The Foo Fighters - Classic or Dud?

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.

cameron released a statement on instagram that his quotes were taken out of context & he thought he was participating in a celebration of Taylor etc

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdq-ooQvp2u

it definitely does paint Grohl as the bad guy by association, like taylor vs grohl & his management which is unfortunate, and understandably not participating in the article can have unintended subtext

That Grohl wanted to play as many shows as possible isn't particularly surprising, or especially damning really

I guess maybe I'm more used to reading about the grind it out kind of bands and obviously I'm projecting onto a lifestyle I can't relate to at all, but... 40-60 shows a year doesn't seem that taxing, especially considering the (relative) luxury these guys can travel in. Not to dismiss his strain and difficulties with the lifestyle in the least, I guess I just expected to see a higher number than that after the first few paragraphs.

Of course, I guess if that's every single year it could get draining, instead of every 2-3 years or more for those big arena level bands.

That also struck me as sort of a low but number but it seems like part of the issue wasn't just the amount of shows but the travel involved, I mean doing a one off in Australia seems like a pain even if you are flying first class.

Not to mention that those 40-60 shows come with a lot of fan pressure to be "the best show ever!" and I don't think that is anyone's fault exactly more just that touring at that level seems like it can be a different kind of grueling to a more "get in the van" style.

And playing that style of drumming 2-3 hours night x 40-60 times a year, that also seems like it would be extremely hard on someone physically & mentally

That's all fair, was just surprised at the number.

I mean, on the last Rush tour Neil Peart was perfectly frank about how much hell all the drumming at his level it wreaked on his system and that was just a US/Canadian tour; it's all in the Time Stands Still doc. One of the crueler twists of fate (not as cruel as what happened here, granted) was that he completed the tour and was looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying the rest of his days, and then...

yeah i think the length of the shows + mostly high-intensity songs is what makes that show count taxing. and it’s not that it’s high for ~any~ band but more their subset it an older band that has been around since the 90’s

xpost yeah exactly

Tbh I had the same reaction, although I guess it's annoying if you have to fly to Australia and Abu Dhabi for one-off shows. Also surprised at:

-The stage fright/anxiety, which is very relatable, although I would think it would dissipate a few songs into the set, and someone who has been a professional musician their whole life would be used to that? But I can definitely understand not wanting to have a job that requires you to tour, and him feeling like he couldn't quit the band.

-The physical concerns, which shouldn't be that bad as long as you're not hurting yourself with bad technique, and as far as I can tell he had good technique (and Matt Cameron has excellent technique)? 50 is not that old, but I have no idea how history of drug abuse changes things.

xxxp

i agree the piece does sorta paint grohl as bad or uncaring by association -- or i guess directly in some places -- but i don't think anyone would say that their schedule was objectively overly taxing for one of the biggest rock bands in the world. instead it just seems that hawkins had some real anxiety issues w/ performing -- he had done hundreds and hundreds of arena shows w/ foo fighters and still said that the day leading up to performing at MSG was "hell" for him -- and possibly performing/playing specifically w/ or for dave grohl. there's bands full of older guys who tour as much or more than this and play shows as long, but it's also easy to grasp why some ppl just wouldn't be built for that life especially as they get older.

the feeling that i got reading it was that he was trying to fight thru his anxiety, looking at things other ppl around him were able to do and pushing himself to get to that level even tho it was breaking him, privately telling ppl that he shouldn't be doing all of it but perhaps not really putting himself out there enough just to say "i'm done." maybe grohl & the band are lying about their interactions w/ him but i find it believable that he may have privately been saying one thing but then turning around and instead trying to live up to the expectations of ppl in/around the band who depended on him, that strikes me as something you do when you're fighting your own anxiety. then you add in the isolation of travel esp at that level of fame, whatever past addiction stuff he may have still been dealing with, in general it seemed like he was battling himself both mentally and physically, it's a bad alchemy. i wish he had found it w/in himself to just quit the band but it can be hard enough to let your anxiety win out to the point of, like, not going to a friend's birthday party or something let alone to quit your job as the drummer of the foo fighters.

yeah it sounds like maybe the anxiety became more of an issue for him post-lockdown which is understandable

great post jordan.

i will only add that i don't care how rich you are, long-distance international travel absolutely sucks and takes a significant physical toll.

the foos play really long shows, idk that schedule seems grueling to me but i am an amateur with bad technique

Chad Smith has also released a statement saying the RS story was misleading: https://www.instagram.com/p/CdrTtTavKbK/

great post Jordan.

I wondered when Taylor passed how much of a factor the return to the game post-lockdown was. Returning to that lifestyle, all sides of it, after two years off would be a considerable strain. And the loneliness of being on tour, away from your family, can't be ignored. A couple of years back I remember watching Interstellar on a tourbus with a guitarist overnight to the next gig, and I was missing my kid (and I was only on the tour for a week or so), and he was missing his kids (and he was away from them for several weeks), and the bits where McConaughey's daughter is expressing her anger that he was never there for her, he was off saving the world... We both got really choked up (and we weren't saving the world, he was playing rock shows and I was writing about him). Then factor in the availability of things that can take your mind off that loneliness, and then factor in how you've maybe not touched that stuff for a while and haven't considered how your resistance may have changed (not that I know shit about what killed Taylor that night). It's really bleak - I've worried for a lot of friends returning to the touring life after the lockdown layoff and how hard they'll throw themselves into stuff, and what dark spaces they'll find themselves in.

I'm not surprised Chad and Matt are walking back their quotes - they seem harsh, almost like they were off the record, or they didn't know how they would look on the page.

some beautiful glimpses of the relationship they had with Taylor though

some people really love performing and get off on it, for others it's not the best thing in the world - but seems like in general in the music biz it's expected that everyone performs a lot and that it should be enjoyable for them

I'm guessing that Chad Smith and Matt Cameron don't really think their quotes were taken out of context or that the story was misleading. They probably just didn't realize that the band would officially deny that Hawkins ever talked about being burned out and wanting an easier tour schedule, and don't want to get in the middle of any dispute about that.

Also, the fact that Smith and Cameron both said that Hawkins DID approach the rest of the band about being burned out suggests to me that this did happen, and that the band's management is officially denying it for self-preserving legal reasons. I can't be certain, of course, but that's what I would bet on.

I think it's more they were giving quotes about someone they loved and also sharing what they knew about his struggle because they wanted people to know what pain he was in, but they didn't realize it would be used as Exhibit A to potentially suggest Grohl or the band were negligent, which wasn't their intent.

as a sidebar, i liked when Cameron talked about how Hawkins tried to get him into Collins-era Genesis <3

I feel like Grohl called them and was like, “You know I’ve gotta hire someone for the next tour, right? Why you out here poisoning the well? I thought we were bros…”

The writer probably was writing a story about the end of life, calling around, getting color and quotes - and realized a through line was revealing itself, and that became the trust of the story. (I’m guessing here.)

Agreed that most of the quotes here were probably given in good faith not realizing the band would respond by getting out in front of a potential wrongful death suit.

haven't read the article and i suppose one could claim that it's for seo reasons, but Inside Taylor Hawkins’ Final Days as a Foo Fighter *really* doesn't need the last four words

leaving the band isn't the story here

yeah i thought that too

The writer probably was writing a story about the end of life, calling around, getting color and quotes - and realized a through line was revealing itself, and that became the trust of the story. (I’m guessing here.)

― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, May 18, 2022 6:36 PM (fifty-four minutes ago)

^^

as a sidebar, i liked when Cameron talked about how Hawkins tried to get him into Collins-era Genesis <3

yesss that was the best!

For our dear friend, our badass bandmate, our beloved brother…Foo Fighters and The Hawkins family bring you the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts. https://t.co/8gNTw2uxWl pic.twitter.com/N8mDZgJ2kk

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) June 8, 2022

"Studio 666" was a fun watch. "Ghoulies" plot mixed with surprisingly visceral Italian horror movie-level decapitations, bisections, etc. Funnest for me when the band was doing a send-up of themselves (Dave as a control freak driving the others, Pat with his constantly bemused expression, the pressure of making the next record, etc). Maybe could have stuck the last third's landing better?

Foo Fighters and the Hawkins family have announced the first wave of performers for the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in London this September. Liam Gallagher, Joshua Homme, Chrissie Hynde, Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Supergrass, and Mark Ronson are on the bill, among others. Dave Chappelle is billed as a special guest. The show takes place September 3 at Wembley Stadium, before another tribute concert, with an as-yet-unannounced lineup, at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on September 27.

uh, Dave, can we maybe do without the trans hating asshole here?

Watching the Taylor Tribute

Violet Grohl singing Jeff Buckley covers for Taylor is breaking my brain on many levels but god she’s doing such an amazing job

Skipping back, but Violet the best thing yet, the rest a bit of a hot mess so far. And Chappelle can get fucked obv

kesha was dope

hahaha omg james gang

Getting better, TCV and Pretenders, the long gaps are a bit awks.

Feels like when I was younger and they had those endless Prince's Trust gigs on TV with the same 15 people, Clapton, Knopfler, Sting, Ure, and that bald guy on percussion.

james gang fkn rules <3