Rated R (Queens of the Stone Age album)
Encyclopedia
Rated R is the second studio album by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...

. It was released on June 6, 2000 through Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...

. Rated R was a critical and commercial success and became the band's breakthrough album. It peaked at number 16 on the Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

 and reached high positions on charts worldwide. The album has been certified silver in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Three single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

s were released from it: "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
"The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" is the first single from Queens of the Stone Age's second album, Rated R. It was released in the summer of 2000 through Interscope Records, in Europe as a standard single, in the US instead only as a promotional one. The track became arguably the band's most...

", "Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age and written by band members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri. It is the opening track of their second album, Rated R and in 2000 became the second single to be released from it. The song also accompanied the UK release...

" and "Monsters in the Parasol", with the first helping Queens of the Stone Age reach mainstream popularity.

Overview and background

The band began work on Rated R after touring in support of its previous album, Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (album)
-Re-release track listing:All tracks written by Alfredo Hernández and Joshua Homme, except where noted.Tracks 6, 11 & 13 are tracks that were included in the re-release. "The Bronze" & "These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For" were included in the 1998 EP The Split CD with the band Beaver...

, released in 1998. As a whole, the album contains numerous references to drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...

 and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

. This is particularly prominent on the opening track, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age and written by band members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri. It is the opening track of their second album, Rated R and in 2000 became the second single to be released from it. The song also accompanied the UK release...

", which mostly consists of the repeated line "Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol" followed by "c-c-c-c-c-cocaine". The MPAA's "R-rated" symbol features on the album's cover, along with the text "RESTRICTED TO EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME". Keeping with this theme, the album's liner notes contain warning messages for each song, in the style of the warning messages given to parents on video and DVD boxes: "Auto Pilot", for example, contains "Alcohol and Sleep Deprivation".

"Monsters in the Parasol" originally appeared on a Desert Sessions album, Volume 4: Hard Walls and Little Trips
Volume 4: Hard Walls and Little Trips
Volume 4: Hard Walls and Little Trips is the fourth installment of The Desert Sessions series, a side project of Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme. It was originally released in 1998 on cream-colored 10" vinyl, and is currently out of print....

, under the slightly different title of "Monster in the Parasol". "Tension Head" is a re-recording of the song "13th Floor", which originally appeared on Mondo Generator
Mondo Generator
Mondo Generator is an American metal/punk hybrid band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri. The name of the band originated when Brant Bjork spray-painted the words on the side of Oliveri's Sunn amplifier. Mondo means "world" in Italian...

's debut album Cocaine Rodeo
Cocaine Rodeo
Cocaine Rodeo is the debut album by American metal/punk band Mondo Generator, released on Southern Lord Records in 2000. It was compiled of material recorded by vocalist/bassist Nick Oliveri with an Austin, Texas punk band and his ex-Kyuss bandmates. Recorded in 1997, the material was shelved for...

.

The drum, bass, guitars and vocals to the song "Quick and to the Pointless" were recorded simultaneously in just one take. Nick Oliveri's
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and is a vocalist...

 vocal performance was originally intended to be a scratch vocal
Scratch vocal
A scratch vocal is a vocal performance recorded by a singer in order to provide reference to a producer when crafting other pieces of the recorded song...

, but the band found it so powerful that this original recording remained on the finished song.

Josh Homme has stated that his favorite song from the album is "I Think I Lost My Headache", which he describes as being about "Paranoia... when you think something strange is going on, and everyone around you is so adamant about telling you it's fine... but then you start thinking 'Wouldn't that be exactly what you'd say if you didn't want me to know, and there is something going on?' And so it's kind of about that paranoid mentality which maybe I have sometimes." The song switches between a standard 4/4 time signature and the unconventional 15/8.

Rated R also marked the first appearance of guest vocalist Mark Lanegan
Mark Lanegan
Mark Lanegan is an American rock musician and songwriter. Lanegan began his music career in the 1980s, forming the grunge group Screaming Trees with Gary Lee Conner, Van Conner and Mark Pickerel. During his time in the band Lanegan would start a low-key solo career...

 of Screaming Trees
Screaming Trees
Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington in 1985 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the time the band reached its most successful period...

, who has appeared on every Queens album since. Lanegan sang lead vocals on "In the Fade" and provided backing vocals for "Auto Pilot", "Leg of Lamb" and "I Think I Lost My Headache".

Release and reception

Rated R was the band's breakout album in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Upon its release in June 2000, the album peaked at number 16 on the Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

 album chart. It granted Queens of the Stone Age recognition in the United Kingdom and has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...

.

Steve Huey from Allmusic said "R is mellower, trippier, and more arranged than its predecessor, making its point through warm fuzz-guitar tones, ethereal harmonies, vibraphones, horns, and even the odd steel drum. That might alienate listeners who have come to expect a crunchier guitar attack, but even though it's not really aggro, R is still far heavier than the garage punk and grunge that inform much of the record. It's still got the vaunted Arizona-desert vibes of Kyuss, but it evokes a more relaxed, spacious, twilight feel, as opposed to a high-noon meltdown. Mark Lanegan and Barrett Martin of the Screaming Trees both appear on multiple tracks, and their band's psychedelic grunge - in its warmer, less noisy moments - is actually not a bad point of comparison."

Rated R included the hit single "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
"The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" is the first single from Queens of the Stone Age's second album, Rated R. It was released in the summer of 2000 through Interscope Records, in Europe as a standard single, in the US instead only as a promotional one. The track became arguably the band's most...

", which was released in the summer of 2000 and became arguably the band's most recognizable and popular song at its time of release. Not only did its music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 receive mid airplay on music television, the song was featured in the Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...

 episode "I Love You Too" (from Season 2). It was also the only single from the album to get a chart position, reaching number 21 on the Mainstream Rock charts, number 36 on the Modern Rock charts and number 31 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

Rhapsody
Rhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...

 called it the best rock album of the decade on its "Rock’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.

Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

 named it 82nd best album of the decade.

Track listing

All tracks by Joshua Homme
Joshua Homme
Joshua Michael Homme is an American rock musician, and record producer. He was the guitarist and a founding member of the stoner metal band Kyuss, as well as the founding and only continuous member of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age , in which he sings, plays guitar, and serves as the...

 and Nick Oliveri
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and is a vocalist...

, except where noted. Lead vocals by Homme, except where noted.
  • Most European editions separate "In the Fade" and the "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" reprise into two tracks, 3:51 and 0:34 in length. The track listing on the back cover however is the same as on the regular edition, which means that it does not match the actual track numbers from that point on.
  • In the liner notes, it states '"Better Living Through Chemistry' chorus inspired by Bjork
    Björk
    Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...

    ", indeed bearing a resembelance to the chorus on 'Crying' on her Debut album .

Bonus tracks

  • "Ode to Clarissa" (Homme, Oliveri) – 2:40
    • Included as track #12 on the Japanese version and Rated R (X Rated), the limited LP release of the album. This song was also released on the "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
      The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
      "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" is the first single from Queens of the Stone Age's second album, Rated R. It was released in the summer of 2000 through Interscope Records, in Europe as a standard single, in the US instead only as a promotional one. The track became arguably the band's most...

      " single.

Special edition

The UK only special edition of the album included a bonus disc, titled Rated U, which was also separately issued as the "Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age and written by band members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri. It is the opening track of their second album, Rated R and in 2000 became the second single to be released from it. The song also accompanied the UK release...

" single. Along with "Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age and written by band members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri. It is the opening track of their second album, Rated R and in 2000 became the second single to be released from it. The song also accompanied the UK release...

" and its video, it featured three newly recorded songs.

All tracks by Joshua Homme
Joshua Homme
Joshua Michael Homme is an American rock musician, and record producer. He was the guitarist and a founding member of the stoner metal band Kyuss, as well as the founding and only continuous member of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age , in which he sings, plays guitar, and serves as the...

 and Nick Oliveri
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and is a vocalist...

, except where noted.

2010 re-issue

In an interview with NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

, Josh Homme revealed plans of a re-issue of Rated R which would feature B-side recordings and live performance from Reading Festival. It was released on August 3, 2010.

Added to the original album is a second disc with six B-sides and the band's summer 2000 Reading Festival concert - featuring nine previously unreleased songs, including live versions of Rated Rs "Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age and written by band members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri. It is the opening track of their second album, Rated R and in 2000 became the second single to be released from it. The song also accompanied the UK release...

", "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
"The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" is the first single from Queens of the Stone Age's second album, Rated R. It was released in the summer of 2000 through Interscope Records, in Europe as a standard single, in the US instead only as a promotional one. The track became arguably the band's most...

", "Better Living Through Chemistry" and "Quick and to the Pointless".

The B-sides are "Ode To Clarissa", "You're So Vague", covers of Romeo Void
Romeo Void
Romeo Void was an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. The band primarily consisted of saxophonist Benjamin Bossi, vocalist Debora Iyall, guitarist Peter Woods, and bassist Frank Zincavage. The band went through four drummers, starting with Jay Derrah and ending with...

's "Never Say Never" and the Kinks' "Who'll Be The Next in Line", a live version of the album's "Monsters in the Parasol", a song originally from Josh Homme's side project, The Desert Sessions
The Desert Sessions
The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Jeordie White The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Jeordie White The Desert Sessions are...

, and a re-recording of "Born To Hula", an early song from Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age EP
Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age
Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age is a split compilation EP which was released in December 1997. The first three songs are performed by Kyuss and the last three songs by guitarist Josh Homme's next band, Queens of the Stone Age....

. The other Reading Festival tracks are concert takes on "Ode To Clarissa", three songs from the band’s debut album
Queens of the Stone Age (album)
-Re-release track listing:All tracks written by Alfredo Hernández and Joshua Homme, except where noted.Tracks 6, 11 & 13 are tracks that were included in the re-release. "The Bronze" & "These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For" were included in the 1998 EP The Split CD with the band Beaver...

 ("Regular John", "Avon" and "You Can't Quit Me, Baby"), and "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire", another track originally by The Desert Sessions, which was also present on their third album, Songs for the Deaf
Songs for the Deaf
-Production and release:In September 2002, Josh Homme explained the band's goals with the release of the album:In the same month, Nick Oliveri explained the band's aims in an interview with retail company HMV:...

.

Personnel

  • Josh Homme – vocals, guitar, percussion (tracks 3, 8), drums (track 4), piano (track 10), backing vocals (track 4), producer, mixing, concept
  • Nick Oliveri
    Nick Oliveri
    Nick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and is a vocalist...

     – bass, percussion (track 8), guitar (track 4), vocals (tracks 4, 7, 9), backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 11), concept, art conception
  • Dave Catching – electric piano (tracks 1, 2, 8), piano (track 5), B3 (track 4), guitar (tracks 6, 7), 12-string guitar (track 10), lap steel (tracks 1, 11)
  • Nick Lucero – drums (tracks 2, 3, 5, 8, 11), percussion (track 3, 4)
  • Gene Trautmann
    Gene Trautmann
    Gene Trautmann is the former drummer for Queens of the Stone Age, the Eagles of Death Metal, and the Miracle Workers.- Biography :Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Trautmann started playing along to records when he was 11 or 12...

     – drums (tracks 1, 6, 7, 9)
  • Chris Goss
    Chris Goss
    Christopher Ryan Goss, born August 17, 1958, is an American record producer and musician.-Selected discography:Throughout his career Goss has worked with a wide range of musicians in various genres.* 1988 - Masters of Reality by Masters of Reality...

     – bass (track 4), percussion (track 1), backing vocals (tracks 4, 5, 6), producer, grand piano (track 1), noise piano (track 2)
  • Mark Lanegan
    Mark Lanegan
    Mark Lanegan is an American rock musician and songwriter. Lanegan began his music career in the 1980s, forming the grunge group Screaming Trees with Gary Lee Conner, Van Conner and Mark Pickerel. During his time in the band Lanegan would start a low-key solo career...

     – vocals (track 8), backing vocals (tracks 4, 11)
  • Barrett Martin
    Barrett Martin
    Barrett Martin , is an American drummer, upright bassist, composer, producer, writer, and Zen artist. He was the drummer for the Seattle, Washington groups Skin Yard and Screaming Trees, as well as the supergroups Mad Season and Tuatara...

     – percussion (tracks 5, 10), steel drum (track 11), vibes (tracks 2, 5)
  • Mike Johnson
    Mike Johnson (bassist)
    Mike Johnson is an American songwriter and bass guitarist. He was born in Grants Pass, Oregon and played in Eugene, Oregon punk band Snakepit from 1984-1989. He replaced Lou Barlow in Dinosaur Jr in 1991 and played with the band live and on its recordings from 1991 to 1998. Concurrently he...

     – backing vocals (track 3)
  • Peter Stahl
    Peter Stahl
    Peter Marc Stahl is an American vocalist known for fronting the seminal Washington, D.C. punk/hardcore band Scream with brother Franz Stahl. At one stage, Scream also featured Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums....

     – backing vocals (track 2)
  • Rob Halford
    Rob Halford
    Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...

     – backing vocals (track 1)
  • Nick Eldorado – backing vocals (tracks 1, 7)
  • Wendy Rae Fowler (Wendy Ray Moan) – backing vocals (tracks 1, 7)
  • Scott Mayo – horns (track 11), baritone sax (track 2)
  • Fernando Pullum – horns (track 11), flugal horn (track 7)
  • Reggie Young
    Reggie Young
    Reggie Young was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studios Band , and is a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with artists such as Elvis Presley, B.J. Thomas, John Prine, Dusty Springfield, J.J...

     – horns (track 11)
  • Bradley Cook – engineer
  • Martin Schmelzle – engineer, sequencing, assembly
  • Trina Shoemaker
    Trina Shoemaker
    Trina Shoemaker is a mixer, record producer and sound engineer responsible for producing/engineering and/or mixing records for popular bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Something for Kate, Nanci Griffith and many more....

     – engineer, mixing
  • Dan Druff
    Dan Druff (musician)
    Daniel James Irving , better known as Dan Druff, is a bass guitarist, guitar technician, and vocalist who has worked with artists including Queens of the Stone Age, Slayer, Butt Trumpet, The Distillers, Monster Magnet, Sum 41. To date he has worked on over 50 studio records...

     – guitar technician
  • Marek – noise (track 8), mixing
  • Robert Brunner – pre-production assistant
  • Francesca Restrepo – art direction

Album

Year Chart Peak Certifications Ref.
2000 US Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

16
UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

50 Silver
German Album Chart 72
Norwegian Album Chart
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...

35

Singles

Year Single Chart Peak Ref.
2000 "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
"The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" is the first single from Queens of the Stone Age's second album, Rated R. It was released in the summer of 2000 through Interscope Records, in Europe as a standard single, in the US instead only as a promotional one. The track became arguably the band's most...

"
US Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...

21
US Modern Rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...

36
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

31
2000 "Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age and written by band members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri. It is the opening track of their second album, Rated R and in 2000 became the second single to be released from it. The song also accompanied the UK release...

"
US Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...

?
US Modern Rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...

?
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

?
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