Dave Grohl, Sound City, and Foo Fighters

foofightersblueOk, I’ve held out long enough; Dave Grohl has been in music news pretty much daily for the past few months and now I am warranted to let loose on the subject without sounding monotonous just because I love the man.  There’s been a gush of headlines beginning with the Foo Fighters announcing in October 2012 that they would be taking a break, Grohl’s documentary Sound City a barrage of appearances on every media outlet, performances with Paul McCartney, and now the announcement that the Foo Fighters are indeed working on a new album.  Can I get a “Hallelujah” and an “Amen”?!

 

When you’re a fan of a band you of course want them to be successful, in the sense121218-dave-grohl-soundgarden-large that they continue to make music and tour,  but I selfishly wish it could go back to the days where not everyone and their mother were on the Dave Grohl bandwagon.  The days when I was the only one that I knew of that loved the Foo Fighters; the days when I saw them play at small, intimate venues.  I know those days are long gone and it sucks, even though Grohl did tease us on the last tour that next time he came to Philadelphia he would play the Electric Factory (which holds about 3000 people) and joked “good luck getting tickets”.

 

Grohl has become bigger than big.  He has stretched his artistic talent into directing, not only with the Sound City documentary, but delving into music videos as well.  Grohl directed the new Soundgarden video for “By Crooked Steps,” his first for anybody outside of the Foo Fighter’s.  He’s taken on hosting, very naturally I might add, with Chelsea Latelydave-grohl-sound-city His comedic flair just adds to his great style, go back and watch some of the early Foo Fighters videos, like “Learn to Fly” and if you really want a laugh, pull up some old Nirvana interviews and you’ll see Grohl being a complete goof.  I’ve been saying for a long time Grohl would be a perfect fit to host SNL, and Grohl himself recently announced this is something he wants to do.  His genuine nature is a rare quality for an individual of his now infamous stature, and his ingenuity propels him to make music and spread his wings in all facets of creativity.

In Sound City, the message is clear, use technology as a tool not a crutch.  It’s a behind the scenes look into the music making process via analog recording, say what?  Yes my pro tools friends, making music on tape.  Grohl’s passion for music as a physical component is contagious and I hope it spreads to the masses worldwide.  If you are a fan of music you will not only love this documentary, but fully appreciate Grohl’s intentions to keep alive the process of making music with the human element.

 

Not sure what happened to “taking a hiatus,” or as Pat Smear called it, “Taking an I hate us”,  but now in between directing, hosting, playing on other bands records, and touring with The Sound City Players (group formed to coincide with the documentary) Grohl will begin writing the next Foo Fighters album.  What will be next for Dave Grohl? May I suggest a weekly variety show, “The Dave Grohl Hour” with a delightful red headed sidekick named Sabrina.