The Foo Fighters - Classic or Dud?

I didn't mind the first record in the light of grunge, but from then on I've been nothing but bored senseless. Not even convinced by Sreynold's claim - 'most dynamic rock single' with that new one. YAWN!

Please convince me otherwise tho...

NO SAXOPHONES??

they are really very poor indeed.
i'm listening to 'the colour and the shape' that i just burned on my i-tunes and i'm already considering deleting it because it's sullying the good name of everything else in my library.

classic: the line "sometimes i feel i'm getting stuck between the handshake and the fuck" from 'my poor brain', and that one riff from 'hey, johnny park!'

dud: everything else, including the stuff i haven't bothered to listen to

"Fingernails is pretty.."

Such a bland, mediocre band. V. heartening to see an almost unanimous dud vote.

I hate their albums, but the singles are mostly great rock.

They seem to get progressively worse with each album.

I think Kenny's original post just about nailed it by calling them his favorite band in high school. They weren't mine, but they seem like a band perfect for that role - so that everything they put out after you got out of high school, whenever that was, was bad. So I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first album, <i>Colour and the Shape</i> still holds up pretty good, I would cherry-pick from <i>There Is Nothing Left To Lose</i>, then I graduated high school and everything since then I've heard the single and found it tuneless and grating. I don't know if they actually changed their sound or anything, but their hold on me was completely lost.

Search: All of <i>Foo Fighters</i>, especially the singles plus "Alone & Easy Target" and "Wattershed"... off TCATS, the singles again ("Everlong" and "My Hero" for pete's sake!) and "New Way Home"... off TINLTL, "Stacked Actors," "Live-In Skin."

There's a bunch of other good stuff on those albums but that's the indispensible stuff for me. Definitely the best post-grunge mainstream rock band on the US charts, IMO.

someday, someday, I will stop doing that

i love the first album and the first album only. it's so different from the others, basically because it's a glorified demo tape.

"THIS IS A CALL" 4EVER + 4TW

Dud.

Now, when I was in high school, a lad of just 15, having freshly sold my Howard Jones cassingles, I remember their self-titled debut album.

I was too much of a newb to know most of the material Foo drew their work from on their first album, but I really enjoyed (and still do) the clever pop tunes on the album. Even saw them on tour at a small local venue that year and got Dave's autograph on my flannel shirt (fuck you, it was a fad!) and ticket.

But even as a kid with bad taste, I never really got into The Colour and the Shape. It seemed to me that on that particular album, they became more generic and overproduced, and since then I haven't been a fan.

Their material is better than some of the other mainstream stuff out there, but give me their s/t anyday over what they're making now.

as a kid with bad taste, I never really got into The Colour and the Shape

Makes sense.

Left out two key words in that quote.

"indie fuck"

rofl. If you're going to pigeonhole someone you might want to be in the vicinity. I'm as much an indie fuck as Ally McBeal was a pornographic television show.

"as a kid", bro! chillax.

I wasn't aware that my neurons were firing any faster :)

Hesitantly classic. One great album (Colour), one good album (debut), a string of pretty decent mainstream rock singles (with a few duds tossed in), and a good live show means they can't be a complete dud in my book.

Otm, though I'd go one farther and dub everything after Colour/Shape a stinkpatch.

I'd say disc 1 of In Your Honor comes fairly close to being as good as the first two albums. Disc 2 really sinks the album's overall batting average, though.

Dud to the fucking max. I have a lot of hate for the Foo Fighters if only for their being a shining example of radio rock.

o noez!

I hope it's not too late for Pat Smear's pixie dust to help now that he's back.

I am a one way motorway
I'm the one that drives away
Then follows you back home
I am a street light shining
I'm a wild light blinding bright
Burning off alone

It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again
It's times like these time and time again

I am a new day rising
I'm a brand new sky
To hang the stars upon tonight
I am a little divided
Do I stay or run away
And leave it all behind?

It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again
It's times like these time and time again

This was written by a former member of Nirvana.

Not sure what point you're trying to make there, but okay.

so, Nirvana sucked. Foo Fighters sucked too. what's yr point?

yeah plenty of Nirvana songs have lyrics as lame as that. and none of them have cool 7/8 riffs like that song has.

it is my belief that There Is Nothing Left To Lose is a very fine power-pop record (cf 'Generator', 'Learning To Fly', 'Aurora')

Too inconsistent to be classic, too many good songs to be dud.

like the first album but not enough to listen to it, extremely puzzled by their continued existence and (apparent) vitality

Thematically they shifted from "alternative" jibberish to "DAMN, woman, why can't you stop me from cheating on you" hard rock just as rock stations did, without getting so blatantly macho as to turn off the old fans who can still listen to rock stations.

plus Grohl can still write a hook

whether or not you like nirvana, its pretty funny what a Hagar Grohl has become when you look back at his roots.

I've only heard the one Scream track on the Dischord comp from a pre-Grohl record, so I don't really know what they sounded like. but he always struck me as a metal/classic rock kid who fell into punk/alternative rock, and the later Foos/Probot/QOTSA stuff he's done in the past few years probably reflects those roots as much as you could say for anyone whose career started as underground and ended up as mersh as his.

always? like when you were 12?

I'm sure he wasn't the only 15 year old punk drummer who dug Bonham but he might be the only one singing "It's a shame we have to die, my dear" in an arena today.

So really you just hate him for being successful.

Not sure what point you're trying to make there, but okay.

-- jon /via/ chi 2.0, Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:22 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

^^^^^^^^^^ (haha xpost)

I don't hate him now (too many Hagars out there who CAN'T write good hooks), and I didn't find him ridiculous until well after he was a millionaire.

if we're gonna harp on anything being a betrayal of his XHARDXCOREX roots it should probably be the goofy videos where he wears wigs and plays 'characters', not the self-serious dirges.

oh i won't harp on admirable ironies (Though "Everlong" is a way better video than "Learn To Fly").

Way upthread: Nirvana were terrible lyrically!

not in a "the more you live the more you give" way

Hagar would NEVER right "aqua seafoam shame"

write, ha

Rock star in "recovery lyrics" shocker. Just be glad we didn't have to hear Kurt's.

this is true

i'm digging Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace so far. He does his thing.

COlour and teh shape was pretty great. i say classic.

yeah this is good. Summer's End in particular, with tight blades of guitars dancing around a pretty boogified southern bedrock.

this still has me rolling though

Oh fuck you all, the world would've been a better place if it were dave grohl that courtney had shot. the foo fighters are the osound of stinking sneaker rock from the 70s with a bad moustache to boot. Now go on, be quiet and fuck off.

DUD: http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2000/02/foo.html

DOM: http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2441073

o i c

i didn't realise that music reviews required every sentence to include painfully unfunny one-liners

Posts to ILX don't, however.

Can someone tell me a better major label hard rock album that came out in 1997, because I just listened to The Colour And The Shape for the first time and is not very good.

I can't think of a better one. Doesn't mean Foo Fighters is any good, though.

http://www.riverofsound.com/Images/Products/IxnayOnTheHombreTheOffspring19978495f.jpg

http://www.tripstar.org/silverchair/covers/freakshow.jpg

http://cdn.last.fm/coverart/300x300/2268697-44219207.jpg

Serious answer: there ain't one.

Its the last foo fighters album i liked

Me too!

they were great on that tour. they sucked after pat left. I saw them support the prodigy after that with one of the stahls but it wasnt the same. Its quite sad how bad they've got now, even sadder they've got huge with it.

I honestly cant think of a better major label rock/metal album from 1997.
Lean times.

DUDDUDDUDDUDDUD

i love the first album and the first album only. it's so different from the others, basically because it's a glorified demo tape.

-- latebloomer, Wednesday, August 1, 2007 1:43 AM (11 months ago) Bookmark Link

I'd be even harder pushed to think of good major label rock/metal albums from the last few years. Mastodon, Qotsa, anything else?

Actually this might make a good seperate thread

It would be a good thread. Good major label rock/metal acts have been rare this decade. You can have your My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco and a bunch of other bands whose names bother me. Maybe American Idiot, if that's to be considered a good major label rock/metal album. What else is there?

Good major Label Rock/Metal albums from Late 90's-2008?

debut album was i think the fifth cd i ever bought. love this record, even if it sucks apart from the first three tracks.

I really like "Big Me" and "Everlong," but I absolutely despise "Fingernails are pretty. Fingernails are good." "Learn to Fly" was OK. Haven't heard anything else.

First album showed promise that never really materialized on later albums.

first album is great, love the whole thing. fun, garage-y. everything after is zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

2nd album >>> 1st album

no wai.

Altho the second album is not bad. Anything after that is just terrible. Playing Guitar Hero: Metallica and it has the song "Stacked actors" on it which I think is from the 3rd album. Absolute shite. Not as bad as "I've got another confession to maaaaaaaaake" song, which sounds like something from a 1980s beer commercial.

i actually preferred grohl's lyrics when they were just scratch, "fingernails are pretty" and all. when he started taking his writing and music a bit more seriously, his earnest-rocker meter went off the charts and i tuned out. i do agree with the notion that the first disc of in your honour is probably the closest they've come to matching the greatness of their first two albums.

The only album I actually like is the 1st one. The 2nd and 3rd have a few good songs. I would still listen to their stuff at least once when it came out, even though I didn't really like much of it, up til the point "Times Like These" came out - it was blaring out of the neighbour's window and I went to my gf "omg wtf this song is total shit, like embarrassingly awful, who is it?". That was the moment I went off Foo Fighters forever.

I like to picture some elaborate swearing off ceremony that included burnt pictures of Grohl and a cracked copy of the first album.

He changed, man.

He's like a nice Chad Kroeger now.

Mostly dud for me overall, but I have to hand it to their recording engineers - they all sound great. Call 'em the alt.rock Boston.

― Chris Barrus (xibalba), Wednesday, March 19, 2003 3:43 AM Bookmark

OTM about the recordings. Also the multitracked Grohl voice just has a really distinctive sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONkiLR5Ehys

^^^ actually a pretty good melodic rock song, didn't think they still had it in 'em.

yeah i didn't really give that song much of a chance when it came out. it isn't so bad, but the more i listen to their older stuff, the more i really wish they had stayed that power-pop course.

I'm listening to the first album at the moment for the first time in 800 years. "I'll Stick Around" is quite powerful in its furious riffage.

"Wheels" is totally the weakest of even their most recent singles, "Long Road To Ruin" is a way better melodic pop tune

"Wheels" sounds like Gerry Rafferty.

Classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebJ2brErERQ

LOVE pat's beanie cap

oh man. thanks for posting. maybe this album will be good, and i can take a break from being a foo fighters apologist!

D U D

Love the video and the song is pretty decent too.

album is pretty tite. bob mould's backing vocalsonthat one song are a thrill too.

takes a while but the journey ref was worth it. and I totally approve of Dave Grohl hitting Danzig poses in front of the band instead of playing guitar.

read something about a feature-film doc on the way

Foo Fighters: Never Say Over

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3rZUgQsh8

more new stuffs. they sound like a completely different band. what the hell happened between that dud of a last record and this?

i'm also wondering who's playing the guitar solo because that sounds a bit beyond both dave and chris.

they recorded the whole album in Grohl's garage and did everything analog until the mastering process iirc

hahah they paid all that money to build a fancy studio for them to record in and they end up recording in a garage? niiiiiice.

oh man "Rope" is fucking aces

I have zero opinion on the Foo Fighters, but I think their attitude to Glee is great

Don’t count on hearing the Foo Fighters hit “Times Like These” on Glee anytime soon. Frontman Dave Grohl says he and his bandmates are squarely in the corner of Kings of Leon and Slash. As in, they want no part of the Ryan Murphy-helmed show.

“It’s every band’s right, you shouldn’t have to do f---ing Glee,” Grohl told THR following the premiere of Foo Fighters: Back and Forth, the new Foo Fighters documentary which just made its South By Southwest debut. “And then the guy who created Glee is so offended that we’re not, like, begging to be on his f---ing show… f--- that guy for thinking anybody and everybody should want to do Glee.”

You might be wondering, has Grohl ever actually watched the show? As it turns out, yes, he gave Glee a whirl. “I watched 10 minutes. It’s not my thing,” Grohl grizzled. But he doesn’t have as much of a problem with the series as he does with its creator.

Recounting anti-Glee comments made by Slash earlier this year and subsequent retorts by Murphy, reported by THR, Grohl explained to drummer Taylor Hawkins: “The Glee guy, what a f---ing jerk. Slash was the first one. He wanted to do Guns ‘n’ Roses and Slash is like, ‘I hate f---ing musicals. It’s worse than Grease.’ Then [Murphy's] like, ‘Well, of course he’d say that, he’s a washed up ol’ rock star, that’s what they f---ing do.’ And then Kings of Leon say, ‘No, we don’t want to be on your show.’ And then he’s like, ‘Snotty little assholes…’ And it’s just like, Dude, maybe not everyone loves Glee. Me included.”

Said Hawkins: “Yeah, f--- that shit.”

http://wastinglight.heroku.com/

streaming! sounds good so far.

there goes my heroku

New album is pretty great, imho, best thing they've done since The Colour and the Shape. I know these guys get a lot of backlash for being sorta formulaic and like too popular, but, man as far as over-hyped mega-selling mainstream rock bands go, they are so much better than the alternatives.

Even when they're sucking, I still kind of like them because Grohl is an all-time cool duder.

That Financial Times piece on Grohl was pretty good (via Slate: http://www.slate.com/id/2290837/), but then tosses in this hyperbolic boner:

It's practically unheard of for a drummer to make it as a lead singer—perhaps the only other famous example is Phil Collins, who forged a solo career after his time in Genesis. Yet Collins is not playing stadium gigs 20 years on.

Anyway, that new Foo Fighters single sounds like Rush.

Yeah, I think Grohl's everydude personality helps out a lot. If he was on some ego-fueled Stapp trip or something, it would make the ubiquity much less tolerable. The only thing that really makes squicky about this band is that Alive & Well bullshit, but I think that's more Nate Mendel's doing than Grohl, iirc.

somehow i managed to get two instances of "white limo" going on that player at the same time, a 16th note apart. so i thought that there was this crazy slapback delay on the drums and that it suddenly sounded unimaginably heavy and evil. now i am very disappointed.

Kind of cool that Bob Mould has a guest appearance on one of the tracks.

Yeah I saw that, which explains why XRT has been playing the hell out of that track instead of any of the other singles.

somehow i managed to get two instances of "white limo" going on that player at the same time, a 16th note apart. so i thought that there was this crazy slapback delay on the drums and that it suddenly sounded unimaginably heavy and evil.

I just tried to replicate this, but I don't know if it's exactly the same thing you heard. Mix I made sounds pretty badass, though.

http://www.box.net/shared/vahycs52oh

Awesome. I love the Foo Fighters when they're good. I have a playlist called "mediocre modern rock" and it is mostly just the FFs greatest hits 1995-2005.

(and that playlist might be about to get longer? can't wait to listen)

i really love 'there is nothing left to lose' - its a great soppy power-pop album. new one's a cracker too.

streaming link up thread still works, yay!
I'm a huge Grohl fan but lost interest in the last couple of Foo albums...am LOVING this. Definitely will pick it up.

dave grohl really likes gum

ugh yes

it's the only caveat to an otherwise pretty perfecto rock dude

I was jealous of him not for being in Nirvana, not for being an awesome drummer, not for hanging out with Lemmy, but for those rumors of him hooking up with both of the Veruca Salt girls.

i thought he just dated one of them for a while? or i guess there's a rumor in addition to that?

I still love him for Probot...dude has an awesome black heart of metal

also: handsome :D

Well, maybe this has long since debunked, but there was a rumor at one point in the 1990s that he slept with one while or shortly after dating the other and caused some friction.

man i tried to reproduce it but couldn't. it was an exact 16th note delay.

i've got another confession, my friend . . . i'm no fool . . .

WERE YOU BORN TO RESSIIIIIIIIIST

the last track on this is really remarkable

^

This band is 30% Classic and 70% Dud. Could probably make a single CD of totally classic foo

i think the first and third are all-killer/no-filler tbh

http://www.hulu.com/watch/126479/saturday-night-live-band-reunion-at-the-wedding

classic?? no!!
dud? hell no. gigantic crock o'crappp, more like.

"Wheels" sounds like Gerry Rafferty.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:17 (3 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

They've covered Baker Street, that's probably entirely intentional.

Speak of adding insult to insult...

This band is 30% Classic and 70% Dud. Could probably make a single CD of totally classic foo

― kgositsile project (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, April 15, 2011 3:30 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

by your math there's 112 minutes of classic Foo!

I should say that I was utterly ambivalent about the Foo Fighters until I saw them live, and then I actively disliked them. I've come around a tiny bit since then, but not much. It was like a Fisher Price My First Concert set, with all the attendant cliches, which gave the show such a smug feel. If they were joking, they were mocking the kids taking them seriously. If they were being serious, I couldn't take them seriously.

Is Foo Fighters one of the few contemporary rock groups, along with Radiohead, that Prince has been known to cover?

the first half of this album is pretty strong, and then it's hit and miss. but i'd agree with those upthread who said that this is their strongest since the colour and the shape. i was always mad that grohl left the title track off of that album because it's so damn awesome, but they make up for that now with "white limo". better late than never?

i like that they're playing to their strengths, but it's still kindof sad that even on an album where they play to their strengths, they can't do it consistently.

was anyone else blown away by novoselic's bass part on the record? i forget what song it is, but it's hard to miss. it just comes through the mix so well, and makes me wish that nate mendell wasn't such a softy. why can't the foo fighters sound like that all the time?

I disagree on the 'hit and miss' 2nd half, I haven't found that at all. So far the only song I don't care for is 'These Days'...but everything else feels really strong, consistent and ridiculously hook-y. It's good enough for me to wish it had been the follow up to One By One, which is probably the last time they really had my interest (but even then it was starting to slip a little)

Find myself easily singing along to almost all of them after only a few listens. Which is nice after the one-listen-"meh" of the last two albums. I like to think it's Smear's return, but who knows

imo the electric half of In Your Honor doesn't get enough props as one of their best albums, disc 1 is pretty strong front to back

Dud

unlistenable.

;_;

the last track on this is really remarkable
― Republicans voiced concern about young pages hearing the word uterus (stevie), Friday, April 15, 2011 3:29 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
^
― kgositsile project (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, April 15, 2011 3:30 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark

Is it called "Walk?" The intro sounds like Matchbox 20.

its the one that ends with dave yelling "i never wanna die" over and over, but i'm not sure what its called and have never heard a matchbox 20 song

then you have yet to experience true bliss, my friend

They're both classic and dud at the same time. They seem to take their rockstar status with humor and I really appreciate when they do that. It feels to me the whole thing is a little tongue-in-cheek. As if they were conciously trying to be some sort of parody of the anthemic, stadium rock band while casually delivering the hits at the same time. This is why they're also dud, they're not really ambitious in musical terms. They found the formula for a rock anthem and they stick to it most of the time.

that doc that was just put out was really good.. I like seeing all the behind the scenes stuff, and I like nowing that Grohl can be a dick sometimes, but has a clear vision of what he wants the band to do...

yeah the doc is pretty entertaining.

"Sonic Highways" might the stupidest album name ever.

Haha, it is a classic "dad rock" title

it's funny because if it's themed around studios in different cities, "Sound City" would be a better/less awkward title, but that was what Grohl already used for his last passion project about old school recording studios

It's like they got it from a Neil Young album title generator on the internet

Yeah it does sound like a title of a classic rock band's album from 1998.

So... pretty fitting for Foo Fighters then.

Cool album cover though:

http://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Sonic-Generations-HD-Speed-Highway-screenshots-3-1024x576.jpg

Radio 1 sorry for double F-word
BBC Radio 1 has apologised for broadcasting a Foo Fighters track that contained two F-words twice in 12 hours. Newsbeat

How long is that Foo Fighters track then?

didn't know you weren't allowed to say 'foo fighters' on national radio

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I don't mind the debut and The Colour and The Shape, and even a few singles from the two albums that followed. Anything they put out after One By One, though? Forget it.

Fuck this stupid fucking band

I like the fact people were complaining of his guesting with other bands as far back as 2003 (not sure why im surprised but whatever)

he played with tom petty on snl in 1994, i'm sure pockets of the net would have WTF'd if it'd existed then

new album is good. though i don't think he's done anything great since the third album, which to me sounds like the best Posies album the Posies never made.

I think if the FF had the personality of Stringfellow/Auer I'd appreciate them more.

he definitely can't shine their shoes, singing-wise or songwriting-wise. but yeah There Is Nothing had a nice power pop sheen to it.

i went to see if the song from this week's episode of the show was online yet and the fake song on YouTube is pretty hilarious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HGO6-QUGhg

yep - i hasten to add that all the albums the posies HAVE recorded are better posies albums than There Is Nothing Left To Lose. But Aurora and Generator are wonderfully sugary rushes.

"Fuck this stupid fucking band"

― Master of Treacle, Thursday, November 6, 2014 6:41 PM (Yesterday)

Basically this.

Their first album was way better than I expected (for a drummer transitioning to frontman anyway) but everything else is mega-dud trad-rock ludditery.

That documentary where he buys the mixing board from Sound City Studios and then starts a phcking SUPERGROUP seals the deal. Progress hating rose-tinted-glasses ubiquitous establishment rockist dinosaur with increasingly patchy output. And HIV<>AIDS denier which is pretty sketchy but thats besides the point.

Their only non dud move in the last decade was cover of 2112 Overture on Rush's R&R Hall of Fame gig tbh

The guy seems like a super-nice bloke (courtney to the contrary, but hey), he gets a massive pass from those close to him, he has redefined crporate rock in his image, even Kurt would have sat back and applauded.

It's a laff: The BBC "Rock Show" sunday night always seems to start with the Foos, before getting into the proper stuff, a bit like the show that followed John Peel on the Radio 2 FM would pick something a little left field like Queen or BTO before getting back to the nice stuff...

Yeah, the first album, and yeah I was at that Reading tent when the crush happened. I don't need them tbqh, he's not totally embarrasing, so hey live and let live.

tbh am suspicious of grohl-haters who pillory him as "Progress hating rose-tinted-glasses ubiquitous establishment rockist dinosaur" and then celebrate him for covering a rush song?

yeah I was at that Reading tent when the crush happened

me too! my friend got concussed and had to be carried to first aid.

I have been otm in this thread.

We were at a safe distance.

tbh am suspicious of grohl-haters who pillory him as "Progress hating rose-tinted-glasses ubiquitous establishment rockist dinosaur" and then celebrate him for covering a rush song?

― stevie, Friday, November 7, 2014 11:40 AM (20 minutes ago)

In the context of being "a Progress hating rose-tinted-glasses ubiquitous establishment rockist dinosaurs" I thought the 2112 cover was absolutely perfect - I mean at the time of that gig he'd just bought an actual 70's style studio, and he's on stage at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, covering fcking RUSH of all people, infront of a peer group of ageing rockers.

Its kind of so far into rockist self-parody I though it was amazing. If he could stick to that and never release any more FF tracks I'd be fine.

the thing about this band isn't even that the music is bad. it's just milquetoasty and boring. the dumb rockist bullshit attitude is corny verging on truly unpleasant, but i imagine the critical listening public would give it more of a pass if the music was better, as many people do with solo jack white and previously the white stripes

if you're gonna make meat and potatoes rock, it needs to be a few tiers above what the foos can do in terms of songwriting, riffs, melodies, etc. to get over the fact that there's nothing innovative whatsoever about it. and pretty much since the first couple of albums, it's been blatantly "just ok" at best and sometimes outright bad.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2015/07/02/why-were-not-photographing-the-foo-fighters/

If we signed it, we would have agreed to: the band approving the photos which run in the City Paper; only running the photos once and with only one article; and all copyrights would transfer to the band. Then, here's the fun part, the band would have "the right to exploit all or a part of the Photos in any and all media, now known or hereafter devised, throughout the universe, in perpetuity, in all configurations" without any approval or payment or consideration for the photographer.

a lot of my photographer friends have been posting about this on facebook. these bullshit contracts are becoming more and more common, any pushback on it is very welcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozAmXo2bDE

http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/07/foo-fighters-to-visit-cesena-italy/

nice

Meh - none of them broke their leg as a tribute?

Looking forward to seeing that at the Barbican next summer

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/news/a42610/foo-fighters-breakup/

*yawning_chasm.jpg*

slightly misleading URL there from esquire, but please for the love of god, break up and stop occasionally appearing on awards shows

i can't believe grohl was on the oscars playing the in memoriam song

it's times like these you learn to love again
it's times like these you learn to love again, yes and
it's times like these you learn to love again!
it's times like these you learn to love again!! i said
it's tiiimes like these you learn to love again!!!
it's tiiimes like these you learn to love agaain!!!!! yes and
it's tiiimes like theese you learn to love agaaaain!!!!!
it's tiiimes like theese you learn to love agaaaaain!!!!!! whoa now
it's tiiiimes like theeese you learn to love agaaaaaain!!!!!!!
it's tiiiiiimes like theeeeeese you learn to love agaaaaaaain!!!!! i said
it's tiiiiiimes like theeeese you learn to love agaaaaaaaain!!!!!!!!! whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahttps://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3280467561/c5240632ae97e773486abe98c8ada6f7_400x400.jpeg

Foos breaking up on my bday as a gift to me but also to hit home that no trace of my youth remains.

I can only really name 2 Foo Fighters songs released in the last 11 years, and nothing since 2007 or thereabouts.

i can name a few

You Don't Have Anything
Song For A Man
Adventure #11
Grateful
All Are Content
Blister and Rage
Do Not Follow
Searching For Real
Force Emerge
Main Disconnect

well fuck

http://pitchfork.com/news/63909-foo-fighters-mock-breakup-rumors-with-hilarious-video-and-nick-lachey/

admittedly the video is kinda funny at points

Nick Lachey vocals an improvement

the possibility of them ever breaking up being raised is the biggest improvement

but it doesn't matter cos you know it will just be Dave Grohl documentaries 24/7 on Netflix in 2020

more like foo farters

more like poo parters

i can name a few

You Don't Have Anything
Song For A Man
Adventure #11
Grateful
All Are Content
Blister and Rage
Do Not Follow
Searching For Real
Force Emerge
Main Disconnect

You made those up!

(didn't you?)

Well, he's done, done and he's onto the next one. (you see what I did there? Forgot to repeat that line 17/5 times, that's what)

17.5 but nm

what a bummer

their joke video only made me wish nick lachey were the frontman of the foo fighters

me too. he's good!

i heard a song on the radio while going to walmart the other day. it had this grownup sadman chorus part and the guitars got all chunky for a minute at the end. i went home and sang it to my cat who said it was foos. then i listened to it a couple more times on youtube. it's okay. foo fighters!

[saint cecilia]

I GOT ANOTHA CONFESSION TO MAAAAAAAAAYKE

"bands you were surprised to learn had not broken up yet"

i heard a song on the radio while going to walmart the other day. it had this grownup sadman chorus part and the guitars got all chunky for a minute at the end. i went home and sang it to my cat who said it was foos. then i listened to it a couple more times on youtube. it's okay. foo fighters!

― leet gentlemen's club (contenderizer), Thursday, March 3, 2016 3:58 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah "Saint Cecilia" is nice. i find it funny that they went across the country recording their last full-length in 8 different studios and painstakingly documenting the process and wound up with probably their worst album, and then during the tour they knocked out an EP recorded on buses and hotel rooms that's a bit lighter on its feet.

first album is sick

I love the third one. A great power-pop album.

THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST

it's tiiiiiimes like theeeese you learn to love agaaaaaaaain!!!!!!!!! whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vRlJrkxsqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vRlJrkxsqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vRlJrkxsqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vRlJrkxsqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vRlJrkxsqo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTte01kdG_k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifwc5xgI3QM

These guys are surely the alternative rock Status Quo by this stage? Like, everything after their third or fourth album just blurs into one huge fucking mush of samey to me now.

that new single seems to change shape enough to keep my attention

i really wish i loved this band more as things like the recent rick astley thing and this are rather wonderful.

http://www.nme.com/news/music/foo-fighters-under-pressure-cover-student-2152109?utm_content=manual&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nme

I watched the perfectly enjoyable THOR last week and it was almost ruined after the fact in the end credits thanks to what ended up being an especially terrible Foo Fighters song.

this is a bad band.

they should have quit 20 years ago

i got another confession to make!

utm_content=manual&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nme

UTM.

i'm almost stunned every time i hear a post-Everlong foos track because they're always vv featureless and bland and despite Grohl being the wacky chive king throne god and future twice-inducted RNR HOFer there's zero personality and songcraft that comes out in any of their music, and even the early superior stuff is fairly blank corporate uber-competency completely divorced from his persona.

when hate-shazamming any generic rock song i'm unfamiliar with, the answer is always "foo fighters"

They are very My First Rock Band.

excellent summary omar little.

i used to think of them as "whatever album came out while you were still in high school is their last good album," but maybe i was wrongly generalizing from my own experience where that would be "there is nothing left to lose." tho in hindsight that only has like 3-4 tracks i'd still consider more or less good, hmmmmmm

I still think There Is Nothing Left To Lose is a very very strong power-pop record

I keep getting YT clips recommended to me of FF gigs where they seem to be endlessly getting fans up on stage to play their own songs or a parade of classic rock cover versions and fucking about doing crowd-pleasing goofy things, it's all a bit Vegas.

The other guys (apart from Hawkins, perhaps) perform like they are simply there for the paycheck, Ghrol can keep up the illusion that they are a real band and not just a vessel for his songs, but he really should have just stuck it out as a solo artist, like a Gen-X Billy Joel.

there is nothing left to lose has “aurora” and “generator,” the best foo fighters deep cuts. they’ve never released a completely solid album but yeah the albums get markedly worse after that one. (except for wasting light which was weirdly pretty good)

"live-in skin" was my personal jam deep cut from that one. i wish i could re-inhabit the excitement when my buddy and i first scored a leaked radio promo mp3 of "stacked actors" and believed the impending album would be one of the hardest-rocking CDs ever pressed.

"when hate-shazamming any generic rock song i'm unfamiliar with, the answer is always "foo fighters""

--Nick Cave

Foo Fighters are 21st Century butt-rock.

I think the second album and *maybe* the first are both "completely solid"

Wasting Light is probably close ... like 84% solid

Grohl has a forever pass, he can do what he wants as long as he wants and I'll still like him ... as long as I don't have to listen to the albums.

I still think There Is Nothing Left To Lose is a very very strong power-pop record

― Pinche Cumbion Bien Loco (stevie), Wednesday, February 12, 2020 2:50 AM (nine hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

“Aurora” is so great. There was a point maybe 10 or so years ago where I thought Paramore could do a great cover version of that album.

Aurora, Generator, MIA, Stacked Actors, Learning To Fly, Ain't It The Life, Live-In Skin... There isn't a song I'd skip, and there's quite a few I genuinely love. After that, his hit-rate gets spotty, and he's definitely more a craftsman than someone given to maverick inspiration, and he'll forever be living in the shadow of his first band, and he'll never be cool, but I certainly reckon Foo Fighters remain a net positive. And Sonic Highways was a great TV show (if a lumpen and patchy LP).

xp Grohl knows what he's doing. Hundreds of people rely on his success in order to keep working. They could easily record an edgy record if they really wanted to, but it would be too much of a business risk or whatever.

I thought "Rope" was good actually, and that was 2010s. But I don't recall if it charted that well.

Anyone care about the new one out today?

We're drafting off of a friend's Peloton app, generally enjoying the content via the TV. The other morning I took a themed/sponsored class called "Spotify rock" or something, and they started with that "Shame" single. "Man, the Foo Fighters ... " began the trainer. "They're definitely one of my favorite bands, maybe even my absolute favorite band of all time." And I literally stopped what I was doing and yelled at the TV screen: "No they're not, you're a liar!"

I have a friend who was like raised in a bunker and didn't hear the beatles until high school. Foo Fighters are her favorite band. She should fight the foo within herself.

I pity the foo.

There must be some great stories about all those van tours the Foo Fighters have done. pic.twitter.com/e2FjpnQv5c

— @ACNewman (@ACNewman) February 7, 2021

(Of course none of these guys are strangers to vans, and Newman knows this, it's just a funny droll bit of shade. Amusing thread, too.)

In 2012, Grohl went the wrong kind of viral for giving a speech at the Grammys where he criticized “computer” music. But for this record, he embraced drum loops — a new frontier for the band, and something their actual drummer took some time getting used to. “Dave has a strong hold on every single thing that happens on our record — every bass note, every guitar note, every vocal, every everything,” Hawkins said.

From big NY Times article
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/arts/music/foo-fighters-dave-grohl.html

Writer Jeremy Gordon for NY Times also says: Without shedding their traditional distorted guitars and expansive howling, the Foos have consciously incorporated dance and funk rhythms into their new songs, influenced by artists like David Bowie and the Rolling Stones who did the same.

Drummer Omar Hakim from David Bowie’s Let’s Dance record also guests on some tracks.

I haven’t listened to this yet.

The Foos' first tour was a van tour iirc, opening for Mike Watt. And it's weird that Dave was ragging on computer music at the Grammys when he was stanning hard for the Prodigy in the mid-90s.

Again, none of them are strangers to vans, but that was, what, 25 years ago? And neither Grohl nor Vedder (who was also on that tour in Hovercraft, right, and also backing Watt?) were traveling by van by necessity. Fair game to tease them for posing in a tour van in 2021.

Looks like he deleted the tweet.

My Name Is Dave Grohl And I Am Funky

I smell a critically lauded, back to basics, return to form in 2023

And it's weird that Dave was ragging on computer music at the Grammys when he was stanning hard for the Prodigy in the mid-90s.

Grohl wasn't complaining about electronic music but quantizing/pitch correction/endless comping in the studio IIRC.

ah, right.

“We just wanna get back to the sound of six guys in a van, jamming”

jean-claude van jamme

I'm not sure you could comfortably jam those six guys in a van. That's why Taylor rides strapped to the roof.

Hard work is not a very stereotypically rocking trait, and yet the Foos have averaged a new album every three years

Downright exhausting.

tbf it takes them a significant amount of time just to get in & out of the van

Grohl schedule: vacation, vacation, vacation, tv appearance, tv appearance, tour, documentary talking head gig, vacation, tv appearance, rock and roll hall of fame induction, vacation, week writing songs, couple of weeks in the studio, vacation, tv appearance, Thanksgiving, vacation, Grammys.

There is nowhere near enough "documentary talking head gig" entries on that list.

He films them all in one go.

pretty high batting average there - that's an average of one hook every 3 months *kid at pc thumbs up.gif*

I mean, whatever, I couldn't care less about defending Grohl, but that Pitchfork review is an example of when I'd rather see them use their lead review slot for something worth championing instead of the bravery in taking potshots at these dudes in 2021 of all things.

lol Brad

And it's weird that Dave was ragging on computer music at the Grammys when he was stanning hard for the Prodigy in the mid-90s.
Grohl wasn't complaining about electronic music but quantizing/pitch correction/endless comping in the studio IIRC.

― Joe Biden Stan Account (milo z), Sunday, February 7, 2021 10:49 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

he's actually right about this for the most part, as it relates to rock music

I mean, it's the Foo Fighters, I can't set getting upset about it either way

partially related, I get kinda prick vibes from AC Newman

I mean, whatever, I couldn't care less about defending Grohl, but that Pitchfork review is an example of when I'd rather see them use their lead review slot for something worth championing instead of the bravery in taking potshots at these dudes in 2021 of all things.

yeah this was some real lazy shit

totally agreed, no one who is buying a foo fighters record is reading pitchfork and no one still reading pitchfork is going to buy a foo fighters record

What did AC Newman say about the Foos?

I mean, I see what he said, but what was the pic?

It was a pic of the foos sitting on/in a van, presumably from the linked article

totally agreed, no one who is buying a foo fighters record is reading pitchfork and no one still reading pitchfork is going to buy a foo fighters record

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, February 8, 2021 12:49 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

On the other hand young people discovering pitchfork these days are going to know it as a music focused lifestyle mag, not as much underground indie tastemakers. Foo Fighters are pop stars just like anyone else ...but I guess it does feel like reviewing a new Phish album or something.

On top of that there is basically no dividing line between "indie" and "radio pop" fandoms these days. The snobs used to judge you for listening to "mainstream" music- now you're going to be judged for dismissing it.

Sam Sodomsky's Phish reviews are very good, though. And I think this Foo Fighters review (not by Sodomsky) has some good lines, and ends extremely strong:

On the other side of every Foo Fighters song is a darker, wilder, more interesting world that Grohl has cordoned off out of self-preservation. Instead, he writes music out of a sense of duty and fear, knowing that choosing the wrong path could end the healthy, inspiring enterprise he has worked tirelessly to create. As the Foo Fighters’ legacy becomes tied with epic and communal live shows steeped in their long and narrow canon, it feels like a bellwether for rock’n’roll itself. Where rock once held limitless sway over pop culture, now the fate of traditional arena rock rests in a band whose music suggests they are terrified of seeing it die, gripping their songs so tight that they are strangling the life out of them. Foo Fighters’ greatest achievement, “Everlong,” still outshines every other song in their catalog, because it is their guiding principle: to remain in perpetual motion, to never stop feeling this good, to sing along with you forever. But everything dies, baby, that’s a fact.

well written but i really can't stand equating the health of rock music with the new foo fighters or jack white record

I read it as the health of the Foo Fighters brand

well, it's "the fate of traditional arena rock," and seems like a fair observation(?)

(I guess it does say "rock'n'roll itself" before that)

true

The one time I saw the Foo Fighters live it certainly felt "communal" but it was far from "epic." If I had to sum up its vibe in a single word, I would say it felt "contractual."

I've seen them twice, once opening for the Chili Peppers in 2000 and again in 2005 for the Foozer tour with Weezer. I thought they were much better in 2000 but clearly more interested in being "fun" by 2005.

lol Josh

"we just wanted to get back to basics - five guys, in a room, under contract"

I saw them twice at E3 parties, they were good for that type of event

I know lots of people forgive the Foos because Grohl is a nice guy, but I forgive the Foos continued existence because it makes me happy that Pat Smear ended up with such a payday.

yeah that is cool

I am all about Pat Smear gettin’ paid

Watching the band perform on the Inaugeration thing, my wife & I made the obligatory "can you believe it?" Pat Smear remark

For someone who likes best of you but has basically avoided these guys but is curious, what are five undeniably great ff songs? Read a piece on prince who said he thought they could really do justice to his rock material so I guess there has to be something there.

my five fave Foos jams:

Aurora
Everlong
Generator
Exhausted
Alone + Easy Target

I think the first three albums are pretty great, but I can definitely agree with what the reviewer above says about there being a wild, dark and unpredictable world that Dave is consciously cordoning off. I don't think it takes much imagination to figure out why, but Foos are the very antithesis of "dangerous".

Also most of the five tunes I chose above are pretty unabashedly power-pop ballads. I think Dave is pretty great at writing those, being steeped and schooled in classic rock trope and cliche. At his best he revitalises those tropes and cliches, but I can't remember the last Foos album that wasn't a couple of inspired highlights and a lot of tracks that simply don't need to exist.

Thanks. I've see them live on TV and always thought they were good but left it at that. I imagine their greatest hits comp (is there any point to those anymore?) would be the perfect ff album.

I guess so - but I'm a fan of the album tracks on the first three.

Their greatest hits comp notably omits I'll Stick Around, which is irritating.

(the omission, not the song)

On the other side of every Foo Fighters song is a darker, wilder, more interesting world that Grohl has cordoned off out of self-preservation. Instead, he writes music out of a sense of duty and fear

see no this is exactly the kind of bullshit I was talking about. you don't actually know why dave grohl writes music and claiming you do makes me think you're full of shit.

"nobody can read anybody's minds so no-one should hazard a guess why anyone does things" is an interesting take on a website where users claim to know the reasons and secret impulses of others on a daily, hourly, minutely basis

"hazarding a guess" oh is that what he's doing there

On the other side of every Larson review is a funnier, truer, more insightful world that Larson has cordoned off out of insecurity. Instead, he writes music reviews out of a sense of duty and fear.

wow such insight

Dave keeps rock alive, whoever that is keeps rock journalism alive. Why, we will never know.

it's 2021 simon i don't really have the time to explain music journalism to you

that's just duty and fear talking

pathway to the Dark Side iirc

i think maybe i’ve expressed in this very thread how disappointing the foo fighters greatest hits actually is. they put “skin & bones” on it ffs, gross

i have a little less love for the There Is Nothing Left To Lose album tracks, but thanks for the reminder on "Aurora," I'd forgotten that one! my favorite deep cut on that record at the time was "Live-In Skin." a lot of the stuff from that album and The Colour and the Shape is just hard on my ears these days - i wish i could still hear the "Doll" to "Monkey Wrench" transition the way i could in 1997 - but i do respond to all those shiny multitracked hooks. listened to TCatS yesterday straight through for the first time in eons and there was indeed some solid power-pop on it. i think at the time i really understood them as "alternative" and couldn't perceive the through-lines to the hookier, poppier end of Classic Rock which i was also just getting into in those same years. for me, besides "Everlong," the big standout from that album is "New Way Home."

the first album is its own beast as this lo-fi, one-man-band, quickie recording thing... it's written differently, it sounds different, some of the songs are in deep fuzz-blanket territory but the hooks are still there... even the poppiest thing on it, "Big Me," basically gets him as far as sounding like "Take the Skinheads Bowling." it's great. you can easily imagine it being the only thing released under the Foo Fighters name, in a world where he'd chosen a new name when recruiting the band (like the Julie Ruin -> Le Tigre shift).

had they put it out right after wasting light and not fucked up the tracklist with boring acoustic songs no one has ever liked (or had they never recorded “wheels”)... alas

i assume it’s record company fuckery that kept the x-files soundtrack version of “walking after you” off that collection too. the injustice! etc.

xp

even grohl didn't like the greatest hits tracklist iirc

any mention of how Dave Grohl is the nicest guy ever should also be accompanied by his AIDS denialism

had they put it out right after wasting light and not fucked up the tracklist with boring acoustic songs no one has ever liked

Wasting Light proved for me that they are still pretty good at being a big obnoxious hooky arena rock act but, at this point, pretty bad at everything else

“rope” and “walk” are top-tier foos singles def

would listen to a whole album of "white limo" style dumb ragers

I remember liking One by One

discovered that grohl has done the 'back to basics just five guys in a room ROCKING OUT' spiel at least twice now with both wasting light and concrete and gold lol

Speaking of Pat, I don't think I've ever seen a clip of him where he didn't look like he knew he's gotten away with pulling a fast one. Like, Grohl and Hawkins are competing for role of Hamosaurus Rex, and Pat is all, lol, I can't believe this is making me rich.

concrete & gold really isn't "5 guys in a rooom back to basics" etc tho, it's his first album with greg kurstin - he was collabing with McCartney and Justin Timberlake and Shawn from BoyzIIMen

he tried to spin it that way though is the thing

just ten guys with 1000 grammys between them making a stripped down rock and roll record

To be fair, haven't they been pushing that "5 guys in a room back to basics" since Wasting Light? Iirc, that was the album where they made a big deal about recording in Grohl's garage, y'know, just 5 guys in a millionaire's garage recording studio. Think that HBO project thing was the only one recently that wasn't pitched as such, given the collaborative nature.

they also made a big deal about wasting light being recorded to tape

hard to tell

wasting light is still totally the best foo fighters record since there is nothing left to lose and it's not close

they also made a big deal about wasting light being recorded to tape

lol I remember this, made all the difference I'm sure lads

Eh, I'd actually argue that Wasting Light is the best Foos record outside of the first three, but that's a low bar.

that's what i said

the new one hasn't been pitched as "back to basics" either this time is it's "we wanted to sound like bowie's let's dance and there's drum loops which counts as sonic experimentation for us" but i couldn't tell any of that from the singles

lol xp sorry Brad, totally missed your post!

Always mildly fascinated with bands of a certain stature where you suddenly realise theres 5 or 6 guys in the band (especially when they could/did get the job done with 3)

If you have six guys instead of three then you only need to work half as hard. #math

Granted i know Dave has a lot of friends

Sorry that sounded snarky - if there is a nexus between decent payday and easy-going guys rocking out FF looks about as attractive as it gets

On the other hand, I imagine the cost of cleaning and caring for Taylor and his cage has got to be considerable.

i'm relistening to there is nothing left to lose and this band's existence was worth it for "generator" alone

hell yeah, i remember "aurora"

run from "generator" to "headwires" is prob the best set of foo fighters songs ever

i dream of an emo/power-pop hybrid band that only puts out songs that sound like "headwires"

It's an excellent record.

Speaking of Pat, I don't think I've ever seen a clip of him where he didn't look like he knew he's gotten away with pulling a fast one. Like, Grohl and Hawkins are competing for role of Hamosaurus Rex, and Pat is all, lol, I can't believe this is making me rich.

Right?! That look on this face...

i put on wasting light right after and this album is great too, i find it very frustrating that right after this they made a record with a conceptual scale grohl's songwriting could never live up to (and said concept was kind of silly and threadbare in the first place—"we, the alternative rock band foo fighters, are gonna record in famous studios around the country and capture the magic therein, and the final result will be a really overblown foo fighters record"). like just put out power pop records with good songs on them, check out this one you made in 2011

yeah I feel the exact same way...it's doubly frustrating because you'd think there would be tons of veteran bands just cranking out solid pop-rock records like that and AFAIK there really isn't

rereading the wikipedia page for wasting light, i think it’s one of the most successful “back to our roots” projects i’ve ever heard. this is the exact kind of band that should be going back to their roots lol

One thread that disappeared too quickly from Grohl's music was the goofiness and spontaneity, especially on the back half of the debut. They carried it on with the videos for a couple of albums, but that element was an important part of why I absolutely loved the debut when it came out. It was such a balm in the years when alt-rock radio was inundated with self-serious sadsacks.

yeah I feel the exact same way...it's doubly frustrating because you'd think there would be tons of veteran bands just cranking out solid pop-rock records like that and AFAIK there really isn't

― stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Tuesday, February 9, 2021 9:09 AM (forty-one minutes ago)

wait, what? did you leave out a qualifier here or something? because there are lots of veteran bands cranking out solid pop-rock records.

finally, the drum parts in foo fighters songs are always really fun to learn

once halloween shows are a thing again i think my band is inevitably gonna do a foos cover set

+ nirvana "breed"

pre-sold

This whole thing has been good in that it’s made me remember how great the debut still is.

That and “Everlong” (and maybe three other songs) is all the Foo I need.

once halloween shows are a thing again i think my band is inevitably gonna do a foos cover set

pls do "low"

also as far as one off foos tribute acts go is "noo fighters" taken

"faux fighters" was right there

"nirvano"

somehow the main thing that's come of this revive for me is that i have "Fraternity" stuck in my head. i don't even know what it was a B-side to - a friend put it on a mixtape for me in my freshman year of college. kind of a dumb one-idea song but that one idea is annoyingly headsticky.

also i remember my roommate hearing the lyrics as a tedious boast "I'm in a big fraternity, I'm in the Beef Fraternity-y-y"

i agree w Brad re Wasting Light, it’s such a great album

everything after it sounds homogenous/generic, new album is ~fine~ but boring

it’s a shame bc they seem in general to be v funloving & enthusiastic music nerds, but i think they lost their looseness & sense of fun in the grind of putting out new material

like they take themselves too seriously & deadens the music somehow idk

listening to TINLTL right now for the first time in eons. it's closer to TCATS than i remembered which is a good thing, and less exhaustingly compressed than it sounds in my memory.

"Headwires" even feels almost like an attempt at another "Everlong," with the "better than a bullet being fired" part sounding a great deal like "If everything could ever feel this real forever." I like the watery opening riff, always reminded me of 16-bit video game music for some reason.

... wow the foo fighters s/t really slaps from front to back. i used to think it was a little undeveloped compared to the follow-ups but nope! wrong!

“exhausted” is like an alt universe catherine wheel song

ooh! the debut sounds amazing in my memory but I've been a bit afraid to return in case I'm wrong

I remember having the tape with me during a field trip in 3rd or 4th grade, and my friend being amused by the title "For All the Cows" and making up a sorta Monty Python-esque version of what it might sound like (first Python fan in my life).

if anything it sounds more amazing now, though my love for idiosyncratic rock records that unite several substrains of punk and alt rock (“floaty” is a GREAT emo song) and sometimes subvert their hooks in hilarious endearing ways cf. “good grief”

... is maybe peaking atm

For fans of the first one, this is also worth a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzTGRxUlyV8

X-Static is my favorite Foo song

my TINLTL listen kinda petered out - dug "Headwires" but otherwise it's not so much my jam after track 7. i remembered a high school friend really really connecting with "M.I.A." but it never landed for me. maybe at 17 i had just reached the end of my finding dave's shouty rawk voice cool, and if it had come out a little earlier i would have thought it was the rock album of the year, idk. still my plan now is to revisit the debut tonight and probably tomorrow take my first dip into their later albums with Wasting Light!

actually first up though speaking of the X-Files i owe myself a spin of their "Down in the Park"

their best b-sides are "How I Miss You" and "Winnebago"

god i LOVE how fuzzy the first album is. "i'll stick around" and "alone + easy target" have sounded especially amazing to my ears. it's interesting, coming back to this after the two subsequent albums, i "hear" the power-poppiness of the tracks more - like "good grief" ruuuuuules actually, but if i mentally adjust some levels and basically clean up and embiggen the sound, i can totally hear it as a There Is Nothing Left To Lose album track that i like okay but don't love. i know that sounds like really cheap rockism but usually i'm on the side of the hooky pop artists... i think i just like grohl the closer he is to 80s punk/underground/college rock stuff and this album could be the punkiest thing he ever played on?

it really is kinda like an anomaly in the catalog and I like it for many of the same reasons you do. not cos "their old stuff is better", but because it's the only time they seemed to be more unrestrained with their sound and willing to include sounds from more influences.

they were already shearing off those rough edges by Colour and the Shape, which was admittedly also very good but...not the same. I was very disappointed in it when I got it as a teen but grew to like it, whereas I liked the s/t from the first listen.

their live show was great too because they were only playing like 7 or 8 songs from the album, so they had to fill out the set an did so with b-sides and soundtrack songs/covers, so "Down in the Park" got played, "Winnebago", "How I Miss You", and I swear they played an early version of Colour's "Up in Arms" but lol no camera phones then so I'm going purely from memory.

Grohl signed my ticket and flannel shirt, the latter of which my mom threw away *throws arms up*

that was actually only my third concert

also I have no idea why but "All My Life" is anotehr favorite of mine, I guess the weird dissonance of it and the chorus.

colour and the shape is very much "this former solo recording project is a serious band now :(" and it's all the good and bad that that implies. i don't dislike any songs on it but the lightness of even something like "big me" is completely lost

one by one is not a very good record but the singles are all fucking perfect lol

it was funny to listen to the 2003 Killing Joke album Dave drums on then put that one on shortly afterwards because they have some of the same demonstratively aggro energy and super chunky, simple riffs, and they must have been recorded pretty close together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNwkN9vrUYY

i feel like i must've talked about this on this board already???? no evidence on this thread though. but this is obviously the superior arrangement and recording of this song, and one reason i will always slightly underrate colour and the shape is bc the album version of "walking after you" is so much less taut

heh I remember being confused in high school as to why the version I kept hearing on the radio was not the one on my cd. even just the "I'm on your back part", he sings eighth notes at the end instead of all quarters

that video is so.....canadian

Listening to Foo Fighters s/t, realizing that I basically know all these songs in a general "sound of the 90s" way but no longer know that they were by the Foo Fighters -- have learned furthermore (by finding it ripped in my iTunes) that I owned this CD.

Also, the toy-gun cover is what I think of as the canonical Foo Fighters graphic, I would have assumed that this was the album that has all their biggest songs on it, but apparently not

Wait it's possible there is actually no song I know to be by the Foo Fighters

"Everlong" and "Learn to Fly," I mean, these are -- songs, songs one hears -- but... they're by the FOO FIGHTERS?

“Aurora” is my fave off that album

I did an overnight road trip to LA from Sac to the entire One by One album non repeat not long after it came out & i cannot listen to it anymore as a result lmao

i loved it at the time tho

*on repeat

also “Next Year” always makes me think of the tv show “Ed” (which i loved & will never stream bc of all the great music they used that i guess they cant get clearances for ~sigh~)

"Stacked Actors" was pretty much the last Foo track that drew my attention more than, I dunno, any given Chili Peppers song post-"Scar Tissue." Even the badass Rat riff in "Stacked Actors" is offset by Dave... crooning.

The riff on that is fantastic.

Ed was a lovely show.

"stacked actors" is also notable for being the least "nice" song notorious nice man dave grohl has ever written

This is all so interesting. I think it must be that when the Foo Fighters first popped up, it was simultaneously when I had my least interest in stuff like the Foo Fighters, my least interest in listening to alt-rock radio, and maybe even no access to MTV. I knew at the time "Everlong," the "Hero" song, the Mentos video, I know a couple of other big Foo Fighters songs, but I don't know a single album track (because I've never owned an album), and I've never had a friend that was a fan of the band, either. I've always liked Grohl's drumming, and enjoyed listening to him with QotSA, Crobot, Tom Petty on SNL, etc., but the Foo Fighters ... just the wrong wavelength at the wrong time?

"Stacked Actors" i remember getting as a leaked mp3 a little before the album came out, my buddy and i were AMPED for what was clearly going to be the hardest-rocking thing ever made. at the time we were a little disappointed that the rest of the album was not really in that style but in hindsight i'm glad we got what we got instead. almost the exact opposite of our experience with the "Everlasting Gaze" MP3 (taken from some radio station preview including a DJ going "We're playin' it first.... AAAAAA-GAIN!") now that i think about it.

re: the weird stuff being sanded off, now i want to go back through The Colour and the Shape and look for it. like there's that skronky opening bit on "My Poor Brain" which could come from the same mind as "Weenie Beenie" but is now more like a little special effect flourish.

"alone + easy target" is the most nirvana-esque foos song, right? it would sounds excellent on incesticide

Dave played Kurt a demo of 'Alone + Easy Target' late in 1991, prompting Kurt to kiss him and say, "Now I don't have to be the only songwriter in the band"

Kurt also signalled an interest in recording Exhausted, though he wanted to rewrite the vocal

Dave played Kurt a demo of 'Alone + Easy Target' late in 1991, prompting Kurt to kiss him and say, "Now I don't have to be the only songwriter in the band"

― Ray Cooney as "Crotch" (stevie), Wednesday, February 10, 2021 9:42 AM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

ugh lol

can i live in the alternate reality where there was a fourth nirvana album with grohl songs on it pls

FFs nommed for RRHOF btw

do they even have any albums in lists like ALBUMS U MUST HEAR BEFORE U DIE after like...the first two?

I'll say it again, the third album is excellent

do they even have any albums in lists like ALBUMS U MUST HEAR BEFORE U DIE after like...the first two?

this is true of a lot of inductees tbh

they'll pave the way for boston's induction

s/t > there is nothing left to lose > colour and the shape > wasting light > the rest

there is one bad song on "wasting light" and it's "these days," i have no idea why they wrote "walk" twice

they were just learning to "walk" again

just five guys in a room, repeatedly learning "Walk"

they'll pave the way for boston's induction

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, February 10, 2021 12:10 PM (thirty-eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

BOSTON HAD AN ALBUM THREE
THEY'LL BE AN INDUCTEE

AMANDA

lmao thank you

it never gets old

I listened to There Is Nothing Left to Lose last night it is still fucking great - not a bad song on there! All filler no killer as they say

“Headwire” is my new rediscovered fave, totally forgot how much i love it

20 years ago, certainly in the NYC music media/major label ecosystem in which I resided, and no doubt in similar redoubts elsewhere, the foo fighters represented a kind of mainstream rock group populated by people that we, or more significantly I, recognized as guys I would like. And this band was contrasted with what at the time appeared to be the ascendant dominant rock music: nu- or rap-metal, or creed style butt rock. The Foo Fighters were respectable! and they did mainstream music that employees of major labels and hangers on like myself were not threatened by…

What really turned me against the guy was the HBO documentary. I really liked that "Rope" song, and I have mainstream radio-rock so deeply embedded in my being that I have no doubt that I would like many songs on their records, even this dopey new one (you can't do better than mentioning let's Dance or "Miss you?" Can't you have someone tell you to talk about Dua Lipa?) were I inclined to listen to it. But when he uses that doc to privilege his own experience coming up in music, through punk rock, clubs, guitars, etc etc and to in essence complain that if kids aren't doing it that way, they are doing it wrong? Fuck him with a hot poker. It is not up to him or Little Steven to dictate the proper ways for kids to experience music. Neither he or Little Steven would like it if some 50 year old told him that Mantovani or Glenn Miller done it this way…and indeed, most kids are experiencing music in their own image…as it should be!

yeah, I certainly encourage preservation/renewal of techniques, technologies, spaces, etc, but it can come off more offputtingly conservative or prescriptive than I think they meant to

realization, i think what happened to me in college was more or less that what i looked for in the foo fighters, i now found in the Guided By Voices best-of.

it brings me no great pleasure to share this video, in which Dave Grohl is his usual charming self for 30 minutes - burping, cursing, telling stories and getting Hot Ones Sean drunk. sorry, but i love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nutcZOBGhjs

thx for this -Dave is a good time imo!

also Dave reminds me of my brother in law who i love to death. same age, same level gregariousness, same “fun hang” vibe. so for that i cannot help but enjoy him.

Thought this bump was going to be about their stupid horror movie.

Came to post about their stupid horror movie...Was looking at the schedule for the rep theatre an hour away, and it's on there for next week. As a non-fan, it was like "Am I actually reading this?"

i want to see it. my friend loved it.

It's like their "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" or something, right?

In the end Grohl is kind of like the alt Phil Collins, an incredible drummer with his name on lots of good records who is best when he is playing drums and sort of hit or miss (no pun intended) when he's doing anything else, which averages out to a kind of default middle of the road reputation a little discordant (again, no pun intended) with his punk roots and love of Real Metal.

I've heard from a few horror loving friends that the gore and kills are great, but everything else is absolutely awful.

Grohl retorts "I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING"

When they make the documentary on the making of the stupid horror movie, that'll work out well, because Dave Grohl would have been in it anyway.

what the fuuuck

seriously what the fuck. completely shocking.

rip taylor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-0EGjHwSKE

insanely awful news RIP

this is very sad news, RIP Taylor

That's so sad to hear. They were on tour in South America. So far from home.

oh no

never forget when he joined the band, i was like”…is he…dave’s cousin or something? he’s like a mini blond Dave!”

cannot believe this news. so fucked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQDbr_3di7s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMe05dO816k

i support this truthbomb, he was v hot in drag

Taylor Hawkins was my adult version of "Bugs Bunny Dressed as a Fancy Lady." https://t.co/ahtn2tkIJ5

— Merlin Mann (@hotdogsladies) March 26, 2022

Bogotá: Festival Estereo Picnic's main stage (they were going to headline Friday evening)

El main stage de FEP en estos momentos. pic.twitter.com/uoxTK8ymj1

— Pablo Acuña (@pabloacuna) March 26, 2022

got me a little choked up

◾ "Taylor Hawkins Por Siempre"

Emotiva despedida de los fans de Foo Fighters en Colombia, cantando "My Hero".

Vía @Antooferretti pic.twitter.com/W3OAW6QFzT

— Pogopedia (@Pogopedia) March 26, 2022

That's a heartbreaker (though the pedant in me feels compelled to point out that track is pre-Taylor). I have to say, whatever people's reservations about the Foos, There's Nothing Left To Lose is an absolutely PERFECT album.

Spotify might wanna take down the new releases section from their/my homepage that says Foo Fighters, "Demon Widow" :(

Went to bed last night before the news and woke up to it this morning. My second thought, after immediately thinking WAAAAAT, was oh shit Dave Grohl has had to go through this twice now in very big, very public ways and if he comes out the other side ok then he's stronger than most.

this sucks ass

i put together a foo fighters set to learn on drums just in case my band ever plays a halloween show and all of the hawkins parts i learned ("generator," "aurora," "low," "white limo") are so tasty/tasteful and fun to play

That "demon widow" looks incongruous now, but I don't think it would be a good thing to withdraw it as such.

i love that he was always grinning away like he got away with something, like he was Curious George & had snuck on stage or something.

not a fan of this band but as an individual I liked this guy, so awful. feel terrible for the fans waiting at the show.

Dave Grohl wrote about his special bond with Taylor Hawkins in his memoir. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/e9RXHVC9CG

— Consequence (@consequence) March 26, 2022

lol VegemiteGrrl otm. Wild. RIP.

damn, RIP Taylor Hawkins. I remember that he was on the cover of one of the first issues of Modern Drummer I received after I started subscribing. i had just started getting into music, generally, and foo fighters and colour and the shape were so huge for me at the time. a lot of the other stuff in those issues would fly right over my head, but i remember loving how he talked about music and how he played, the beats that were notated - they were all really relatable, happy, fun, joyful somehow, the way he talked about it.

This is so awful, RIP

Obviously I feel terrible for his wife and kids, but one of my first thoughts was for Dave, poor guy.

Obviously lots of Foo love going about today, but I wanted to shout out the weirdo prog album he did as The Birds of Satan, I always liked that one. Also forgot until this morning that he drummed on that one Coheed and Cambria record.

loved this, ultimate fan moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Ramu397UQ

and Geddy’s words abt Taylor from instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CbkhR9VA1HS/

My heart is truly breaking at the news of Taylor's passing. A sweetheart of a man that radiated good vibes, a love of music, and a total monster on the drums. He was so, so happy the night Alex and I came up onstage to play YYZ with him during the Foos show at the Air Canada Centre on March 23rd, 2008... His excitement was almost impossible for him to contain.
Brother, you left us way, way too soon... rest in peace my friend... 💔

FOO LOVE

I love this too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwHyPCRLW38

oh, that was an audience recording, here's the whole song but from a TV broadcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkDW6jcmx4k

<3

He was an excellent, very funny fellow to interview… when we spoke, upon very little notice he started to talk about how much he liked Pacific Ocean Blue, and then some 6 years later when a deluxe version packaged with the never released Bambu came out, he subbed for Dennis Wilson on a song called "Holy Man": i guess Dennis had cut a guide vocal with a melody Hawkins could follow, but otherwise Dennis never cut a fully usable take for the record… "Holy Man" is for sure the standout song to have come out of those sessions, closest thing to a hit as such and INSANELY SOULFUL, and Taylor absolutely sells it, capturing Dennis's essence… surfer game recognizes surfer game…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDwTA_rabdQ

One thing that was clear to me about him is that, when other guys in the Foo Fighters and other peer bands talk about being on indie labels and touring in vans for cred purposes, he couldn't hang like that…he was on major labels from the git-go, his formative experiences were when punk and punk-adjacent bands could get on major labels, not to mention Rush, Queen, Police… he was a KROQ surfer kind of person, he was on tour buses and planes and never in vans…

A shame.

The moment in the Everlong video when Taylor’s drum kit appears in the bed is one of my favorite things

That song and video are the peak of my FF fandom

i love that video so much

i would have been annoyed/pissed if anyone tried to cover Andy Gibb’s Shadow Dancing but Taylor did such a killer job on the vocals it made me deliriously happy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o5n5SpWEwQ

This sucks. I wasn't a fan of pretty much anything after 1997 but they always inspired a "glad they're out there still doing it even if I don't care if I hear it" feeling.

Third time going through this for Pat Smear.

The moment in the Everlong video when Taylor’s drum kit appears in the bed is one of my favorite things

Mine too, had to make a gif of it.

https://i.imgur.com/hxTawQP.gif

the toxicology report is in - god fucking dammit, Taylor.

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/details-emerge-colombian-authorities-investigate-death-foo-fighters-dr-rcna21689

I can understand needing drugs to deal with this world, but it is always sad when it takes out someone.

This sucks.

"at age 50" feels absolutely impossible for this guy. He was about as youthful of person as I can think of; he has always and forever will be 26 years old in my mind.

just something irrelevant I liked to read: https://magnetmagazine.com/2017/10/09/exclusive-cover-story-excerpt-liam-gallagher-interviewed-by-foo-fighter-taylor-hawkins/

I'd hang off the conclusions until the official word comes out.

yeah otm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1qQuSuQaHY

this is such a good drum part

i should've posted the album version instead of the music video, the coda is the best part

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPN8JOeZxwQ

There Is Nothing Left To Lose is something else all the way through

A cherished concert memory of mine is seeing them on that tour, opening for RHCP (#onethread), and the arena erupting after Grohl introduced "Next Year" as a song he wrote "...after 12 long blunt hits".

it really is a stunning album, i never tire of it & always re-decide a new favorite track each time

Same here (though Aurora, Generator and Learn To Fly are probably the best things Dave's ever done) (the debut is pretty great, too)

Along with Taylor's family, just feel so bad for Dave right now, I know we're all on the same page

Pat Smear has seen some emotional shit over the decades is what I’m thinking.

its not great for anyone

There seems something just bizarre about his death, like it shouldn't be possible at this point in time

Oh yeah, definitely feel for Pat, too. But the fraternal love between Dave and Taylor was so tangible. Two peas from the same pod.

Stevie Nicks:

I just have to say~

Thank goodness for the photo booth in the Foo Fighters studio. Because of these pictures my friendship with Taylor will always be at my fingertips. He always came to my shows. He and his best friend Dave even let me be a Foo Fighter for a little while. We recorded a kick ass version of Gold Dust Woman (live) and at the end of the song I yelled out “Best Gold Dust Woman ever~”
And I meant it

Taylor was very handsome and he was very cute. Sometimes that combination is way better than “beautiful.” I think it’s everything. He had a huge heart and a glorious smile. When he walked into the room, everyone looked up. When he left the room, everyone was sad…

I am sad now
I am really sad
It’s like rolling thunder
Yes, that’s what I said

It’s like a bad dream~
Comes like a wave~
Gives you a moment
And then drags you away.
Our hearts are broken,
We will never be the same.
As I write these words~
I feel the pain.
But I will always remember~
That the laughter and the fame
Brought us together
To play the game
And we played it, again and again and again

And it was extraordinary~

Don’t forget us, “ T.”
We’ll be right here

Love you,
Stevie

aw <3

pic.twitter.com/RRuEDt67pz

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) March 29, 2022

yeah jeez, i cant imagine trying to play anytime soon

I honestly can't imagine them playing ever again. I hope I'm wrong.

I'm still absolutely caning There Is Nothing Left To Lose btw.

Peak synthesis of Grohl as emotional animal and Grohl as craftsman.

They're 100% going to record and tour again, I'm sure

Yeah, but the supposed "Feel Good" aspect will have gone.

There will probably be a sentimental album and a "do it for Taylor" tour.

(sorry if that's crass, I haven't actually heard anything by them since the first two albums, but it's not like Dave Grohl is going to stop making music...maybe they'd change the band name out of respect, idk, but I doubt it)

surely first a live album that features Taylor

maybe rename the band Foo Fires? (Fighers, without the T)

If the Rolling Stones can continue on without Charlie…

Admittedly I don’t know much about the Foo Fighters, but I’m a little surprised at the suggestions that the loss of a longtime drummer (even a beloved one) would be fatal to the band.

I've gotten to know more about the band, and it's become understandable now. I think you have to put yourself in their shoes rather than look at it from a cold perspective that analyzes everything on paper. Truth be told, I'm not the biggest fan of their music, and in terms of their albums, I would call the first two their best work, and neither includes Taylor. The band's also known to change their line-up throughout its history, so the idea of disbanding might not make any sense when you factor all that in.

BUT when I relate to real life aspects of it, I get it. For example, as a job: your job for one particular company probably changes quite a bit over time, with the people you work with, why you do it, etc. So what it was like the first few years you were there and why you stayed can be very different as to why you're there now. But more importantly, they weren't just co-workers, but incredibly close friends. For Grohl, it could be very painful to go back to their usual routines as a band because he was used to doing it with Taylor. There's a lot of things in life like that, where you enjoyed doing it, then it gets entangled with someone new in your life that you get close to, and then when something happens - you have a falling out or something tragic happens to them - you can't just keep doing it again like you did before it involved this other person.

I think I botched that job comparison, but I was trying to make the point that even though Grohl was fine making those first two albums the way he did, it doesn't mean that's what he wants the Foo Fighters to be now. But regardless, all that takes a back seat to him losing a central figure in his personal life.

yeah this is more like Rush losing Peart, emotions-wise not talent-wise
he’s not *just* a drummer he’s the lead singer’s best friend/soulmate etc

lwhether you like the foo fighters or not, big deal
whether you think hawkins was good or not whatever

- grohl is a human person who has suffered a deep personal loss & imo this may be an even bigger loss for him personally than losing kurt bc of what hawkins means to him. i think that’s kind of clear from their interviews & years together & it seems fair to guess as a human talking abt another human that this may take a much bigger toll

hawkins struck me as the only guy in the band who had more than an employer-employee relationship with grohl.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-hawkins-foo-fighters-tribute-1347073/

really tough read

but i also loved reading chad smith and matt cameron talking about him

wow yeah that was hard to read but what a comprehensive writeup.