death Metal albums. Just saying.

  14. gnarlk says:

    just sounds like clutch’s output from the last 10+ years…

  15. Jon Lewis says:

    Yeah I like this too, it’s not very heavy but… whatever. I honestly didn’t expect anything different. I’m still checking this album out regardless. Quality Rock musicians.

  16. blah says:

    trust me, this is the lesser of all the songs

  17. SlickerDrip says:

    Nicki Rose – lead guitar
    John Stamos – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
    Animal – drums
    Johnny Depp – bass, slide guitar
    Rod Argent – keyboards

    That’s a supergroup I’d pay money to see.

  18. dlux says:

    i dunno, i think it sounds pretty badass

  19. Nigel McCloud says:

    I love the last two QOTSA albums, not exactly sure about all the disdain for them

    I can’t listen to the new track yet, but I will ASAP

    • scramblor says:

      You know, I really didn’t like either of the last 2 QOTSA albums when they first came out but they really grow on you over time. You could put their old stuff into your cd player and immediately start rocking out whereas the new stuff takes a bit more work to appreciate.

      I personally love everything Josh Homme does. He certainly isn’t going to wow anyone with his guitar chops, but his songwriting skills are awesome and how he uses little variations to vary the mood.

    • aaron m. says:

      well, i can’t speak for everyone else out there, and i can’t really speak of ‘lullabies to paralyze’, (it never really caught my attention enough to listen to it), but i’ll give ‘era vulgaris’ this – it really had its moments. i think my problem with the album was how awkward & poorly a lot of the songs transitioned on that album. it had some really great parts in songs, but a lot of them were shoehorned in together really awkwardly, (”3’s & 7’s” was particularly bad for this. fuck that shitty song.), and it really hurt the album.

      i mean, there were still some good songs on it, like “make it witchu”, “sick, sick, sick’ & “misfit love” (also a victim of poor transitioning, sadly), but for the most part, it’s more a jumble of ideas than anything.

  20. TheMarsPelicanInIsisChains says:

    I like it and will buy. Different strokes for different folks.

    • TheMarsPelicanInIsisChains says:

      Although, to be fair, this one of my absolute least favorite songs I’ve heard a decent quality version of (though quality live versions of this band are very limited). Cool song but very poor choice of first single in my opinion.

  21. Chip Northcutt says:

    Once again, It doesn’t matter how well they play if the songs are not interesting.

  22. Walrus says:

    ….and thus ends me taking this site even remotely serious.

  23. Astral Zombie says:

    Why anyone gives a shit about this “supergroup” when the Shrinebuilder album just came out is beyond me…Josh Homme has been phoning it in since giving Nick the boot, why would this be any different?!?!

  24. benny says:

    I think it’s pretty good. Grohl and Homme were meant to play together. And, uh, yeah John Paul Jones. Anyway I’m looking forward to hearing the rest.

  25. attackmole says:

    This is good. This is what a good modern rock band should sound like.

  26. Spencer says:

    All comparisons to their past bands aside, this sounds decent, though it wouldn’t get the attention it has if the members weren’t so well known already.

    Speaking of supergroups, anyone heard the new album by Shrinebuilder?

  27. I like it. Don’t know why you guys are hating.

  28. SourDeez says:

    This isn’t bad, but I see what you mean. Homme and Grohl can do and have done much better.
    I’m gonna listen to Sky Valley now.

  29. DurkaDerrr says:

    Shrinebuilder sucks so hard, I honestly can’t believe anybody in the world would actually want to listen to their horrible generic earshit. It’s unbelievably boring for a “supergroup.”

  30. DurkaDerrr says:

    I would rather eat a pile of hot shit off of a rotting horse carcass than listen to another 10 seconds of any Shrinebuilder song. By comparison, Them Crooked Vultures are fucking ROCK GODS. Seriously.

  31. DurkaDerrr says:

    Did I mention I hate Shrinebuilder?

  32. Ryan says:

    It’s not groundbreaking, but I’d take it over Chickenfoot any day.

  33. teaches_of_peaches says:

    Josh needs Nick like the rest of us need fucking oxygen. I understand Josh’s desire to make music for girls, but Nick at least brought some edge and oomph to it.
    Also Grohl’s drumming on this track sounds unimpressive, to say the least.

  34. Ryan B. says:

    Orbs is the best supergroup out there.

    @Other Ryan: Same here haha.

  35. Snacrifice says:

    Everybody praises Muse on here,and i like ‘em but QOTSA are way more interesting and bad ass in my opinion.

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