Songs for the Deaf

Songs for the Deaf is the third studio album by Queens of the Stone Age. Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band. The album was released on August 27, 2002. It was released by Interscope Records. It was the last Queens of the Stone Age album that had Nick Oliveri playing the bass guitar. Many other musicians are on the album, such as drummer Dave Grohl .
Songs for the Deaf is a concept album. The songs on the album are made to sound similar to listening to radio stations. Some songs on the album are separated by radio sounds. This was done so it sounds like music being played while driving. The album is about driving from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree and listening to the radio. All of the music is rock music that the band made.
Many critics liked the album. The album was certified gold by the RIAA. It was the band's first album to be certified gold. The album had three singles. These were "No One Knows", "First It Giveth", and "Go with the Flow".
Production
Before the album was made, Gene Trautmann left the band. He left because he wanted to make other music. Dave Grohl from Nirvana and Foo Fighters joined the band to play the drums. Grohl joined because he liked the band's music. Queens of the Stone Age had played music with Foo Fighters at many concerts before he joined the band. Grohl also worked with the band's guitar player, Josh Homme, in Kyuss.
Mark Lanegan, the singer for Screaming Trees, joined the band in 2001. Lanegan helped write songs for one of the band's earlier albums. He wrote lyrics and sang for Songs for the Deaf. The members of the band were Homme, Grohl, Lanegan, and Nick Oliveri. Oliveri played the bass guitar.
Many songs on the album were remade versions of songs made in the Desert Sessions. The Desert Sessions was a music project that Homme made with many other musicians. "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" was a song made by them. It was sang by Mario Lalli. On the album, it is sang by Oliveri. "Hanging Tree", "Song for the Deaf", and "Go With the Flow" were also made in the Desert Sessions. The main guitar part in "No One Knows" was also in a Desert Sessions song.
For the album, Grohl played the drums in a small room. This was done so there was not as much echo. It also made the drums sound different. The sound of the cymbals was recorded at a different time. The band took the recordings from the drums and cymbals and put them together for the album.
Release
The band planned to release the album on August 13, 2002. However, they did not release it until 2 weeks after. Grohl made Foo Fighters take a break from making music, so he could go on a concert tour with Queens of the Stone Age. Grohl also delayed Foo Fighters' album, One by One. It was released in October 2002. He started playing at concerts with the band in March 2002. He stopped in July 2002. Grohl went back to Foo Fighters. Joey Castillo, the drummer for Danzig, replaced him for the rest of the concerts.
Songs for the Deaf was the band's first very popular album. When it was released, it was number 17 on the Billboard 200, an American music chart. Many critics have said that the album is the band's best album. Entertainment Weekly called it "the year's best hard-rock album". Many magazines rated it as one of the top ten albums made in 2002, such as Mojo, Kludge, NME and Kerrang!. Kerrang! said it was the best album made in 2002. In October 2001, Dave Grohl said Songs for the Deaf was his favorite album to play drums for.
The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards. These were for two songs on the album: "Go With the Flow" and "No One Knows". It was given a gold certification by the RIAA. This was the band's first gold certification. As of 2007, the album has sold over one million copies.
Track listing
All tracks written by Joshua Homme and Nick Oliveri, except where noted. Lead vocals by Homme, except where noted.