Foo Fighters "Sonic Highway" documentary series on HBO

Taylor Hawkins bums me out, but I bet it's kind of a bummer to be Taylor Hawkins.

Can't really think of another example of such a famous band whose drummer is not the best drummer in the band, besides maybe that one time Sheila E was one of Ringo's all-stars

Are the other band members (besides Taylor) always quiet anonymous plain dudes on purpose so they don't alienate the very large Foo Fighters fan demo of quiet anonymous plain dudes?
--Evan

weird to see that pat smear is now a relatively quiet anonymous plain dude, but he's rich, so that prob makes up for it.

regarding current foo fandom, this is so OTM it's not even funny ( ok it is funny bc I'm laughing)

Grohl just basically spilled the beans on The Daily Show that there will be a second season. Hopefully it won't be tied to an album, but of course it will.

Has this been addressed yet?

http://jezebel.com/dave-grohls-sonic-highways-systematically-erases-women-1666309945

I don't necessarily agree (maybe Hole weren't mentioned because - ultimately -- HOLE DON'T MATTER)...but just throwin' it out there.

Said article also features this line...

"Kanye West, an artist as complicated, heart-driven, and relevant as Nirvana ever was, is seen in a short clip at the beginning, near the credits, but is not mentioned thereafter."

Kanye West is complicated?

FOH

There have been a bunch of women on the show - heart, joan jett, dolly parton, emmylou harris.

Hole is/was terrible

Oh Kanye's complicated alright: http://gawker.com/which-giant-titted-anime-statue-was-kanye-west-obsessed-1667243236?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

That being said criticism of the show being conventionally rockist is obviously legit

"i wish there was more women in it" is more a than valid note, but the claim of systematic erasure in the headline doesn't really match the "sure there was heart but where's bikini kill?" tone of the rest of the post. not totally sure what the definition of "systematically erasing women" would mean, but i assume it would mean having even less than the token legends like dolly, joan jett, etc.

also hole was from la

i stopped watching after my own thinkpiece went up, but unless nate mendel got a lot of love in the seattle episode one could argue he's systematically erasing the other foo fighters almost as much as he is women

"sure, taylor got to jizz his pants at an eagle for one minute, but is the occasional doofy grin all he's had to contribute since 1997?"

"Why, on the LA episode, is there a lengthy interlude about the desert outside the city because Queens of the Stone Age once recorded there, but can't even make a gesture towards Chris Shiflett, the band's guitarist since 1999, who was raised in Santa Barbara?"

I started laughing really hard when the Seattle episode transitioned from grunge to Macklemore. It did a really great job of making the city look like a LA's farm team. Getting so sick of Subpop's "We're losers...really!" schtick.

Austin episode was the highlight of the season for me. Hope season 2 explores the scenes in completely innocuous cities. Maybe send Dave Grohl to Newbridge.

dave-grohls-sonic-highways-systematically-erases-calvin-johnson

i was going to at least check out the seattle episode of the final three but ever since news of macklemore floated out i haven't been able to force myself

I thought the Austin one was terrible. Too much spillover from Nashville, and the rest was overwhelmingly Austin City Limits centric.

I'm sure the NYC one will make me froth at the mouth. Nate got about three nanoseconds in the Seattle episode.

seconds away from watching the final one, and I have every expectation that it will please AlexinNYC very much. Given the deeply conservative worldview presented by Grphl so far, the only thing I can think of that would annoy AiNYC is if the show declined to make a case for Killing Joke as a huge influence on every right thinking act in town, or as a signature achievement in human history.

I have no doubt that Grohl will walk around town and lament clubs that are no longer there, which would be in line with the program thus far. surely there will be a lengthy CBGBs segment.

I hope he just interviews Bono, Sting, Madonna, Taylor Swift and other musicians rich enough to live in New York. Then he can lament how the death of CBGBs means no more bands like Interpol or the Strokes.

Was really praying for a sax-playing bill clinton to walk in and interrupt the obama interview segment.

oddly this was easily the worst episode (ugh a fucking kiss hagiography and no mention of the velvets), resulting in the best foo fighters song of the series. Which was still pretty blah.

Close your laptops and hire a string section and world-class arranger, kids.

I still think Taylor Hawkins is just filling in between Alanis Morissette tours

It bums me out because this band could be good if Dave just gave in and went back on drums and got someone to help write not so structured songs.

this band could be good if Dave just gave in and went back on drums and got Kurt Cobain to help write the songs

This band would be great if different people were in it and they traded their guitars for synths and changed their name to kraftwerk

I kinda got the sense that Grohl just wanted to geek out on Kyuss but felt like it had to be sold as an LA episode

Pat Smear eating a sandwich in the New Orleans episode was great

Dave Grohl's new band ... Oujia Board Kobain ... I'd buy that ...

" .... N ..... O .... "

Taylor Hawkins bums me out, but I bet it's kind of a bummer to be Taylor Hawkins.

Can't really think of another example of such a famous band whose drummer is not the best drummer in the band, besides maybe that one time Sheila E was one of Ringo's all-stars

― sheesh, Tuesday, December 2, 2014 4:54 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Dinosaur Jr. imo

wouldn't say Hawkins is as good as Grohl all-around but i've never really been able to pick up on any substantial gap in technical proficiency, he's pretty damn good

He smiles too much.

NY episode was so terrible

Can't really think of another example of such a famous band whose drummer is not the best drummer in the band, besides maybe that one time Sheila E was one of Ringo's all-stars

― sheesh, Tuesday, December 2, 2014 4:54 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Also when she was in the Revolution

http://i.onionstatic.com/avclub/5308/35/16x9/640.jpg

Oh yeah, and as much as I like Meg White, Jack White is probably a better drummer

Oh no, Lefsetz has just discovered the show and is raving about every aspect of it.

Whatever it takes to teach kids today that real music can be made with guitars.

We built these cities
We built these cities on rock and roll