THE FOO FIGHTERS HAVE A GREAT NIGHT FOR ROCK

I wanted the Foo Fighters' Wasting Light (my second favorite LP of 2011) to win Album of the Year at the Grammys. I'm not mad that Adele won for 21, but wow, Wasting Light was great.

It reunited Dave Grohl with Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Nevermind producer Butch Vig recorded it with them in Dave's garage, and it saw Pat Smear rejoin the band (and there's a great guest appearance by another punk legend, Bob Mould).

I saw some noise on Twitter that the Foo Fighters are the band that always get attention from TV shows.  It's like they are the token rock band for award shows.  And I've read interviews with Dave Grohl where he kind of says that.  I'd agree that some of their albums may get a bit of a "pass," because people buy into Dave so much. They love his story, and by all accounts, he's a really cool guy despite all the band's success.  They have cred, but they're not snobs. Dave can show up at a punk club one night, and then jam with Paul McCartney at the White House.  People love that.

But in 2011, no other band had a rock record with mainstream appeal that worked from start to finish. Great singles, cool videos, but start to finish the LP works.  It's not just my opinion: I think they played every song on the album at their concerts.  How many bands with that many hits, with that many albums, can play all their new songs in concert and have it go over.  And by the way, their concerts are all in arenas.

I remember seeing one of the Foo Fighters' first shows - opening for Mike Watt before the first LP was out. I don't think it was even common knowledge that it was Dave Grohl's band. They were great, but they were a club band. Years later, I saw them at Giants Stadium opening for The Rolling Stones. They seemed  a bit "fish out of water," but they played with a lot of heart and soul. A few years later, I saw them open/co-headline with The Red Hot Chili Peppers and it clicked. Grohl had opened for them years earlier with Nirvana. I think seeing the Chilis handle playing large venues helped it kick in for him. Today they are one of the mightiest arena bands in the land, and I mean that as a 100% compliment.

I was so glad to see them win a ton of Grammys last night, and of course their main performance rocked (the dance music thing felt a bit forced: I'd like to see them do something with Deadmau5 without the other artists that were included in that).  And seeing Dave jamming with Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh and Bruce Springsteen at the end of the night was amazing. But tonight, he could be at a Bad Brains show. That's what's so great about him.

ADELE, 6 FOR 6 AT THE GRAMMYS

I've listened to Adele's 21 twice in the last two days, before and after The Grammys.  What a triumphant night for her. She deserved every bit of it.

I voted for her a number of times. I wanted Foo Fighters to win Album of The Year for Wasting Light, but I can't be made that Adele won.  Even Dave Grohl has talked about what a great album 21 is.

Of course, with the amount of attention she's gotten and the success she's enjoyed, there are people "hating on her" (in the parlance of the times). I've written about this before. But I'll say it again. Whenever I hear her sing, I believe every word. She doesn't pretend to be anything she isn't.  I don't care if she writes songs or not - but it turns out she co-wrote all of the songs on 21, except for the cover of The Cure's "Lovesong" (which was a very cool arrangement).

I was wondering how good she would sound, and if she was ready to perform after her surgery.  I mean, even if she wasn't ready, there would have been a huge amount of temptation to get her singing a bit early to capitalize on the opportunity to perform at The Grammys, given her six nominations and the fact that her record was the best selling of the year. Well, she was ready, and she proved it.  Now I'm looking forward to whatever she does next.  Obviously I'm not alone there!

BEST OF 2011 - #2 - FOO FIGHTERS "WASTING LIGHT"

I loved Foo Fighters' Wasting Light the minute I heard it and I said so. Dave Grohl and the boys have never made a bad album, but this is certainly one of their best, if not their absolute best. Considering that the guy has nothing to prove, and has probably lived out all of his rock and roll dreams, it would almost be understandable if he just coasted. But I'm glad he hasn't done that: and as a lifelong rock fan, I think he knows that sinking feeling you get when an artist that you love lets you down.  I doubt he gets too caught up in what people think of him, but I know he doesn't want to put out a lame album. The fact that this comes twenty years after Nirvana's Nevermind (and features Nirvana's Krist Novoselic on two songs, and it is produced by Nevermind's Butch Vig) just shows that Dave has been really vital for a really long time.

I do think that sometimes the Foo Fighters albums get a "pass" because people like the band so much.  Which is nice.  But in this case, it isn't necessary, and that's even nicer.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: GARAGE ROCK!

First off, to longtime readers and frequent visitors, sorry that I haven't been too prolific this month. Aside from the day job at SiriusXM, I've been taking classes at NYU. I have a lot of records and DVDs to review for you guys.  And by the way - as is usually the case - I buy them myself.  I don't write positive reviews because I got something for free - even when I do get it for free.  But these days, I get most of my music from iTunes or Amazon, just like you do.

OK, so tomorrow on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SiriusXM OutQ, I return to a topic that I always love: garage rock!

First off is the new Foo Fighters album, Wasting Light, which was actually recorded in a garage, namely Dave Grohl's garage (which is probably nicer than most people's houses, but still).  I wrote about this last month, and having revisited the album today, I maintain that it is one of their best, and one of the best of the year so far.  I was discussing with someone how Dave Grohl is a guy who everyone loves, but you don't hear about Foo Fighters albums being listed as classics.  This one might be a classic (but I'd argue that the first one - really a Grohl solo project - and the second one, The Colour And The Shape, are excellent).

Another great garage rock band is The New York Dolls.  I wrote about their new album Dancing Backward In High Heels in my last post.  I came late to this band's party, but I would recommend their 1973 self titled debut to anyone. The three albums they've released since reuniting in 2004 are all really good. They couldn't have the impact of that first album, but they are good records. I maintain that the Dolls belong in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Frontman David Johansen was one of my favorite artists of the '00s, both because of the Dolls but also because of his great SiriusXM Radio show (yes I work there).

Also, the new album by The Strokes, which Larry gave me.  For some reason, they are just a band that I absolutely cannot get into. I remember reading all about them in the British magazine Q (I read about them there first, even though they are from New York), lots of hype.  When I heard them, I found them pretty boring. In 2004, I saw them "perform" at Little Steven's Underground Garage Rock Festival.  Maybe part of the problem was that they went on after The New York Dolls (playing NY for the first time in three decades) and before The Stooges.  They were so out of their league. I know people think their first record is a classic, but I just can't get into them. I don't "go negative" on No Expiration, but that is a band I just can't get with. But Larry and I will discuss some songs from their new album, Angles.

Other than that, this week I did the modern day equivalent of going to buy 45"s: picking garage rock songs out on iTunes. I have songs by: Spanking Charlene, a band that got signed to Little Steven's Wicked Cool Records after winning a contest. The Woggles (also on Wicked Cool) are a cool band - their singer, The Mighty Manfred, is a DJ on The Underground Garage. The Breakers from Denmark, have also recorded for Wicked Cool, I dig their new song, "The Jerry Lee Symptoms." Larry lent me some music by The Vaccines, they remind me a bit of The Smiths. And Dum Dum Girls are kind of big on the indie rock scene, and they actually cover The Smiths' "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out," but I also have one of their own songs, "He Gets Me High." People sometimes ask what the appeal of garage rock is: I don't know, I like the idea of a few people getting together with instruments and making short, great songs. I don't care if it isn't sonically innovative: sometimes it can make you feel good to be alive, and sometimes that's more important than anything else.

FOO FIGHTERS - WASTING LIGHT

I love this album. The Foo Fighters' Wasting Light is one of their best LPs, certainly their best album since 1997's The Colour and The Shape.

Recorded on all analog tape (a piece of the actual master is included in the album if you pre-ordered, I have one) in Dave Grohl's garage (a "ballad-free" zone) it is loud and rocking. When the band recorded two new songs for their Greatest Hits album in 2009, Dave reunited with Nevermind producer Butch Vig.  I guess they enjoyed working together ("Wheels" is a great song, albeit 100% different from what they've done here), so they decided to do a full album.

Pat Smear, who was a member of the original Foo Fighters band, rejoined as a touring member after the release of 2007's Echoes, Silence Patience and Grace, and now he's back in the band full time... but Chris Shiflett is still in the band also, so they now have a muscular three guitar attack.

Grohl comes from a hardcore punk background, but his great sense of melody comes through on every song he writes.  So even when the guitars and drums are crashing down, there's still great melodies, his songs are memorable.  Some of the recent Foo Fighters albums have had a bit of filler - this album has none. If I write about highlights, I'll end up mentioning every song on the album. Seriously.  But I will mention "Dear Rosemary," which features Bob Mould on guitar and vocals. Grohl is always really cool about citing his influences, and lately he's been saying that without Bob's old band, Husker Du, he wouldn't be doing what he's doing. I think the band's lineup is maxed out at five members, but I'd love to see Bob join the band! Also, Krist Novoselic plays bass and accordion on "I Should Have Known."  It's a great song that will kick ass when they do it live.

It's been a long time since I've said that a Foo Fighters release would be one of my favorite albums of the year, but this will be in the running for my top 10.

FOO FIGHTERS: HIATUS? WHAT HIATUS?

Dave Grohl tells Rolling Stone that the Foo Fighters will do their next album with Butch Vig, who he of course worked with nearly twenty years ago on Nirvana's Nevermind. (Dave also filled in for Vig on drums on "Bad Boyfriend," from Garbage's most recent album). He says that he and Taylor Hawkins are already working on new songs. I kind of thought that Them Crooked Vultures would be a year long project, but maybe that won't be the case. I do hope they work together in the future though. On the other hand, I've read that bassist Nate Mendel is reuniting with Sunny Day Real Estate for a tour, so who knows if there's an actual schedule for the Foos to return to active duty.

BEST OF THE 00's: DAVE GROHL

I remember watching The Backbeat Band on the MTV Movie Awards in 1994 and wondering if Dave Grohl would ever play to such a large crowd again.

At this point, of course, Nirvana had ended with Kurt Cobain's death, and no one could have anticipated that Dave Grohl would have become what he became. Dave was playing drums for a "supergroup" that also featured Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli, Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner (a huge star at that time), Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Don Flemming of Gumball and Mike Mills of R.E.M. They recorded an album of garage rock classics for the soundtrack of the film Backbeat, about the early days of The Beatles when they were playing clubs.

Of course we know how it all turned out: Grohl became the singer/songwriter/leader of Foo Fighters, one of the biggest rock bands of the second half of the '90s. 1995's Foo Fighters (essentially a solo album on which Dave played everything, except one guitar track by Dulli), 1997's The Colour and The Shape and 1999's There Is Nothing Left To Lose showed that Grohl was a great songwriter and leader in his own right, certainly influenced by Nirvana, but not afraid to go more metal, or more pop. Refreshingly, he didn't have a problem with being popular, playing arena stages, and rubbing shoulders with classic rockers.  That would continue in the '00.

2000's releases were a cover of Pink Floyd's "Have A Cigar" for the Mission Impossible II soundtrack (Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins sang lead, and Queen's Brian May played lead guitar), and a bunch of guest appearances.  Dave, along with Frank Black and David Bowie guested on a great song, "Jewel," from Bowie (then-) guitarist Reeves Gabrels' solo album, Ulysses.  In interviews, Grohl expressed hope that those musicians would work together again (which never happened). Also that year, Dave wrote, sang, and played drums on "Goodbye Lament" from Tony Iommi's debut album Iommi. Grohl has always had a great sense of humor (remember the Nirvana In Utero commercial with Bobcat Goldtwhait, and the Foo Fighters "Big Me" video?). In 2001, he played drums on Tenacious D's debut album, a rocking album.

Speaking of rocking, in 2002, he briefly joined Queens Of The Stone Age for the Songs For The Deaf album, probably the best album Dave played on in the '00s. The lineup at that point was singer/guitarist/songwriter/founder Josh Homme, along with bassist/vocalist Nick Oliveri and singer Mark Lanegan (formerly of Screaming Trees). I don't always buy into the Queens, but I have a lot of respect for Josh, and this is his finest moment. The album really overshadowed the next Foo Fighters album, One By One, which came out later that year, and that point, I kind of wondered if Dave was still into the Foo Fighters.

There were more sessions: he played guitar on Bowie's cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Watiting For You," played drums and some bass on Cat Power's You Are Free album and played drums on the entire Killing Joke self-titled album (reportedly free of charge).

In 2004, he put out the long-talked about Probot project. A full-on underground metal project, Grohl was recording (on his own) metal jams in the style of some of his favorite old bands.  Eventually he started calling the frontmen of those bands to contribute lyrics and vocals, and the album includes Lemmy, Max Cavalera, King Diamond and Mike Dean of Corrosion Of Conformity among others. The album got respect among real metal fans who didn't give a shit about Nirvana or the Foo Fighters.

In 2005, he played drums on one of Garbage's best songs, "Bad Boyfriend" (filling in for the band's usual drummer, Nevermind producer Butch Vig), and also on most of Nine Inch Nails' With Teeth. It turns out that these outside projects help keep him inspiried for the Foo Fighters, because on the next album, the double CD In Your Honor, he seemed rejuvinated.

Named in tribute to John Kerry (who Grohl "opened" for on his campaign trail in 2004), the album was half rock and half more acoustic stuff.  The acoustic side had some notable guests, including Norah Jones, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones. This was the best of the decade's three Foo Fighters albums, and led to two tours: a rocking arena tour and an acoustic theater tour, which yielded the band's first live album, Skin and Bones. The album featured a song that Dave wrote while in Nirvana, "Friend of a Friend," and during the tour Dave started playing "Marigold," the Cobain-less Nirvana tune that he wrote and sang.

In 2006, Dave returned to rocking and comedy by reprising his role as Satan (first played in Tenacious D's "Tribute" video).  This time he played the role in the D's film, The Pick Of Destiny, also adding satanic vocals to "Beezleboss (The Final Showdown)."  The next year saw another great Foo Fighters album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. Since then, they've released a very Petty-esque song "Wheels," for their Greatest Hits album, and of course now Dave is spending time with his new band, Them Crooked Vultures, featuring Josh Homme and John Paul Jones. I haven't even gotten into the Foo Fighters jams with John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page,  or the fact that Dave has also jammed with Paul McCartney.

The guy really has the best of all worlds: he can play loud rock and also acoustic, he's got a great band but can play in other bands and guest on other people's albums.  He can jam with McCartney and King Diamond. He's got the rock star lifestyle and remains a cool guy (and a family man at that). I imagine he'll be on the road for much of 2010 with Them Crooked Vultures, and after that, who knows.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: NIRVANA, FOO FIGHTERS, THEM CROOKED VULUTRES

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, if you enjoy reading my musings on music and you have a satellite radio, you can hear me Wednesday mornings on SIRIUSXM's OutQ Channel. I am a guest of The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick at about 9 am ET every Wednesday. (You can actually get a free online trial and listen on your computer at www.sirius.com/freetrial). This week, I am talking about albums by Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Them Crooked Vultures. Someone commented to me that the common denomonator is Dave Grohl, which is both true and false.

There are two new Nirvana releases out now: the first is the 20th anniversary edition of Nirvana's debut album, 1989's Bleach. Dave Grohl hadn't yet joined the band. Chad Channing was the drummer on that album. Supposedly, it cost $600 to make the album, and there are no outtakes, because they couldn't afford extra tape, so if they didn't like a take, they taped over it. So why get this reissue? Because it includes a live set from the era on the CD and on a bonus DVD. Channing plays drums on that gig -it is early Nirvana, really, really raw.


Then, there's Live At Reading, recorded on August 30, 1992. They were one of the biggest bands in the world at that moment, and Kurt Cobain was getting really sick of it. One complaint I've read about the CD is that it cuts the in-between song banter, which gives it a bit of context, there's a lot of Kurt's whining. On the CD, they cut that, so you hear a powerful set of awesome songs performed with fury (and some boredom). But some people think it's misleading I guess.

It's weird (or maybe not) that both Nirvana albums came out on the same day last week (they are on different labels, SubPop owns Bleach while Universal put out Reading), and on the same day, a Foo Fighters Greatest Hits album came out. When Nirvana first broke up, I remember Dave played drums for a "supergroup" on the Backbeat soundtrack (a film about the Beatles' early days as a club band). It was Grohl, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Don Flemming of Gumball, Dave Pierner of Soul Asylum and Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs. They covered all the same old songs that The Beatles covered. I remember seeing them perform on the MTV Movie Awards, and wondering when Grohl would get to play big crowds again! Around that time, drummer Stan Lynch quit The Heartbreakers, and Tom Petty invited Dave to join the band. He didn't, but he did play for them on one episode of Saturday Night Live. I remember hearing Kris Novoselic telling Eddie Vedder about Dave's new project on an episode of Pearl Jam's "Monkey Wrench Radio," and he played a few songs from the demo, which sounded really cool. A few months later, the Foo Fighters opened for Mike Watt (Dave also played drums for Watt) but no one really had heard of them! It was pretty great though. By all accounts, Dave is a cool guy, and I'm glad he's done so well. I saw the Foo Fighters headline an arena last summer, and it was a good show.

Finally, Them Crooked Vultures. I've written about them a bit already. It's Dave Grohl on drums (and I think some vocals), Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age and Eagles Of Death Metal on guitar and vocals and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass and keyboards. Their album comes out next week, but they're letting you listen to it on their YouTube page. I've got to say, it sounds pretty awesome.

ON iTUNES: FOO FIGHTERS GREATEST HITS EP

Tomorrow sees the release of the Foo Fighters' Greatest Hits album. A deluxe version will have a DVD of the band's videos. But iTunes will have a cheapter EP version, which will just have the two new songs, "Wheels" and "Word Forward," as well as the acoustic version of "Everlong" and a cover of Paul McCartney's "Band On The Run" which is exclusive to the EP. Dave Grohl and Sir Paul are total bros: Dave played drums for Paul at the Grammys last year (and I think he joined them for "Band On The Run" at one of Paul's shows in the summer of '08). I watched part of the Foo Fighters exclusive Facebook show on Friday night, and it was pretty cool.

Of course, that's probably the last we'll see of the band for a while, since Dave is about to spend the next few months with Them Crooked Vultures. I imagine the other Foos - drummer Taylor Hawkins and guitarist Chris Shiflett - will do solo stuff, and bassist Nate Mendel may work with Sunny Day Real Estate again.

TWO NEW FOO FIGHTERS SONGS

I mentioned a while back that The Foo Fighters debuted a new song, "Wheels," when they played the White House's July 4th picnic, and that the song is going to be on their upcoming greatest hits album. Well, it turns out that there's going to be another new song called "Word Forward" which was produced by Butch Vig - who of course Dave Grohl worked with on Nirvana's Nevermind. (Dave also filled in for Butch Vig by playing drums on Garbage's "Bad Boyfriend.")

That will probably be the last we hear from the Foos for a while, as Dave is probably going to be spending a lot of time with Them Crooked Vultures in the next few months.

LIVE FOO FIGHTERS DVD

Earlier this year, The Foo Fighters headlined two nights at England's Wembley Stadium. They jammed on two Led Zeppelin tunes with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. Now the shows are coming out on DVD. Hopefully they'll contain the tunes with Jimmy and John Paul.

That same week, Dave Grohl joined Paul McCartney onstage for two songs: that would make a great bonus feature!

FOO FIGHTERS LIVE

Night three of my "Five Nights To Rock" (reduced from seven) was a lot of fun. The Foo Fighters were great. Dave Grohl has become a great frontman. This was the first time I saw them headline: I'd seen them open for Mike Watt (before the debut came out, most people didn't know that it was Dave Grohl's band), I saw them open for The Rolling Stones, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and also at one of the Tibetan Freedom Concerts. 

Where a lot of Dave Grohl's peers (and his former bandmates, both from Scream and Nirvana) seemed to be put off by the arena rock thing, Dave has embraced it. I think he was partly influenced by drummer Taylor Hawkins (who was in Alanis Morissette's band before joining The Foo Fighters) and seems mainly influenced by classic rock radio. The dude has, like, not a bone of irony in him and he probably has more fun than most of the folks in the "alt-rock scene." I think he's helped Dave to embrace the popularity that he is fortunate enough to have. 

Anyway, great show. Most of the hits you'd expect (surprisingly, only "Big Me" from the first album, which I kind of think is the best, even though it is essentially a Dave solo record). They also did both songs from The Who tribute concert (Gaz Coombes from openers Supergrass again sang lead on "Bargain"). Great acoustic set on a mini-stage on the far side of the floor with an expanded band that included their former guitarist Pat Smear, Rami Jaffe from The Wallflowers, a percussionist (who played a triangle solo) and a violinist. It was the last night of the tour, but, like Pearl Jam, I think The Foo Fighters will be touring for a long time. 

"SEVEN NIGHTS TO ROCK"

A week from today, my lovely wife (we just celebrated our six year wedding anniversary) leaves for a week and a half trip to Africa. She goes nearly every summer. Last summer I went with her. This summer I'm not (her trip involved a class, much reading and a term paper that needed to be completed before the trip).

Anyway, at some point I noticed that starting the night she leaves, there are seven shows in a row that I want to go to. Wouldn't it be fun to go to all of them? I'm calling it "Seven Nights To Rock," after an old song that Springsteen sometimes covers. Of course, I'll be blogging about it. Other than just writing about the shows, though, I'm also going to be writing about what it costs in ticket prices, gas, tolls, parking and food. Plus, what's it like to be a guy who is pushing 40 (or, leaving his 30s), holding down a job, and going out for seven nights?

My old company, VH1, may be interested in me blogging about this on their site. I've been trying to push it to other sites as well, but time is running out. So, I may blog about it here, or I may blog elsewhere (but I will link to it from here). Here's the schedule: 7/26 I'm starting out with a movie that "rocks," Neil Young's Crosby Stills Nash & Young Deja Vu documentary. My original plan for 7/26 was to see Yes, but they cancelled their summer tour. However, if I do it for VH1, I'll be going to the Warped Tour. I went to the Warped Tour in its first year, its first few actually, but I haven't been for a long time. I'm not that interested in many of this year's bands. I know that Pennywise is playing, so is Against Me! (a band I would probably be into if I were in high school now) and the Horrorpops. 7/27: Rock The Bells (with A Tribe Called Quest, de la soul, Nas, Mos Def, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface and more). 7/28: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. 7/29: The Foo Fighters. 7/30: Aimee Mann. 7/31: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (yes, again). 8/1: Loretta Lynn. But if I do it for VH1, I'll go to see Apples In Stereo instead. Should be fun and interesting, if tiring. I'm sure I'll be talking about it on the OutQ In The Morning With Larry Flick Show.

VH1 ROCK HONORS: THE WHO

Wow: VH1 did such a great job with their Rock Honors show. In past years, they've honored four bands per show, but tonight it was all about The Who. Rightfully so.

They got bands that deserved to be there on the bill - The Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam and The Flaming Lips as well as Tenacious D (and also Incubus... I'd rather have heard The Raconteurs or Joan Jett or Oasis or Paul Weller), and they were all great, especially Pearl Jam.

But, of course, it was really all about The Who. It really is amazing how this band, who have been around for forty years now, has held up. So many of my favorite albums are by them: The Who Sing My Generation, Tommy, Who's Next, Live At Leeds just to name a few. I think it's cool to hear their songs on TV (it really works well on CSI) and I'm not surprised that kids are rocking out to them on Rock Band or Guitar Hero. The current band still sound great. (Kudos, by the way, to VH1 for leaving in "Tea and Theatre," a song from their last album Endless Wire, on the broadcast). I was sorry to hear that they are probably ditching the idea of recording a new album with T-Bone Burnett, but I'm glad that they are still going to be touring.

Anyway, it was a great show, if you love The Who, you should check it out. Here's hoping that they release a live document of the event. It's rare that I see something on VH1 that really makes me miss working there (I was there for three and a half really fun years), but this was one of them.

THE RUSH/FOO FIGHTERS JAM

OK, this will be my last Rush post for a while, at least until I go to their concert. I don't know how I missed this, but back in March, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson joined The Foo Fighters on stage at their show in Toronto. Actually, they just joined Foo drummer Taylor Hawkins during his drum solo, and they rocked out on Rush's instrumental classic "YYZ." I found out about it a great fansite, Rush Is A Band. 

One of the interesting parts of the recent Rolling Stone feature on Rush was one part where Neal Peart describes seeing Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video on MuchMusic, he got in touch with the band's management to offer them an opening slot on their tour. The band's management said no, because Nirvana were "alternative." Funny that all these years later, Geddy and Alex jammed on Dave Grohl's stage, albeit without Dave himself.  

It's been a pretty good year for the Foos. They recently jammed with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl recently sat in with Paul McCartney, and they are going to play at VH1's Who tribute concert. 

In other Foo Fighters news, they've just released an iTunes EP, including their cover of Arcade Fire's "Keep The Car Running." 

A BIG NIGHT FOR THE FOO FIGHTERS

The Foo Fighters just played  England's Wembley Stadium, and were joined by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones for two Led Zeppelin songs. Drummer Taylor Hawkins sang while Dave Grohl played drums on "Rock And Roll," and then Taylor got behind the kit and Dave got back out front for "Ramble On." While neither of them approaches the awsomeness of Robert Plant, it must have been pretty cool to see. Apparently Page said backstage that Zeppelin may rise again after Robert's current tour ends. We'll see. 

Meanwhile, apparently Dave performed at a concert in Liverpool with Paul McCartney recently. And later this summer, the Foos may jam with The Who at the VH1 Rock Honors. 

But what's cool about Dave Grohl is, he's probably just as psyched to jam with Lemmy or H.R. from Bad Brains. He's about the music, not about the fame. 

PEARL JAM, FOO FIGHTERS AND FLAMING LIPS SIGN ON FOR VH1 ROCK HONORS

A while back, when VH1 announced that this year's Rock Honors ceremony would only be honoring The Who, I hoped that they would get artists who are worthy.

Turns out they did: Pearl Jam, The Foo Fighters and The Flaming Lips are all on the bill, with more to be named later. I'd like to suggest The Raconteurs if they're available.

Anyway, I will be tuned in on July 17.

DAVE GROHL CLEARS UP THE WHOLE "METALLICA" LETTER THING

OK, so even though I posted Dave Grohl's "Open Letter To Metallica," I kind of suspected that it might not have come from Dave. But it was so funny, I wanted it to be true. Anyway, he gave the real deal at the Foo Fighters' website.

"Hey Everybody, Just wanted to write a quick note to clear up this whole 'Open letter to Metallica' fiasco......For the record, I never 'wrote' anything to Metallica. I was asked by a journalist, at the end of a long interview (abut the Foo Fighters) to give a quick message to Metallica in the studio. So, I rattled that quote off the top of my head. No biggie, right? Somehow it became my 'open letter' to the band, and now it's been picked up by everyone from Blabbermouth to Rolling Stone (as if anyone really cares!). Now, it's true that I've been a loyal fan of this band for 25 years, and I can't wait to hear the new shit, but an 'open letter' to the band?!!?? Nah. Not my style. I'd rather just text 'em......
OK.......just needed to get that off my chest. Hope you guys are good. Thanks for coming out to the shows, they've been a blast. Only a few more before we crawl back into our cave and hibernate. It's gonna be a loooooong winter.......
Dave"

It's crazy to me that someone could spend a lot of time with a cool dude like Dave for a legit interview, and then do him like that: taking stuff that he said in an interview and posting it on the web as an "open letter." Lame.

However, what probably is accurate is the band's tour rider, which has just shown up on the website Smoking Gun. Not a site that I frequent often, but the rider is so funny, referring to Dave as "The Guy From Nirvana" and demanding stuff like unopened cereal boxes "and not the Lucky Charms that Ronnie James Dio plowed through the night before." Really funny stuff .

DAVE GROHL'S OPEN LETTER TO METALLICA

You gotta love Dave Grohl: he loves what he loves, doesn't care about trends, is a good guy, has never stopped being a fan, and has a great sense of humor. And you get all of that from his "Open Letter To Metallica" (which I first read about on the metal blog Blabbermouth but has been posted all over the place):  

"Dear METALLICA,

Hey, it's Dave! Remember me? Yeah, I'm the guy that's been listening to your band faithfully since 1983. I bought your first album Kill 'Em All from a mailorder catalogue called Under The Rainbow, I think. Actually I can't remember. It was 1983 for Christsakes! But that album changed my life and I've been listening to your albums ever since (even St. Anger!).

I can't wait to hear the new shit, and no matter what you guys do I'll always be first one at the shop waiting to hear it. I'm sure you'll come out and blow everybody's fuckin' minds, because you're fuckin' METALLICA!

Good luck. And don't release it until it's kick-ass.

Yours, Dave Grohl.

 P.S. Are you finished recording the drums yet?" 

I wonder if that last bit made Lars Ulrich nervous. I remember a few years ago reading that Metallica was one of Dave's biggest influences, which surprised me a bit for some reason, but it makes sense. I remember in '92, Nirvana was offered the opening slot on the Guns 'N Roses/Metallica tour, and Kurt Cobain was like, "No way." Probably more because of Guns, but still, I doubt he was feeling Metallica. But who knows - maybe now Metallica will offer The Foo Fighters the gig as their openers. Or maybe Dave can put together some kind of Probot all star band. 

COPING VIA MIXTAPE: THE FOO FIGHTERS

Welcome to Coping Via Mixtape, my first genuine feature on No Expiration!

Here's the deal: I can't get to all the shows I want to see. I don't have the bucks. Or even the time. So sometimes I pretend that I'm going to a show, even when I know I'm probably not actually going. That was the case when the Foo Fighters played MSG recently. So, I acted as if I was going, and psyched myself up (or out) by making a mixtape for the show. In this case, a mixtape of my favorite performances by Dave Grohl. Here they are:

Scream: "Caffine Dream" (Scream was the Washington D.C. based hardcore band Dave was in before Nirvana; as with Nirvana, he wasn't the original drummer).

Nirvana: "In Bloom"

The Backbeat Band: "Good Golly Miss Molly" (The Backbeat Band did the soundtrack to the 1994 film about the early days of the Beatles, Backbeat. Dave played drums, Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs sang John Lennon's part, Dave Pierner of Soul Asylum did Paul McCartney's Mike Mills of R.E.M. played bass, and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Don Flemming of Gumball played guitars.)

The Foo Fighters: "This Is A Call"

Reeves Gabrels: "Jewel" (Reeves was the guitarist in David Bowie's band; this song features Grohl, Bowie and Frank Black)

Mike Watt: "Big Train" (this is from the ex-Minutemen and fIREHOSE bassist's solo debut; this song featured Dave on drums, Eddie Vedder on guitar and I think Krist Novoselic was on it too. The first time I saw The Foo Fighters was opening for Watt, before their first album came out. Eddie Vedder's then-wife's band, Hovercraft opened, Ed played drums. Then the Foo Fighters, then Watt, with Ed on guitar and Grohl on drums. At a small club. At the height of the "grunge" era. It was pretty incredble.)

Foo Fighters: "Monkey Wrench"

Queens Of The Stone Age: "No One Knows" (Dave was the drummer on their Songs For The Deaf album)

Probot: "Shake Your Blood" (Probot was Dave's totally awesome metal project, featuring a number of [mostly obscure] metal vocalists. Lemmy from Motorhead is on this one, he's easily the most famous guy on the album [other than Grohl])

Tenacious D: "Tribute" Dave not only played drums on thier debut album, but played Satan in the video.

Scream: "Gods Look Down" (Dave wrote and sang this one; I guess it's the first song he wrote and/or sang)

Nirvana: "Marigold" (the only Nirvana song that Dave wrote and sang; I think it was just Dave, with Krist on bass, I don't think Kurt Cobain was even on this song).

Nirvana: "Serve The Servants"

Iommi: "Goodbye Lament" (this is from Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's solo debut. It featured lots of guest stars: Dave sang, wrote the lyrics and of course played drums on this. Brian May of Queen, a good friend of both Dave and Tony, also plays guitar)

Probot: "Red War" (featuring Max Cavalera from Sepultura and Soulfly; I think he wrote the lyrics shortly after 9/11)

Foo Fighters: "Stacked Actors"

Mike Watt: "Against The '70s" (also featuring Grohl and Eddie Vedder)

Queens Of The Stone Age: "First It Giveth"

Garbage: "Bad Boyfriend" (Garbage, of course, features Nevermind producer Butch Vig on drums, but Dave filled in for him on this one).

Foo Fighters: "Best Of You"

Foo Fighters: "The Pretender"

Tenacious D: "Beezleboss (The Final Showdown)" (Dave reprises the role of Satan on this one)

Pete Yorn: "For Us"

David Bowie: "I've Been Waiting For You" (Grohl plays guitar, not drums, on this Neil Young cover).