Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Day 0786 - The Foo Fighters

The Foo Fighters "The Foo Fighters" (1995) - got it


Dave Grohl had been writing songs and recording demos during his time in Nirvana, having released the relatively varied demo "Pocketwatch" under the name 'Late'.   After Kurt Cobain's suicide, Grohl took his songs and really started to get things going.

Dave recorded this album entirely by himself and then slapped the name 'Foo Fighters' on it to make it seem less like a solo release.  The demo/album ended up garnering industry interest and Grohl was stuck with the name, which he later opined was the stupidest band name in history.

I quite like this album, the Foos hadn't yet fully found their identity as a dad-rock band  with output that (to my ears) moves between good albums, and mediocre (but occasionally listenable) albums.  This albums is kind of a poppier less abrasive take on the grunge sound that Grohl's other band were known for.    "Good Grief" almost sounds like new-wave filtered through punk, "Weenie Beenie" is one of the lo-fi shout-rock tracks Grohl would occasionally indulge in (e.g. "White Limo" and "the Color and the Shape").   Elsewhere there's the poppy 'Big Me', the jazzy "For all the Cows" and the washy, almost droney tracks "X-static" and "Exhausted".   

Good selection of rock tracks, and it's impressive that Grohl did the whole thing himself.

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