November 17th 2023.
Josh Homme, the frontman of the popular rock band Queens of the Stone Age, recently sat down with The Agency to talk about his recent health issues. It has been a difficult time for Josh, as he has had to not only grapple with his personal issues, but also with the diagnosis of cancer in 2022.
Speaking in his first interview since the pandemic, Josh revealed that he had undergone a successful surgery to remove the cancer, but that he was still in the process of healing.
He admitted that writing music, something he usually could rely on, didn't come naturally for a while as he was trying to cope with his struggles. He said, "Writing this one was unlike anything else, because we were going through not only personal things that weren’t like anything I’ve experienced, in a whole timeframe where everybody is going through something they don’t understand en masse. Sometimes I’d think, 'I don’t want to put myself out there. I don’t want to subject myself to a world that sometimes takes pleasure from its own brutality.'"
Josh also shared that the writing process differs for each of his musical projects, from QOTSA to Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures. He said, "Making Eagles of Death Metal records or [Them Crooked] Vultures is a much easier code for me to crack. The Queens thing is about feeling around in the dark. When you touch something that hurts… that’s the direction to go in. I mean, that sounds gross but that’s a fact."
He continued, "I don’t want to be the biggest band, I want to be in the best band. To do that it requires you to turn yourself over to the process and give everything you have and understand that it might crush you in the process. That’s the job… find a cliff and throw yourself off, hoping you’ll float away instead."
Although Josh wanted to be understood, he said he avoids reading reviews online because he doesn't think it's healthy. He said, "It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that I don’t feel better when I do read them. Making this record was so different to all the other ones and it involved so many sort of emotional mountains to climb."
Josh has been lucky to have the full support of his bandmates during his recovery. Speaking to Revolver magazine, he previously shared, "Cancer is just the cherry on top of an interesting time period, you know? I’m extremely thankful that I’ll get through this, and I’ll look back at this as something that’s f****d up — but will have made me better."
In the end, Josh is happy with the finished product, saying, "I love it. When I first started doing this, it’s amazing how many bands say, “I hate my record.” You’re supposed to make something that you love. This is a complicated job as it is, it goes up and down all around and the highs are high and the lows are low. You play the O2 Arena and go and take a shower afterwards and come out and it’s empty. Performing live – it’s just a moment of holding each other close, and then letting go over and over and over."
As Queens of the Stone Age tour through the UK, Josh has a message for anyone thinking about coming out: "In a world that is hell-bent on telling you what to do, and moreover, micromanaging you on how to do it: here at Queens At Queens Of The Stone Age Corporation, we don’t do that. I turn the lights out, I turn the music up, so you can whisper in your friend’s ear about what you really want to do. We provide a safe space to not be told what to do, because I believe escapism is an undervalued resource, like a diamond. People who want to tell you what to do? They should shut the f**k up."
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