No Filler Music Podcast - EP 04: Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left To Lose

Episode Date: February 10, 2018

No Filler welcomes our first guest on the podcast to talk about our favorite Foo Fighters' album There Is Nothing Left To Lose. We take a look at Dave Grohl's life and circumstances leading up to the recording of this album, and all the factors that led to making this record truly special. For more info, check out the shown notes: https://www.nofillerpodcast.com/episode/ep-4-foo-fighters-there-is-nothing-left-to-lose Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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What? I was in the greatest rock and roll band of the 90s. We changed the chorus of rock music. And welcome to No Filler, the music podcast dedicated to sharing the often overlooked hidden gyms that fill the space between the singles on our favorite records. In each episode, we'll dive into a little history of the artist and the album of choice, with snippets from interviews and concerts, as well as music from the album itself. On this week's episode, we're going to dive into Foo Fighters' third studio album. there is nothing left to lose. My name is Quentin, and with me is my brother, Travis. How are you doing, bro? Doing fantastic, a rainy day in Plano, Texas.

Plano. Gross. That's where I live. So we've got some splaining to do, huh? Yeah, so here's the thing about this episode. So, we tried to do our very first guest. Have our very first guest. I'm not going to reveal who the guest is yet. you know, because it's just so exciting and thrilling.

Oh man, they're probably on the edge of their seats. Right. But this person actually came over to my house and we actually managed to get Dave Grohl to come to my house. I couldn't believe it. Yeah, it's crazy. I could not believe it. No, let's just say we didn't get the recording stuff set up correctly. Yeah, so when I listened back to it, he sounded all glitchy and, like,

robotic. It was weird. Right. So then we had him hop over and share a mic with Travis. And yeah, so we salvaged what we could from our conversation with him. Yes. But we are here re-recording the intro because it just wasn't usable. Correct. So, yeah. Again, we're new to this, friends.

We just said, so, yeah, in Units, like really like like as as any good twins should do. Awesome. Say things in unison. All right. So we are going to go through our what you heard's still just you and I. And then we will. Oh, we're still not going to tell them who our guest is?

Yeah, no, we'll do that later. All right. Anticipation. All right. So Q, you want to go first? Yeah, I'll start. All right. What's you heard this week, brother.

Well. You may or may not know. I've been on a psychedelic rock kick for a little bit now. And this band is called WAND. I've heard of them. Yeah, they're different. They've definitely got the psychedelic rock vibes. But on top of that, they're like equal parts.

90s grunge, you know, sometimes with their guitar lines and like guitar riffs and the drumming styles. And metal as well. But the singer, his name's Corey Hansen, he's been, he formed the band. They actually haven't even been around for that long. But he, you know, he keeps the psychedelic rock roots grounded. with his vocals and the way he sings. The rest of it's really, really heavy, and that's what I like about it.

And for my what-you-heard song, rather than play the song as you hear it on the album, there is a K-E-X-P performance that they did back in July of 2016 that is phenomenal. we'll embed the video on our show notes so you can watch it. There is a song that is on their album that came out in... Let's see. I don't even know when it came out. I think it came out in 2015. So this song was on their album 1,000 Days that came out.

in September of 2015. And the reason I wanted to share this clip from K-E-X-P, since then they've got a couple new members in the band. So they've got Sophia Aragwin, backing vocals in synth and Robert Cody, rhythm guitar. They've been in the band since 2016. But again, this album came out in 2015, so they're not featured on this.

album. But this performance is really, really awesome. Travis, I highly recommend you watch it, dude. It's really fucking good. So this track is called Lower Order. And it appears on their

2015 album 1000 Days. Yeah, there's a lot going on in that song, man. My favorite part is towards the end there, dude, when it changes up. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. God, I love it, man. Yeah, well, like, you know, the beginning of that clip, it almost sounds like something you'd hear in a Tim Burton film or something.

I don't know why, but I got that vibe of like, you could hear like, you know, lock, shock and barrel or something like that from, from nightmare before Christmas. You know, those three, little henchmen. Yeah, yeah. They were to, you know, crawl around in the bathtub or whatever. Right, right. Like, you could just hear that, you know. Yeah. This is how Corey Hanson sings.

And any one song that you listen to doesn't matter how far back it goes. That's this is the vibes that they, that they're going for. So this is all Corey Hansen. But this is, that's what I like so much about this performance on K-E-X-P. Because obviously she brings to the table, you know, just really, you know, complimentary vocals for him. The first album of theirs that I listened to, and this is the only full album of theirs that's on Spotify. It's called Ghalam, which came out in 2015. So the same year is a thousand days.

I've listened to a couple of tracks from that album. Floating Head. Floating Head is really good. Yeah, it's got those vibes, dude. Kind of creepy. Yeah, it's a good, yeah. But like, you know, it transitions into some really heavy, like, grunge punk stuff in the middle. That's what I like so much about these guys. And then it turns into almost like a, like, as far as the guitar sound, something like Interpol or the editors or something like that or Block Party or something like that, you know,

from that era of like guitar, rock, you know? Yeah. So it's cool. It's a good, it's a good mashup of a bunch of different rock sounds, you know,

so that's cool. Yep. That's what I like about, so much about them. Yeah. Yeah, it's just, there's just so much going on.

So it just satisfies so much of like what, like right now, what I'm really looking for. definitely check out that performance dude on K-A-X-P. It's seriously, it's really fun to watch. Okay, maybe I will. So that is my what you heard. So I'm going to ask you, brother,

what have you heard? So I was checking out this documentary a couple weeks back that explored the desert rock scene from Palm Desert. in in LA California area and this band kept popping up in the interviews

this group called The Yawning Man They were kind of known for Starting this This trend of just Taking your gear Going out and setting up in the desert And You know they would get these gasoline power generators

To plug their amps into to power their amps and whatnot, and just have these shows in the desert that started to be referred to as generator parties. And that's kind of how some of these bands in the desert rock scene, that's how they started. They would just take their gear out into the desert, you know, tell some people about it, people would show up, and they would just do these jam sessions that would just go, you know, into the night, you know, they would basically start around, around sunset.

I mean, it's amazing, you know? It sounds so cool, man. To have been, to have been there for that. I want to know exactly who it was

that had this idea. You know what I mean? Because, well, I mean, I think some people. What stims, how many bands have stemmed out of,

out of these sessions, you know? Kias, which, you know, which essentially leads into Queens of the Stone Age. So like Josh Holm, and the dudes from,

Kaias, they all remember those generator parties and going out there and seeing Yawning Man and just, you know, listening to those guys jam for hours, you know. Yeah, that sounds so cool. In the desert. I mean, it's fucking awesome. Fucking awesome. So, anyway, so they had been recording demos from 86 to 87. They recorded about 30 to 40 songs.

Holy shit. From 86 to 87? Yeah, so they recorded a bunch of songs. Yeah. in just a small time frame, but they never released anything. And this is during that time, they would go out into the desert and do these jam sessions? Yeah. So this is when, like, you know, a young, you know, Josh Holm is out there or, you know, the guys from like, you know, the guys that go on to form Mondo Generator and, you know, Fatsoe Jetson, all those desert rock bands, you know.

So anyway, you know, they were young. and remember hearing these guys. So it really had a huge influence on that scene. Yawning made in particular. So what's great about them is, what I really like about them is, you know, it's pure instrumental. Nice.

There's no words. Super chill, laid back. I mean, you can totally hear and imagine yourself in the desert with the sunset behind you as this music is playing, you know, it's awesome. So anyway, when you think of desert rock, you don't, at least my brain immediately goes to Queens of the Stone Age

and, you know, caius before them. So, you know, a little bit heavier. Yawning Man was way more laid back. It almost sounds more surf rock. Well, and Yawning Man was a few. years before these guys even even formed right yeah yeah but it was just you know they really had a very consistent sound you know what i mean like almost like a like almost kind of jazz punk uh surf rock cool uh kind of sound so yeah let's just listen this is a um this is a song called buffalo chips

so basically so so like i said they had recorded all these songs uh between 86 and 87 Nothing was released until 2005. And so there's a collection of songs. It was called Rock Formations, came out in 2005. This is the last track on that album. Again, this song is called Buffalo Chips. So let's hear it. I wish I could have been there, dude.

Yeah. Out in the desert listening to this kind of stuff? Like around a campfire or something? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so these songs, like I said, these songs were actually recorded in 2004, released in 2005. But here's a good description of it. Somebody described it as a melancholic mix of acoustic space rock with elements of surf music as well as Middle Eastern guitar style. Oh, that sounds it up beautifully.

Yeah, yeah. So yeah, like I said, man, just imagine being out there in the desert. And these guys are sitting right in front of you playing that kind of stuff. I mean, it's awesome. Oh, man. It's amazing. So do you know if Josh Holm was out there? Yeah.

Is he friends with these guys? Yeah, he was. Cool. Yeah, I mean, I think they are all collaborated together. You know what I mean? So, yeah, there's actually a quote from the drummer of Kaius. His name is Brent Bjork. You know, he, I'm not going to give the exact quote,

but he says that they were the, the quote-unquote, sickest desert band of all time. You'd just be up there in the desert, everybody be hanging, partying, and then they'd show up in their van and drag their shit out, set up right about the time the sun was going down, set up the generators and just, he goes on to say everyone would just be tripping, and they're just playing away for hours. The greatest band I've ever seen,

is what he says. Probably because, you know, they're probably the greatest band he's ever seen because they had all this stuff going on, you know. It's one thing to hear that being played in a venue, but when you hear it in the desert, Yeah. And you're just out there like... Especially if you're dripping balls on your drug of choice. Exactly. So anyway.

Well, that's cool, man. It's awesome. Yeah. So anyway, this record is... It all sounds like that. Like, it's a great listen through all the way from start to finish. Definitely a no-failer album. Yeah, I'll definitely check it out.

It's great, dude. Just put it on whenever you're... You just want to jam to something because it's awesome. So, yeah, check it out. It's called Rock Formations by a baby. called Yawning Man. Awesome. So our episode for this week is on Foo Fighters' 1999 release.

There is nothing left to lose. And, Trave, do you want to reveal who our guest is? Yes. We thought it would be fitting to have our older brother, Spencer, join us on this pot as our first guest. He's largely responsible for shaping. our interest in rock music from the 90s because, you know, that's what he was listening to. Yes.

We were too, we were way too young to appreciate music in the early 90s. But Spencer was old enough to be purchasing CDs and, you know, we would go into his room and he'd be listening to bands like Rage Against the Machine or Foo Fighters or presidents of the United States of America. Yeah. And like that. We would have never listened to those bands if it wasn't for him. Yeah, it's hard to say, you know, it's, it's hard to say if we would have, but I would,

I would guess that we probably, probably wouldn't have, you know? Maybe later in life, we would have stumbled upon it, but like, those early, like getting those roots in there early, you know what I mean? Yeah, exactly. And, you know, he also introduced me to Metallica. So I remember, um... Really? Yeah.

You know, he, he showed me that, that guitar solo in one. And, you know, he probably had to go grab them up because my brain. was melted all over the floor. So, yeah, so that was my exposure to Metallica. So, you know, awesome. Set me down the path toward my appreciation for metal, you know, so there you go. Yeah, and hey, you know what? If you want to hear Travis gush about metal even more,

why don't you check out our first episode on Allison Chains? Good call, brother. But yeah, I will be gushing about metal. in future episodes as well. So. Yeah. So the audio that we were able to salvage is we're just going to have it fade in. It's just, we just start, we dive right into the album. Yeah.

So we're just going to, it's going to be like you're stepping in to a conversation that's, that already started because. Yeah. It's about 20 to 30 minutes in. Yeah, that's exactly what, what's happening. So. Yeah. All right. conversation with our older brother, Spencer, about Foo Fighters' 1999 release,

There is Nothing Left to Lose. So let's transition into our pick for the week. Foo Fighters 99 release, there's nothing left to lose. So I wanted to ask Spencer, real quick, do you remember like your first encounter with this record or with a single from it or anything like that? Yeah, I think obviously the first single was probably Learned to Fly, which was, I would bet their biggest hit to date in terms of kind of going mainstream with that song. So, you know, even outside of just rock radio, I think that crossed over into the top 40 as far as radio play goes.

Oh yeah, it peaked at number one on quite a few charts in 1999. We've got, Q, we've got a funny story we can share about learning to fly. So, we do. Dad took us to sit to a food fighter show back in the day. Me and Q. I think I know this story. And Cave in open for them, which was cool, number one. But dad sat in the back with all the other dads, right?

with his earplugs in or whatever. But he took out the earplugs when they started playing Learn to Fly because that's his favorite Food Fighter song as well. So, yeah, like you said, it crossed over. Yeah, he doesn't like when Dave screams, but he really liked to learn to fly. Yeah, it had a wide, wide appeal, like you said. Yeah, so this album for me is pretty special.

I remember specifically this being the first CD that I bought with my own money. and I remember going to you guys remember Blockbuster Music right? Yes. Yeah, I remember going, I don't know if I already had this album in mind like when I went to Blockbuster Music to buy, but I went, remember they used to have along the back wall, they would have all these listening stations with the headphones. All the newer tracks or newer albums that were out. Yeah, all the newer releases. Yep. And this was one of the albums back there.

And I was already a foo fighters fan, thanks to you, Spence. And I went back there, you know, just started to listen to a few of the tracks and purchased it with my allowance money. That was the first CD that I bought with my own money. This for me is one of a few albums that I can play start to finish without ever even wanting to skip a track. So are you saying that there's no filler? Yeah, you would consider this a no filler album. No, there's no filler. For sure. Yeah, I would say so.

You know, even the albums that I like quite a bit, in most cases, there's at least one track that I would say I'm going to skip most of the time. And especially if you go back to that era of music, a lot of music at that time, they were writing four or five hits for the radio, and the rest was legitimately filler. Yeah. Especially if you get outside of rock music. Right. you know the pop radio hits there are a handful of songs written by big time writers for those pop musicians and the rest is just stuff they put in there to complete 10 or 12 tracks for an album so there's a lot of garbage right to please to please the record labels or whatever yeah correct yeah you know rock musicians

don't necessarily take that same approach but i think it still applies in a lot of cases he's even more so with new music but in that era of 90s rock if you venture too far outside of the singles you're probably going to be disappointed in a lot of cases. Yeah and there's a lot of reasons and we'll get into it

there's a lot of reasons why this album was really special for them too um let's I kind of want to paint a picture of what Dave was going through

at the time leading up to this recording and maybe like the few years, the early years of the Food Fighters too. You know, he had just moved back to his hometown, Virginia, after living in L.A. for a year or so, where I believe they recorded the color and the shape in L.A., which was the album that came out before it. Right. And he grew to hate that city with a passion

in the one year that he lived there. He couldn't stand to blow. the bullshit coming out of Hollywood, you know, the all that rock star bullshit that goes along with that lifestyle. It comes through in a lot of the lyrics too here. Oh yeah, yeah, so I was going to say. So our intro track, we started the podcast off with, is track one called Stacked Actors, which is Dave's response to living in Hollywood and how he just grew to hate everything about. it. He referred to it as being plastic and phony. He just hated it. So he had to get away from it.

And he actually bought a home in Virginia, kind of near his, the neighborhood that he grew up in, and built a home studio down in his basement. And they just recorded this album on their own with the help of producer Adam Casper. And they didn't even have, they weren't even signed to a record label at the time. Yeah, and they were just a three piece at the time, too, which I thought was cool. They weren't signed to a record label? No, they signed to RCA after they finished the recording. In between, color and the shape and there is nothing left to lose, they weren't signed?

Yeah, no, they dropped their record label. Okay. I think they were put off by the recording process with a major producer that they went through on color and shape. Well, I know that that's, you know, they talk about how, or Dave talks about how the vibe on There's Nothing Left to Lose was a lot more relaxed. And like he recorded all the vocals on a couch, you know, I mean, because it was in his own studio. So they, he said that you can really hear it on that album, how relaxed it is and whatnot,

because they didn't have the control of the record label. So yeah, I guess you're right. Yeah, that was their first time working with Adam Casper too. and the way David put it basically working with Adam what you're hearing in the room is what you hear through the speakers from what's recorded so he kind of just lets

let you do your own thing when he's in the studio with you he'll just kind of speak up if you think something sounds terrible but otherwise it's kind of just lets you do your own thing so it's a real it's a much more organic signing album than they're more

polished color in the shape. So I've actually got a little, a clip from an interview that, that Dave and all them did on this music channel in Canada called Much Music. I think it's just Canada's MTV,

basically, but this is in 99, and he's asked how the, how the record sounded and kind of what they were going for. And yeah, I'll just go ahead and play this clip. Can you tell us a bit, A bit about how it's going to sound. The album?

Yeah, what the fans could be looking forward to on the new album. Well, the album probably sounds more like a band than most things that you hear on the radio only because we didn't use any sort of pro tools or computer program to edit or clean anything up. We recorded it in my basement. And it just, And it just sounds real.

Like it just has their flaws or things here and there that, you know, kind of screw up a little bit. And the songs are the best songs we've ever written. So it's pretty cool. So, yeah, everything was, you know, analog. No pro tools or editing software programs. I know they use, you know, they just, any microphone that he could find, it was used or not, he, he, that's the kind of stuff that he had down in his, his basement studio. Pretty sweet, too, because this album was really successful. Like, they, they took a Grammy home.

I think they won three Grammys. They won three Grammys for this. Really? Yeah. Yeah, this was their first Grammy win, which was for Best Rock Album, I believe. So, let's say, too, that with this album, Dave was starting to get more comfortable with his, with his voice and a little more confident with his songwriting. And this album is also has a lot more soft, more pretty tracks, really. I've got Dave quoted from an interview. I don't know if this is a magazine or what. It was called Melody Maker.

It's an interview back in 99. And he's quoted as saying, I always felt like with the last album, as in the color and the shape, that we seemed like a hardcore band trying to make melodic songs or a punk band that wanted to sing something beautiful. But with this album, it's happened as in like we're finding our sound. And we feel much more comfortable making beautiful music. So I think with Aurora, I think that shines through a lot. Aurora's to this day my favorite Food Fighters song.

I might have to agree with you. I think it's pretty high up there for me. It's just so everything about it's just perfect, I think. Let's go ahead and play, and we'll talk about it after that. Yes. And that song, you know, kind of builds towards the end too. Yeah, it does. I like, so I only have that one clip because, you know,

we don't want this episode to be two hours long. But yeah, at the end. It follows the same general formula. It just continues to build. And one of the reasons I like it. Yeah, there's kind of like a crescendo towards the end. Yes. Yeah, a lot going on towards the end.

That song I didn't realize until this past year, a good friend of mine that lives up here told me that Aurora. He's referring to Aurora Avenue, which is a street up here in Seattle that he lives. I did read that somewhere. Yeah, so this is, this song is. a nostalgic look back at his time in Seattle and the life that he once had. He says that that song actually questions the meaning of life. It's probably the heaviest thing I've ever written. Really pretty song. I love it. So you guys both said that it was one of your favorite, or is your favorite track, right? To this day, Food Fighters track? Yep. So yeah, Rolling Stones had

readers pull back in 2013 to determine like the top 10 foodfighter songs just by their readers you know and Aurora was number eight so you know it's a fan favorite obviously and then I've got a quote from the drummer Taylor Hawkins he talked specifically about this track he says that that he that this song is like more you you hear him more as a drummer than the rest of the tracks because, you know, he said that he felt like he sort of handed over the more faster and crazier songs to Dave as far as like, hey, what's the drum beat going to be, you know? But for the ones that, like Aurora, they were more, as he says, jazzier and freakier ones,

he said, he kind of, his handprints are more on those tracks. So, you know, you're hearing Taylor Hawkins as a drummer more on this track than some of other ones. Yeah, Food Fighters went through a ton of band members in their early years. And, yeah, Taylor Hawkins was the first drummer that was actually able to fill Dave's shoes, you know? Like, in the color and the shape, they ended up going back, and I know you guys heard this too. Dave went back and secretly re-recorded every single drum track that William Goldsmith, who was in the band at the time, also a member of Sunny Day real estate. along with Nate, the bass player for Food Fighters.

Dave went back and secretly re-recorded every single drum track on the color and the shape himself and didn't even tell William about it until after the fact. Well, yeah, I think that was the shitty thing about it. That is brutal. It was a secret only to William. Like, everybody else knew. Right.

You know what I mean? Right. William was back in Seattle where he lives, and the rest of the band members were all down there, they were like, hey, we're like re-recording a bunch of stuff. You should come back down here. And William calls Dave. It's like, hey, should I like be in L.A. with you guys right now?

And Dave just basically goes, do not come down here. I'll explain later. That's a shit move, man. Yeah. He feels guilt about that. And Dave does, it sounds like. Oh, yeah. Yeah, because he just, you know.

Yeah. But I mean, you know, if you're Dave Grohl, one of the best rock drummers of all time, obviously you can see how like he wants the drums to sound a certain way and so yeah like you're to your point like you know he probably i'm sure there's there's times when taylor lays down a drum track and and dave probably could have done it better but you know i'm sure he learned lessons from how he treated william you know but yeah yeah taylor was drumming for alanus morissette yeah he was her touring drummer at the time yeah yeah so he's a pro and obviously you know He's been the drummer ever since.

He's amazing, yeah. He's an incredible drummer. So our next, moving down the line here, our next pick is going to be headwires, which I don't know about you guys, but this might be my second favorite track that isn't a single off this album. I love it. Travis, you were a little hesitant on this one. Why is that? Well, I just thought, I think the opening is very similar to Aurora.

It's got a similar vibe. So I just wanted to kind of mix it up a little bit. But the rest of the track sounds, you know, it gets heavier for sure. So it's fine. I don't necessarily share that same affinity with you either for headwires. Really? No, I like it. I think it's a great track.

Like I said, I pretty much like every track. Yeah, yeah. I don't necessarily gravitate towards this one any more than some of the other tracks. Well, let's name off the singles real quick. track one stacked actors apparently was a single in Australia it was a limited release single but it's technically a single track two and track three so break out and learn to fly track five generator which also was a limited release single in Australia and Europe and then track eight next year which is probably their most pretty track so but yeah headwires that's track nine

on the album and we've actually got a couple clips so the first one is just the beginning of the song and it kind of fades out after the first chorus I believe so I like that song because it's another example of kind of the more pretty tracks that show up on this one you know well and like you can definitely hear kind of what Taylor Hawkins was talking about earlier with like the jazzier type drums like that intro drum track where like he doubles up on the high hat you know yeah like I really like that that drum track yeah me too Like that's cool. But yeah, like I said, to me, it's got kind of a similar vibe to Aurora as far as, like, the more quiet.

But like I said, it changes tempo and in the volume, you know, for the chorus, which, you know, I really like that chorus. I think it's a great song. Like, don't get me wrong. Yeah. And actually, so my favorite part of Headwires, I've got in clip two, it's towards the end of the song. I'll just play it. and then I'll kind of talk about talk about why I like it so much.

I love that tiny little line at the end. The sun is on Arlandria. I just love that. The way he sings it, and it kind of just quiets back down after the bridge. So what is Arlandria, Q? Yeah, I was actually just looking it up

because I was curious about it. Arlandria is a little town in northern Virginia. So Dave Grohl is just kind of reminiscent. The Food Fighters have another song called Arlandrie. Yep, I just saw that too. Which is maybe on wasting light. So he's got a lot of affection for Arlandria. Yeah, in Wasting Light, that track Arlandria, the lyrics on that song, he says,

My Sweet Virginia, I'm the same as I was in your world. Yeah, so that's cool. Anyways, I love that song. It's just another great. And, Travis, you're probably right. That one's probably another one where Taylor gets to shine through a little bit. Yeah, at least on the verse. Delicate high hat accents and all that.

Right. I feel like the tracks that we have landed on are definitely a little bit more of the softer tracks on this album. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. Just saying that we have gravitated towards that. Those are great, they're all great tracks. Yeah.

And, you know, the Foo Fighters, I think, maybe more so than any rock band that I can think of have really integrated more softer melodic music into their albums as you know they did the double album two albums after this one that was

you know disc one is hard rock and songs disc two is basically acoustic yeah in your honor and they did that you know in a tour where they toured arenas with rock songs and basically theaters with acoustic and larger almost orchestra-type bands and they continue to do that a little bit in each album they will mix in softer songs yeah

I think that's really cool and this this I believe is kind of the them first taking the steps towards that direction yeah with some of the tracks in this album I mean, I feel like it's just Dave maturing as an artist, you know? Right. And like stepping, you're stepping out of, you're stepping out of the grunge era in the 99 anyway. Yeah. You know. And he was, it's like he, like he was saying early on.

He didn't want all that rock star bullshit like he said, you know. And he had such a negative experience living in, living so close to Hollywood and all that. And yeah, finding that good headspace back in his hometown. You know, and he was also finally getting away from being tied to Nirvana, too, you know, because he got a lot of shit for that early on when he started foo fighters. But yeah, you're right. Maturing as an artist, realizing that it doesn't have to be all super grungy and heavy. Maturing is a songwriter.

So our last pick is MIA. I got a couple clips on that one, too. All right, let's start. Let's play this first clip. So I like in the very beginning of the song, I know it sounds like it's coming through like a really cheap, small amplifier, you know? Like one of those old like smoky. Yeah, I like that too. Yeah, I like that.

And then it kind of comes in like full, full sound and whatnot. You think he's talking about L.A. again? He's talking about the mannequins. Drunken Hollow Town, probably. Oh, yeah. For sure. Yeah, I was wondering what we thought overall about what the lyrics to this might mean. I thought that it was, I thought the lyrics were getting lost in you is better than being found.

It was wrong. Apparently it's getting lost in you again is better than being numb. So, yeah. I mean, I've been singing it wrong my whole life here. I thought it, I mean, that's to me, I'm going to have to, he needs to rewrite the lyrics. For you. I mean, when you think being numb, you think drugged up. you know like or drinking a lot just kind of numbing the pain or distancing yourself from reality

through drugs yeah you won't find me I'm going MIA yeah who knows man but I'm thinking about a relationship as well right that's what I was thinking yeah oh you know so another reason I'd read that so Dave moved to L.A. from Seattle to distance himself from a recent divorce. And not because he didn't, you know, they were still both very in love, but they knew that it just wouldn't work. So he- I guess I didn't know he was married early on.

I didn't know that either, yeah, but he had to move away from that town because everything in Seattle reminded him of this girl that he loved. And I'm sure one of the things that he did to help cope with the pain, he's probably you just, you know, got numb off drugs and drinking or whatever. That makes sense to where, you know, another reason, I mean, yeah, L.A. Sucked for him, but it was just him trying to get away from all those emotions. And I'm sure he was drinking a lot in L.A. It sounded like he was not in a good way.

So again, moving from L.A. to Virginia probably really helped him clear his head, you know, get a fresh start. Let's play the second clip from MIA. Breakdownward. It gets even more soft and quiet. And those lyrics there, he says, red, red, laced around your head. It seems like he's admiring someone. Maybe it's like a bow or something,

and this girl's, you know, wrapped up in her hair or something. Or maybe it's more metaphorical. Well, Dave, if you're listening, give us a call. I'd love to chat with you about it. You're going to have to cut that joke. Whatever, that was great. leave that joke. Screw you guys.

Screw you guys. Oh, boy. Well, that's it, friends. That's our three no-filler picks for there is nothing left to lose. I feel like we just

barely scratch the surface as we usually say because, you know, every song on this album is worth exploring. Maybe we'll have to do a part two someday talk about,

pick another three tracks from this album. Well, what other songs would you guys pick? That weren't singles. Living Skin was one that we were kind of... That's good, yeah. Living Skin.

Gimmy stitches. Yeah. I like Gimmy Stitches a lot. If I may say something, I think Generator is my favorite track on the album. And that was a single, obviously, so we're not going to talk about here. But...

There was a single only in Australia, though. So, but hey, we might have some listeners in Australia. We don't. We definitely don't. But maybe someday. Not yet, but... You could? Never.

So there you have it. We don't want Australian listeners. So for context, this album is almost 20 years old. Just to put that out there. Yeah, that's... And Food Fighters will become rock and roll Hall of Fame eligible in two years. So, okay, so... So how does that work?

Is Dave... Dave's in for Nirvana? Is he in just as his own artist yet? No, I don't know. I think you have to have a solo single. Okay. To be eligible as, you know, just for yourself. Well, I mean, he deserves a spot, obviously, for just himself as a musician, you know.

Because his contributions to rock, you know, it's just like there's nobody else that really compares to him. So what else, what's the other criteria? You said a couple of years, Spence? It's because you have to be... It's 25 years from the release of the first single from the band makes them eligible. Okay. So 94 was the first single off of that album, I believe,

early 95, off of their self-titled. Well, let me ask you this, Spence, because I feel like... So for me, I kind of stopped listening to Foo Fighters probably after one by one. I mean, yeah, I listened to In Your Honor, but after that, I kind of just stopped. you've kind of stuck around as a fan a little bit longer I feel like here and there I can't say that I can't say that I listen to them still any of the new stuff okay I appreciate it for

what it is yeah I think I will always enjoy to a certain extent food fighters music at least on some level yeah but it's not something that I'm I'm really listening to much I do have to say, though, there are two tracks on the second album in Your Honor. Two of the acoustic tracks that are probably in my top ten of all the Foo Fighters songs. Which ones? Because I remember those. Over and Out and On the Mend. Yeah, I remember really liking On the Mend.

Two great, great songs. Yeah. And there are songs here and there that I, listen to sometimes on some of the newer stuff. I'd say Wasting Light overall was a pretty good album. I can't say that so much for Sonic Highways. That was kind of a gimmick album

with them recording a different song kind of in a different style in different cities across the country. And that ended up a product of the documentary? Did they release it? It was. Yeah, they documented it for HBO. and, you know, travel the country, going to different cities,

and recorded the songs in recording studios in different cities, and tried to incorporate... It was a cool documentary. It was very cool. They tried to incorporate some of the style of the music in each city into the songs. Yeah. Which is a cool idea. And, I mean, it was, I'd say it was successful in terms of the songs were pretty decent,

but it was kind of a departure from their normal style, so it's not necessarily what they always sound like. Spence, would you consider there's nothing left to lose your favorite crewfighters album as well? I would say so, yeah. Just for sheer playability, being able to play, start to finish, and I can listen to this album anytime. Yeah. Most of the other albums, there are tracks that stand out to me,

but not necessarily more than a handful. Right, I agree. Three or four tracks from each album, I think I dig. But not like this album. Even on the color and the shape. Color of course actually has some really good songs, more than a couple. Yeah, yeah.

I just love the fact, too, that they did this on their own and that he built, you know, it's recorded in his basement at home. I think that makes it even more special. Travis, how about you, man? You were never really a Food Fighters fan, were you? I mean, that's not true. I wouldn't say I'm not a Food Fighters fan at all.

I mean, I'm a huge Dave Grohl fan, you know what I mean? I would say that the first album, the self-titled album, is probably my favorite Food Fighters album, and that's all Dave Grohl. So there might be something to that there. But yeah, I really like the self-titled album, because it's still got a little bit of that. it's got a lot of the grunge vibe still because he's fresh off Nirvana.

You know what I mean? There's some great stuff on there. Yeah. I like for all the cows. I think Good Grief is my favorite song on there. But yeah, there's just, there's really good stuff on that self-titled album. And it's just really, it always just impresses the hell out of me that everything you're hearing on that album is Dave Grohl. You know what I mean?

Every instrument. So, yeah, I think that's still my favorite. Yeah, I think for all three of us, it's hard to really put into words how much overall Dave Grohl has contributed to the music we listen to. Yeah, that's very true. If you consider Nirvana, I mean, we can all agree that some of the Queens of Stone Age stuff that Dave was a part of is a big part of some of the music that we love. Yeah, and we're going to do a Queens of Stone Age review at some point. very soon probably we're going to do songs for the dead at some point but yeah i feel like queens

of stone age was like my gateway into heavier stuff aside like metallic i was my first metal band but like queens of stone age was my gateway into like stoner rock stoner metal this different side of metal that i had never the more uh heavy heavy screaming and and and dave's drumming is unreal on that album it's some of the best drumming i've ever heard you know Yeah, I kind of wig out a little bit. Every time I listen to him drum on no one knows, I can have a little mini freak out listen to that song. Every single time I hear it, the drumming on that track is insane.

You know it blew my mind, guys. I didn't know this. I don't have sources to back this up. But I heard recently that Dave Grohl doesn't use a double bass pedal. It's all one foot. And if you think about some of the songs where he's drumming on songs for the deaf, insane. Insane that he's doing all that with one fucking foot and one fucking bass drum.

I'm not musical enough in a technical sense to know what necessarily that means. Well, if you think about it, if you have a double bass pedal, you use both your left and right foot. It's more sound, obviously. Okay, so Lars Elwork uses a double bass. Spence. Lars Lulwork has always used a double bass. Is Lars considered a good drummer? No.

I didn't think so. I've never liked Lars, but I just don't like him as a human being. A lot of people talk about him as not being a very good drummer. Right, but I'm just saying, like, if you want, if you're trying to, if trying to, yeah. Context. Yeah. Yeah, think, think about the kind of stuff you hear, do him playing with Metallica.

Would you say most rock drummers use double bass? No. No? No. I don't think so. It depends on the kind of rock, though. It's like arena rock, yeah, maybe. Like, you know.

Neil Pert. Well, guys, the, like, the, the metal that you guys listen to, the majority of those drummers are probably using a double bass. Either a double bass, you know, a double bass, you know, a double bass pedal where they can. Yeah, I don't know if that's necessarily. Use both. I don't know if that's necessarily true of you. Okay.

Yeah, I, yeah. I don't listen to metal. But anyways, yeah, Dave Grohl is just a fucking beast. and that fucking blows my mind. Yeah, he's one of the best rock drummers to ever live. No doubt. I agree.

No doubt, yeah. Yeah, there's almost no contest. Yeah, if you think about most drumming in most rock songs, it just blends into the background. They're pretty straightforward. Just providing a beat for the song. It's not stand out in any way.

It doesn't contribute to it other than keeping the beat. Yep, yep. And so when you hear a drummer that, sets the pace kind of like Dave does and really drives the song. It's, for me, it sets that song apart from anything else. Yeah. More so than a solo from a guitar or anything else or even a bass line on a bass.

If the drumming can set the tone for the song, it completely changes the song and it makes me pay attention. Now, Spencer, you know, I really, appreciate that as a drummer. I didn't say that you did that in any of your stuff. Hey now. I can't say that I remember anything you doing standing out necessarily. Although I haven't really heard you play drums in probably 20 years.

20, not that long. You know what? I stuck with it, and I'm pretty deece. Okay? I'm pretty deece. Fine. But I appreciate your respect for the drummer, dude. You appreciate my appreciation of drumming?

Yep. I do. Good. Because we're the backbone of every band. I would agree with that. Yeah. Thank you. You remember, I mean, we'll probably cut this out, but why not talk about it?

You remember the flicker stick drummer? Yeah, he sucked. Yeah, you could tell he sucked. You could tell he sucked. Yeah. Like, you know, like, when the drummer's bad, like you can tell. A drummer can make or break a track. And that's the thing, like, you don't have to be,

a complex drummer to be a good drummer. You just got to be creative. You got to be creative. Well, right. Like Ringo Starr wasn't complex. Ringo Starr, Jim Eno. A spoon, yeah. A spoon. He is as simple as they come. And he is by far one of my drummer, my favorite drummers. One of your fromers? Yeah. That's a little bit of a tangent, friends. But let's go ahead and wrap this up. Spence, thanks for

tagging along being our guinea pig for our first guest on the podcast. Anytime. Appreciate it, keeping it in the family. You can share it with all your friends and get some of that internet fame, some of that internet fame.

You can impress all your co-workers. Yeah. All right. So with every episode, we have a closing track that we somehow tied to the band that we just talked about. So Q, if I'm not mistaken, today the outro track is from none other than Queens of the Stone Age.

However, it is not a track that has Dave on the drums, so don't get excited. Before we jump into that, let's just remind all of our dear listeners where they can get more information about us and the episodes. If you jump onto our website, no filler podcast.com, you'll see each of our episodes on the homepage, you can click on read the show notes, which will expand, give you some notes. We'll link to sources, any videos that we reference or clips and videos. We'll link those up as well. Just to give you a little, like a more well-rounded look at the album that we talked about.

You can also stream our episodes on iTunes. or any other podcast streaming app. You can also check us out on SoundCloud, soundcloud.com slash no-filler podcast. You can stream our episodes on there as well. And we have our first Spotify playlist live that has the songs that we discussed or referenced on the episodes that came out in January.

Those songs are all collected together on a playlist. So if there is a song that you hear a snippet from and you want to go back and hear the whole song or just explore the album more, that's a good place to go. Because basically any track that we mention or reference, we throw on a Spotify playlist that we will release once a month. So the No Filler January playlist is live on Spotify. You just have to find our profile. So if you search No Filler podcast on Spotify, you'll see our profile. you can follow us and listen to the playlists that way. I'm leaving those sneezes in.

Just kidding. Why don't you take them and remix them for the intro? All right, cool. So our outro song, to close this episode out, Dave Grohl did a little Q&A for magazine NME, which its abbreviation escapes me at the moment, but no one cares. Came out in 1999. It was called Songs in the Key of Life.

They were just asking them a bunch of questions about like artists that influenced him or, you know, albums that he remembers listening to as a kid, shit like that. And they asked him, all right, New Year's Eve, 1999. What's on the high-fi? Because people that are around our age and older, remember, everyone freaked the shit out for 1999, thinking that there was, going to be some kind of weird apocalyptic thing when it rolled over to zero and all of our computers are crashing shit everyone cared about it like it was going to be like the biggest party you'd

ever throw because it could be the last one that anyone ever attended and dave was saying well i'm definitely not going to play that fucking prince song but but queens of the stone age would be a good way to start their new year he's saying it's one of the best CDs to come out in the last five years she's talking about their self-titled album that came out in September of 1998. So it had just been a year or so since that album came out. But like you were saying, this isn't the album where Dave Grohl is drumming on it for them, but they had been around for a few years before that. And he says that we all love this CD so much that every time it winds up in the CD player,

it's a cause for celebration. I love that band. And then he goes on to drum for them a few years later. Isn't that a doozy? So the song I picked is Mexicoa. And I've kind of got the clip fade in. And then it'll just kind of play out to the end of the song. So that's a rap friendlies.

Thanks for tuning in. Spence, thanks for joining us. Yes, sir. It was a lot of fun. We should do it again sometime, bro. Next time we'll get the recording process to figure it out. Oh, and hey, we haven't picked a sidetrack yet, have we? Guess we'll just keep them guessing.

That's correct. Cool. All right. Thanks again for tuning in. My name is Quentin. My name is Travis. And I'm Spencer. There he goes.

Thanks, bro. Tell him, Steve, Dave. Don't you dare bring that shit on my podcast. That's a shout out to all the army ants out there. No. You. Ooh, little tears.