Tommy Gaertner

Music 1010
Semester Listening Guide Presentation Presenter’s Notes
Foo Fighters

Slide 1: In this presentation, I am going to talk a little bit about the Foo Fighters, their background as a
band and some of their songs as well. I will also provide an analysis of 3 songs by the Foo Fighters: All
My Life, The Pretender and Bridge Burning. I hope that my breakdown and analysis of these songs will
provide you with some additional insight on them and also some new things to listen for next time you
hear any of these songs.

Slide 2: As mentioned above, the Foo Fighters were formed in 1994. They were formed due to
unexpected and unfortunate circumstances. Dave Grohl has been the drummer for Nirvana as they
started to gain success and popularity. In 1994, Kurt Cobain (lead singer of Nirvana) was found dead.
This brought the sudden end to Nirvana and the eventual start of the Foo Fighters. In their 1995 debut
album, Dave recorded and performed all songs himself. Not knowing these recordings would be well
received, he named his band “Foo Fighters” to remain anonymous. With success and a positive
reception on his solo album, Dave decided to recruit members to fill his band. 1997: Now that they were
an established band, they got to work on an album. Dave would write all the songs in this album as well,
but allowed some input and collaboration from his bandmates. This album has sparked some debate
surrounding the band because once it was nearly completed, Dave listened to the album and decided he
wasn’t fully satisfied with how it was sounding and recorded, particularly the drums. He ended up re-
recording the entire album with all the members playing their respective instruments, except for William
Goldsmith, the drummer. Dave ended up recording all the drum tracks for the album. The re-recordings
took place in LA and when Goldsmith asked if he should head there to record his drum parts, Dave told
him not worry about it because he would be doing it. Seeing as how Dave is an extremely talented
drummer, this move might make sense to some, but not to others. Goldsmith felt so betrayed with this,
he left the band. 1999: This album really put Foo Fighters on the map, as “Learn to Fly” was their first
single to make the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. This album would also go Platinum in the United States.

Slide 3: By 2002, the Foo Fighters were a pretty big band in the rock world and this album just did more
to help them. According to the band, this album was a particularly difficult album to record with many of
the sounds or recordings sounding mediocre and also growing tensions in the band. After the album had
been completed and pretty close to intended release date, the band decided to basically erase
everything they had and re-record this album. In a documentary on Netflix I watched on the band, Dave
Grohl talks about how their first record (which they erased) was basically a giant waste of $1,000,000.
They redid everything in his home and the album went on to be very big for the band. In 2005, the band
had been around for over a decade and had released four albums. In Your Honor was their fifth album.
This album was unique because Dave decided to recruit pretty reputable musicians he had worked with
prior to help record this album. John Paul Jones and Josh Homme (who he would later form Them
Crooked Vulchers with) to name a couple. Another element of this album which was unique was it was a
two-part album. One part was typical, loud Foo Fighters, while the other part was a much softer and
acoustic set of Foo Fighters songs which some think may have inspired their next album, Skin and Bones
which was an all live, acoustic album. This album contained songs previously made famous by the Foo
Fighters and some new originals as well. Between 2007-2009, two albums by the Foo Fighters are
released. The first was their studio album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace and then to celebrate
their success as a band, a Greatest Hits record as well. Wasting Light debuted in 2011.
Tommy Gaertner
Music 1010
Semester Listening Guide Presentation Presenter’s Notes
Foo Fighters

Slide 4: The 2014 Sonic Highways album contained 8 songs. Each song was recorded in a different city
and also accompanied a different featuring artist. This album was another successful album for the Foo
Fighters and even ended at number 2 in the Billboard 200 and sold more than 400,000 copies. While on
tour promoting the Sonic Highways album, Dave Grohl was involved in an on stage accident and broke
his leg. Rather than cancel the remainder of the tour, they rigged up a chair that allowed Dave to elevate
his broken leg, play his guitar and sing. This gained massive notoriety during the time. After the tour was
over, the band took a break so Dave could recoup from his injury. After this break was done was around
the time Concrete and Gold started being recorded. This album ended up debuting number one on the
Billboard 200.

Slide 5: Since there initial self-titled release in 1995, the Foo Fighter’s discography contains 9 studio
albums. These are listed in chronological order above. I know they are currently working on an album
but seeing as how it has not been released at the time of this project, I have not chosen to include it.

Slide 6: Dave Grohl, lead singer and guitarist for the band, founded the Foo Fighters in 1994. Grohl was
the drummer for Nirvana prior to forming the Foo Fighters. After the death of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana
came to an end and this was the beginning for Dave and the Foo Fighters. The band members listed
above are the current band members for the Foo Fighters. Like many other bands or groups in music,
they have gone through their fair share of replacements. Dave, Nate and Pat are the only remaining
originating band members. William Goldsmith was their original drummer but ended up leaving the
band after Dave re-recorded all his drum parts for one of their albums. Franz Stahl was one of their
former guitarists, who replaced Pat when he left (ultimately returned) and was asked to leave the band
in 1999 after “creative differences” with the rest of the band.

Slide 7: Perhaps one of the biggest influences specifically for Dave, were Led Zeppelin. Dave has a very
loud and furious sounding drum style similar to Zeppelin. Dave would even go on to form a band with
original Led Zeppelin bassist, John Paul Jones, Them Crooked Vulchers. The Pixies were well liked by Kurt
Cobain and also Dave. A lot of the bands mentioned above were known for some of their heavier riffs
and energetic shows. This is definitely something the Foo Fighters have been very well known for.
Although they were good friends and bandmates, Dave has been very open about how much Kurt and
Nirvana influenced a lot of his music. Dave almost went on to be the full-time drummer for Tom Petty
but decided he would rather take a shot at his own thing and make a name away from Nirvana.

Slide 8: All My Life is one of the Foo Fighters most recognized songs on there impressive resume. It was
a featured single on the One By One album which released in 2002. The meaning of this song is rather
adult oriented as Dave Grohl has mentioned it is about how he “enjoys performing oral sex on women”.
It is a very loud and aggressive sounding song and has been that way since its inception. Although there
have been alterations to it, it was always loud and noisy from the get go. The song was very successful
as it was nominated and won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock performance. It would also go on to be
featured on Rock Band, Rock Revolution and Guitar Hero. In a documentary by the Foo Fighters, they
talk about how at every show, whether it has been good or bad, once they start playing this song, it
instantly turns into a good show and the crowd becomes very electric and energetic. It really gives the
crowd and band a boost.
Tommy Gaertner
Music 1010
Semester Listening Guide Presentation Presenter’s Notes
Foo Fighters

Slide 9: The song initially began as an instrumental piece. It would go on to be changed and altered until
it got to its final form, but from the inception was a heavier song. Before the song would be finalized,
their band manager knew this song had immense potential and if done correctly, could be one of their
best songs. Which would be exactly the case! They had wanted a song to be heavy like this on purpose
as they knew they would have some softer songs on this album, such as “Learn to Fly”. The band would
even refer to this song as one of their most aggressive songs they wrote. During the music video filming
for this song, which was directed by Dave Grohl, they chose to do show them actually performing the
song so fans could see what it was like when they play. This was not typical from many of their satirical
videos.

Slide 10: For my listening guide, I have separated the song into 8 different sections. These sections
include into, verses, choruses, bridge and an outro. The next few slides will provide a breakdown of
what I hear when I listen to All My Life by Foo Fighters.

Slide 11: Section 1: 0:00-0:25: (Intro) The song begins with a single guitar playing triple notes in a
distorted effect. This goes on for about 12 seconds until the lead vocalist joins in. The guitar and vocals
create a great sense of introduction for what’s to come. The vocalist is singing in a rather quite tone,
almost like he’s wanting the guitar to be louder. At the 0:35 mark, the rest of the band (guitars, bass and
drums) join in in a loud and sudden change that illustrates an aggressive sounding song. Section 2: 0:47-
1:11: (Verse 1) This is where the first verse begins. The whole band is now playing together where at the
intro it was only one guitar and the vocalist. All elements of the band, the percussions, guitars, bass and
vocals are much louder than they were in the intro. The whole song follows a 4/4 time signature. Prior
to the verse ending and the chorus starting, we hear the intro triplets start to play again as the band dies
down. It reverts to only the guitar and the singer. We see this repetition used more than once
throughout the song.

Slide 12: Section 3: 1:12-1:37: (Chorus) The chorus for this piece really emphasizes on the percussions.
The drummer has a high usage of cymbals in this and it really mixes well with the guitars. The vocals and
guitars are distorted and at times also drawn out for effect. Everything in the piece is very loud and fast
paced. We also hear an effect of echoing for the instruments and vocals. The chorus like the song in
general is very fast paced, loud and energetic. Section 4: 1:38-2:03: (Verse 2) The guitars in the verses
have a form of repetition as well. The lead guitar is responsible for many of the higher sounds while the
rhythm guitarist is playing a little lower to give it a good mix. Although the song is loud, the dynamics are
great. Before the verse transitions into the chorus, we hear the repetition of triplets found in the intro
playing us out of verse 2. Very cool and simple way to incorporate repetition without getting dull and
overplayed.

Slide 13: Section 5: 2:04-2:29: (Chorus) The chorus for this piece really emphasizes on the percussions.
The drummer has a high usage of cymbals in this and it really mixes well with the guitars. The vocals and
guitars are distorted and at times also drawn out for effect. Everything in the piece is very loud and fast
paced. We also hear an effect of echoing for the instruments and vocals. The chorus like the song in
general is very fast paced, loud and energetic. It’s a relatively short chorus. The lyrics are as followed
“Hey don’t let it go to waste. I love it but I hate the taste. Weight keeping me down”. And it repeats
twice just like it dd in the first chorus.
Tommy Gaertner
Music 1010
Semester Listening Guide Presentation Presenter’s Notes
Foo Fighters

Slide 14: Section 7: 3:50:4:14: (Chorus) The chorus for this piece really emphasizes on the percussions.
The drummer has a high usage of cymbals in this and it really mixes well with the guitars. The vocals and
guitars are distorted and at times also drawn out for effect. Everything in the piece is very loud and fast
paced. We also hear an effect of echoing for the instruments and vocals. The chorus like the song in
general is very fast paced, loud and energetic. The chorus here follows the exact same path as it did the
first two ties.
Section 8: 2:30-3:49: (Outro) The outro is pretty short compared to the bridge but brings just as much
power. It’s just as loud as the bridge was which is a rathe appropriate send-off for this song giving its
heavy sound. Another thing I thought was really cool about this song was at the end, after all the loud
and heavy music, it just stops all at once. I thought this was cool to do rather than letting it ring out and
sort of tie into the next song on their album.

Slide 15: The Pretender, was the first and probably most recognized single from the bands 2007 album,
Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. This song is not only popular amongst many Foo Fighters fans, but
also had very positive reception in the music world. It appeared on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number
37. Rolling Stones has also listed it on their 100 Best Songs of 2007 coming in at number 47. Aside from
these two feats, this song would also go on to win a Grammy for Best Hard Rock performance in 07. One
thing that really helped make the song what it is was the incorporation of the String Section Quartet.
This mixed with all the instruments had a very unique balance between the hard rock and string section.
One interesting tidbit from this song is that Dave Grohl has mentioned he may have gotten some
inspiration for this song from “One of These Things Is Not Like the Others” as made famous by Sesame
Street. Without getting too much in detail about the meaning behind this song, Dave has mentioned it
has ties to political unrest. His reasoning for not giving away too much was that it’s sometimes nice to
allow fans to create their own interpretations of a song.

Slide 16: Although they ultimately did not win the Grammy for this album for Record of the Year, they
had several nominations including Grammy for Best Rock Song, MTV Video Award for Best Rock Video
and a few others.

Slide 17: For my listening guide, I have separated the song into 10 different sections. These sections
include intro, pre verses, verses, choruses, bridge and an outro. The next few slides will provide a
breakdown of what I hear when I listen to the Pretender by the Foo Fighters.

Slide 18: Section 1: 0:00-0:58: (Intro) The intro to this song may very well be my favorite song intro of all
time. It’s so unique and has so many layers that all start at the right time. The song begins with a solo
guitar, playing a higher pitched, melodic ringing sound. This repeats and on the second go around, the
singer joins in softly to match the tune of the guitar. After they do one repetition, another higher
pitched guitar joins in playing a different tune than then first guitar. These 3 have great balance. After
they have all joined in on one repetition, the whole dynamic of the song shifts as the drummer loudly
hits his snare and repeats it in 8th notes. The guitars have changed to loud, one is still doing a higher
pitched lead sound while the other has a distorted rhythm, the singer is now much louder too. Section 2:
0:59-1:08: (Pre-Verse) By now, we know the song is going to be harder sounding. At this point, we’ve
gotten into the pre-verse and can head every instrument doing it’s own thing. Some of what we hear
now is the same as what we heard in section 1, it’s just shifted to prepare to lead into the verse.
Tommy Gaertner
Music 1010
Semester Listening Guide Presentation Presenter’s Notes
Foo Fighters

Slide 19: Section 3: 1:09-1:21: (Verse 1) The pre-verse is very cool in my opinion. We can hear the
rhythm guitarist using a plam-muted technique on his section. This really sets the tone for this section
and allows everyone else to follow. The balance throughout the whole song and this section included is
very high. We have the rhythm guitarist doing his continuous palm-mute through the duration of the
section and the two additional guitars doing a lead sound, comprising of similar notes that were heard in
the first 2 sections. The vocals aren’t as loud as they will be in the chorus, but we can almost sense a
build-up coming. This makes this section particularly fun to listen to. It is a rather short section, but leads
directly into the chorus (section 4) with a very appropriate transition. Section 4: 1:22-1:45: (Chorus 1) As
is typical on some Foo Fighters songs, the chorus of this song uses a lot of cymbals. As a drummer, it’s
evident to see that skill and attention to detail is required in order to replicate this piece and for that, I
personally appreciate this song that much more. In the chorus, the vocals are much louder than they
have been in prior sections. It’s almost like climbing a ladder: The further in you get into the song, the
louder the vocals get. The Foo Fighters do a good job with their lyrics and typically have them follow
some sort of rhyme scheme. The lyrics in this chorus are as followed: “What if I say I’m not like the
others? What if I say I’m not just another one of your plays? You’re the pretender, what if I say I will
never surrender?” This typically repeats twice in the chorus.

Slide 20: Section 5: 1:46-1:59: (Pre-Verse 2) We’ve already heard the pre-verse in section 2 of this song.
This pre-verse is virtually identical except for the intro of it. When the song began, we heard just a single
guitar playing some melodic notes and a while into it, we hear a snare in 8th notes. Here, we don’t hear
that guitar, but we have the snare beating in 8th notes and an accompanying guitar for a short period of
time. After that is done, it goes back to the full band playing the same pre-verse we heard in section 2,
with the same type of tie in to the verse. Section 6: 2:00-2:13: (Verse 2) We can hear the rhythm
guitarist using a plam-muted technique on his section. This really sets the tone for this section and
allows everyone else to follow. The balance throughout the whole song and this section included is very
high. We have the rhythm guitarist doing his continuous palm-mute through the duration of the section
and the two additional guitars doing a lead sound, comprising of similar notes that were heard in the
first 2 sections. The vocals aren’t as loud as they will be in the chorus, but we can almost sense a build-
up coming. This makes this section particularly fun to listen to. It is a rather short section but leads
directly into the chorus (section 4) with a very appropriate transition.

Slide 21: Section 7: 2:14-2:35: (Chorus 2) Here we get the 2nd playthrough of the chorus. As is typical of
most chorus’, they have the same music and words, and this is no exception. This chorus is perhaps the
most interesting of the song though in the way that it leads to the bridge. Section 8: 2:36-3:27: (Bridge)
This bridge is by far my favorite guitar riff of bridge section of any Foo Fighters song. It’s so unique how
in a way that it resembles a similar form or pattern to how the song opened. At first, once the solo
guitar riff begins, it’s just that guitar. Than after a little bit, we are gradually introduced to additional
instruments. The particular guitar riff played from 2:38-2:44 is very aggressive sounding and so cool.
When I saw Foo Fighters live, and they played this song, once they got to this solo riff section, Dave
(guitarist) played that particular riff for like 2 solid minutes while the band kind of jammed out and it
was so cool to see live. By 3:07 we have the whole band playing together, and by 3:12, they are loud and
in full effect. This continues until the 3:17 mark where the song goes back to the same solo guitar intro
Tommy Gaertner
Music 1010
Semester Listening Guide Presentation Presenter’s Notes
Foo Fighters

we heard to begin this song. The patter and form this song follows is really interesting and something
that is hard to not appreciate.

Slide 22: Section 9: 3:28-4:14: (Chorus 3) This the 3rd and final repeat of the chorus for this song. There is
a significant change in this chorus’ form in that it completely adds a new theme at the 3:50 mark. It’s
kind of like dueling music/vocals in the background that bring an awesome balance to this chorus as it
prepares to shift into the outro of the song. It’s easy to tell the dynamics in this part are well balanced as
you can clearly hear everything going on but it is not too much happening. The vocals and music that
were added were the same that we heard in the intro and bridge section. Once the second theme is
added, that section repeats twice before the outro starts. Section 10: 4:15-4:29: (Outro) The outro has a
totally different form than the intro for the song in that the whole band is playing super loudly as well as
the vocals. We are introduced to a soft melody but ended with aggressive sounds. Rather than letting
the song ring out to a close it ends on a sudden note for all members of the band.

Slide 23: Bridge Burning is a single featured on the Wasting Light album which debuted in 2012. The
song was recorded in the time between September-December 2010 in Dave Groh’s garage. Butch Vig
produced this song for the Foo Fighters along with many other well known songs of theirs and the entire
Wasting Light album. Dave and the rest of the band decided to record the song in analog form. When
Vig was told about this, he reminded the band that if they really wanted to do analog, they would all
have to play their parts really well and detailed because there would be no fixing mistakes like they can
on digital formats.

Slide 24: Although this song was not one that won several awards the year it was released, the album it
was featured on did very well. It was nominated for a total of 5 Grammy Awards and they ended up
taking home the Best Rock Album and also Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for their White Limo
performance. The song would also be featured on the popular video game Madden NFL 12.

Slide 25: For my listening guide, I have separated the song into 11 different sections. These sections
include intro, pre verses, verses, pre choruses, choruses, bridge and an outro. The next few slides will
provide a breakdown of what I hear when I listen to Bridge Burning by the Foo Fighters.

Slide 26: Section 1: 0:00-0:33: (Intro) For those who have not yet heard this song, it is a must. Even if you
are not necessarily a rock or Foo Fighters fan, there is so much to appreciate about this song and it
beings with the intro. There are many layers to this intro but the dynamics and form make total sense.
For roughly the first 11 seconds, we have just a single guitar playing a distorted triple downward strum
rather quickly. At the 12 second mark, we have a second guitar joining in playing a higher pitched riff to
counter the first guitar. At 18 seconds, we get a third guitar playing an ever louder and higher pitched
riff that balances all 3 guitars together. It’s very cool to see it all unfold and sounds so good. At the 23
second mark, the drums begin and use the cymbals and snare rolls to balance along with the rest of the
band playing. This repeats a couple times until it reaches the pre verse section. Section 2: 0:34-0:45: (Pre
Verse) The pre verse is short but a pretty powerful indication of what’s to come in the song. It’s loud and
leads directly into the actual verse.

Slide 27: Section 3: 0:46-1:30 (Verse 1) The form of the song seems to change a little during the verse as
it slows down a bit. The vocals are much softer but we can still make out everything being played. The
Tommy Gaertner
Music 1010
Semester Listening Guide Presentation Presenter’s Notes
Foo Fighters

guitars are all doing something different but they are all in good balance and produce a good sounding
melody. There are 4 cycles of repetition during the verse where everything stays the same. On the
fourth repeat though, the drummer shifts his form to a little louder and faster paced to prepare to
transition into the pre-chorus. Section 4: 1:31-1:41 (Pre Chorus) Lots of distortion on the guitars, lots of
loud cymbal usage by the drummer as is pretty common for the Foo Fighters. Very short pre chorus but
prepares us for the chorus. Section 5: 1:42-2:15 (Chorus) The chorus is quite catchy in my opinion.
Sometimes that is not necessarily a good thing, but in this case I felt it was. The lyrics for the chorus go “
Your bridges are burning now, they’re all coming down, it’s all coming round. You’re burning them
down, it’s all coming round, they’re all coming down, your bridges are burning now”. The chorus is quite
fast paced like the rest of the song.

Slide 28: Section 6: 2:16-2:37 (Verse 2) This verse is very similar for the most part but there is a very
different shift which is not heard in the first verse. In the first verse, there were four cycles they played
through. The change there came in the fourth when the drummer changed his high hat patterns. In this
verse, there are only 2 playthroughs of the cycle but after the first one, at the 2:26 mark, the entire
dynamics of the song shift up a notch and it seems like we’re in the bridge of the song but it’s just an
hard rock and aggressive precursor into the pre chorus. It’s a big change with big effect in the form and
overall build up of this song that I think was the perfect sound they needed and wanted.
Section 7: 2:38-2:49 (Pre Chorus) The pre chorus at this point is exactly the same thing we heard in the
first go through in section 4. Section 8: 2:50-3:17 (Chorus) This is the second play through of the chorus
we hear in the song. It follows the exact same format and form as it did in the first play through of it
which was heard in section 5.

Slide 29: Section 9: 3:18-3:42 (Bridge) The bridge takes a similar form that the chorus in section 8 ended
with. This makes for a very good sounding transition from section 9 to 10. We have one guitar playing a
standard distorted strum pattern which follows the same beat the drummer is making. We also have
two additional guitars each responsible for doing something else. This is probably the loudest this song
gets and it still sounds like it has a very tight balance. Just before the bridge ends and the chorus begins,
the whole band comes to a stop and we have the vocalist and a guitar playing which helps us lead into
the chorus. Section 10: 3:43-4:33 (Chorus) This is the third and final play through of the chorus we hear
in the song. It follows the exact same format and form as it did in the first two play throughs of it which
was heard in sections 5 and 8. This chorus like the first time we heard it has 4 cycles. After the first two
cycles, at the 4:06 mark, the chorus keeps playing but we’re introduced to a secondary layer in the
background which brings a new type of balance to the song now. This is the only time we hear this in
any of the 3 times we hear the chorus played. Section 11: 4:34-4:46 (Outro) At the 0:18 mark of the song
in section 1, we have a new guitar added in the intro. That same guitar part that helps form the intro is
reintroduced in the outro. It’s cool to hear the same sound that helped open us to the song also helps
take us out. There are no vocals during the intro, it’s mainly a short instrumental piece.

Slide 30: Here is a list of all the references for information and photos contained throughout this
powerpoint.
Tommy Gaertner
Music 1010
Semester Listening Guide Presentation Presenter’s Notes
Foo Fighters