The Queens of The Stone Age vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme criticized in an interview with “Tuna On Toast With Stryker” (Transcribed by Blabbermouth) bands and artists who refuse to play their hits live. The musician said that he understands that he will need to perform the track “No One Knows” for the rest of his life and he is grateful for that.
Josh Homme criticizes bands that don’t play their hits live
“I understand that I’m always going to play [QOTSA’s hit] ‘No One Knows’ because I still like playing that song, and that’s something that, it’s an agreement with the audience. ‘I assume that this is a part of coming here to see us, and here you go.”
“When there’s bands that don’t wanna play their big song or their big songs, I always think it’s a little cunty to do that. [Laughs] Acting like a song that a lot of people like is a burden is just a strange reaction to the gift that your fans have given you. Seems like an odd reaction.”
He continued:
“I think especially when something blows up, I can understand perhaps that feeling of it’s overshadowing the rest of what you do and all. But perhaps these are uptown problems, you know? And while I understand bits of that sentiment, I don’t think the end result can be that you deny the sort of world that that song would give you. In the years of doing this, I’ve seen a lot of artists do that. At times they sort of get angry at their own music for doing well, for creating this world.”
“I don’t know. Having fans is a cool thing, and they want stuff, and when it comes to playing the stuff they want, I feel like that that’s why this is happening, right? You guys are all here because you wanna hear some stuff and also have no idea what’s gonna happen. And you needed to have that basic food group in order for me to surprise you, too. Surprise requires knowing some constants are going to happen, you know? So, I don’t know. I don’t sweat stuff like that. Why would I not play ‘No One Knows’?” Josh Homme said.
One of the biggest examples is the legendary Bob Dylan, who doesn’t play most part of his famous tracks and when he does perfom them he usually changes the arrangement, transforming them into a new track.