Foo Fighters + Westboro Baptist Church = Large Scale Mocking

Those crazies at the Westboro Baptist Church staged a protest at the Foo Fighters' show in Kansas City. Which, naturally means they were bound to end up getting mocked ruthlessly. I think that the video, originally posted on the Foo Fighters youtube channel and facebook feed, speaks for itself...

Josh Homme on the Travel Channel this week- August 8th.

As I promised in an earlier post - "Queens of the Stone Age" and "Them Crooked Vultures" frontman Josh Homme recently filmed a guest appearance for the Travel Channel's hit show "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations." The show, which typically features out-of-the ordinary travel destinations, and the food associated with them, will feature a great deal of original music written by Homme specifically for the episode.

The episode will focus on Josh's home territory- the deserts of Southern California. Josh will travel the area with host/chef/author Anthony Bourdain, and show him around the area, and have a few adventures along the way. Bourdain's blog hints that the show will be more adventurous than usual, with a near barroom brawl, scenes lampooning/honoring films such as "Animal House" and plenty of quirky, sarcastic humor- a must see for Bourdain fans, and a chance to get a rare peek inside Josh Homme's personal life and music.

Dave Grohl is my Personal Hero...

OK, so maybe that's stretching it a bit, but I've got a lot of respect for the guy, and every project he works on produces great music. In a way, I envy him- he's a guy about my age who stated out involved in one of the most important musical acts of the past 20 years, and has gone on to have a huge career, writing and performing music almost constantly, and gaining respect from musicians across many genres and styles. He clearly enjoys the crap out of every minute, and seems to look and act half my age- and seems to have more energy than I did half a lifetime ago.  Dave, and the Foo fighters, make music that's just good fun rock music, and let others worry about what genre it fits in. Watch below as the Foos prove at the Pinkpop festival in the Netherlands earlier this month why they have such a wide appeal- they're out there having fun, and they want the rest of us to have fun watching them - which is the whole reason most people get into music in the first place.

Walk (video) - Foo Fighters (2011)

The Foo Fighters have released the third video from their new album "Wasting Light" - "Walk" on their website and YouTube. In true Foo Fighter fashion, the video is jam packed with the band's trademark slapstick humor.

"Walk" is probably the most inspirational song on the album- but, of course, the video contains nothing relating to the subject of the sing (other than the fact that it shows Dave Grohl walking around).

The thing that really drives the humor home is the fact that the video closely follows the plot of the film "Falling Down" - which is anything but an inspirational story...

Wasting Light - Foo Fighters (2011)

So in a post I made a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I'd probably buy this album eventually. Well, it so happens that I found an old gift card hidden in my laptop bag that had just enough money to cover the cost of a CD plus shipping. I haven't bought a physical CD in a very long time, and the way technology has progressed, it may very well be the last time I buy a physical CD. So I bought the CD rather than the download and patiently waited a few days for it to arrive.

When my CD arrived, I got a pleasant surprise. With most music in digital download format these days, it's easy to forget the simple charm of holding the package, and looking over the artwork and photos, checking out the lyrics sheet, or looking for funny messages in the "thank you" section of the credits while listening to your new music. Wasting Light didn't have a lyrics sheet- but the packaging for the CD had a few nice surprises that brought back some of that old nostalgia and had me feeling good before I ever got the CD in a player (laptop actually).

It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I feel fine) - R.E.M. (1987)

So every now and then, "those people" - you know, the ones who wear the tin foil hats and think aliens abducted Jim Morrison, make the headlines.

This time it's a bunch of religious fundamentalists who insist that the Bible proves incontrovertibly that the "Rapture" or "End of Days" is going to happen on May 21st 2011 - oh wait, that's today!

I guess that this is the end of the word as we know it... I don't feel any different. There's no fire in the sky. I don't even think that the antichrist has shown up to the party yet (isn't he supposed to come and screw things up before it all ends anyway?).

In short. I feel fine. I think Michael Stipe knew it would go down this way back in 1987 when a certain alternative/college rock band from Athens Georgia wrote this song... (Video after the jump)

Ten - Pearl Jam (1991)

The band that would become Pearl Jam started out with two former members of Mother Love Bone, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, and bassist Jeff Ament, along with former Shadows lead guitarist Mike McCready. The trio recorded a demo as instrumental tracks, and distributed it, in hopes of finding a singer who could put lyrics to them. This demo ended up in the hands of a gas station attendant from San Diego named Eddie Vedder, who recorded vocal tracks for three songs which would become "Alive," "Once," and "Footsteps," and sent his tape back up to Seattle. He got the job.

With the addition of drummer Dave Krusen (who would later be replaced by Matt Chamberlain, then finally Dave Abbruzzese), the band "Mookie Blaylock" was born, and began to record their first album.

Josh Homme to Appear on the Travel Channel's "No Reservations"

Josh Homme

Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Eagles of Death Metal, Kyuss) will be joining author and Travel Channel host Anthony Bourdain for an episode of Bourdain's critically acclaimed food/travel show "No Reservations" set in the Southern California desert. Tony Bourdain's Travel Channel blog, and the No Reservations twitter account have confirmed that Josh will also be writing some original music for the episode.

If Only - Queens of the Stone Age (1998) - Free Download from Amazon

Amazon.com is currently giving away the Queens of the Stone Age track "If Only" from their 1998 debut album. If you act fast, you can get your copy here.

I Should Have Known - Foo Fighters (2011) - free download available on amazon!

Currently, Amazon.com is offering the track "I Should Have Known" from the new Foo Fighters album "Wasting Light" as a free promotional download. Check it out here. I will probably buy the album eventually, but for now, a little free taste is a good thing.

I'm particularly happy with the track chosen for the promotion. "I Should Have Known" features a guest appearance from Dave Grohl's former Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic on bass. The entire album was also produced by Butch Vig - who previously worked with Nirvana, making this track a long-awaited reunion.

In the documentary "Back and Forth" which chronicles the Foo Fighters' 16 year history up to 2011, Dave Grohl reveals that "I Should Have Known" was originally written about someone he was involved with, and that at the end of the day, he should have known how things would eventually end. Near the end of the film, Butch Vig muses that the song may have started that way, but became a way for Grohl to express some of his feelings about Kurt Cobain's suicide on April 5, 1994. While Dave Grohl never explicitly confirms this, he never denies it- and even seems to be ok with that association.

Previously, Dave Grohl went through great lengths to distance himself, and the Foo Fighters from Nirvana- ostensibly out of respect, and a need to succeed on his (and the band's) own merits rather than riding on Nirvana's coattails. I suspect it was as much about avoiding the demons he's been carrying with him as anything else.

The song begins as a mournful dirge, starting with just Dave Grohl's vocals and simple guitar arpeggios. As the tune progresses, more instruments begin to layer into the mix. The middle section moves into a more mid-tempo rock feel, gradually building intensity until Krist Novoselic's raw, punchy bass asserts itself in the last third of the song. The ending of the song intensifies into a grunge/punk style rage worthy of Nirvana's rhythm section.

The lyrics clearly speak of a heavy guilt. In the beginning of the song, that guilt is tempered with sorrow- /I should have known that it would end this way/I should have known there was no other way/Didn’t hear your warning/Damn my heart gone there/. In the middle of the song, the tone is more conflicted- /I should have known/I’ve been here before/I should have known/Don’t want it anymore/One thing is for certain/I’m still standing here/I should have known/.

At the end of the song, the lyrics indicate anger- following the normal pattern seen in most people grieving over a lost loved one. /No I cannot forgive you yet/No I cannot forgive you yet/To leave my heart in debt/I should have known/.

Assuming that the song is really written as a sort of catharsis for both Grohl and Novoselic, I can only imagine how painful Kurt Cobain's death was fro them. I remember back in 1994, I was about to leave to visit a friend, and I heard about it on the radio as soon as I started the engine. I was stunned, even though whatever connection I felt to Cobain through his music could not even begin to compare to the connection Grohl and Novoselic had. I drove around aimlessly for a while, blasting "Nevermind" as loud as I could, thinking that we had just lost a person who really spoke for the angst and uncertainty people in my generation were feeling at the time. It made me think that we had just lost my generation's answer to John Lennon. For me, that sadness wore off quickly- I had no real connection other than as a fan and as a young adult still carrying some of the angst of my late teenage years. These guys lived and breathed those few moments at a thousand times the volume for years.

In my opinion, the song is a way for them to make their peace with their demons, and to say goodbye to a good friend who had a profound impact on their lives and careers. Are they over that grief? Probably not judging from the lyrics and the angry ending. Hopefully they've gained a little closure, and hopefully they'll inspire the rest of us to remember the man, and the music that was such a huge part of our social consciousness back in the early 90s.

Them Crooked Vultures (2009)

How do you define music that, by it's very nature, defies classification? Many bands easily fall into the well-defined categories that record company executives, and marketing people love- this makes it easier for their marketing efforts- does a band track well with 18-24 year old males who eat fast food at least three times a week?

Every now and then, you'll find a band that makes music that completely turns this simple, clean, classification system on it's ear. They don't necessarily defy the system in purposeful ways- they just simply ignore the labels and let the music they create define itself without regard to existing, planned, marketing-friendly boundaries. They just make music, and let others worry about classification. Coincidentally (or not) many of those who ignore the defined boundaries, make some of the most memorable music.

Them Crooked Vultures is one such band. Their self-titled 2009 album draws on a few strong, obvious influences, and a bewildering array of minor, subtle influences, and synthesizes them into something not entirely new- but not entirely a rehash of old ideas either. This fusion of old and new makes them one of the most unique bands of the past two decades, in my opinion at least. When you combine the talents of Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters),and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal), with John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), you should expect to hear a wide range of influences come together.

Many online reviews accuse the band of being derivative- many dismiss them as just another iteration of Queens of the Stone Age. That is an easy accusation to make, as Josh Homme's distinctive vocal style and quirky guitar sounds are the most easily recognizable elements. Personally, I feel those detractors are missing the point- and really only giving the band a casual listen before passing judgment.

Obviously, the album has many elements in common with the Queens of the Stone Age- with Josh Homme providing vocals and guitar work, I would be surprised if they sounded nothing like Queens. Dave Grohl's drumming brings in a grunge-age sensibility. John Paul Jones, who alternates between bass, mandolin, keyboards, and custom made oddball instruments such as the lap steel slide bass (featured on "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I"), you have a strong influence from the height of the classic rock era.

Josh Homme may have the most up-front and obvious to the listener role of the three, but the incredibly talented rhythm section of Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones is the engine that really drives the album. Every track is intensely rhythmic in nature- relying on relentless and quirky rhythms that seamlessly shift time signatures and moods. The structure of the rhythmic elements seems simple at first- driving, repeated licks that, again, are actually fairly complex in clever, tricky ways. The influence of John Paul Jones is very apparent in "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I" - the album's opening track. The first half of the song has more of a blues feel, but switches gears about halfway through into a throbbing, metalcore-like breakdown based on a simple repeated riff. Once the riff is established as the ongoing pattern, something very interesting happens- the riff alternately adds and drops beats to shift it's alignment with the drums in and out of phase. This is very reminiscent of the unforgettable riff that John Paul Jones wrote for the Led Zeppelin classic "Black Dog".

Dave Grohl's influence appears to be strongest in "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" - one of the more straightforward alt-rock songs on the album. The song is structured, and has a feel that would be right at home on a Foo Fighters album- a thought that is reinforced by Grohl's prominent backing vocals in the call-and response section of the chorus.

"New Fang" and "Scumbag Blues" have a strong blues influence and have a sound and meter much like you'd hear on a Cream album. "Scumbag Blues" in particular has Josh Homme singing in a falsetto that sounds similar to Jack Bruce. This "heavy blues" influence rears it's head often throughout the album both in the rhythm/style, and in the guitar sound. Josh's guitar sounds often have hints of early, blues oriented classic rock- the heavy detuned crunch of Tony Iommi's early work with Black Sabbath, shades of Jimmy Page's odd combination of blues, folk, and rock, and a spectrum of effects found in post-punk bands. He ties these sound influences together into a raw and edgy mix that has a distinctive garage-band quality to it.

Several songs throw out the typical "A-A-B-A" or "verse-chorus-bridge" pattern that most songs follow, and adopt more free-form, complex song structures that most people typically associate with progressive rock. The longer songs "Warsaw or the First Breath You Take Before You Give Up," and "Spinning in Daffodils" are probably the best examples of this.

"Interlude With Ludes" is an oddity- it breaks the rules of what we expect to hear from Them Crooked Vultures about halfway through the album. It is an atmospheric piece that was the result of Josh Homme and John Paul Jones experimenting with odd sounds behind Dave Grohl's back. The track has some similarities to Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" in terms of mood and feel. It also brings to mind similar experiments by the Stone Temple Pilots.

"Reptiles" is the song that sounds the most outwardly like a Led Zeppelin song. It's based on a driving repeated riff that has some similarities to snippets of the intro to "The Song Remains the Same" or "The Immigrant Song." The similarities to Led Zeppelin that appear in spots throughout the album are almost inevitable when you have Led Zeppelin's bass player on-board. Them Crooked Vultures is considered by many to be a "supergroup" grown out of people mainly associated with the Queens of the Stone Age. Coincidentally, Led Zeppelin was briefly considered to be a "supergroup" grown out of former members of the Yardbirds when they first came together.

Josh Homme exhibits a wide rang of vocal styles. His voice typically brings to mind bands from the post-punk and post-grunge movements, and is one of the things that causes so many comparisons to Queens of the Stone Age. He does bring in many ideas taken from classic rock as well- his falsetto sounds stylistically similar to Jack Bruce from Cream. There are also many moments on the album where he uses a style, sound, and cadence that reminds me strongly of David Bowie. At times he adopts a more lazy, almost drunken cadence that also reminds me strongly of Jim Morrison- especially during parts of the song "Elephants."

The band records as a trio, but it takes four people to turn them into a live act. It would be virtually impossible for Josh Homme to play all the layered lead and rhythm guitar parts and sing at the same time, and it would be impossible to have someone cover the bass parts when John Paul Jones switches to mandolin, keyboards, or whatever crazy invention he needs to play- and there are dozens of keyboard fills, backing vocals, and overdubbed guitar parts that three people simply cannot cover live without resorting to sequencers or taped segments. That's where Alain Johannes comes in- he's the "Fourth Vulture" - he largely goes uncredited aside from his contribution as part of the band's production team. He does, however, play a key role in making the band a viable live act- switching instruments and roles frequently, even mid-song- he's the lynch-pin that allows the other three to be a live act who can capture all the layered part in the recording on the stage without sacrificing the energy and spontaneity that drives their live act.

To answer those that accuse Them Crooked Vultures of being just another derivation of Queens of the Stone Age, or accuse them of being completely derivative- I think they are discounting the full range of influences the trio brings together, and the skill with with they merge all the different styles and elements together. That, I feel, is the very thing that makes them one of the most interesting bands in recent history- the mixture of the innovative with the familiar. Some would argue that there is no true originality, that all "new" ideas are really old ideas combined together in new ways. Even if that is the case, this band has clearly mastered the art of combining a wealth of influences and ideas into something new. I, for one, can't wait to hear what they put together on their next album.

Track List:
No One Loves Me & Neither Do I
Mind Eraser, No Chaser
New Fang
Dead End Friends
Elephants
Scumbag Blues
Bandoliers
Reptiles
Interlude with Ludes
Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up
Caligulove
Gunman
Spinning in Daffodils