The Foo Fighters - Classic or Dud?

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