Foo Fighter Album Analysis

The self titled Foo Fighters album released July 4, 1995, acts as a continuation and evolution of the grunge rock atmosphere in which it was released. Written and performed almost entirely by Dave Grohl, with one guest performance by Greg Dulli on “X-Static”, the album acts as a response and homage to the death of Grohl’s former band mate Kurt Cobain (Keyes). With many of the songs written while in Nirvana, Foo Fighters shares many attributes with the songs of Grohl’s former band (Erlewine). The album was recorded by Grohl in one week and subsequently circulated on a mere cassette tapes for feedback (Erlewine). It was only when these tapes began drawing attention from record labels that Grohl signed with Capitol Records and solidified the

Nearly all follow the aforementioned soft-loud alternation that mimics the ebb and flow of emotion most likely felt by Grohl. This creates an experience which can be translated by the listener by attaching the feelings created to whatever fits for them. Starkly contrasting these high energy grunge songs is “Big Me”. The first deviation of style, “Big Me” focusses on a much cleaner sound with a distinct lack of distortion or yelling vocals. The song shows an experimentation with more poppy sounds and styles as Grohl explores the type of music he wants to make. In all, the song is meant as a feel good novelty which is evident by its short runtime of just over two

The music was recorded as an emotional release from the loss of a band mate. The emotion clearly shines through, and the callbacks to classic Nirvana techniques pays tribute to the lost band. The album does not attempt to be anything more than it is: a catchy, energetic, emotional release. The album’s clear accomplishment of this is evident by the success it has seen despite the modest beginnings of a small cassette release. The catchy melody and lyrics set a baseline for the work of the Foo Fighters and gave promise of the growth to