The Foo Fighters will Always be Fighting
From the inception of the Foo Fighters, when it was just Dave Grohl and his demo tapes, he’s been fighting to prove he can stand without Nirvana while never avoiding its shadow. Dave seems to me to be logical enough to fight for the things in life that can be controlled instead of the surprise challenges that are forced onto all of us in life. This spirit was put into his band, the Foo Fighters. Not only am I a fan, but I have been a fan from the beginning. For many die-hard Nirvana fans, like myself, the Foo Fighters felt like a natural progression. Not because Foo Fighters will ever be in the same realm as Nirvana, but rather because the spirit of both bands is to fight for what they believe in.
As a 90s kid and a Sub-Pop fan growing up, I had the honor and privilege to see both Nirvana and Foo Fighters live in concert. In my opinion, they have much more in common than they have different. While their differences are stark, their similarities are almost exact. That is why I believe the Foo Fighters will be considered one of history’s greatest bands in many categories.
One of the categories that matter most in the GOAT metric system is the longevity of excellence. One cannot have longevity in the musical realm without a timekeeper. The keeper of time and space will forever be the drummer. The drummer is the end-all, be-all in any band because they dictate the feel, the mood, the energy, the groove, and the spirit of the music (whether they helped compose it or not).
No one understands this more than Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins. This duo speaks to synthesis, strength, and a special symbiosis one only discovers in the bands that are legends. These two masterful timekeepers created a rhythm that was unknown to the planet before they existed and will never be forgotten.
Rock and roll history was forever altered in March 2022 with Taylor’s passing. His drumming was not only solid but unique in the sense that he was always looking to push the song to the next level every single time he played it. He gave 100 percent service to the song always in all ways, which is a very rare quality in the world of drumming. Few like him will ever exist as he truly represented the music first, never himself. This unique quality can be heard on every single Foo Fighters song, from the hits to the songs you know if you know.
Describing Taylor in general terms wouldn’t do his life, much less his contribution, justice, so I will refrain from further explanation and focus on one thing I know for certain when speaking about Taylor Hawkins and his fight alongside the Foo Fighters: he never stopped fighting because that’s the spirit of a fighter…a Foo Fighter, that is.
What is your favorite Foo Fighters song or performance?
