A friend, Chris, introduced me the the music of Foo Fighters founder Dave Grohl and I didn’t even know it.
It was 1994 and Chris had learned of the death of Nirvana front-man Kurt Cobain. Like the boy in Nick Hornby’s 1998 novel ‘About a Boy’, I had no idea who this Kirk O’Bain guy was. Chris was about to sit me down for my first real music lessons. Sure, we were learning the recorder in class, but nothing prepared me for what I was about to hear.
We listened to all of the Nirvana CDs and cassettes my friend in his growing collection in several after school listening sessions. Grohl was the drummer and sometimes vocalist for Nirvana, but this was something I did not realize until the debut of Foo Fighters. I was quickly developing an appreciation and love for music, which up until this point had not played much of a role in my life. More specifically, I filled my ears with sounds of grunge and alternative rock, soaking in all the Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Beck, Tripping Daisy, and Radiohead I could get my hands on by borrowing from a friend or buying my paper route money. Naturally, I wanted more but it took some time for Foo Fighters’ debut album, Foo Fighters, to make its way on to my radar in my small Canadian town. It wasn’t until about 1997 that I can remember learning of Foo Fighters, but it came at the appropriate time. Listening to the albums and singles for the first time cemented my taste in music, and since then Foo Fighters has been one of my favorite bands.
“Big Me” is probably the song most people remember from the debut album — it reached number 3 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Track chart in 1996 — but the other songs from the album didn’t disappoint, and the album was went to a respectable 23 spot on the Billboard 200 on July 22, 1995.1 It has been widely reported the debut album was a compilation of the solo recordings of Dave Grohl.2 This is an amazing feat and demonstrates Grohl’s virtuoso musician status. Although criticized as not being as polished as the Foo Fighters’ later albums (debut albums rarely are), I believe it is still one of their best.
14 years after the release of Foo Fighters is more popular than ever. The Foo Fighters have captured a few more Billboard 200 spots (not an exclusive list):
- 2002 – One by One – Number 3
- 2005 – In Your Honor – Number 2
- 2007 – Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace – Number 3
The success of Foo Fighters is testament to the talent of the Grohl and the debut album.
You can buy Foo Fighters’ self-titled debut album at:
USA
Amazon (CD)
Amazon (Digital Download)
iTunes
Cd Universe
Barnes and Noble
Canada
HMV
iTunes
Future Shop
Chapters / Indigo
1 http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?pid=121501&aid;=169401
2 http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/foo_fighters/artist.jhtml#bio
