Like everyone on the internet, I have my opinion on the Grammys, so I didn't really feel the need to say anything about them. Of course, when my favorite little monster decided to voice hers, I figured it wouldn't be terrible of me to talk about it either. I was already planning a little bit for a post on it anyway, because there was something that went on that I, and various sections of twitter, thought were interesting.
One of the cool things about the Grammys were all the camps that were behind Album of the Year. Instead of them all being the latest R&B hitmakers, there was actually a little variance from soulful Adele to Rihanna Rihanna to rockers Foo Fighters. Anyone that knew me in 2011 would know who I was rooting for, even though I knew it was a long shot. I was a huge fan of Wasting Light when it came out last year, and I was actually surprised when it got nominated, though it completely deserved it. I'm not going to list a whole bunch of reasons that Foo Fighters should have won in that category, but needless to say I think the world would be no worse off if they had.
Anyone watching kind of knew that Foo Fighters was the odd man out, especially in the show as whole. They were the only real rock outfit there, and the only ones in rock outfits. While Bruno Mars had the snazzy gold jackets, Nicki Minaj was dressed like the pope (god only knows why...but I think that's the point), and Taylor Swift tried to warn us what she'd look like in Les Miserables (no really, that's a real rumor), Foo Fighters showed up in t-shirts, occasionally with blazers over them. Where Chris Brown had Cube Mountain, Bruno Mars had a 50s diner, and Paul McCartney had his backup orchestra, the Foo Fighters had, a few lights...and they weren't even in the same room as everyone else. Instead of being in there with all the "rich asses" (thanks Bruno), they were out in the tent with a bunch of screaming kids.
You know what? Suits them just fine, kind of like not winning Album of the Year. Through their performances and their one acceptance speech, the Foo Fighters kindly nodded their heads to what they were all about. Dave Grohl wanted to win something so badly just so he could stand up there and say "We won a Grammy with an album we made in a garage just like all the youngins just starting out." Granted, anyone who's seen Back and Forth, a documentary about the band's history and the making of Wasting Light, knows that Dave Grohl's garage is quite a bit fancier than theirs, but the idea actually works since they basically did get their own equipment, and they did record on analog tape (which was later divided and distributed in copies of the album, which was awesome). After making the album, they went on a North American tour...in people's real, shoddy garages (size-permitting). Has any other musician ever done that?
So let's see, album made in a fancy garage, gave out pieces of the tape to people who bought the album, played in peoples garages, came to the fanciest-dressing event next to the Oscars wearing t-shirts, and played away from all the other people in front of fans. It's clear. Foo Fighters are a band for the people. They're about raw music that doesn't lend itself to glitz and glamour that the average person can't understand. Very few of the other performances that went on at the Grammys last night could have happened anywhere else, but you can put Foo Fighters in your garage or basement and they can go on doing their thing. What Dave said was absolutely true, the Foo Fighters' music comes from the head and the heart, and it stays there. It isn't about being perfect, it's about being true.
And then, of course, they played him off to LMFAO.
I'm not saying, and maybe Dave isn't either, that you can't have an album recorded by computers that isn't filled to the brim with heart and soul. That might be your vision, but it's not necessarily the best way to make your music. In a world where you can have a "musical performance" consist of one guy jumping and dancing around a cube mountain with the rest of his sounds coming from nowhere, it's nice to know that if you really wanted to, you could make music in such a way that you could take it anywhere with you and play it just like it was recorded.
That's what rock n roll was back in the day, really, kinda like all music. It appealed to the struggling, fighting, kicking, screaming youth, and I feel like Foo Fighters were one of the few musicians at the awards last night who appealed to that side of us. Even Paul McCartney, who helped blow up the scene back in those days, was incredibly subdued, certainly not falling into the rock category. And within the category considering awards, it certainly seems like the academy has no idea what "rocking" means any more. Mumford & Sons? Coldplay? Radiohead? Because I can get wild to that sort of thing, yes. Listen to those groups, then throw on "Bridge Burning" from Wasting Light.
The fact of the matter is that Foo Fighters are one of a kind right now. Wasting Light explodes from speakers and is as loud as it can possibly make itself. There's not a whole lot of "loud" out there right now. "SUBWOOFER DEATH" maybe, but not pure, raw, balanced LOUD. Everyone these days seems to need an orchestra telling us how they felt about when someone cheated, double crossed or pissed them off, or in Taylor Swift's case, a whole album's worth of songs, and even she does it almost as quietly as possible. This is why I love Butch Vig. When I heard he was producing Foo Fighters' new album coming off of the equally explosive 21st Century Breakdown from Green Day, I knew it was a match made in heaven, and by God, it is. Foo Fighters is like a huge oil tanker, typically, which can be pretty awesome, but Vig brought the matches, and the result is a huge explosion...and everyone loves watchng shit blow up.
But wait what? Coming up next is a tribute to dance music featuring Foo Fighters and Deadmau5? Didnt' Dave just said computers weren't what it takes to make music? Well, first off, this collaboration comes as no surprise to people who bought the deluxe edition of Wasting Light, which featured exactly what they played. Still, even when the Foos end of it finished, we got a shot of Dave bobbing his head to whatever Deadmau5 was spinning next, doesn't that make him a hypocrite? I don't think so, personally, and maybe that's just because of my background knowledge that at some point, the Foos and Deadmau worked together and came up with this idea. I belive that Dave was interested in someone taking this song that he wrote and changing it around completely. Listen to the remix of Rope and you'll see it's a much different song, to an interesting degree even.
Of course, if you're still not convinced, consider that perhaps Dave was employing antithesis to prove his point. He gives you a taste of the rock, shows you what's in between (the point where he was singing to Deadmau's remix I thought was wildly organic-sounding), and then let's you hear what it's like computer-only, letting you decide for yourself what sounds the best. Maybe it's just his way of acknowleding both sides, and presenting all parts of the argument. Either way, a pretty smart move.
So while Adele was talk of the night, and everyone else kept it quiet enough to be allowed into the actual Staples Center, I think the Foo Fighters were the most poignant of the participants of this year's Grammys. They walk in with something totally different than everyone else off of a record with raw emotion that punches the teeth out of the listener. When it comes to rock music, I'm so glad we have Foo Fighters to represent us and kick ass where ass needs kicked. We need another band or two like them so that people will stop bitching that they got to play twice, and we don't get another "R&B"er that just lip syncs through a song.
-Other Grammy Notes-
Oh yeah, and I learned last night never to follow stuff like this on twitter. I learned pretty quickly that not everyone is a fan, even though they have no reason to hate on something different (the same could be said about the people I've poked fun at here, but a good few of them can come back when they have all their music being played right there on stage, and even more of them can come back when they've got something new to sing about). Hell, I even learned apparently Foo Fighters are AIDS deniers of some sort and that this makes people stop liking their music that is in no way about denying AIDS (this is a topic I've wanted to write about for a while, so yeah, coming soon...(that hating idea, not AIDS)). So yeah, never again with the public opinion as it happens.
The Grammys as whole were interesting, since I largely haven't been paying attention to popular music in the past year. Honestly, I didn't really hate any songs that I heard (disliked one or two, but not like "blam this piece of talentless shit"), and liked a few more (Bruno Mars, I thought, was pretty charming actually, and that song had a great riff), so it was ultimately fun getting caught up. Of course, I thought it needed more rock...and I hope to God Green Day has a new album for us by next year to fill the gap that the Foo Fighters are gonna leave.
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