Foo Fighters

They're hated for several reasons:
1. They're not Nirvana. Dave Grohl, due to his involvement in Nirvana will have every project which he's a part of compared to Nirvana. Obviously, Foo Fighters is a very different tone than Nirvana. Because it's not exactly the same, it therefore sux.

2. They're formulaic. Most Foo Fighters songs follow similar formulas of composition with very little variety.

3. Their music never evolved much despite being around for 25 years. They have a really consistent sound, and most of their albums sound pretty similar.

4. They resent Dave Grohl's celebrity status. Since Dave is seen everywhere, people tend to treat him like the Dallas Cowboys. The more they see him and more they hear about him, the more they hate him and wish he'd just go away. For this reason, a lot of internet music critics consider him a massive douche.

5. They're not Queens of the Stone Age. Despite the fact that the only consistent thing about Queens is Dave Grohl, they hate Foo Fighters for not being as good as Queens of the Stoneage which is basically just Dave with a revolving door of guest players who basically form a different super group for each album.

ETA: I was wrong about this one. As pointed out by Brosef, Dave Grohl was just one of the rotating players in Queens of the Stoneage with Homme as the main constant.

6. There's a lot of guitar parts, but not a lot of complicated guitar parts. Thus, despite the fact that nearly the entire Grunge genre is bereft of any guitar soloing, Dave is a "hack" guitarist for not playing solos.

7. Their music is commercially successful and new songs still get airplay on Alt radio, something few "real rock bands" still get. That means you hear Dave screeching between tracks by Imagine Dragons, Lumineers, and Billy Eilish. Their commercial success has resulted in Foo Fighters being branded as corporate sell-outs, and the fact that they still use guitars with minimal synth and effects means they're "dad rock".

Short version: The internet latches onto certain bands from time to time and hates them with no real rhyme or reason, and Foo Fighters is one of them.

Not a bad breakdown from kingbob, but my assessment is much simpler than that.

I just don't think they're that good. They are ok and I liked some songs like Rope, Everlong, and The Pretender, but I never thought they were anything special. Most of the time when they come on the radio, I change the channel. On Pandora, skip.

I do my best not to compare to Nirvana. I don't like Queens of the Stone Age, so that's not even an argument for me.

I did hear something ludicrous said by a 26 year old (now 28) a few years ago. When discussing music, she said that the "Foo Fighters are the most important band of this generation." I asked "how so" but never got anything that resembled a valid response. I didn't even come up with an argument of who would be a better answer, I just wanted to know the justification for that statement. I think after hearing that, I just hear them and think "there's no way", and I'm just annoyed. So there's that.

I don't know our age gap but the above is absurd and I'm glad you rejected the notion.


I'm 39.

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I just wanted to know the justification for that statement

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number of hits, longevity of relevancy, Dave Grohl's involvement in so many groups as both a member and as a music producer, etc.

However, their music just isn't "groundbreaking" enough to me to warrant that label. I really enjoy Foo Fighters, but I don't think they're the most "important" band even if they're one of the most commercially successful. In my opinion, that honor should probably go to Jack White because he has a similar list of accomplishments to Grohl with Foo Fighters (albeit in a slightly shorter career), but he was a far more distinct sound which feels like it has influenced a lot more acts than Foo Fighters' sound has, though I don't necessarily know if that is true.

Some other candidates, in my opinion, would be Tool, Blink 182, My Chemical Romance, and The Killers

FYI, I'm around the same age as your female friend.

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I'm 91

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Hope you've been staying inside sir.

Here's some of my favorite songs by them which haven't been mentioned in this thread:
This Is A Call
Big Me
Something From Nothing
Walk

You have to understand that the number of rock bands which have had any real cultural relevancy post 2005 are slim, and bands that were relevant both pre 1999 and post 2010 are even slimmer, and Foo Fighters are one of those select few. They had major radio hits in 96 and 2017 and most years in between.

I got no beef with FF. They have put out some great songs pre 2003. Dave seems alright, but the band has been pretty boring for the vast majority of its life. Dave’s collaborations with Josh Homme on QOTSA and Them Crooked Vultures are much more interesting.

Dave almost joined QOTSA full time when they asked him to fill in during the early 2000s. He should have because Homme is a genius at songwriting and has stayed relevant up to today and in a time where Rock is dying.

I dont really have a strong opinion about them... I dont mind the odd song here and there, but their sound isn't that interesting to me...

I dont hate it, but wouldn't go out and buy it..

Dave Grohl seems like a good dude though...

I saw them on the tour of their first record... at the Rendon Inn in NOLA.. I dont think I have seen them since..

If you Sir, are indeed 91, and still listening to Rock & Roll..you are my hero.

I aspire to one day be 90, and listening to Grand Champeen's 'Sparks', Brothers Johnson 'Strawberry Letter 23', Rolling Stones 'She's a Rainbow', & Leon Russell's 'Song For You' on the ear pods at the retirement home.

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kingbob

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I have this image of kingbob, having formulated this answer about his favorite band years ago, just waiting for the exact right time to use it.



Love the explanations, by the way.