“Search for originality”: Why Josh Homme called Black Flag the premise of Kyuss
Originality is essential when it comes to making any kind of music. This applies to every genre across the board; however, it’s especially the case in genres such as rock and punk, which Josh Homme has made his own throughout his career. There seems to be a sanctity within these forms of music that demands originality above anything else.
The reason for this remains unclear; however, it is likely because both of these styles of music have been at the forefront of sonic revolution in the past. The guitar is often the sword of the musical world, cutting through societal norms in a bid to expose people to something new and groundbreaking.
When we look back at the ‘60s, we are hit with The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin. As the decades move on, we experience the likes of Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Sonic Youth. All of them brought their unique sound to the world, and music was changed in the grand scheme of things as a result.
Whenever bands have been accused of copying other artists or ripping off musicians, it has stained their reputation. Led Zeppelin is considered by many to be one of the greatest rock bands in the world; however, their name pricks the ears of musical purists everywhere as a controversial musical outfit.
“Jimi Hendrix personally told me that he didn’t like Zeppelin because they were like excess baggage and they stole from everybody,” said Carmine Appice, the drummer from Vanilla Fudge, “’You Shook Me’ was on Jeff Beck’s record. ‘Dazed and Confused’ has a bit of Vanilla Fudge on it, and it has parts of ‘Beck’s Bolero’ in it. I think I was told by a member of the band that the ‘Good Times Bad Times’ riff came from Tim Bogart’s bass line.”
This is a clear representation of how important originality is in rock and punk music. Even a band with the magnitude and legacy of Led Zeppelin still gets held under the microscope when there are suspicions that they might have copied material. It’s all about striking the balance between being inspired by a band and not becoming a carbon copy of them. Luckily, Josh Homme managed to perfect this split when he found the band that formed the foundation for Kyuss.
He spoke about the record label SST and how it was responsible for some of the best music being released. He also said that every band had its own unique flare, and therefore, it was impossible for anybody to be a duplicate.
“One of the things about SST bands is that each one sounded completely different, and that really permeated our scene. If you sounded like any other band in town – or any other town – you were ridiculed,” he said before elaborating on how this helped inspire his sound. “It became a hellbent search for originality. I loved Black Flag‘s Jealous Again and Damaged, but it was My War that really summarized Kyuss’ approach to punk.”
