Sonic Highways - A Review

My first year of college I was still living at home and commuting twenty minutes to the little Christian college on the west side of town. In order to make it to my 8am class, I'd have to get up early and gobble down a bowl of cold Mini-Wheats before jumping into my smelly old 1983 Buick LeSabre. The car was a boat with a tricky carburetor and rear wheel drive, and on really cold mornings it didn't even start to get warm until about the time I pulled into the school parking lot.

It Was Cool inCARnate 

Since this was before Facebook (yeah, I'm about as old as that car), and I never got into MySpace, to entertain myself while I ate my Mini-Wheats I'd watch MTV. If you got up early enough, they'd actually show music videos. This was the age of Avril Lavigne ("I'm with You"), t.A.T.u ("All the Things She Said"), and Foo Fighters ("Best Of You").

I remember creeping through the cold, dark house, hitting the power button on the TV while holding down the volume button so I wouldn't wake the entire house with who knew what. One particular morning, my screen was suddenly filled with grainy stock footage of animals killing each other, while some guy who looked like a 70's arena rocker, with long hair and a thick beard, flashed huge teeth while screaming into Larry King's microphone. What was going on? I slowly turned up the volume I heard some of the most unadulterated rock I'd ever experienced.

While Foo Fighters aren't really my thing, my tastes are eclectic enough to enjoy them from time to time. Dave Grohl, the lead singer who is best known for being Dave Grohl, has been making and recording music for over 20 years. Grohl recently said that he feels like he's gotten really good at making albums, so he's looking for ways to make it more challenging. For the Foo Fighters' last album, Wasting Light, they recorded everything using an analog setup he built in his garage (the liner notes include instructions so you too can edit on a cassette deck).

For their eighth album, Sonic Highways, which came out yesterday, the band visited eight musically influential cities, spending a week in each city. Grohl interviewed local music legends and used what they said as the basis for his lyrics. Before leaving town, the band would then record a new song. The interviews have been made into an eight-part HBO documentary directed and produced by Grohl.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to watch most of documentary episodes, and it's made the lyrics that much more significant. This isn't just a bunch of love songs about ex-girlfriends. These are songs about people and places and moments in history. Grohl was careful to avoid taking on musical influences (the song written and recorded in Nashville doesn't have a hint of country), which has lead to some criticism. But the lyrics are what really stand out here.

At the end of the day, Foo Fighters only have three songs. Picking up a Foo Fighters' album is like picking up a hamburger at Burger King. It doesn't matter when or where you go, it's guaranteed to be exactly like the last one. But that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the experience every time. For me, this experience is enhanced by knowing the stories behind the songs, lyrics, and recordings. Are there weaknesses on this album because of the way it was made? Sure. But I'll leave it to those who know about such things to notice them. I'm just enjoying the journey.

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