I love Grammy time!

Who rocked me right at this year’s Grammys?

Adele? Love her, but I’ve already listened to that CD and I don’t feel like crying.

Taylor Swift? Listen, Taylor Swift, you seem like a real nice girl, but umm…no.

Chris Brown? Rihanna? I’m not getting involved in that drama.

The Foo Fighters? Oh hell yes.

It wasn’t just the performance, which had me head banging on the couch in my living room on a Sunday night. It was that speech. When Dave Grohl said…

To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of music is what’s important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to do… It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about sounding absolutely correct, it’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head].

I don’t care if Dave Romero thinks that speech was bullshit. To me, at that moment, that speech felt very authentic. And anyway, Dave Grohl has clarified his statements.

I don’t think people spend enough time talking about craft and dedication and practice. I don’t think people spend enough time talking about the amount of dedication and practice it takes to be successful at any craft…writer, plumber, musician. And even if Romero says “it’s not like strumming a guitar is some foreign, far-out pursuit undertaken only by the most talented among us”, it takes a lifetime to master the guitar.  I know because I asked ChaCha.

“How long does it take to be a guitar master?” I asked.

“It takes very little time to learn how to play the guitar. It takes a lifetime to master the instrument. Good luck!” ChaCha said.

I’ll admit that I’ve never been the biggest Foo Fighters fan. Like, not at all the biggest fan. Like if one of their songs came on the radio, I probably turned it. I know that Dave Grohl was in Nirvana, and of course I have a spot in my heart for Nirvana just like every other person who graduated from high school in 1995 probably does. I just never got into the Foo Fighters. But their performance and acceptance speech at this year’s Grammys gave me pause and made me think…why the hell haven’t I ever liked these guys? Wasting Light was released in April, 2011. See why I like the Grammys? Because for almost a year I never even thought about this CD. Until that performance, until that speech.

I picked up Wasting Light , the physical compact disc, Monday morning after the Grammys. My car is the low-tech kind with a CD player. With my CD purchase I got a free piece of the analog tape upon which Wasting Light was recorded. Surely you’ve heard that Wasting Light was recorded on analog tape in a garage. I spend two hours a day five days a week commuting to and from work, so it’s a good time to listen to a new CD. Here’s the shiz…

Bridge Burning

Banging intro, makes me think this might be dangerous music to listen to while driving because of all the bouncing around and head banging and dancing I want to do. I’m having a hard time sitting still listening to this song. “These are my famous last words!” Dave Grohl screams, and it takes off from there. And does not stop. Until the next song…

Rope 

A bit more mellow than the first song. Maybe I can handle listening to this in the car while driving.  But then…wait…no…maybe song number two is not much more mellow than song number one. I still want to dance and shake and move around and strum the air guitar and bang on my air drums. And speaking of drums…awesome drum breakdown. Awesome guitar breakdown. Just awesome, really.

Dave Coffey at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian says that Rope…”is everything great about the Foo Fighters rolled into one, tightly knit four-and-a-half minute tune.”

Me like.

Dear Rosemary

Funky and slowed down. I didn’t necessarily like this one at first. But the more I listen the more I like it. Especially the repeated refrain – “shall I go on…and on…and on…”

White Limo

Does this song remind me of Rage Against the Machine? Yes, a little, it does remind me of Rage Against the Machine, if only for all the gritty screaming going on. But there’s a reason I like Rage Against the Machine: sometimes you need a good angry song to scream along with. Especially if you spend two hours a day on the road. Like say you’re stuck behind someone going 35 mph in a 55 mph no passing zone. Or say someone behind you is glued to your bumper even though you’re going 60 mph in a 55 mph no passing zone.  This song might be good for those kinds of situations. Now if I can just figure out what the words are, I’ll be screaming along.

Arlandria

So Arlandria is Dave Grohl’s old Virginia neighborhood.  This song stays stuck in my head. “You and what army…” Love this one.

These Days

I thought this song was called “One of These Days” most of the time I was listening to Wasting Light, because that’s what Dave Grohl sings over and over and over again. Dave Grohl says this is his favorite song he’s ever written, and Rolling Stone named it the fourth best single of the year. My reception of this song was at first lukewarm, but then I would find myself singing it absent-mindedly, just walking down the hall at work. So I guess it stuck with me. It’s pretty mellow for a minute, then Dave Grohl kicks it in with “Easy for you to say”. Like most of the songs on Wasting Light, the more I listened to “These Days”, the more my affection grew. Still headbanging and dancing around and singing. It’s mellow and banging simultaneously.

Back & Forth

Ok. Reminds me of old school rock n’ roll and cardigans. This is when I would usually start thinking “how many songs left until “Walk” comes on?”

A Matter of Time

“Nowhere seems like somewhere to go”. I like this one. But still…how many songs left until “Walk”?

Miss the Misery

Dark riffs and groove. I really love this one – especially the “Get in and let’s go-oo-oo-oo”. I enjoy singing along to this one, though nobody should ever hear me singing along to this one.

I Should Have Known

There’s some very interesting story behind this one, though I had no idea – I assumed the song was about a cheating woman. At very first it reminds me Pink Floyd, then reminds me of something the Black Keys might do. And the lyrics are good. Such an excellent song.

Walk

Here it is! This is my new favorite song. All week I would listen to Wasting Light in its entirety, then listen to “Walk” over and over, like nineteen times in a row, head banging and screaming along the whole time. This was rock song of the year for good reason in my book.

The $10.99 I spent on Wasting Light was $10.99 well spent. I love this CD.

I asked ChaCha:  ”What do I have to do to be a Foo Fighters groupie?”

ChaCha said: “Error. Try a different question.”

I asked: “Why are the Foo Fighters so awesome?”

ChaCha said: “Foo Fighters are awesome because they have fans like you.”

Ha! Thanks ChaCha! Thanks Foo Fighters! And thanks, Grammys, because I might have missed out on being a Foo Fighters fan without you.

There’s how I crossed Shizzle to Dizzle #7 off my list. Now on to the next one.