Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways (November 2014)

[LostDog1079]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... e-20131126

I wonder if this album will be FULL ON as well?

[Kevin Davis]

Didn't Dave Grohl announce that the Foos were over?

[Jorge]

Dave is drumming on Kristeen Young's new album. That should be interesting.

[LostDog1079]

He said they were going on hiatus, but that didn't last long.

[Blaine Ryan]

I'm always down for more Foo stuff. I could probably comb their discography and come out with only a handful of songs I genuinely love, but collectively those highlights make a damn fine resume.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

Basically a cock rock band at this point.

[verb_to_trust]

I thought the last record was just fine. What is it people are really expecting anyway?

[Fuzzcharger]

What can they really do that will make the recording of this album be something that no one has ever done before and still make it a rock solid Foo's album? I mean at the end of the day you still need to mic up a guitar amp and pull a good sound. Aside from maybe doing it in space what could really be that ground breaking about the way they are making this. It sounds a bit gimmicky.

[Blaine Ryan]

Has there really been much of a change in Grohl's songwriting? I'm only a casual fan, but it seems like other than the rawness of the debut and the adoption of some broader sensibilities on Echoes and disc 2 of In Your Honor, their fundamental sound has remained pretty static.

[Fuzzcharger]

Has there really been much of a change in Grohl's songwriting? I'm only a casual fan, but it seems like other than the rawness of the debut and the adoption of some broader sensibilities on Echoes and disc 2 of In Your Honor, their fundamental sound has remained pretty static.

Aside from adding a 3rd guitar to the sound nothing has really changed. The last album just had a better collection of songs than any other album they'd put together in the last 10 - 15 years.

[Kevin Davis]

I think the biggest change in his songwriting happened between the first and second albums. Everything since then has pretty much just been variations on a theme. I'd classify myself as a casual fan too, but I really love that first album.

[Blaine Ryan]

I'm just curious why Wendy Carlos's Twin thinks they're "basically a cock-rock band at this point."

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I'm just curious why Wendy Carlos's Twin thinks they're "basically a cock-rock band at this point."

Dave Grohl can't write a good song to save his ass. All of his songs sound the same and follow the same boring formula. I put them in the same category as Bon Jovi, Nickleback...bands like that. Boring corporate horseshit for soccer moms and bar sluts.

[Blaine Ryan]

I'm just curious why Wendy Carlos's Twin thinks they're "basically a cock-rock band at this point."

Dave Grohl can't write a good song to save his ass. All of his songs sound the same and follow the same boring formula. I put them in the same category as Bon Jovi, Nickleback...bands like that. Boring corporate horseshit for soccer moms and bar sluts.

I don't deny that Grohl has a limited songwriting range (though I don't think that's necessarily as awful as you're implying it is--Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones had formulas, too), but the Foo Fighters have never sounded anywhere near as mechanical as Nickelback to my ears. Especially in recent years, they've incorporated a lot more nuance and tinkered more with their aesthetic than any other commercial rock band I'm aware of (unless you count Pearl Jam, I guess--which, sadly, seems reasonable). Echoes may not be the most revered Foo Fighters album, but I think it's the best example of the band's ability to try new things while still retaining the principle elements of their sound. And at no point do I foresee Nickelback recording an album's worth of reflective folk ballads, ala In Your Honor's second disc.

As for the "corporate" thing, I don't think it has much to do with whether or not the music's any good, but I personally think they've displayed more integrity than the bands you mentioned. I can't imagine Kroeger and co. driving cross-country to play in their fans' garages. Whatever his shortcomings as a musician, Dave Grohl has always struck me as a very genuine, down-to-earth dude with a love of the rock art form and a wide-eyed enthusiasm for the music he makes. Again, I like to think art exists separately from the artist, but not once have I read or seen an interview with the guy and thought "there's a dude who's in it for the money."

[Fuzzcharger]

I'm just curious why Wendy Carlos's Twin thinks they're "basically a cock-rock band at this point."

Dave Grohl can't write a good song to save his ass. All of his songs sound the same and follow the same boring formula. I put them in the same category as Bon Jovi, Nickleback...bands like that. Boring corporate horseshit for soccer moms and bar sluts.

Since 2005 maybe, but I'm not sure how you could put anything from the first 3 albums in the Bon Jovi or Nickleback category.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I'm just curious why Wendy Carlos's Twin thinks they're "basically a cock-rock band at this point."

Dave Grohl can't write a good song to save his ass. All of his songs sound the same and follow the same boring formula. I put them in the same category as Bon Jovi, Nickleback...bands like that. Boring corporate horseshit for soccer moms and bar sluts.

Since 2005 maybe, but I'm not sure how you could put anything from the first 3 albums in the Bon Jovi or Nickleback category.

The first two albums are great. The third is where he starts to get boring. After that, meh.

[daft twat]

I have never met someone whose favorite band is the Foos. I feel like everyone, myself included, who is a fan is a casual fan. They are the musical equivalent of a pasty: all the necessary ingredients abound, but it is no one's favorite meal.

I think if you pull the best 3 songs from each of their albums to make a sort of representative mix of their best work, they'd stand up to any rock band out there. They're just a little too prolific for their own good.

[griffinxi]

Yeah, casual fan here too. I actually think he's a pretty dependable pop/rock songwriter, whatever that means. And I like him as a performer-- I've seen them twice live, and when he does his little solo bit without the rest of the band it's always a pretty cool moment.

Those first two albums though, as others have mentioned, are fantastic. Maybe half of that is nostalgia, because I was in high school, etc.

[BladeRunner]

The Colour And The Shape is the only album I can listen to from start to finish..

[LostDog1079]

The Colour And The Shape is the only album I can listen to from start to finish..

This and Wasting Light for me.

I also wonder if there will be any acoustics in the house on this one?