Sonic Highways

Enjoying Grohl's ongoing documentary on HBO.  I know the Foos aren't prog in any way but I admire them for thinking outside the box and venturing outside their comfort zone.  If you haven't heard, they decided to record each song for their new record in a different city, soaking up the musical heritage and general vibe that characterizes each locale and interpreting their impressions accordingly.  I like how they showcase the history and artists that gave each town a particular identity and bringing in a significant musician from that area to contribute a track.  It's a unique idea, regardless of how you feel about Dave and his crew.  They tend to focus on the punk rock angle historically but that's the brand of rock & roll they grew up listening to and being influenced by so I can't fault them for that.  It's definitely worth checking out if you're intrigued by the creative process.

Been meaning to check it out because everyone tells me it's fascinating. I was even a Foo Fighters fan in the 90s. But I'm slightly afraid of the "All Star Cast getting back to their roots" syndrome which may or may not be a part of this series. I'm part of Dave's same demographic (punk/hardcore) and we're about the same age so who knows. Maybe "roots" means the Effigies and not Bill Monroe.

Edited by HolyMoly - November 18 2014 at 20:04

I like the Foo Fighters but don't have HBO so can't watch the program.

Today they aired the New Orleans leg of their trip. T'was genuinely interesting to see the Foo Fighters talking and jamming with these old school jazz cats - even diving head first into the culture around the music. Dr John even had his own little bit of the movie....

Meltdowner wrote: I seriously don't get some of my friend's fixation with that band, it's so boring and all the tracks sound exactly the same. They don't get my fixation with Prog, so I think we're even

Guldbamsen wrote: Meltdowner wrote: I seriously don't get some of my friend's fixation with that band, it's so boring and all the tracks sound exactly the same. They don't get my fixation with Prog, so I think we're even  Join the club What strikes me the most strange about all of this is how the actual music differs so incredibly much with the people performing it. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but when you hear Foo Fighters talking about music in general, it's as if they genuinely understand what they're talking about: 'feel', 'tradition', 'musical cultures',  'spaces in the music are just as important as the actual notes' etc etc....yet none of that is audible in their own output That's largely why this series is so irritating; on one side you've got these wonderful empathetic people who adore music and music history, yet when the focus is on their own work the show becomes tedious and anodyne.

And considering Dave went to see bands like Minor Threat when he was young, and was friends with Buzz Osborne, it's even more perplexing. Nirvana was definitely equally inspired by hardcore and pop music, though, so maybe Foo Fighter's aim is similar– to be pop melodicists within the context of hardcore punk. Still, they don't do the greatest job of it.

were Audioslave better ?