“Time & Place” by Queens of the Stone Age

The first verse of “Time & Place” reads as if the vocalist is addressing another male, “a pretty boy” who’s trying “to save face”, as Homme puts it. 

And as for the title, even though it isn’t present in the lyrics, it’s apparently an abbreviation of the phrase ‘any time, any place’. That’s another way of saying that you’re ready to deal with the other party whenever the opportunity presents itself. For instance, if someone challenges you to a fight and you’re feeling bold, your response may be ‘any time and place’. 

And as for the aforenoted “pretty boy”, it does read as if the vocalist may have some sort of beef with him.

But as for the second and perhaps also third verse, seemingly the addressee changes, and Josh is dissing some female, perhaps his girlfriend or ex. For example, in the second verse he depicts her as having some type of emotional/psychological issues and therefore, as implied, being difficult to have a relationship with. 

And in the third verse, the vocalist seems to put forth that the addressee is no longer physically attractive besides for possessing “a pretty butt”. Or at least that’s one specific way of interpreting said line in a passage which is based on a cigarette-related motif. But more generally speaking, Homme is using such terminology to once again point to the idea of the addressee being someone who is unpleasant to relate to interpersonally.

In Conclusion

So it would appear that conclusively, “Time & Place” is a song of frustration. Going back to the title and as can be gleaned from the lyrical nature of the chorus, the vocalist is prepared to confront the addressees head-on. 

In the first verse, that would apparently be some dude who’s trying to prove he’s tough. In the second verse, since the addressee is identified as “babe”, maybe it’s the vocalist’s girlfriend. And the third verse probably doesn’t feature any type of gender-related terminology, but it also centers on a subject who, perhaps by not keeping his or her promises, has gotten a rise out of Josh. 

In all of these cases, as implied by the chorus, he’s ready to fight the person, if you will, rather than turning a blind eye.

“Turn around
Let’s get it on”

Release Date of “Time & Place”

“Time & Place”, listed as the 4th track on the band’s 8th studio album “In Times New Roman…,” hit the shelves on the 16th of January, 2023.

Record Label

The release of the album was facilitated by Matador Records.

Singles

To assist with the album’s promotional activities, a number of singles including the following were released:

• “Paper Machete”
• “Emotion Sickness”
• “Carnavoyeur”

Writing Credits for “Time & Place”

“Time & Place” was authored by the following:

• Dean Fertita
• Jon Theodore
• Josh Homme
• Troy Van Leeuwen
• Michael Shuman