Queens of the Stone Age frontman and one of the godfathers of desert rock Josh Homme is nearly two months deep in the third season of his Apple Music Beats 1 show The Alligator Hour. For the Halloween episode, which airs tomorrow at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST, the singer-guitarist has curated an eclectic playlist featuring a wide range of artists, from eccentric singer Tom Waits to punk icons like G.B.H. to surf rock psychobillies the Cramps. Peppering in his own twisted humor and peculiar insights, Homme brings the two-hour show to life between tracks through story-telling.
One such tale involves his band Eagles of Death Metal opening a Cramps show: "I had the luxury of playing with the Cramps at The Warfield in San Francisco," Homme recalls. "We played pretty damn good and the audience went wild. Lux and Ivy were watching from the side, and when we came off stage, Lux said, 'So that's how it's gonna be.' And then, during the Cramps' show, he almost slashed his johnson off with a broken wine bottle. He broke mic stand after mic stand, cramming the mic so deep in his mouth I could only see the cable! It was wild."
Later on in the episode, Homme drops one of his own bands into the mix with "Someone's in the Wolf" from QOTSA's 2005 album Lullabies to Paralyze, as well as similarly lycanthropically themed tracks from Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs ("Li'l Red Riding Hood") and Cat Power ("Werewolf"). After showing off his pointed love of Roky Erickson with six of the acid rocker's songs, the host continues making hokey but entertaining jokes over slasher-movie sound effect, riffing on his thematic choices that shift toward the Satanic with the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil." He wraps things up with another classic-rock choice, the Doors' "The End," which provides a fittingly eerie epitaph. Listen to the episode tomorrow for free on Beats 1 on Apple Music.
Below, see Josh Homme, Brant Bjork and more in Revolver's original doc on former Queens of the Stone Age bassist-singer Nick Oliveri:
