“Really proud”: Josh Homme on the best song he ever wrote
Popularity is both a blessing and a curse for artists. While popularity might mean that a band is able to throw themselves more fully into their work, many artists can also become resentful of their more popular songs. As they try to progress and explore new musical avenues, fans tend to only want to hear the big hits, and that can become incredibly frustrating for musicians themselves. This is just one of many ways in which Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme deviates from the norm.
From the very beginning, it was clear that Homme operates on a different wavelength than most. When he chose to form Queens of the Stone Age in 1996, following the break-up of his previous group, Kyuss, Homme set out with a definitive musical manifesto of independence and innovation. The band provided him with an opportunity to explore the styles and genres that he had been unable to dive into during his time with Kyuss, and he certainly took full advantage of that musical freedom.
On their eponymous debut album, released back in 1998, the band were certainly at risk of peaking too soon. Featuring fan favourites like ‘Walkin’ on the Sidewalks’, ‘Avon’, and, of course, ‘Regular John’, the record perfectly established the sound and attitude of Homme’s new group. Following up on the record was never going to be a walk in the park, but, seemingly, the songwriter never particularly worried about his work becoming a flop.
Speaking to Decibel in 2011, Homme revealed, “I’d rather risk everything and end with nothing. I don’t mind losing. I mean, I’d love to have a career but there’s nothing that I can do about it, and I refuse just to try to get big to quench the thirst of being big.”
Explaining his position, he shared, “I don’t really want to be safe at all, and I would much rather lose than be safe. […] I need to shake that bittersweet curse of watching a song and ‘Oh my God!’ and watching it fade away and having to do it again.”
Luckily, Queens of the Stone Age seemed to build upon the success of their debut with every subsequent release. In fact, the 2000s saw the band execute an incredible run of three fantastic records, in the form of Songs for the Deaf, Lullabies to Paralyze, and Era Vulgaris. Nevertheless, ‘Regular John’ from the band’s debut remained their most popular and beloved track. You could forgive Homme for being frustrated with that fact, especially as he dedicated himself to writing and pursuing new material.
Conversely, Homme never resented ‘Regular John’ for its popularity. “What’s great is, I feel really proud to grab a hold of this record again,” he said, “It’s quite possible that the first song on that record, ‘Regular John’, is the best song I’ve ever written.” High praise indeed, particularly for a songwriter and musician as prolific as Homme. According to Homme, ‘Regular John’ holds a special place in his heart “just because it sort of perfectly articulates what I wanna do: I wanna casually ignore most stuff and amble up to something that I like and see if I can groove.”
Seemingly, that inherent motivation has remained constant throughout Homme’s musical career, encapsulating the spirit of each of his many different projects—from Queens of the Stone Age to Eagles of Death Metal, Them Crooked Vultures, and even The Desert Sessions. Few musicians could perfectly capture their spirit and motivation within the opening track of their debut album, but then Josh Homme isn’t like many other musicians.
