STACK #265 November 2026

MUSIC FEATURE

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The year’s hottest game also comes with a sizzling soundtrack. THE JOY OF SIX OF SIX

Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album is out Nov 19 via Atlantic

T hirteen years after Grand Theft Auto V , the new instalment in the video game series comes with a killer soundtrack. We’re talking 34 songs in a genre busting blockbuster collection, featuring rock, rap, country, and electropop. Rolling Stones legend Keith

declared the Ratings Game Music reviewer. “He simply has the kind of wild, high-octane energy that naturally belongs behind speeding cars, flying bullets, and extremely questionable player decisions.” The producers of the game provided a simple direction to the artists: deliver

Richards? Yep, he’s there, covering Jimmy Reed’s blues classic Bright Lights, Big City . Country superstar Morgan Wallen? He delivers a smooth new tune called Last Thing You Need . And rap titan Travis Scott? He’s there, too,

a song that captured the energy of Vice City and Leonida, the fictional world in which the game is set. Morgan Wallen’s co-writer Blake Pendergrass said he knew that Last Thing You Need was perfect for the game, which features the Bonnie and Clyde-like Jason

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WHERE? Leonida is based on Florida, with Vice City based on Miami.

ripping the lid off RHYNO , produced by Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo. “If I had it my way, Travis Scott would appear on every video game soundtrack released between now and whenever AI finally decides to wipe us out,”

Duval and Lucia Caminos. “I guess there’s a little bit of a love story in the game,” Blake told Holler . “It seems like there’s going to be a little bit of back and forth between them. So, it felt like it was a perfect toxic relationship song.” Jeff Jenkins

WHAT?

The Grand Theft Auto series has sold more than 470 million copies worldwide to make it one of the biggest video game franchises in history.

HOMME RUN QOTSA’s ninth studio album arrives at a Perfecth time.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Josh Homme started QOTSA 30 years ago, after his previous band, Kyuss, split. AUSSIE CONNECTION Josh Homme was married to Melbourne musician Brody Dalle from 2005 to 2019 and they had three children.

Perfecth by Queens of the Stone Age is out now via Matador

T he new Queens of the Stone Age album, their first in three years, is called Perfecth . No, that’s not a typo. “Nothing in this world is perfect, but everything seems to be perfecth,” band leader Josh Homme explains. “And that title is funny when you’re in a group, but it ain’t so funny when you’re alone.” The album’s first single, Easy Street , fits into the “perfecth” theme. “It’s not just about silliness,” Josh says. “It’s about understanding the imperfection of your life. The song, like your

CHART FACT

life, is in the mistakes. Its imperfections are unbeatable. “Every song sounds like it’s from a different world,” Josh adds. “And that’s on purpose,

QOTSA have had six Top 10 albums in Australia, including two chart-toppers – 2013’s … Like Clockwork and 2017’s Villains .

Queens of the Stone Age

The album was preceded by another single, Insignificant Other . “It’s a song about distance,”

being on the receiving end of that.” It’s been a big year for Josh Homme – and he hasn’t followed a predictable path. He also turned up on Shania Twain’s new album, Little Miss Twain , singing on Faded Blue Jeans . Jeff Jenkins

because it’s trying to stitch together all these emotions revolving around love, lust, foolishness, and the sort of wisdom that comes as a gift from all that.”

Josh notes. “About how someone can be your entire world only to simply vanish. And about the strange vertigo of

Josh Homme loves Maton guitars, having first visited the Melbourne factory in 2003. “They have a very cool, very real feel about them,” Josh said of the Aussie instrument. GUITAR GOD

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