| Queens of the stone age's Second album.
- Feel Good Hit of the Summer
- The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
- Leg of Lamb
- Auto Pilot
- Better Living Through Chemistry
- Monsters in the Parasol
- Quick and to the Pointless
- In the Fade
- Tension Head
- Lightning Song
- I Think I Lost My Headache
This was the CD that QOTSA really developed into their own sound, leaving kyuss behind and producing something quite remarkable.
The first track The Feel good hit of summer, with the repeated chant, Nicotene, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol. A perfect song for summer. The simple music induced listeners into a trancelike state.
This was the song that nearly broke the album, with radio stations and walmart refusing to have anything to do with the CD with this song on it, obviously missing the fact that the CD was already named Rated R. This song featured Rob Halford from Judas Priest.
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, was a sudden change and tempo. Radio Friendly this song gained massive playing on alternative radio and later crossed over to mainstream populatiry. The band has expressed various ideas about what its about, including recording companies secret methods of keeping the public and bands down, and the more obvious sexual meaning. A xylophone and noise piano is a marked departure from the usual straight guitar sound.
The first time I heard leg of lamb I thought it was another korn ripoff band, soon after however I realised how it was nothing of the sort. This melodic song is about cannibalism and the satorical world we live in.
Auto pilot, the song about masterbation, using the illusion of flight and autopilot to illustrate their point. This song gives a good example of how Josh Homme can actually play nice almost romantic sounding songs, as well as the rough rock chants he is better known for.
Better Living Through Chemistry features a famous line from the bjork song Crying :there's no one here and people everywhere. This sums up QOTSA's opinion of recording, the song being about sitting in a room writing songs and watchign the recording process take a life of its own. This "drug" song is actually anti-drug, focusing on the hypocracrisy of government endorsing prozac but attacking anyone who dares smoke anything they disapprove of.
Monsters in the Parasol is a well known song about the effects of LSD. The band describes it as a Little Disco number about the drug. It has a focus on sex with the crazy lines Paul's dad is warped and bubbling And my mind is up here on another wave covered in hair .
The quick and to the pointless is a minute long song about the love of younger women. Initially I thought this was plainly a satire, but after many listens and interviews I am not so sure. The band says it is sorta like lolita, except cointains more foaming at the mouth and contains dutch, learned when nick was in the dutch band beaver.
In the fade is an unusual song containing weird song structures and riffs, with much more high end than most of their songs. It is about live falling down around you and wanting to live the full life until you die.
The Feel good hit of summer then has a short reprise.
The fast Tension Head yells out the bands anger at Ozzfest, living their life on the bathroom floor and hating Hustling little girls and Cheating little boys.
The instrumental Lightning song follows.
The album concludes with the song I Think I Lost My Headache, about release all your anger. Josh refers to slam dancing when talking about this song.
Other tracks which exist on various editions of this disc include
- Ode to Clarissa
- Never Say Never
- Your so vague
- You'll be the next in line (kinks cover)
Disclaimer: All opinions about the followings songs are my own, with the help of hobbs1767.tripod.com. | 
