final pres - group 1

Foo Fighters
Brittany Cicchese, Cassie Carlson, George Rodriguez, Jacob Hayes, Vitor
Milagres
History
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The Founder of the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, was previously the drummer for the
band Nirvana. He would write his own songs but was intimidated by Kurt Cobain, so
he did not show the band.
After Cobain’s death,
Nirvana disbanded and Grohl
found an opportunity to spread
all the songs he had written.
“One man band”
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He went to a studio to record all the
songs he had written
He sang and played every instrument
on the recordings
He recorded the songs under the name
of Foo Fighters
Formation
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Nate Mendel (bassist) and William
Goldsmith (drummer) were disbanded
from the group Sunny Day Real
Estate and decided to join Grohl
Pat Smear had been a touring
guitarist for Nirvana and also decided
to join him
However, the major influences of the
band came from Grohl
Debut Album
•  Live debut on 02/23/1995
•  First album, Foo Fighters, in July
Second Album
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In 1966, they recorded their second album, The Colour and the Shape,
Grohl wrote all the songs, however, the band played the instruments this
time
Replacement (drums)
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Grohl did not like the sound of the drums and decided to re-record the
drums himself.
Goldsmith felt hurt and decided to leave the band
Taylor Hawkins, a drummer for Alanis Morissette, took his place.
Replacement (guitar)
•  Pat Smear decided to leave
the band and a childhood
friend of Grohl’s, Franz
Stahl, decided to replace
him
Trio
•  However, Stahl and Grohl’s ideas in
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songwriting did not match and Grohl fired him
The trio was Grohl, Hawkins and Mendel
Third Album
•  The album There Is Nothing Left to Lose,
gave them their first single on the Billboard
Hot 100
Chris Shiflett
•  Chris Shiflett, guitarist, joined the band
Fourth Album
•  When recording their fourth album, disagreements
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and debates about it made them decide to take a
short break from the band.
However, after reuniting to play at the Coachella
festival, they got back together
and recorded their fourth
album, One by One
Fifth album
•  They built a recording studio, Studio 606
West, and recorded their fifth album, In Your
Honor
Sixth album
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In 2007, they recorded their sixth album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and
Grace
The album was nominated for five Grammy and won two of them
o  Best Rock Album
o  Best Hard Rock Performance
for the single, “The Pretender”
Pat Smear rejoined them
Seventh Album
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In 2011, they released Wasting Light, which was recorded in Grohl’s garage,
using only analog equipment
This album won five out of six Grammy nominations:
o  Best Hard Rock/metal performance
o  Best Long Form Music Video
o  Best Rock Album
o  Best Rock Performance
o  Best Rock Song
Number one album on the
Billboard 200
Current Members
•  Dave Grohl – Lead Vocals, rhythm and lead
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guitar
Nate Mendel – Bass guitar
Taylor Hawkins – Drums and background
vocals
Chris Shiflett – Lead guitar and background
vocals
Pat Smear – Rhythm guitar and background
vocals
Contemporary Bands (Nirvana)
•  Nirvana is the band that is the most similar to Foo Fighters
•  They were the epitome of angst-ridden lyrics and grunge
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bands
In the beginning of Grohl’s success, Cobain overheard him
working on a song and joined him. The band released this
song, titled “Marigold”, the only Nirvana song which feats
Grohl on lead vocals.
When Grohl went to Foo Fighters, he covered the song
Many of their songs focus on social issues
o  “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: general apathy of the generation
o  “Breed”: being trapped in middle class America
Contemporary Bands (Korn)
•  Alternative metal sound
•  They became known after the grunge era
•  Their songs also focus on society
o  “Falling Away from Meaning”: violence and abuse and
how this is a big issue on their time.
•  It is believed that many of their songs drove
the students to shoot up their schools.
However, they were in fact promoting the
prevention of abuse and violence
Influences (John Bonham)
•  Grohl drew a lot of inspiration and influence from the
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drummer John Bonham, from Led Zeppelin
This was proved after Grohl got a tattoo of John’s three
circle ring
Influences (9:30 Club)
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The 9:30 Club in DC has also influenced Grohl’s career
He once said: “"I went to the 9:30 club hundreds of times. I was
always so excited to get there, and I was always bummed when it
closed. I spent my teenage years at the club and saw some shows
that changed my life.” – Dave Grohl
Other influences
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These quotes show other bands that have influenced:
o  “I always felt fortunate to have been in that band (Nirvana). I've always felt it was
incredibly unfortunate how it ended. But I know that if it weren't for that band, I
wouldn't be here right now” – Dave Grohl
o  “It wasn't until I got the Beatles albums that I really fell in love with rock 'n' roll. I
learned how to play drums from listening to Led Zeppelin” – Dave Grohl
Influences on other people
•  After Foo Fighters received the Grammy for their song “Walk”,
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Grohl’s speech struck a chord with a lot of musicians and
listeners:
“Rather than go to the best studio in the world. Rather than use
all the fanciest computers, we made this one in my garage, with
some microphones and a tape machine”.
He goes on to say that “the human element of making music is
the most important. It’s not about what goes on in a computer.
It’s about what goes on in here” (Grohl finishes his speech
pointing at his heart and at his brain).
•  His words about “being a human being” has amazed other bands
and, no doubt, some of them are now more likely to drift in that
direction.
Music Analysis (“Best of You”)
•  “Best of You” (2005) - Highest charting single in
the US Hot 100 (#18), the UK (#4), and Australia
(#5). Nominated for the Grammy for Best Rock
Song and Best Rock Performance by a Group or
Duo Vocals in 2006
•  Song link:
o  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_L4Rixya64
Music Analysis (“Best of You”)
•  Texture:
o  Song starts off monophonic for a few seconds
o  Instrumental kicks in and it becomes homophony
melody-and-accompaniment
o  Vocal Dynamics get louder after the first verse and
chorus
•  Meter:
o  Duple meter
Music Analysis (“Best of You”)
•  Beat Subdivision:
o  Quadruple subdivision
o  Emphasis on back beat (2 and 4)
•  Form:
o  AAAA in the verses
o  AABCDA in the chorus
Music Analysis (“Best of You”)
•  Instrumentation
o  Song starts off with one guitar playing
o  Drums and second guitar come in after the first two
stanzas
o  Instrumental break after the chorus (fourth stanza in
lyrics) with emphasis on the rhythm guitar
o  After second chorus (fifth stanza), it goes back into
just a guitar playing a melody
o  Ends with a drum breakdown
Other Notable Songs
•  These two songs are their other two best selling ones, from
different periods of their career.
•  “Learn to Fly” (1999) - Second highest charting single on the
Billboard 100 (#19), nominated for the Grammy for Best Rock
Performance by a Group or Duo Vocals in 2001.
•  “Walk” (2011) - The third song of three consecutive #1s in
Billboard’s Rock charts. Also reached number one in the
Mainstream Rock and Alternative charts. Won two Grammys
for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Group
or Duo.
Conclusion
• In a society where rock music is losing out
to pop and rap music in popularity, the Foo
Fighters are a band that has managed to
keep rock music relevant and popular.
They are an influential group in rock music
and will continue to help define the shape
that modern rock music will take in the
future.
References
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Keyes, J. D. (2001). Foo fighters. Rolling Stone, Retrieved from http://
www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/foo-fighters/biography
Erlewine, S. (n.d.). Foo fighters: biography. Retrieved from http://www.allmusic.com/
artist/foo-fighters-mn0000184043
Roberts, M. (1998, December 3). Bring back that sunny day. New Times Miami.
Retrieved from http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1998-12-03/music/bring-back-thatsunny-day
X-clusive: foo fighters vs president george w bush. (2005, May 11). Retrieved from
http://www.xfm.co.uk/news/2005/x-clusive-foo-fighters-vs-president-george-w-bush
DiPerna, A. (1997). Absolutely foobulous. Guitar World. Retrieved from http://
www.fooarchive.com/features/guitarworld.htm
The immortals – the greatest artists of all time: 14) led zeppelin. (n.d.) Rolling Stone.
Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/04/16/
AR2010041602110.html
Dave grohl biography. (2009). Drummerworld. Retreived from
http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Dave_Grohl.html
References
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Welcome to the club: an oral history of d.c’s 9:30 club on its 30thanniversary. (2010, April
18). The Washington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/04/16/AR2010041602110.html
Marigold by Nirvana. (n.d.). Retrieved fromhttp://www.songfactss.com/detail.php?id4157
Azzerrad, M. (1993). Come as you are: the story of nirvana. (p. 148). New York:
Doubleday.
10 questions for dave grohl. (2009, December 14). Time Magazine.Retrieved from
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1945348,00.html#ixzz1wfRyAiZG
Foo Fighters. In Your Honor. [S.I.]: Sony Music, 2005. Print.
Foo Fighters. Greatest Hits. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2010. Print.
Foo Fighters. Wasting Light. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2010. Print.
Apter, J. (2008). The Dave Grohl story: Nirvana – Foo Fighters. London: Music Group
Sales
McKinley, J. (2012, February 13). A prayer, a celebration, and a coronation. New
York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/arts/music/grammysare-handed-out-in-los-angeles.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all