Rated R

Rated R (also known on vinyl as Rated X and Rated RX on the 2010 deluxe edition) is the second studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age. It was released on June 6, 2000, by Interscope Records. Rated R was the band's first album for the label, as well as their first to feature bassist Nick Oliveri and vocalist Mark Lanegan. The album was a critical and commercial success and became the band's breakthrough album, peaking at number 54 in the UK and eventually being certified gold by the BPI. Two singles were released from Rated R: "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" and "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", with the former helping the band reach mainstream popularity. Composition Rated R has been described as featuring stoner rock, alternative rock, hard rock, and alternative metal. The album contains numerous references to drugs and alcohol. This is particularly prominent on the opening track, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", which consists entirely of the repeated verse "Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol" followed by a chorus of "c-c-c-c-c-cocaine". Though frontman Josh Homme has emphasized the fact there is no definitive endorsement or condemnation behind the lyrics, he has confirmed he came up with the lyrics stumbling through the desert at night after a New Year's party, trying to remember what exactly he had consumed that evening leaving him so intoxicated.