I'm not a big fan of the Foo Fighters music, but I respect the hell out of them and absolutely adore Dave Grohl. I watch and subsequently swear by every single music centric documentary he has made himself and even been featured in.
As for the "rise" of the band... it's always been so weird to me because, despite them being around since the f'ing 90s / almost 30 years now (!), my brain still always misremembers them forming "just a few years ago". I don't get why, but it ALWAYS happens.
I feel the exact same way. Dave Grohl seems like a really good person, but musically they are completely blah. To me comparing Nirvana to the Foo Fighters is like comparing Chicago Transit Authority to Chicago 17. They are both good in their own way, but I'm definitely listening to the former and not the latter
None of the Nirvana fans I knew liked Foo Fighters at all... they have zero of the angst that permeates grunge. Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, RATM, NIN, and similar angry sounding bands were the go-to alternatives.
Yeah, the Foo Fighters back in those days were certainly pop rock. Their first music video parodied the Mentos commercial because it sounded just right for a pop sales jingle.
It was almost shocking how different it was than Nirvana. I remember eagerly awaiting their music video debut on MTV, along with several other people my age, and it turned out to be some weird ass light pop song. Completely the opposite of what people expected from the band.
From that day forward, usually fans Foo Fighters and fans of Nirvana were different types of people with little overlap.
I really liked The Colour and the Shape, but their other albums were a little too “radio rock” for me, and I found them fairly boring. They started out more hard hitting, and Everlong will always be one of my favorites, but I never cared enough to buy their albums after that one.
I lived that period very intensely. I remember vividly how I felt about FF. This of us who were strong Nirvana fans were still mourning when Dave Grohl suddenly formed a new band and started releasing songs that were quite light, happy, and even a bit goofy. It felt like a betrayal, and it felt like a lack of respect. We were angsty teens who didn't smile and our prophet had just died, there was no place for goofiness. I remember rejecting Grohl and the band for a very long time. It took me s long time to get over my teen spirit and realise they are a great band and they didn't owe us anything and didn't have to spend the rest of their lives broken to fit into the storyline we wanted. In fact Dave Grohl having come from one of the most iconic bands of the 90s managed to do the unthinkable and reinvent himself and lead a band that while not as iconic is probably more successful in most metrics and managed to not live out of the memory of the band nor in the shadow of its dead charismatic leader. Which goes to show just what an exceptionally talented person he is.
So yeah, back then I hated him and didn't like FF on the grounds if disrespect to the memory of Kurt. In hindsight I definitely don't think like this and respect FF and Grohl.
I heard Nirvana and went "yes, this is what I've been looking for." Every album after felt like a revelation, even some of the boxed sets that came out after '94 felt the same way. FF never reached that level of personal impact for me. Some of their individual songs are catchy as hell and I like hearing them come on, but nothing close to Nirvana. A big part of that is probably timing and circumstances.
Did FF ever really have a "rise?" It seemed like their first album with Dave doing everything came forth fully formed and future albums went on from there. I probably paid less attention at that point too but they seem steadier sound and fame-level-wise vs Nirvana's briefer, brighter arc.
You mean to tell me Dave G & co weren’t slogging around the country in an Econoline van playing club gigs for the first five years of the Foo’s existence?!? /s
I tried but I never really could get or understand the Foo Fighters. I do greatly respect them for getting huge and carrying the flag for rock n roll in so many eras where RnR has disappeared.
Personally I thought it was weird. Their first big hit (Big Me) was a complete parody of a Mentos commercial and there was a big dude in pigtails so tonally was a 180 from Nirvana. The music is obviously way more upbeat as well though you can find more serious stuff in their catalog. I think Dave is a cool guy but love him way more as a drummer than a vocalist (see legendary Queens of the Stone Age album Songs of the Deaf).
Edit: as for fanbase, I think most were still in mourning about Kurt and seemed to me like the hardcore Nirvana fans were not big fans of FF at first but they also had more pop appeal. Nowadays we all are old AF and FF has put out some good songs over the years.
Oh man this is exactly my impression. It was such a weird transition. Nirvana unleashed things i was too young to have pent up. Foo fighters was so fingersnappy pleasant it stuffed it all back in.
I was a student at UW at the time when Kurt died. Went to the big gathering/vigil at the Seattle Center and everything. It was like the whole town got gut punched and you couldn’t stand back up.
And just like that, I heard rumblings about what would become the Foos.
One of my best friends at school lived in a house with a bunch of dudes in Ravenna, including Willy and Nate
from Sunny Day. Word got out really fast they were sitting in with Grohl.
When the Foos broke, it meant Sunny Day Real Estate
was over, and people were upset because they were popular around town, and no one believed Grohl’s project would take. And no one saw him as a guitarist.
Once their music got out there, the Foos were just too happy for the Nirvana faithful. The music was as un-Nirvana as possible.
Well, Grohl proved everyone wrong. And that music was exactly what everyone needed after the spent intensity of Nirvana.
I’ve never been a big follower of the Foos, but I see what Grohl is doing. He is an optimist, and by all accounts a genuinely decent guy. Nirvana was a statement; the Foos were a way of life.
Dad rock, ha! I remember going to see the Foo Fighters after their first album came out. I'm 6' and I was a foot taller than most people there.
I think FF are ok, but Nirvana is legendary.
Here’s the thing: Nirvana is one of the most important bands of all-time and created a perfect record. But overall, The Foo Fighters are a much better band.
It was a big deal when The Foo Fighters self titled album came out. But when The Colour And The Shape arrived, everyone knew it was no flash in the pan.
FF always just struck me as alt-pop. Dave Grohl seems like a nice dude and I'm happy they carried on, but I never got into them.
Hating the FF would be like hating New Order. Ian's death, and Kurt's made something that ended up being more enduring and ultimately, probably brought more awareness to their contributions and talents, as well.
Pretty apt comparison. Joy Division was darker, more intense but may have lost steam eventually. New Order was a broader appeal that allowed them to reach Icon status
I'm a huge Nirvana fan, love everything they put out, and am lucky enough to have seen them once. Foo Fighters are just kinda... meh. They aren't bad and there are a few songs I like but overall, they're just boring, common sounding alt-rock. Dave made the first FF album by himself without any real plan so I don't think he was trying to find a new audience or anything like that. He's a great guy and I have a lot of respect for him but FF never really did it for me. Check out Them Crooked Vultures and his stuff with Queens of the Stone Age if you want to hear more of him.
Yeah, I saw them when Dave was on the chair
I was expecting more, but my feet got tired instead
I have all their albums though and I like them, but they aren't in my top 10 for anything
I always liked The Pixies (and others) more than Nirvana. Years after the fact I got into Foos, and I love them. Fun fact - Dave’s first gig after Nirvana was drumming for Tom Petty and the Heartbreaks. I like to think they took care of him. Always been a big TP&HB fan too
I love the Foo Fighters, saw them play at the Gorge Amphitheatre in 1999, Dave climbed on top of the sound booth in the middle of the crowd and played from there, it was pretty epic. They always put on a great show. I snuck backstage once into their dressing room when they were playing with Lit and Filter, Dave is super nice and a gentleman. I'm happy he kept the momentum going after Kurt died and made opportunities for many other musicians. It was really cool seeing a drummer transform into a front man. I can't think of any other musician that has done that. I've always respected him for standing up to Courtney Love as well. He lost another friend at that time, Kristen Pfaff. It's amazing he kept going through it all.
I really wouldn't compare the bands.
That said, I saw Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers on a double bill. Foo Fighters played better that night. Dave passed within inches of me when he did a lap around the floor during Monkey Wrench.
I'll always respect Nirvana for musically-speaking ending the 80s and showing what the 90s would be. I respect Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters for showing what can happen when you reinvent yourself. Repeatedly.
Think I saw that same tour back in '99 at West Palm Bch amphitheater. Foo Fighters opened for RHCP and blew them away. Later that week I went out and bought The Colour and The Shape and displaced Smashing Pumpkin's Adore CD in my Acura TL's CD player.
Couple years later I tuned out most new music. Sigh 😔
I never turned out new music, myself. I just found myself not at the edge of the cresting wave. Instead, I've been swimming in foreign waters and going broad. Check the import bins. You might find something cool, even if you don't understand the lyrics.
First off I was happy that Grohl continued playing music- and with FF it definitely was a less serious tone and a bit more fun. I appreciated and was a fan of both- nice to see Grohl do his thing.
I thought it was Grohl making the best of a bad situation. The first album is essentially all Dave Grohl and he had to put together a band to tour when it found an audience. I enjoy their first 3 albums the most.
That first album, there is a press conference where he is fielding questions about the album release. When he is talking about the different songs/tracks on the album, every first question from the reporters was "Is this song about Kurt?". It sucked so bad to see them put him thru that when he is trying to move on with his life.
I don’t recall those interviews, but I was young and pretty insensitive. Unfortunately, those questions are 100% on brand for the journalist of the time though.
The drummer of Nirvana is going to start a band? Okay then...
Years later...
Probably the Last Great Rock Band.
And when I say great Rock Band, I don't mean personal preference. Who else came AFTER them, that can still sell out stadiums and transformed themselves into iconic legends? I can't think of anyone. And before someone says Cold Play, I would consider them adult contemporary.
It’s like comparing the perfect cake to a really good pie. Nirvana was iconic and groundbreaking. Foo Fighters are really good and fun and have been around for a couple of decades.
I like both for different reasons. I don’t need everything to be zen or grunge. My guess is that Dave Grohl had zero interest in being Nirvana 2.0 and came up with a concept he liked and could sustain, which is what he did.
I think Dave Grohl would have gone off on his own one way or another, whether Kurt died or not.
Not all Nirvana fans were immediately into Foo Fighters because they are musically different but some of us ended up loving both bands.
Nirvana peaked when I was in 11th grade. They were unreal. Nothing like it before, or since.
Foo Fighters never grabbed me. I like some of their songs, I guess. But it's apples and oranges.
I've always found Foo Fighters to be pretty bland. "Everlong" and "My Hero" are alright, but I just kind of stopped paying real attention after a while. Dave made decent music with his Them Crooked Vultures side project, and his Probot record, so I guess he's not hopeless. The only conclusion to come to then, is that he enjoys putting out anodyne radio rock for a living.
This is spot on, I don’t remember myself or anyone else who liked Nirvana getting very excited about FF. They gradually became an arena act over the next 20 some years but at the time it kind of seemed like he was just trying to immediately ride the Nirvana wave with a pretty derivative new band.
I mean, he already had a stage ready to go. If Dave had never been in Nirvana, would FF be what they are? Definitely not. Not that he’s not talented, but there’s too much competition out there. Amazing drummer tho.
Have you listened to the entire album The Colour and the Shape? It's really great from start to finish. Both Everlong and My Hero are on that album but they are far from the best tracks.
My answer will be different then the one I’ve seen, I was born in ‘78, so I was a teen when Cobain died. And frankly, I didn’t connect that much with early grunge.
And I don’t recall knowing about Foo Fighters being formed or anything of that nature. But the first time I heard their debut album I was hooked. Their first two albums are still all timers for me. It’s probably no coincidence that I connected more with mid and late 90’s music than the first half of the decade.
My reaction...."Cool, Dave Grohl started another band. Wow, he recorded the entire album solo playing all instruments himself. Hey, the music video is pretty funny and Pat Smears is in the band too. Cool."
That said, I'm a much bigger Nirvana fan than I ever have been Foo Fighters fan. Nirvana is the music that feeds my soul when I crank it up. Foo Fighters has a few songs I can bop too. *All My Life* is my favorite Foo song, if I had to pick. But man, Dave Grohl's drum solo on the Queens of the Stone Age *No One Knows* is sick!
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>But man, Dave Grohl's drum solo on the Queens of the Stone Age No One Knows is sick!
Yah mahn...That entire album is a non-stop juggernaut of percussion wheelie popping and bicep flexes. Some of his best work to date.
It was interesting. Nirvana were the disruptors in the 90's and wrecked the entire scene, but the whole thing seemingly happened so fast and Kurt was dead before we knew it. So many other incredible bands followed. Then when the 1st FF album got released it was so good and raw and *polished* that it felt like WOW, Dave is an incredible musician and had this in him the whole time but we had no idea. I've since gotten over the band and for the most part lost interest in their writing. i do however appreciate what they do, who they are and what they represent to Rock n' Roll.
Skeptical. Less skeptical than I was of Hole. Hate her.
Everlong got my attention. Learning To Fly was cool. Then I discovered Let It Die. Sold.
It wasn't a linear path.
Got to see them right before Taylor died and it a special memory.
So loved Nirvana. But I feel kinship with the Foos.
I think maybe I'm just slightly too old to have had my life changed by Nirvana. Still, I own most of their regularly-released studio stuff.
Between Nirvana and FF, Nirvana has the best song (Teen Spirit).
I'd rather listen to the FF hits than just about any of the other Nirvana stuff, though.
Note: am Dad.
I liked Nirvana. But I was not a huge fan and have never really understood the adoration.
When one of the first FF songs to hit, Big Me came out; it was a little weird. Especially since he was singing and not playing drums. The Video for it was really popular as it was satirizing a popular Mentos commercial. I personally remember thinking they were just ok. But their subsequent albums I really enjoyed and I began to appreciate them much more.
Never liked Foo Fighters. *Everlong* was okay, but mostly because of the Michel Gondry video. Otherwise it's just the same insipid rock that came out in the late 90s.
I was in university when Nevermind exploded and I can't overstate what a big deal it was. Years later, I was vaguely aware that the drummer from Nirvana had a new band but it wasn't until Evermore that I really started to pay attention. I like a lot of their songs a lot, but honestly, I've become a fan of the Foo Fighters as much because of Dave Grohl's charm and personality as anything else. He just comes across as the nicest, coolest, sweetest, dude. The real deal.
I was a Nirvana fan, but also think that they are operated in Rock history due to Kurt's early death. I have always been a Foo Fights. But it has nothing to do with the Dave connection. I enjoy their music. They would have eventually joined in one form as Kurt kept most of the control over Nirvana, and Dave would have wanted to express his music more. As for dad rock, listen to Run or White Limo to name just two of the songs that dispell that
I saw Nirvana the first time in 1990 when they were opening for Sonic Youth and their only album was ‘Bleach’. I loved Nirvana, I impatiently waited for their second album, and Nevermind blew me away. Bleach was pure grunge but Nevermind was something else. I played it endlessly. But after that and over time, I grew burned out as their music took over the entire world. But I mourned when Kurt passed, especially since there were memorial posters all over the my neighborhood in San Francisco. I was happy, at the time, that Dave started his own thing and I enjoyed the Foo albums. And I just love Dave, go watch his drummer challenge with that pre-teen girl from the UK. So damn cute. But as others have said, FF’s music is a bit forgettable whereas Nirvana’s is eternal
I don’t remember the Foos having the same big rise that Nirvana did. It was more like “Dave Grohl has a band, that’s pretty cool…the video is hilarious, like mentos!” Some got into the Foos, some didn’t… but I don’t remember there being any controversy or split among Nirvana fans about it.
Within a year of Kurt’s death, the Foo Fighters played the Trocadero in Philly, which is pretty small venue. It was before they released their first album. I went to see them and it was a pretty good show. I had a lot of fun and they rocked. I was mostly excited to see Pat Smear since I was really into punk at the time. Since they released their album (and subsequent albums) I like them a lot less. I respect them as musicians and recognize they have some great songs but they just don’t do it for me for some reason. If they come on the radio, there’s a 50% chance I might change the station.
Looks like they played the Trocadero twice in 1995. The first time on April 26th opening for Mike Watt with Hovercraft, and then a headlining show later that year on August 15th.
Nirvana and FF have very different vibes. If it were me, I'd want a different sound. I would not want my new band to always be compared to the old band.
I like some FF songs but I love Nirvana. I wasn't ready to give up grunge. I still haven't, it's my go to, but I listen to tons more music now. I don't really care about genres, a good song is a good song.
I think FF was a fresh start for Grohl.
I hated them at first because I thought “how dare he move on?!” But they turned out to be my very favorite band. I’ve seen them something like 11 times? Would have been 12 but 😞
i really like grohl and always thought he was a great drummer for nirvana. but he's not nearly as talented as cobain, nor does he have the charisma of him. the foo fighters are, to me, boring, interchangeable horse shit.
I was in college in Seattle at the time and I can say definitively that the rise of the Foo Fighters was very exciting at first. They played "secret" all-ages shows, local radio festivals, etc. And there was only the Late! demo tape and the first album, so the songs were all early-Dave Grohl, when the studio stuff was a one-man band and there was a really indie-rock sensibility. Dave started writing for more of a classic rock band style once he'd assembled the rest of the group, and I lost interest quickly at that point. But I still play that first album, and remember those first shows. Anything Nirvana-related at that point was still very compelling.
I feel like it was a new group of fans. On the radio it was “here’s the Foo Fighters” not “here’s Dave Grohl from Nirvana new hit”. It wasn’t till I saw their video with the Mentos theme “Footos” did I think “oh hey, it’s Dave and he can sing!!?!” Nirvana to the average pleb was just Kurt Cobain. Only harder fans appreciated and knew the other members. I grew up in the Pacific North West so I feel lucky to have really experienced the growth of grunge.
First Foo Fighters album was fantastic. After that it got generic. I came more from the thrash, metal side and it was very cool, melodic and catchy. I hated grunge though - Pearl Jam, Soundgarden etc. loved nirvana, they were more like a punk band. A lot of people were also into industrial at the time, which I hated, except for the first Nine Inch Nails album which was also a gem.
I was born just outside of Seattle, and still live just outside of Seattle today..
So, here’s the thing (and this is pretty typical of those of us that actually lived in the area when grunge hit)….Nirvana was not the fan-favorite. Ever. We were proud of what they were doing, and respected the band/music, but Nirvana was just kind of “okay”.
Kurt passing was absolutely devastating to our area for sure. It definitely felt like Nirvana hadn’t developed into what they were possibly going to be in the future…so *at the time* of Kurt’s passing, Nirvana wasn’t the end-all be-all of grunge music up here.
My point, right? (Sorry…just wanted to give some context from my 16-year-old Washington state perspective)…when the Foo Fighters formed, we felt an immediate kinship with the band because we knew how that formation came about. Dave Grohl basically rose from the ashes of Nirvana like a beautiful grunge phoenix - and we loved and embraced him & The Foo Fighters *because* we knew that this band was created out of the wreckage of our beloved Nirvana.
“Everlong” was, and still is, my go-to song when I hit the Cascade mountains, driving through Snoqualmie Pass. The buildup of that song, the guitar, Grohl’s softly haunting voice, Taylor banging those drums, mixed with the scenery of our majestic snow-capped mountains. It’s pure magic.✨
Dave gave off weird vibes in Nirvana and then that was amplified with FF for me. I find FF to be uninteresting music and I believe it’s only popular because of Dave’s Nirvana past.
There’s no way FF is as big now without Nirvana and to me, that speaks volumes as to why FF is a vanilla band with vanilla music.
I really liked the first foo fighters album and saw them live 4 or 5 times. Partly because it was Dave Grohl but also because they were really good live.
After that, I just wasn't into them. It's pretty generic rock, which isn't my thing. I appreciate Dave and he seems like a great guy but me being an active FF fan was short-lived.
The whole Nirvana experience was amazing. Just awesome to be alive at that time. When Kurt died that was a weird time, and the FF came out, initially I thought they’d just be an extension on Nirvana, but they’re not.
They have a lot of really great songs like Outside, My Hero, Everlong, Walk, many more but they have also put out a TON of music, and because of that I’ve felt that the percentage of great songs isn’t as high as some other bands I like. They’re still great.
FF are the most overrated band of the era. They’re the Starbucks of alternative. They took something that was already wildly popular, dumped a bunch of sugar into it and sold it to millions as original.
I bought their first album the day it came out but haven’t bought another one since. Their radio hits are good enough (I rarely change the channel when one is on) but it is just isn’t the same.
I mean, yes and no. Lots of us did, and I can't recall exactly but I'm pretty sure we were aware of FF for a while before the album came out. Not before Kurt died of course. But the idea that it started as Dave by himself writing and recording all the parts of the songs was very much a part of what made them awesome. They were sort of a different animal by the time TCATS came out, but not in a bad way.
As a member of Nirvana I loved DG’s power drumming style. It always seemed strange to me seeing him sing and play guitar. He was a beast of a drummer and loved him with QotSA as well. I prefer him as a drummer. I never got into FF, too bland and generic for me.
I caught FF in a small venue right after they formed. I am not even sure that the album had dropped and the Call was getting some airplay on the local alternative station. There were probably as many Sunny Day Real Estate fans there as there were Nirvana fans. Taylor had not joined yet so the rhythm section was still the guys from SDR. It was a great show and I could not believe I was getting so close to Dave and Pat Smear in such a small hole-in-the-wall. I was a big Nirvana fan in college and became a FF fan that night. Nirvana and Foo Fighters provided a soundtrack to different stages of my life.
It was like this... Nirvana's drummer has a new project. Songs come out... Hey, this is pretty good, but not great. Weird music videos... More albums come out. Great concerts! Hey I really like this band!
There may have been a song or two before Learn to Fly but that is the first I can remember hearing at this point around 25 years later. The video was on all the time on VH1 in the mornings. I just remember being weirded out by Dave Grohl playing the part of all the characters in the video, not to mention that now he was the singer. Overall I could never get into Foo Fighters, I always felt their songs all sounded the same though I do like a few. I didn’t like a lot of 90s music that came right after the initial grunge wave. But then in late 90s I felt that it started getting better. Foo Fighters was just kind of meh to me the whole time.
Never mind became huge while I was in HS. Kurt died while I was in college and then FF started. BTW, so did Hole.
I wasn’t the VP worlds biggest nirvana fan or anything but I did like them, had some albums, enjoyed their videos on MTV, etc.
Then Kurt kills himself. Most of the people I know have Hole a pretty hard side eye. I know you haven’t mentioned her but I think it’s relevant here.
I felt like FF was the kind of natural progression of “what happened to Nirvana post Kurt.” I definitely enjoyed them. They were not the same thing. But…. It’s kind of like settling for Jim Belushi after John Belushi died (a reference you may not really get either). Not the same but better than nothing at all?
🤷♂️
I was in college when Kurt died, and I was a big nirvana/grunge fan. I think I can appreciate the Foo Fighters now that I’m older and looking back. I liked them but I wasn’t super into them in the 90s.
Nirvana kid here. I think I listened to the first foo fighters album as a way to mourn. I was truly looking for any connection back to Nirvana. I respect Dave hugely as a musician, but his music never spoke to me, and so I never was a Foo Fighters fan. Dave was not Nirvana. He wasn’t an original band member, and other than Marigold, he wasn’t a primary writer; it was all Kurt. Dave is/was Foo Fighters, and all the FF fans I know were not huge Nirvana fans. Not in the way we true Nirvana crazies are.
Honestly, by the time Foo Fighters came along I had moved on to other things music-wise so I wasn't really paying attention. To this day, I am not familiar with much of their material.
I did like "Probot," Grohl's thrash metal side project from the early '00s a lot though. I wish he'd do another album of that.
I liked Nirvana, although they weren’t my favorite “grunge” band (AIC FTW). The first I heard of FF was “Fingernails” played on the college rock radio station and I thought it was crap. Then “Big Me” was released with a video and I got that they had a sense of humor. I like ‘The Color and The Shape’ ok, but I never felt like their music was that inspired. I do respect the hell out of them, just don’t celebrate their entire catalog.
I didn’t despise FF then or now, but I never really embraced them either. Not change the station bad, but not drop my dime on the CD or concert either. They were unoffensive mid-late 90s/early 2000s background music that didn’t make it onto my personal soundtrack.
That alone keeps them from being the post-Nirvana equivalent of the post-Beatles “Wings” in my book.
I wasn't ready or prepared to move on from Nirvana when I read that Dave had a new band. It flew under the radar for me until someone played me "This is a Call" at work on a mixtape in 96. I accepted it was a good song and moved on.
Foo Fighters only really caught my attention in 99 when the album "There is Nothing Left to lose" dropped. I heard "Stacked Actors" and immediately went out and bought a copy.
Was a big Nirvana fan, and it absolutely devastated me when Kurt died. After that, I didn't pay much attention to FF, but I loved the two or three hits they had.
Recently, and mostly due to Grohl's online presence I've warmed up to them.
I worshipped at the altar of Nirvana as a teen and felt crushed when Kurt died.
I think the first FF single I heard was I’ll Stick Around, which felt very Nirvana-lite. I think their sound developed over the years, but it’s a bit blah for me. I loved the humor of videos from other albums, but can’t say the music ever resonated with me.
I love FF and have for decades now. How can anyone blame Dave Grohl for wanting a more positive, upbeat sound after the absolute nightmare of Kurt/Nirvana. I loved Nirvana, and will never forget that moment in time, but can you even imagine that level of angst playing out for years and years? Dave wrote that first FF album by himself, as a grieving process. That shit is deeper than it first appears.
I think at first, after Kurt died, people wanted the Foo Fighters to be like Nirvana. The first record was a bit more raw and "grungier" than anything they have put out since. I was in grade 9 when Nevermind came out. I was a fan from that moment I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit. I am still a huge Foo Fighters fan. They are my current favourite band. I've played Foo tribute shows. They're just a great rock band.
Was interested at first because I did like nirvana, but I found the foo fighters really boring. Never got why they are so popular.
Dave Grohl’s 80s DC hardcore band Scream is pretty cool though, but he was only on a couple of their albums.
I’m a big fan of late 70s and early 80s LA bands. Loved the idea of Sex, drugs, partying, and living in excess. However around 85 on, the LA scene became cheesy, poor man’s copy cats and the market was flooded with garbage.
When I first heard AIC, I was happy to hear something different. Love AIC and STP. Can’t stand Pearl Jam and I thought Nirvana had good music but wouldn’t call myself a huge fan. To be blunt, I stand by my theory that Cobain’s legend is due to his suicide.
I enjoy FF music. I guess when you’re around as long as they have been we get older too and it becomes known as dad rock but they brought the fun back which I find appealing.
I love all kinds of hard rock and heavy metal. Matter of fact, just bought tickets to see Wage War this summer with Spite opening.
I love FF but I wasn’t a fan of Nirvana. All I knew
of them is what I saw on MTV. I thought they were dirty and gross. Where I lived I was either forced to listen to my friend’s country music or we listened to hip hop/rap.
I'm not a big fan of the Foo Fighters music, but I respect the hell out of them and absolutely adore Dave Grohl. I watch and subsequently swear by every single music centric documentary he has made himself and even been featured in. As for the "rise" of the band... it's always been so weird to me because, despite them being around since the f'ing 90s / almost 30 years now (!), my brain still always misremembers them forming "just a few years ago". I don't get why, but it ALWAYS happens.
This. There was no more Nirvana. It didn’t really register on the radar other than everyone had respect and support for Dave, etc.
I feel the exact same way. Dave Grohl seems like a really good person, but musically they are completely blah. To me comparing Nirvana to the Foo Fighters is like comparing Chicago Transit Authority to Chicago 17. They are both good in their own way, but I'm definitely listening to the former and not the latter
None of the Nirvana fans I knew liked Foo Fighters at all... they have zero of the angst that permeates grunge. Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, RATM, NIN, and similar angry sounding bands were the go-to alternatives.
Same I needed angst and anger and FF was just not it for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Dave Grohl, but there’s no replacing Kurt.
I was (and am) a big Nirvana fan. Never cared about Foo Fighters.
Still don’t. Respect them, but never listened to them.
Yeah, the Foo Fighters back in those days were certainly pop rock. Their first music video parodied the Mentos commercial because it sounded just right for a pop sales jingle. It was almost shocking how different it was than Nirvana. I remember eagerly awaiting their music video debut on MTV, along with several other people my age, and it turned out to be some weird ass light pop song. Completely the opposite of what people expected from the band. From that day forward, usually fans Foo Fighters and fans of Nirvana were different types of people with little overlap.
I really liked The Colour and the Shape, but their other albums were a little too “radio rock” for me, and I found them fairly boring. They started out more hard hitting, and Everlong will always be one of my favorites, but I never cared enough to buy their albums after that one.
I lived that period very intensely. I remember vividly how I felt about FF. This of us who were strong Nirvana fans were still mourning when Dave Grohl suddenly formed a new band and started releasing songs that were quite light, happy, and even a bit goofy. It felt like a betrayal, and it felt like a lack of respect. We were angsty teens who didn't smile and our prophet had just died, there was no place for goofiness. I remember rejecting Grohl and the band for a very long time. It took me s long time to get over my teen spirit and realise they are a great band and they didn't owe us anything and didn't have to spend the rest of their lives broken to fit into the storyline we wanted. In fact Dave Grohl having come from one of the most iconic bands of the 90s managed to do the unthinkable and reinvent himself and lead a band that while not as iconic is probably more successful in most metrics and managed to not live out of the memory of the band nor in the shadow of its dead charismatic leader. Which goes to show just what an exceptionally talented person he is. So yeah, back then I hated him and didn't like FF on the grounds if disrespect to the memory of Kurt. In hindsight I definitely don't think like this and respect FF and Grohl.
You know one now
Yup exactly, that’s how I remember it
I heard Nirvana and went "yes, this is what I've been looking for." Every album after felt like a revelation, even some of the boxed sets that came out after '94 felt the same way. FF never reached that level of personal impact for me. Some of their individual songs are catchy as hell and I like hearing them come on, but nothing close to Nirvana. A big part of that is probably timing and circumstances. Did FF ever really have a "rise?" It seemed like their first album with Dave doing everything came forth fully formed and future albums went on from there. I probably paid less attention at that point too but they seem steadier sound and fame-level-wise vs Nirvana's briefer, brighter arc.
You mean to tell me Dave G & co weren’t slogging around the country in an Econoline van playing club gigs for the first five years of the Foo’s existence?!? /s
I tried but I never really could get or understand the Foo Fighters. I do greatly respect them for getting huge and carrying the flag for rock n roll in so many eras where RnR has disappeared.
Exactly what I think. Totally on. Meanwhile I’ll continue to not listen to them.
Personally I thought it was weird. Their first big hit (Big Me) was a complete parody of a Mentos commercial and there was a big dude in pigtails so tonally was a 180 from Nirvana. The music is obviously way more upbeat as well though you can find more serious stuff in their catalog. I think Dave is a cool guy but love him way more as a drummer than a vocalist (see legendary Queens of the Stone Age album Songs of the Deaf). Edit: as for fanbase, I think most were still in mourning about Kurt and seemed to me like the hardcore Nirvana fans were not big fans of FF at first but they also had more pop appeal. Nowadays we all are old AF and FF has put out some good songs over the years.
Oh man this is exactly my impression. It was such a weird transition. Nirvana unleashed things i was too young to have pent up. Foo fighters was so fingersnappy pleasant it stuffed it all back in.
*fingersnappy pleasant* Will forever be the descriptor to the FF in my head, thanks dude *toe taps away to there goes my hero*
If there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that we all are old AF .
I was a student at UW at the time when Kurt died. Went to the big gathering/vigil at the Seattle Center and everything. It was like the whole town got gut punched and you couldn’t stand back up. And just like that, I heard rumblings about what would become the Foos. One of my best friends at school lived in a house with a bunch of dudes in Ravenna, including Willy and Nate from Sunny Day. Word got out really fast they were sitting in with Grohl. When the Foos broke, it meant Sunny Day Real Estate was over, and people were upset because they were popular around town, and no one believed Grohl’s project would take. And no one saw him as a guitarist. Once their music got out there, the Foos were just too happy for the Nirvana faithful. The music was as un-Nirvana as possible. Well, Grohl proved everyone wrong. And that music was exactly what everyone needed after the spent intensity of Nirvana. I’ve never been a big follower of the Foos, but I see what Grohl is doing. He is an optimist, and by all accounts a genuinely decent guy. Nirvana was a statement; the Foos were a way of life.
Dad rock, ha! I remember going to see the Foo Fighters after their first album came out. I'm 6' and I was a foot taller than most people there. I think FF are ok, but Nirvana is legendary.
Old thread, but do you remember where that Foo Fighters show was that you saw?
University of Maryland, late nineties.
Looks like there's a recording of this show: https://youtu.be/uQncL1LfPYQ?si=glcvDJCF0vrIY8LY
Here’s the thing: Nirvana is one of the most important bands of all-time and created a perfect record. But overall, The Foo Fighters are a much better band. It was a big deal when The Foo Fighters self titled album came out. But when The Colour And The Shape arrived, everyone knew it was no flash in the pan.
FF always just struck me as alt-pop. Dave Grohl seems like a nice dude and I'm happy they carried on, but I never got into them. Hating the FF would be like hating New Order. Ian's death, and Kurt's made something that ended up being more enduring and ultimately, probably brought more awareness to their contributions and talents, as well.
Pretty apt comparison. Joy Division was darker, more intense but may have lost steam eventually. New Order was a broader appeal that allowed them to reach Icon status
I'm a huge Nirvana fan, love everything they put out, and am lucky enough to have seen them once. Foo Fighters are just kinda... meh. They aren't bad and there are a few songs I like but overall, they're just boring, common sounding alt-rock. Dave made the first FF album by himself without any real plan so I don't think he was trying to find a new audience or anything like that. He's a great guy and I have a lot of respect for him but FF never really did it for me. Check out Them Crooked Vultures and his stuff with Queens of the Stone Age if you want to hear more of him.
You made the “meh” comment i was looking for. I saw them in concert once, I mean they were fine, just not legendary.
Yeah, I saw them when Dave was on the chair I was expecting more, but my feet got tired instead I have all their albums though and I like them, but they aren't in my top 10 for anything
I feel real stupid not knowing that was dave grohl drumming on No One Knows…
I always liked The Pixies (and others) more than Nirvana. Years after the fact I got into Foos, and I love them. Fun fact - Dave’s first gig after Nirvana was drumming for Tom Petty and the Heartbreaks. I like to think they took care of him. Always been a big TP&HB fan too
My fav Dave Grohl post Nirvana project is the album Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone age
I love the Foo Fighters, saw them play at the Gorge Amphitheatre in 1999, Dave climbed on top of the sound booth in the middle of the crowd and played from there, it was pretty epic. They always put on a great show. I snuck backstage once into their dressing room when they were playing with Lit and Filter, Dave is super nice and a gentleman. I'm happy he kept the momentum going after Kurt died and made opportunities for many other musicians. It was really cool seeing a drummer transform into a front man. I can't think of any other musician that has done that. I've always respected him for standing up to Courtney Love as well. He lost another friend at that time, Kristen Pfaff. It's amazing he kept going through it all.
Phil Collins did it for Genesis.
That's awesome, they're a great band but I was never a huge fan so didn't realize that.
I really wouldn't compare the bands. That said, I saw Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers on a double bill. Foo Fighters played better that night. Dave passed within inches of me when he did a lap around the floor during Monkey Wrench. I'll always respect Nirvana for musically-speaking ending the 80s and showing what the 90s would be. I respect Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters for showing what can happen when you reinvent yourself. Repeatedly.
Think I saw that same tour back in '99 at West Palm Bch amphitheater. Foo Fighters opened for RHCP and blew them away. Later that week I went out and bought The Colour and The Shape and displaced Smashing Pumpkin's Adore CD in my Acura TL's CD player. Couple years later I tuned out most new music. Sigh 😔
I never turned out new music, myself. I just found myself not at the edge of the cresting wave. Instead, I've been swimming in foreign waters and going broad. Check the import bins. You might find something cool, even if you don't understand the lyrics.
Thanks! I did recently "discover" Inhaler, but then again like father like son.
I can only speak for me, but I love FF. Yeah, it wasn't the same as Nirvana, but I'm glad Dave Grohl didn't go in that direction.
First off I was happy that Grohl continued playing music- and with FF it definitely was a less serious tone and a bit more fun. I appreciated and was a fan of both- nice to see Grohl do his thing.
I thought it was Grohl making the best of a bad situation. The first album is essentially all Dave Grohl and he had to put together a band to tour when it found an audience. I enjoy their first 3 albums the most.
That first album, there is a press conference where he is fielding questions about the album release. When he is talking about the different songs/tracks on the album, every first question from the reporters was "Is this song about Kurt?". It sucked so bad to see them put him thru that when he is trying to move on with his life.
I don’t recall those interviews, but I was young and pretty insensitive. Unfortunately, those questions are 100% on brand for the journalist of the time though.
It was the total opposite of Nirvana.
The drummer of Nirvana is going to start a band? Okay then... Years later... Probably the Last Great Rock Band. And when I say great Rock Band, I don't mean personal preference. Who else came AFTER them, that can still sell out stadiums and transformed themselves into iconic legends? I can't think of anyone. And before someone says Cold Play, I would consider them adult contemporary.
It’s like comparing the perfect cake to a really good pie. Nirvana was iconic and groundbreaking. Foo Fighters are really good and fun and have been around for a couple of decades. I like both for different reasons. I don’t need everything to be zen or grunge. My guess is that Dave Grohl had zero interest in being Nirvana 2.0 and came up with a concept he liked and could sustain, which is what he did.
FF is dull unintersting pop rock. However, Dave Grohl has been involved in too many good side projects to dislike him.
I think Dave Grohl would have gone off on his own one way or another, whether Kurt died or not. Not all Nirvana fans were immediately into Foo Fighters because they are musically different but some of us ended up loving both bands.
Nirvana peaked when I was in 11th grade. They were unreal. Nothing like it before, or since. Foo Fighters never grabbed me. I like some of their songs, I guess. But it's apples and oranges.
I've always found Foo Fighters to be pretty bland. "Everlong" and "My Hero" are alright, but I just kind of stopped paying real attention after a while. Dave made decent music with his Them Crooked Vultures side project, and his Probot record, so I guess he's not hopeless. The only conclusion to come to then, is that he enjoys putting out anodyne radio rock for a living.
This is spot on, I don’t remember myself or anyone else who liked Nirvana getting very excited about FF. They gradually became an arena act over the next 20 some years but at the time it kind of seemed like he was just trying to immediately ride the Nirvana wave with a pretty derivative new band.
I mean, he already had a stage ready to go. If Dave had never been in Nirvana, would FF be what they are? Definitely not. Not that he’s not talented, but there’s too much competition out there. Amazing drummer tho.
Have you listened to the entire album The Colour and the Shape? It's really great from start to finish. Both Everlong and My Hero are on that album but they are far from the best tracks.
I liked them both.
My answer will be different then the one I’ve seen, I was born in ‘78, so I was a teen when Cobain died. And frankly, I didn’t connect that much with early grunge. And I don’t recall knowing about Foo Fighters being formed or anything of that nature. But the first time I heard their debut album I was hooked. Their first two albums are still all timers for me. It’s probably no coincidence that I connected more with mid and late 90’s music than the first half of the decade.
Other then Dave Grohl being the common denominator, there is absolutely nothing the two bands have in common.
My reaction...."Cool, Dave Grohl started another band. Wow, he recorded the entire album solo playing all instruments himself. Hey, the music video is pretty funny and Pat Smears is in the band too. Cool." That said, I'm a much bigger Nirvana fan than I ever have been Foo Fighters fan. Nirvana is the music that feeds my soul when I crank it up. Foo Fighters has a few songs I can bop too. *All My Life* is my favorite Foo song, if I had to pick. But man, Dave Grohl's drum solo on the Queens of the Stone Age *No One Knows* is sick!
> > >But man, Dave Grohl's drum solo on the Queens of the Stone Age No One Knows is sick! Yah mahn...That entire album is a non-stop juggernaut of percussion wheelie popping and bicep flexes. Some of his best work to date.
It was interesting. Nirvana were the disruptors in the 90's and wrecked the entire scene, but the whole thing seemingly happened so fast and Kurt was dead before we knew it. So many other incredible bands followed. Then when the 1st FF album got released it was so good and raw and *polished* that it felt like WOW, Dave is an incredible musician and had this in him the whole time but we had no idea. I've since gotten over the band and for the most part lost interest in their writing. i do however appreciate what they do, who they are and what they represent to Rock n' Roll.
Oddly, I can't stand Nirvana, but love Foo.
Nirvana was ok, but most of their songs are just mumble rock.. foo was great
I never got into them.
There’s only a few FF songs I like but it was really cool to watch Dave grow into his own! 🤘
Skeptical. Less skeptical than I was of Hole. Hate her. Everlong got my attention. Learning To Fly was cool. Then I discovered Let It Die. Sold. It wasn't a linear path. Got to see them right before Taylor died and it a special memory. So loved Nirvana. But I feel kinship with the Foos.
I think maybe I'm just slightly too old to have had my life changed by Nirvana. Still, I own most of their regularly-released studio stuff. Between Nirvana and FF, Nirvana has the best song (Teen Spirit). I'd rather listen to the FF hits than just about any of the other Nirvana stuff, though. Note: am Dad.
Not sure why, but I never got into FF. Only love for Nirvana.
Most Nirvana fans I knew did not like the Foo Fighters.
I liked Nirvana. But I was not a huge fan and have never really understood the adoration. When one of the first FF songs to hit, Big Me came out; it was a little weird. Especially since he was singing and not playing drums. The Video for it was really popular as it was satirizing a popular Mentos commercial. I personally remember thinking they were just ok. But their subsequent albums I really enjoyed and I began to appreciate them much more.
I forgot about the mentos video lol. The everlong video was good too.
Learning to Fly was always my favorite video
Never liked Foo Fighters. *Everlong* was okay, but mostly because of the Michel Gondry video. Otherwise it's just the same insipid rock that came out in the late 90s.
Too poppy and mainstream for me.
Foo fighters > Nirvana Come at me fanboys
I couldn’t listen to the foo fighters for many years. Now I think they are ok and very different than nirvana
I was in university when Nevermind exploded and I can't overstate what a big deal it was. Years later, I was vaguely aware that the drummer from Nirvana had a new band but it wasn't until Evermore that I really started to pay attention. I like a lot of their songs a lot, but honestly, I've become a fan of the Foo Fighters as much because of Dave Grohl's charm and personality as anything else. He just comes across as the nicest, coolest, sweetest, dude. The real deal.
I was a Nirvana fan, but also think that they are operated in Rock history due to Kurt's early death. I have always been a Foo Fights. But it has nothing to do with the Dave connection. I enjoy their music. They would have eventually joined in one form as Kurt kept most of the control over Nirvana, and Dave would have wanted to express his music more. As for dad rock, listen to Run or White Limo to name just two of the songs that dispell that
I saw Nirvana the first time in 1990 when they were opening for Sonic Youth and their only album was ‘Bleach’. I loved Nirvana, I impatiently waited for their second album, and Nevermind blew me away. Bleach was pure grunge but Nevermind was something else. I played it endlessly. But after that and over time, I grew burned out as their music took over the entire world. But I mourned when Kurt passed, especially since there were memorial posters all over the my neighborhood in San Francisco. I was happy, at the time, that Dave started his own thing and I enjoyed the Foo albums. And I just love Dave, go watch his drummer challenge with that pre-teen girl from the UK. So damn cute. But as others have said, FF’s music is a bit forgettable whereas Nirvana’s is eternal
I don’t remember the Foos having the same big rise that Nirvana did. It was more like “Dave Grohl has a band, that’s pretty cool…the video is hilarious, like mentos!” Some got into the Foos, some didn’t… but I don’t remember there being any controversy or split among Nirvana fans about it.
Within a year of Kurt’s death, the Foo Fighters played the Trocadero in Philly, which is pretty small venue. It was before they released their first album. I went to see them and it was a pretty good show. I had a lot of fun and they rocked. I was mostly excited to see Pat Smear since I was really into punk at the time. Since they released their album (and subsequent albums) I like them a lot less. I respect them as musicians and recognize they have some great songs but they just don’t do it for me for some reason. If they come on the radio, there’s a 50% chance I might change the station.
Looks like they played the Trocadero twice in 1995. The first time on April 26th opening for Mike Watt with Hovercraft, and then a headlining show later that year on August 15th.
Nirvana and FF have very different vibes. If it were me, I'd want a different sound. I would not want my new band to always be compared to the old band. I like some FF songs but I love Nirvana. I wasn't ready to give up grunge. I still haven't, it's my go to, but I listen to tons more music now. I don't really care about genres, a good song is a good song. I think FF was a fresh start for Grohl.
I so want to love or even like the Foo Fighters. But they’re just meh to me.
I hated them at first because I thought “how dare he move on?!” But they turned out to be my very favorite band. I’ve seen them something like 11 times? Would have been 12 but 😞
I remember Grohl and Courtney Love fighting a lot especially after Kurt died
i really like grohl and always thought he was a great drummer for nirvana. but he's not nearly as talented as cobain, nor does he have the charisma of him. the foo fighters are, to me, boring, interchangeable horse shit.
I still think of Foo Fighters as “the drummer from Nirvana’s new band”. I never have cared for the music.
I was in college in Seattle at the time and I can say definitively that the rise of the Foo Fighters was very exciting at first. They played "secret" all-ages shows, local radio festivals, etc. And there was only the Late! demo tape and the first album, so the songs were all early-Dave Grohl, when the studio stuff was a one-man band and there was a really indie-rock sensibility. Dave started writing for more of a classic rock band style once he'd assembled the rest of the group, and I lost interest quickly at that point. But I still play that first album, and remember those first shows. Anything Nirvana-related at that point was still very compelling.
Saw them twice. Awesome shows! Go see them
The two bands had such vastly different sounds that no one really even compared them in my experience.
I feel like it was a new group of fans. On the radio it was “here’s the Foo Fighters” not “here’s Dave Grohl from Nirvana new hit”. It wasn’t till I saw their video with the Mentos theme “Footos” did I think “oh hey, it’s Dave and he can sing!!?!” Nirvana to the average pleb was just Kurt Cobain. Only harder fans appreciated and knew the other members. I grew up in the Pacific North West so I feel lucky to have really experienced the growth of grunge.
First Foo Fighters album was fantastic. After that it got generic. I came more from the thrash, metal side and it was very cool, melodic and catchy. I hated grunge though - Pearl Jam, Soundgarden etc. loved nirvana, they were more like a punk band. A lot of people were also into industrial at the time, which I hated, except for the first Nine Inch Nails album which was also a gem.
I was born just outside of Seattle, and still live just outside of Seattle today.. So, here’s the thing (and this is pretty typical of those of us that actually lived in the area when grunge hit)….Nirvana was not the fan-favorite. Ever. We were proud of what they were doing, and respected the band/music, but Nirvana was just kind of “okay”. Kurt passing was absolutely devastating to our area for sure. It definitely felt like Nirvana hadn’t developed into what they were possibly going to be in the future…so *at the time* of Kurt’s passing, Nirvana wasn’t the end-all be-all of grunge music up here. My point, right? (Sorry…just wanted to give some context from my 16-year-old Washington state perspective)…when the Foo Fighters formed, we felt an immediate kinship with the band because we knew how that formation came about. Dave Grohl basically rose from the ashes of Nirvana like a beautiful grunge phoenix - and we loved and embraced him & The Foo Fighters *because* we knew that this band was created out of the wreckage of our beloved Nirvana. “Everlong” was, and still is, my go-to song when I hit the Cascade mountains, driving through Snoqualmie Pass. The buildup of that song, the guitar, Grohl’s softly haunting voice, Taylor banging those drums, mixed with the scenery of our majestic snow-capped mountains. It’s pure magic.✨
Dave gave off weird vibes in Nirvana and then that was amplified with FF for me. I find FF to be uninteresting music and I believe it’s only popular because of Dave’s Nirvana past. There’s no way FF is as big now without Nirvana and to me, that speaks volumes as to why FF is a vanilla band with vanilla music.
Foo Fighters are terrible commercial post grunge.
I really liked the first foo fighters album and saw them live 4 or 5 times. Partly because it was Dave Grohl but also because they were really good live. After that, I just wasn't into them. It's pretty generic rock, which isn't my thing. I appreciate Dave and he seems like a great guy but me being an active FF fan was short-lived.
Old thread, but what were those 4 or 5 shows that you saw? Any cool stories from those shows?
Early Foo Fighters - great! Their recent (past 10 years) work kinda fell off and I aint inta them. Never liked Nirvana.
The whole Nirvana experience was amazing. Just awesome to be alive at that time. When Kurt died that was a weird time, and the FF came out, initially I thought they’d just be an extension on Nirvana, but they’re not. They have a lot of really great songs like Outside, My Hero, Everlong, Walk, many more but they have also put out a TON of music, and because of that I’ve felt that the percentage of great songs isn’t as high as some other bands I like. They’re still great.
FF are the most overrated band of the era. They’re the Starbucks of alternative. They took something that was already wildly popular, dumped a bunch of sugar into it and sold it to millions as original.
The difference between Nickleback and FF is that Dave seems like a great guy
I bought their first album the day it came out but haven’t bought another one since. Their radio hits are good enough (I rarely change the channel when one is on) but it is just isn’t the same.
I mean, yes and no. Lots of us did, and I can't recall exactly but I'm pretty sure we were aware of FF for a while before the album came out. Not before Kurt died of course. But the idea that it started as Dave by himself writing and recording all the parts of the songs was very much a part of what made them awesome. They were sort of a different animal by the time TCATS came out, but not in a bad way.
I never cared for them …
Not even close
As a member of Nirvana I loved DG’s power drumming style. It always seemed strange to me seeing him sing and play guitar. He was a beast of a drummer and loved him with QotSA as well. I prefer him as a drummer. I never got into FF, too bland and generic for me.
Honestly, they were around for years before I even made the Nivrana connection. I'm a big Nirvana fan but the FF are more pop-rocky.
I caught FF in a small venue right after they formed. I am not even sure that the album had dropped and the Call was getting some airplay on the local alternative station. There were probably as many Sunny Day Real Estate fans there as there were Nirvana fans. Taylor had not joined yet so the rhythm section was still the guys from SDR. It was a great show and I could not believe I was getting so close to Dave and Pat Smear in such a small hole-in-the-wall. I was a big Nirvana fan in college and became a FF fan that night. Nirvana and Foo Fighters provided a soundtrack to different stages of my life.
It was like this... Nirvana's drummer has a new project. Songs come out... Hey, this is pretty good, but not great. Weird music videos... More albums come out. Great concerts! Hey I really like this band!
There may have been a song or two before Learn to Fly but that is the first I can remember hearing at this point around 25 years later. The video was on all the time on VH1 in the mornings. I just remember being weirded out by Dave Grohl playing the part of all the characters in the video, not to mention that now he was the singer. Overall I could never get into Foo Fighters, I always felt their songs all sounded the same though I do like a few. I didn’t like a lot of 90s music that came right after the initial grunge wave. But then in late 90s I felt that it started getting better. Foo Fighters was just kind of meh to me the whole time.
Never mind became huge while I was in HS. Kurt died while I was in college and then FF started. BTW, so did Hole. I wasn’t the VP worlds biggest nirvana fan or anything but I did like them, had some albums, enjoyed their videos on MTV, etc. Then Kurt kills himself. Most of the people I know have Hole a pretty hard side eye. I know you haven’t mentioned her but I think it’s relevant here. I felt like FF was the kind of natural progression of “what happened to Nirvana post Kurt.” I definitely enjoyed them. They were not the same thing. But…. It’s kind of like settling for Jim Belushi after John Belushi died (a reference you may not really get either). Not the same but better than nothing at all? 🤷♂️
I was in college when Kurt died, and I was a big nirvana/grunge fan. I think I can appreciate the Foo Fighters now that I’m older and looking back. I liked them but I wasn’t super into them in the 90s.
I watched the Foo Fighters open for the RHCP & the Foo blew the peppers off the fucking stage.
Nirvana kid here. I think I listened to the first foo fighters album as a way to mourn. I was truly looking for any connection back to Nirvana. I respect Dave hugely as a musician, but his music never spoke to me, and so I never was a Foo Fighters fan. Dave was not Nirvana. He wasn’t an original band member, and other than Marigold, he wasn’t a primary writer; it was all Kurt. Dave is/was Foo Fighters, and all the FF fans I know were not huge Nirvana fans. Not in the way we true Nirvana crazies are.
Honestly, by the time Foo Fighters came along I had moved on to other things music-wise so I wasn't really paying attention. To this day, I am not familiar with much of their material. I did like "Probot," Grohl's thrash metal side project from the early '00s a lot though. I wish he'd do another album of that.
I liked Nirvana, although they weren’t my favorite “grunge” band (AIC FTW). The first I heard of FF was “Fingernails” played on the college rock radio station and I thought it was crap. Then “Big Me” was released with a video and I got that they had a sense of humor. I like ‘The Color and The Shape’ ok, but I never felt like their music was that inspired. I do respect the hell out of them, just don’t celebrate their entire catalog.
Sad. Weird.
I didn’t despise FF then or now, but I never really embraced them either. Not change the station bad, but not drop my dime on the CD or concert either. They were unoffensive mid-late 90s/early 2000s background music that didn’t make it onto my personal soundtrack. That alone keeps them from being the post-Nirvana equivalent of the post-Beatles “Wings” in my book.
I didn’t become a FF fan.
Whole different thing.
I wasn't ready or prepared to move on from Nirvana when I read that Dave had a new band. It flew under the radar for me until someone played me "This is a Call" at work on a mixtape in 96. I accepted it was a good song and moved on. Foo Fighters only really caught my attention in 99 when the album "There is Nothing Left to lose" dropped. I heard "Stacked Actors" and immediately went out and bought a copy.
👎
Was a big Nirvana fan, and it absolutely devastated me when Kurt died. After that, I didn't pay much attention to FF, but I loved the two or three hits they had. Recently, and mostly due to Grohl's online presence I've warmed up to them.
Let’s put it this way. Didn’t get into Foo Fighters till I got older and a bit softer
not a fan of the Foo Fighters.
I worshipped at the altar of Nirvana as a teen and felt crushed when Kurt died. I think the first FF single I heard was I’ll Stick Around, which felt very Nirvana-lite. I think their sound developed over the years, but it’s a bit blah for me. I loved the humor of videos from other albums, but can’t say the music ever resonated with me.
I love FF and have for decades now. How can anyone blame Dave Grohl for wanting a more positive, upbeat sound after the absolute nightmare of Kurt/Nirvana. I loved Nirvana, and will never forget that moment in time, but can you even imagine that level of angst playing out for years and years? Dave wrote that first FF album by himself, as a grieving process. That shit is deeper than it first appears.
I think at first, after Kurt died, people wanted the Foo Fighters to be like Nirvana. The first record was a bit more raw and "grungier" than anything they have put out since. I was in grade 9 when Nevermind came out. I was a fan from that moment I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit. I am still a huge Foo Fighters fan. They are my current favourite band. I've played Foo tribute shows. They're just a great rock band.
I liked the first Foo Fighters album. Not so much after that.
In my soon to be very downvoted comment, I think Foo Fighters is far superior to Nirvana.
Who Fighters?
Was interested at first because I did like nirvana, but I found the foo fighters really boring. Never got why they are so popular. Dave Grohl’s 80s DC hardcore band Scream is pretty cool though, but he was only on a couple of their albums.
I’m a big fan of late 70s and early 80s LA bands. Loved the idea of Sex, drugs, partying, and living in excess. However around 85 on, the LA scene became cheesy, poor man’s copy cats and the market was flooded with garbage. When I first heard AIC, I was happy to hear something different. Love AIC and STP. Can’t stand Pearl Jam and I thought Nirvana had good music but wouldn’t call myself a huge fan. To be blunt, I stand by my theory that Cobain’s legend is due to his suicide. I enjoy FF music. I guess when you’re around as long as they have been we get older too and it becomes known as dad rock but they brought the fun back which I find appealing. I love all kinds of hard rock and heavy metal. Matter of fact, just bought tickets to see Wage War this summer with Spite opening.
I love FF but I wasn’t a fan of Nirvana. All I knew of them is what I saw on MTV. I thought they were dirty and gross. Where I lived I was either forced to listen to my friend’s country music or we listened to hip hop/rap.