‘867-5309’: The song Josh Homme classed as a “renegade version of pop”
When you look at Josh Homme, you might not see a man who you would immediately associate with the world of rock ‘n’ roll, and that’s not a judgement, more an observation that compared to his contemporaries, Homme has a more wholesome appearance than a lot of other rock stars out there. And yet, the minute you dig into his career, it becomes evident that Homme could only ever be described as a rock star, as his life revolves around what is quintessentially rock ‘n’ roll.
Homme has played in several bands and alongside many musical idols, both new and old. For instance, he has played alongside Dave Grohl several times and has also teamed up with Mark Ronson and Lady Gaga. His collaborators’ versatility reflects his versatility as an artist, and he has been able to straddle the line between rock and pop in a way that looks easy.
Who are we to determine what Homme’s secrets are when it comes to straddling this line? However, when you hear about his upbringing, it becomes clear that he was immediately surrounded by the kind of musicians who would help him develop a taste that allowed him to play both rock and pop while appealing to lovers of both genres.
The opening line to the Queens of the Stone Age album Villains gives the listener some insight into Homme’s upbringing. He says, “I was born in the desert, May 17, ’73.” This is a cool opening line, but it also establishes Homme as someone who lived outside of the influence of a specific “scene”. He credits a man named Mario Lalli for the music he grew up around.
“I was into punk rock music, and he’d have these parties at his house,” said Homme, reflecting on his upbringing and the impact that Lalli had on him, “Look back on it now, there’s be 13-year-old people – me – and 40-year-old people. Which is kinda gross, ultimately, perhaps, but in that time frame it was totally fine. Because it’s a gang of individuals and outsiders.”
Homme never got the chance to see many touring bands, as very few passed through the barren wasteland that he called home. That being said, some big names came to the parties he used to attend, and these artists were able to help expose Homme to the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle while also showing him styles of music that he had never heard before.
“Billy Idol played and he slept with my friend’s sister and I just thought that was the greatest thing of all time,” recalled Homme, “Tommy Tutone came – he had this great song, ‘867-5309/Jenny’, that I thought of as this renegade version of pop. Then Black Flag played the desert. So they brought it into our yard. That SST mentality: ‘Go on, be yourself’. That’s what Boomer preached – without preaching. He lived that way.”
All of these different artists will have influenced Homme in some way. While he went on to make his own individual style of music, his sweet blend of rock and pop music undoubtedly helped him rise to fame in the effective way that he has.
