Best of 2013

1) Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

“Everyone it seems, has somewhere to go

And the faster the world spins, the shorter the lights will glow

And I'm swimming in the night, chasing down the moon

The deeper in the waters the more I long for you”

Those are the words sung during the final track on ...Like Clockwork, and that is just one example of the poetic clarity, the reflective emotion on this album. It's as if Josh Homme had the zeitgeist whispering into his ear during the entire writing process. The lyrics are so meaningful, so heart-felt, and yet poetically symbolic enough to be applicable on a grand scale. This album is unlike anything The Queens have written before, so I can't stress enough the importance of separating ...Like Clockwork from their back catalog.

I have always been a fan of Queens of The Stone Age though, and for good reason. They write catchy desert rock songs. Josh Homme will never forget the roots he planted with rock legends Kyuss and he'll keep writing tasty hooks long into the future. I just can't expect him to come up with this level of profound song-writing ever again. This is like Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins good, like Ten era Pearl Jam, like Facelift era Alice in Chains. That level of song-writing, that level of timelessness can't be sustained for long, and though I don't expect it, I will express the quietest whisper of hope for their next release because if they've done it once, it's possible they could do it again.