Pages tagged “foo fighters”

Newly ordained Cardinology magick men Ryan Adams and the Cardinals jetted off for an extensive European tour and while in London dropped in to the BBC Studios to tape an acoustic set for the Dermot O’Leary show. Somehow, after a bone rattling version of "Fix It," the boys ended up recording a Foo Fighters' cover.

According to a statement issued this morning, Dave Grohl and his Fighting Foo aren't the least bit pleased with John McCain's unauthorized use of one of the band's signature hits, "My Hero," at his campaign rallies:

For months now, Guitar Hero diehards have been hanging on every bread crumb of information released about World Tour, the forthcoming generation of their favorite video game. We knew about Hendrix, Ozzy and a handful of other artists on the track list. But now we have the press release in hand, and it includes 86 songs on-disk, featuring artists like R.E.M., Michael Jackson, Metallica, Coldplay, Nirvana, Interpol, Foo Fighters, Billy Idol, Beastie Boys and Dinosaur Jr., among others.

Suddenly the title of the Foo Fighters’ last album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, is starting to make a little more sense. Frontman Dave Grohl told BBC radio that the band plans to take a break following its tour this past summer.

Britpop has been shrinking steadily from the mainstream since its heyday in the mid '90's. But Oxford quartet Supergrass has survived, both outliving and eventually outgrowing the movement that vaulted its members to stardom.

What do Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl and Wayne Coyne all have in common? These three shaggy-haired frontmen of big-name alternative-rock outfits have signed on with their respective bands to pay homage to The Who for this year’s VH1 Rock Honors.

The Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails and the Stone Temple Pilots will be headlining the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival, organizers announced last week.

The third annual music and arts festival will take place August 9-10 at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. A complete artist line-up and additional ticket information will be available on the festival’s official site in the coming weeks.

The festival originated as the Virgin Festival in the U.K. in 1996, and made its U.S. debut 10 years later. Headliners from past years include the Police, the Killers, the Who, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, the Smashing Pumpkins and Amy Winehouse.

Stay tuned for additional festival information.

Related links:
Paste: Foo Fighters Sue Marvel for Copyright Infringement
Paste: Nine Inch Nails release new, partially-free album
Paste: Jack Johnson: Awake Through the Static

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You wouldn’t like the Foo Fighters when they’re mad. The band filed a copyright infringement suit last week against Marvel Comics, accusing the company of using two of its songs in an online trailer without permission.

The band’s suit alleges that Marvel used substantial excerpts from the songs “Best of You” and “Free Me” from the 2005 album In Your Honor in a trailer for the new television series Wolverine and the X-Men. Roswell Records Inc., which owns the master recordings to the songs, was named as a co-plaintiff in the suit. Dave Grohl and Co. are seeking unspecified damages, attorneys’ fees and an injunction to prevent Marvel from using their music again.

Wolverine and the X-Men producers First Serve International, Toonz Animation India and First Serve Toonz are also named as defendants in the suit. The disputed trailer has been removed from Marvel’s website, and no premiere date for the series has been announced.

The ensuing legal battle is unlikely to slow down the formidable Foos, though. The band members performed the single “The Pretender” from their 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace at this year’s Grammy ceremony and walked away with a trophy for Best Hard Rock Performance. The band has been touring since January, and will continue traversing across the U.S. well into the summer.

Marvel has struck box office gold with its Spiderman and Fantastic Four film franchises, but saw Ang Lee’s adaptation of The Hulk fall flat on its big, green face back in 2003. The company hopes to electrify movie audiences once again May 2 when its latest big-screen comic book adaptation Iron Man is released.

Related links:
FooFighters.com
Foo Fighters on MySpace
Marvel.com

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The 50th Grammy Awards will air Feb. 10, despite the tension as the writers’ strike continues to keep artists and execs at arms.

On Jan. 15, Grammy producers made a formal request to the Writers Guild of America Board of Directors for an interim agreement that would contract writers for the awards.

Just last week, the WGA announced that it would, in the least, not picket the event. The Recording Company has hence begun to coordinate acts for the show. The lineup includes a gospel segment featuring Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige and the Clark Sisters. The Time will reunite, performing with Rihanna. The Foo Fighters head up the “My Grammy Moment” this year, creating a pseudo-orchestra comprised of three doe-eyed fans, John Paul Jones and the Foos that we know and love.

Now that the Writers Guild of America, West Board has accepted the agreement, Grammy writing regulars producer Ken Ehrlich and author-journalist David Wild will be putting down their signboards, at least long enough to script the show.

One difference between this and other awards shows is that the event raises funds that contribute to music in the classroom programs and career days for musicians, among other philanthropic endeavors. This seems to be one of the biggest selling points to the WGA.

“Professional musicians face many of the same issues that we do concerning fair compensation for the use of their work in new media,” WGAW President Patric M. Verrone said in a recent statement. “In the interest of advancing our goal of achieving a fair contract, the WGAW Board felt that this decision should be made on behalf [of] our brothers and sisters in the American Federation of Musicians and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.”

As for progress on the strike itself, reports of informal negotiations have covered the topics of web revenue and home video sales, but the picket lines continue to be an ever-present tactic. Reportedly 500 members of the Screen Actors Guild showed their support of the strike by joining forces outside of Fox Studios.

Regardless, so long as the awards aren’t hit with another soy bomb, things should go smashingly.

Related links:
News: Golden Globes telecast cancelled
Gigwise: Michael Jackson to perform at Grammy Awards?
Grammy.com

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For all you followers of the Foo who felt let down by the lack of tour dates that were previously announced for the band’s U.S. trek, here is some good news. Foo Fighters have added more performances on to their North American trek.

Originally scheduled for only six dates spanning throughout the months of January and February, the band has joyously tacked on some more shows. The Foo Fighters will now kick off their tour on Jan. 16 in Sunrise, Fla. and will conclude their journey in Minneapolis, Minn. on Feb. 27. Tickets for select shows are on sale now. The rest will be available for purchase Dec. 1.

January
16 - Sunrise, Fla. @ BankAtlantic Center
17 - Orlando, Fla. @ Amway Arena
19 - Birmingham, Ala. @ BJCC Arena
20 - Pensacola, Fla. @ Pensacola Civic Center
22 - Houston, Texas @ Toyota Center
23 - Dallas, Texas @ American Airlines Center*
25 - Memphis, Tenn. @ FedEx Forum*
26 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium*
28 - Fayetteville, Ark. @ Barnhill Arena
29 - Oklahoma City, Okla. @ Ford Center

February
18 - Worcester, Mass. @ DCU Center*
19 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
21 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wachovia Spectrum*
24 - Detroit, Mich. @ Joe Louis Arena *
25 - Chicago, Ill. @ Allstate Arena
27 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Target Center

* On sale now

Related links:
FooFighters.com
Paste:Review: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
YouTube: Foo Fighters - "Long Road to Ruin"

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Earlier this year, the Foo Fighters re-released their epic 1997 album The Colour and Shape along side their sixth studio album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. In the wake of their old/new recordings Dave Grohl and Co. have been performing for our over seas neighbors. Now, the Fightin' Foo is bringing the show back to the motherland.

With U.K. dates wrapping up this weekend, the band has finally announced some U.S. gigs. Foo Fighters will pick up their tour on Jan. 23 in Dallas, Texas.

If you’re ready to support the Foo Fighters and want to ensure that you get good tickets for one of the shows, then you might want to look into Ticketmaster. Additionally, the online ticket giant will be auctioning off a limited amount of premium tickets for each of the Foo Fighters’ performances. All of the proceeds from these special tickets will go to TreeBank, a nonprofit organization that focuses on planting trees in urban areas.

Dates:

January
23 - Dallas, Texas @ American Airlines Center
25 - Memphis, Tenn. @ FedEx Forum
26 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium

February
18 - Worcester, Mass. @ DCU Center
21 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wachovia Spectrum
24 - Detroit, Mich. @ Joe Louis Arena

Related links:
FooFighters.com
iTreeBank.org
Paste:Review: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

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Click above to watch “The Pretender” from Foo Fighters’s new record Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace out now on RCA Records.

After meandering, rock royalty returns to form

In my early teens, my musical tastes were mostly geared toward Pearl Jam, Nirvana and anyone remotely associated with either band. This was partly out of legitimate musical interest and largely out of adolescent fanatic devotion. So naturally, when Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder said he was going to play some of ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl’s self-recorded, self-composed, one-man-band demos on a pirate radio show in early 1995, I was all ears. But I had no idea how refreshingly powerful the music would be.

I remember hearing the song “Exhausted,” and being entranced (thank God I’d recorded it so I could listen ad nauseam until this and the other demo tracks were remixed and released as the Foo Fighters’ eponymous debut. The guitar riffs during the chorus were Helmet-worthy. The vocals were soft and the melody mysterious. Grohl was still unabashedly bashing his drum kit. And I had yet to hear My Bloody Valentine, so I was unaware a distorted guitar could sound so simultaneously trashy and beautiful.

Over the last 12 years, the impact and energy of Grohl’s music has matured into something that’s still exciting, and that spans far more musical ground than I ever expected when I first heard those guitar parts ripping out of my stereo. I’ll admit that I was worried we’d already heard the finest the Foo Fighters had to offer by the time their last record—the half-loud, half-soft In Your Honor—was released. While there were a few solid tunes and some interesting textures on the album, it felt a bit more like a self-indulgent exercise in songwriting than a truly interesting album. Pigeonholing your songs into either “rock band” or “unplugged” styles leaves no room for hybrids. Plus, the sheer number of songs on the double-disc makes the whole thing a bit hard to digest. I find myself choosing other Foo Fighters discs to listen to rather than choosing one or the other from that set.

Thankfully, the band has discarded the rules for Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. Recorded in Grohl’s newly relocated Virginia studio, the record sounds lush and epic, with a variety of genres and sounds all peeking their heads through the band’s established heavy-melodic-rock sound. There are mellow, intimate tunes and amps-to-11 anthems alike, and plenty that split the difference.

The album’s opening one-two punch, “The Pretender” and “Let It Die,” makes it clear that, even though the band’s last tour was an acoustic one, we shouldn’t expect it to give up on gutsy arena-shakers. Grohl still plays the role of acoustic balladeer on “Stranger Things Have Happened,” much the way he did on the second half of In Your Honor, as well as other acoustic renditions from the Foos’ catalog. It works, but not as well as album closer “Home,” in which 88 keys replace the six strings that are more within Grohl’s comfort zone. While crooning “All I want is to be home,” the seasoned rocker sounds honestly reflective, his voice less perfect and, as a result, more genuine.

Among the more surprising material on the record is speed-pickin’ bluegrass instrumental “Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners.” Grohl wrote the tune for the Tasmanian miners who were trapped in a collapse in May 2006. One of the two surviving men had reportedly requested some of the Foo Fighters’ music, and Grohl sent a note to them before their eventual rescue offering concert tickets and drinks. One of the men apparently took him up on his offer, and Grohl wrote the song as a tribute. The recording features him and guitar heroine Kaki King blazing through this welcome, if unexpected, nugget of Americana.

Some of the album’s best tunes are those that don’t fit into easy categories. “Summer’s End” employs the strong pop songwriting devices that have landed countless Foo Fighters songs on the radio, and yet it’s one of the twangiest songs the band has recorded. Both “Come Alive” and “But, Honestly” start as acoustic numbers and gradually build into some of the album’s more frantic rockers.

During the chorus of the “The Pretender,” Grohl asks, “What if I say I will never surrender?” in his signature Big Rock Voice. Well Dave, since you’re still able to crank out a solid rock album after first capturing my 13-year-old ears more than a decade ago, I, for one, believe you.

Dave Grohl is an enigma—he played drums for one of the world’s most popular ‘90s bands, then, after the death of the band’s leader, picked up the pieces, broke his drumsticks over his knee, grabbed a guitar and never looked back. Plus, the Foo Fighters could’ve easily been just another flash in the pan had it not been for their steady stream of hits written by Mr. Grohl.

Tonight, the band is playing an all-acoustic set at the Beacon Theater in New York City. The house is at capacity, and Grohl begins off the set with “Razor,” the repetitive closer on the acoustic half of the Foo’s latest, In Your Honor. A first song, especially during an acoustic set, should be a table-setter, not a dozer … and the crowd reacts accordingly, not sure what to do (it’s not a clapper-alonger). Only after Grohl brings the song to a frenzied pitch, inviting the rest of the band onstage, did the audience come to life. The foo-chestra was a pleasant surprise and included the ever-energetic Pat Smear (of the Germs and Nirvana fame), Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett, Petra Haden, a percussionist and a keyboardist/accordionist. The diverse group of musicians would lead to some of night’s most exciting—and dull—moments.

Tonight Grohl is talkative, explaining that he and his band have “little time [and] a lot of fuckin’ hits.” Ironically, the vast majority of the songs played tonight are rarities or acoustic songs from the new album that have yet to hit the mainstream. The haunting “Over and Out,” a strong new track, features the percussionist on a vibraphone and Shiflett on a 12-string acoustic, along with Grohl’s pristine vocals (it’s hard to believe Cobain never let him sing lead … ever). “Walking After You,” swelled nicely at the bridges and added a beautiful organ part to the second verse. Speaking of his former band, Grohl dusts off “Marigold,” a Grohl-penned Nirvana rarity, which receives a flurry of applause but may have thrown the average fan for a loop. The strength of the track, however, rids fans of any doubt that this was just another Nirvana b-side.

Highlights from the main set include a cut-time “Hero,” which reached a point of insanity at the second chorus, much to the audience’s delight; and the foot-stomping “Cold Day in the Sun,” which features drummer Taylor Hawkins on lead vocals (who has a truly incredible voice … watch out Don Henley!).

The only major disappointments of the set were a poorly miked version of “Floaty” (from the Foo’s first album), sung by Petra Haden, who attempted to get the audience to participate in the song but failed miserably, and a simply dreadful version of “Virginia Moon,” from the new album, this time suffering from Ms. Haden’s poor harmonies with Grohl.

But the night ended on a good note, with two rousing renditions of Foo Fighters’ modern classics: “The Best of You,” before which Grohl asked the audience if he could sing it in his normal growl (much to the audience’s delight) and “Everlong,” during which the crowd doubled on vocals. Now that’s unforced audience participation at its best.

Double-Disc Grace
By Jeff Leven

Dave Grohl has got to be one of the most magnanimous and accessible figures in modern rock and has continually proven the quality of his instincts. Faced with the angst and gravitas of Nirvana’s legacy, Grohl had the sense to steer away from expectations and into the delightful hard pop of the Foo Fighters, who, if they’d done nothing more than record “Everlong,” would be rightly cherished. As Grohl’s songwriting has evolved to play to the strengths of his resonant singing voice, the Foos have increasingly become a schizophrenic mix of Dave’s thrash-punk-metalhead past (witness recent side project Probot) and his more anthemic pop tendencies. Having struggled to artfully square the circle with One By One, it was high time to take the logical step and release In Your Honor, a Jungian double album with ten rockers and ten softer, more melodic numbers spaced over two discs. The results are truly satisfying, with intense tunes like “No Way Back,” ballads like “Cold Day in the Sun” and a collaboration with Norah Jones (this less than year after an album featuring Grohl playing with Venom’s Cronos) that actually works. A stunning display of versatility and a stack of good songs. Fight on, you crazy diamond.

Utter Disgrace
By Jonah Flicker

For a band that makes some of the blandest, radio-friendly, MOR rock this side of Collective Soul, the Foo Fighters get a lot of respect. Sure, it’s savvy to release a double album at this point in their career, but In Your Honor is a neutered attempt at emotive pandering that falls a thousand miles short of awesome. Dave Grohl’s overwrought power chords and riffage—and his constant switching between screamed and whined vocals—plague this set’s ?rst disc, while the second is chockfull of sappy, acoustic, “sensitive” tunes. The Foo Fighters can’t have it both ways. In fact, they have a hard time having it either way. Every attempt to rock on the first disc gets bogged down in clichéd lyrics and limp fist-pumping songs like “Best of You.” The second, soft, introspective, boring disc contains a sequence of campfire songs for the emo-hearted that’ll make you wish they’d at least return to going through the motions of rock. The Foo Fighters are constantly given undue praise because of Dave Grohl’s barnstorming work with Nirvana. Well, the rest of the Foos are damn lucky Grohl left the drum kit behind for his current frontman posturing, because without him, they’d just be another alterna-rock band in an overcrowded landscape—a position they seem to be jockeying for anyway.

Click here to cast your ballot for or against the Foo Fighters' In Your Honor. Results will be published in our Oct./Nov. issue.