Foo

In my opinion, one of the greatest rock bands ever is The Foo Fighters. After the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, the drummer of Nirvana went into the studio to make an album. According to several interviews he really didn't know what would come of it. Twenty years later, one of the best bodies of work is still growing. That drummer's name is Dave Grohl and I think he is one of the most interesting people in the world.

For me, the turning point of Dave Grohl was many years ago when he appeared on the The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. He sang the Elton John song Tiny Dancer. I have a copy of the performance on my iPod and I never skip the song. It's just a guy strumming a guitar singing off the teleprompter but the honestly in the performance and the how he connected with the audience changed my opinion from just another rock star to someone connects through music.

The latest Foo Fighter project is called Sonic Highways. It's an album and more. The music is great. Attached to the music is an eight part HBO series where the band goes to a different city each episode, talks to some of the local musicians about the local scene and history. From these interviews they write and record each song from the interviews.

The episodes are riveting.

Not only is the series informative but as the series trailer says, it's love letter to American music. It would have been very cool to be a part of the making of the series. The raw honesty and reverence shown by the band as they enjoy the journey jumps off the screen.

Another cool part of this project is during the same week that the HBO episode airs, the band plays a small but important venue from that city. We are talking about cool places like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and the Roxy in Los Angeles. Places that matter to music in the cities they stand in.

The Foo Fighters have sold a lot of albums and sold a lot show tickets. I'm sure they have a few extra bucks to take on ambitious and expensive projects. I know not every band out there could do this even if they want to. It's not that they can but that they do things like this. They let us in to see why they love music. Not everyone is prepared to let the public in.

You may not be a fan of The Foo Fighters, you may not have heard of them. That's okay. If you like music and want to see how some seemingly regular guys make it, I suggest you check out the HBO series Sonic Highways. It will grab your soul and not let go. It will make you love music even more. It will teach you something and capture your imagination. It will make you want to create something. It is that good.

I'll be honest, I really liked The Foo Fighters long before Sonic Highways but I find all this so inspiring. It is one of those projects that can change the way people see things. That doesn't come along everyday.