MUSIC REVIEW: Fighters still battling the same ‘foo’
Pop Quiz. What is a Foo Fighter?
One By One the latest album from Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters doesn’t explore any space they haven’t covered before. While I hesitate to say that it is predictable, it does have a familiar sound, which is good. There is no reason to change a formula that has worked for them on their three previous albums.
I first saw Foo Fighters in concert with my friend Chris Francom at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colo. in 1996. I knew then this band was not merely the leftovers of Dave Grohl’s other band, Nirvana – maybe you’ve heard of them. Nor were they trying to capitalize off of Nirvana’s popularity. At no point was Kurt Cobain’s name mentioned.
One By One is no different. While many critics insist on comparing Foo Fighters to Nirvana, I think it’s time we put an end to those comparisons. Outside occasional raspy scream by Grohl on this album, similarities between the two bands are hard to find. Kurt Cobain often sang about inner turmoil, seldom did his lyrics deal with relationships.
Dave Grohl has put songs on this album that deal with inner turmoil, but he goes outward with “Tired of You,” a song which features a calculated guitar performance by Queen’s Brian May. As Grohl melodically sings, “Is this just desire or the truth … I won’t go getting tired of you,” we see that he has a tender side. How sweet.
The first single off the album “All My Life,” is a rocker, and a good one. A brooding guitar opens the song giving the feeling that something big is coming. It prepares you in much the same way as that creepy jaws music does. Something exciting is coming, but you don’t quite know what to expect. Grohl begins by saying, “All my life I’ve been searching for something, Something never comes, never leads to nothing, nothing satisfies.” Later in the song he screams with determination, “Done, done, on to the next one.”
One of the Foo Fighters’ strengths is their ability to keep all instruments playing together and blend. Each member of the band has its own voice but, it all comes together in song. “Lonely As You,” features beautiful guitar work and a great solo, but it doesn’t overshadow Taylor Hawkins’ powerful drumming. Grohl seems to be singing to an estranged friend on this one as he laments, “One more time for the last time. One more time for release. Blame it on the past, it’s the last time I knew you.”
Musically, this is a great album. But what puts it above other albums are the extras. The album is a double disc set that includes a bonus DVD. The music disc has a link to the Web site, but the real goodies are on the DVD. It features the video for “All My Life,” as well as an audio only “The One,” a song they recorded for the “Orange County” soundtrack. It also has an extensive photo gallery and a couple of short videos that feature the band hanging out and Hawkins trying on some Def Lepard shorts.
In 1997 I bought Aerosmith’s Nine Lives, which had a CD-ROM with it. It included a game where you try to play along to the beat of the music. I thought that was really cool. Five years later, countless bands are adding extras to their CDs. Bon Jovi made it possible for those who bought their new album to buy tickets to their shows before the general public. Tori Amos added a feature that opens up a locked part of her Web site.
Foo Fighters have raised the bar as far as extras are concerned. This is an album that has great music for any rock fan, and plenty of extras for Foo Fighters fans. It also marks a point where Dave Grohl has recorded more studio albums with the Foo Fighters than with that other band. What was their name again?
Answer. A Foo Fighter was a name given by World War II pilots to mysterious fiery balls that were often spotted flying near them in the night sky. The term originated from a comic strip by Bill Holman called Smokey Stover.
Jared Quillen is a junior majoring in accounting. Comments can be sent to jaredquillen@cc.usu.edu