Have you seen the video for the new Foo Fighters song, the first single from their new Echoes Silence Patience And Grace album? Of course you have. Classic record company strategy: sink an ocean liner full of cash into a ridiculously expensive and admittedly, cool promo clip. Say “Hi” with a bang.
The 1.1m views that its YouTube posting has received is probably only equal, however, to the number of people in Britain alone who saw the Foos’ Wembley Stadium-busting stint at Live Earth. Consensus was, they owned.
So welcome, then, to the planet’s premier rock band, and ‘The Pretender’ does nothing to shake off that tag. Colossal riffing, extorting vocals, drum extremities and the best country-rawk breakdown you’ve heard in a long time.
What’s that? It’s too similar to ‘All My Life’ for your comfort? They’ve repeated the same opening-day trick for the last three albums? Irrelevant: the Foos are now in a sphere of rock where critical judgement is largely pointless. Instead, measure them on their Wembley shows, MTV VMA performances (once again, owned - see YouTube) and headline quotes about Paris Hilton and Courtney Love. Foo Fighters: are for everyone.
they really did own live earth
didn't they ?
All this is true, but
it would be great if they came back with an astonishing and consistent rock album to bolster their old material in live shows.
which unfortunately.........
they have not. yet again (!) let down by a mumbling, meandering slab of AOR in the new record, save for about three songs, this included. someone should tell grohl that its fine to do this stuff, but foos records are not the place for it. start a fucken side project for that shit!
I still bought tix for november though.
Is it just me
whose love for the Foo Fighers has actually GROWN in recent times?
Nope
sorry.
There Is Nothing Left...
is my favourite record in their expansive back catalouge.
Atmittedly, One By One featured some thoroughly enjoyable Pop/Rock, but since the former album i mentioned, that believable angsty edge in their music seems have been slipping away ever so slightly with each release, leaving a slightly fake frustration in it's wake.
*its
FUCK treble post.
What I really meant to say,
is that I've discovered more of their past records recently. There Is Nothing Left To Lose is also my favourite.
The new album is actually quite good. Tracks 1-5 are excellent. Admittedly I'm yet to last past track 7 yet...
mine has
this is the first song by the Foos i've gone out of my way to hear since Monkey Wrench.
i'm sorry but...
when i hear this song, all i think of is this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FClGhto1vIg
that's fucking random.
it was cool that foo fighters had mastodon in their fantasy suite thingy at the vmas.
I don't know...
I haven't heard this one yet, but 'Best Of Me' was a dross, half-idea of a song with nowhere near the guilty pleasure factor of 'All My Life' or 'Learning To Fly'. This may have more kick to it, but they are not much better in terms of lack of originality than an US equivalent of Oasis. Grohl even has the equivalent every-man appeal as the Gallaghers, and for the "nicest man in rock" is pretty quick to bash any female he doesn't think acts 'appropriately'. His viewpoint MAY even be valid, but you never hear him bashing misbehaving blokes.
you all seem to be confused.....
... allow me to clarify.
foo fighters are now potentially still the best of our stadium rock acts, but they are a weak imitation of the previously act they were due to the generic nature of thier song writings, the lack of genuine emotion in thier songs and the repetion of the riffs over and over and over between recent albums.
how many times are they going to finish a song by repeating the chorus over and over and then swtich to yet more repetions but with upper register shouty chorus.
i get quite worked up about this.....its sad, colour and the shape and nothing left to lose were beautiful.
i saw them at reading where the soundguys turned the sound off on them as they were finishing with everlong, and the crowd went silent as we listened to them finish the song through thier tiny little stage equipment hundreds of yards away. it was magical. inidividual, honest, genuine, moving. and now, theyre radio one's favourite 'rawk' track to be played once every 6 hours to make all the dj's think they know anythign about rock music.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.
I saw the Foos
at their first ever gig in the UK, and recently saw them at the Brighton secret show a few weeks back. So yeah you could call me a fan. But they have an annoying habit of releasing genius singles (like this one) and then an album of dull filler. Its been happening for years - their only 2 great albums are the first 2. When they finally release a Best Of, everyone….and I mean EVERYONE….will realise what a truly great band they are. They're not going to change the face of music, but if its shouty pop/rock you're after, no one can touch them.
Truly Great?
Surely a truly great band has more than 2 good songs per album?
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the band, but I was disappointed by One By One after track 2. The quiet half of In your Honour was good, but its not what you want from a Foo Fighters album really.
It'll be interesting to hear how the new record sounds.
like this song,
agree that the majority of foos material has become AOR-y shite but the recent re-issue of 'the colour and the shape' docuemnted what a great songwriter grohl is. get it
I've listened...
...to some of the new stuff and its a little bit 'muzak'. You can sort of here the Eagles/Genesis/Fleetwood Mac/Other big late 80's American bands influence running through it. Grohl always worried that he would produce 'muzak'.......ooppsie!
I do like the single tho, and they did a nice 'comfortable' set in Marley park the other week. Perhaps they need to do away with the mould or else break it.
And yes I know...
I meant to type 70's not 80's..... DOH!
I'm seeing a lot of reviews of the album
suggesting they've finally made another one as good as "The Colour And The Shape".
Possibly time to become a big Foos fan again.
I was wondering that..
I love the little blues breakdown before it gets all loud.
I've disliked the foo's output for quite a while so to be listening to this more than once is a pleasant surprise.
I like the bit where Grohl goes
"Same... old... stoRY!" :)