He is an astonishing drummer

But they pass almost any ‘test’ you want to throw at them – popular? They sell huge amounts of albums in an era when lots of bands can’t.

😆 exactly what I said earlier (not the ‘test’ bit)

He is an astonishing drummer

for a guitarist 😉

Overrated? I don’t think so, but then I like ’em. was just about to download & burn myself a copy of the new album but I think I’ll order a hard copy instead.
Joy Division were overrated (sacrilege I know!). Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Queen? yes, overrated IMO.

The Pretender wasn’t on the “last” album (Wasting Light) it was on Echoes Silence Patience & Grace, which is quite a few years old now. and a very good album it is too IMO. Wasting Light was good, better than OK, IMO.

And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? one person’s opinion versus another’s

First two albums excellent, fairly steep decline after that. The last couple have been steps back in the right direction but a long way from their best.
I’ve seen them 3 times and they’ve been great every time, last time probably about 10 years ago though! But if you’re judging them on their recent output, then yeah, they’re probably over-rated.

Dave Grohl is a great frontman and seems to deserve the Nicest Bloke in Rock title he often gets.

Saw them at Reading ’95 when they were booked for the 2nd stage but drew a main stage crowd. That’s an experience/memory that will stick with me forever!

Love album 1, after that I find each album has progressively fewer tracks to keep me interested. To the point where “White Limo” was the only track on the last album that really caught my attention.

Am watching Sonic Highways, and will def try to see their next UK show, but won’t hurry to buy the new album.

Joy Division were overrated

There is absolutely no comparison! Joy Division made extremely original, influential music. Foo Fighters? Just a rock band.

could listen to overlong infinity times and not get tired of it 🙂

I think they’re shit apart from a few tracks such as Everlong. Boring generic rock for the most part. Dave Grohl’s career peaked with Songs For The Deaf anyway.

terribly overrated… It’s dull formulaic nonsense

-1 for the FF. They are not outstanding but just rock version of Coldplay. Meeoww!

Dave Grohl is the Phil Collins of American rawk.

Ooh, harsh!

First album was great. From then on the number of good tracks per album has finished greatly. They generally lure you in with a decent single only to find the rest of the album is very bland. Still like Dave grohl though

Just the fact that’s FF are still going is testament to Dave Grohls talent, I can remember Kerrrrrrrrrang writing them off as a band that will always be compared to Nirvana and always be seen as a failure. Having seen them at Reading in ’99 and still listening to their best of album they were anything but. Awesome band, to still be going strong some 15 years later is pretty good work.

Just the fact that’s FF are still going is testament to Dave Grohls talent an outbreak of mass cognitive dissonance.

I was a big Nirvana fan, and after Cobain died I was really looking forward to what the Foo Fighters were going to come up with. Then when I listened to it, I just found it kinda flat. It wasn’t a bad album. It was listenable, and I could still listen to it with fondness now, but a work of genius it definitely was not. And this is the thing with Dave Grohl, I think. Whilst he’s a very capable musician, he’s not the best songwriter, and a lot of their stuff is pretty bland. You could put any bunch of session musicians into a studio and produce just as good a product.

They did get better I suppose. They seemed to create a bigger depth to their sound and image over the years, though it got a bit too pop for me. Not really listened to any of the new stuff.

Joy Division were overrated

Joy division I actually find the exact opposite. Dire vocalist. Questionable musicians. But oozing with talent. I never actually listened to Joy Division until a couple of years ago, and when I did I listened to the album over, and over… They shouldn’t work…but they do. I’m not sure if I would call them musical geniuses, but they were **** good.

Joy Division are about as relevant on this thread as a pickled gerkin.

Just came back to say Grohl is doing the plugging bit on the bloody One Show now!!

Appearing on the One Show may well be a sin but as Dad rock goes they are pretty perfect. Decent songs imho played well.

Perhaps I am a bit too old to constantly seek music that feels edgy, but still enjoy a bit of power and volume…FF live up to my expectations and make me smile 🙂

Have loads of respect for the Sonic Highways tv series and Dave seems like a nice chap but their music really leaves me mostly cold. Sure it is rock’n’roll but feels like teflon covered bowling ball…

stanfree – Member
I thought they were great live but like most big rock bands have turned a bit bland over the years maybe not as bad as Green day though. I doubt anyone could dislike Dave Grohl as he seems like a decent guy though. For really overrated though see Pink Floyd and Led Zep…

And you were doing so well… 🙄
Overrated by whoexactly? I keep reading this in connection to successful bands/artists, and it just seems to be saying “well, they’re hugely successful, millions have bought their albums, been to their concerts, but I don’t personally like them so they therefore must, by definition, be crap, and because millions of ordinary people like them, be overrated”
Get over yerselves, your opinion counts for bugger-all in the face of global album sales and tickets sold, because we’re not talking about some jackass being paid to have an opinion in some crappy newspaper, we’re talking about the individual opinion of millions of individuals all over the world
I, personally, really have a deep-rooted dislike of the Manic Bloody Street Bloody Preachers, but overrated? They’ve been going for donks and have an enormously enthusiastic fanbase, so no, and they do have a way with a choon, but I wouldnt piss in their collective ears if their brains were on fire.
And to say Zeppellin and Floyd are ‘overrated’ is conveniently ignoring the fact that both bands were groundbreaking in their respective forms of music, where they had no peers, and their success was built purely through playing live and albums sales through word of mouth. There was no internet, and, in the case of Zeppellin, no music played on the radio either, because they refused to release singles, at least in the UK.
The only publicity for years came through the music press, which was often hostile to ‘rock dinosaurs’ anyway.
Overrated, by the people who actually bought the records, having been loaned a copy, or a tape, from a mate?
Certainly not, and they’re the only people who actually matter, because the opinions of anyone else are meaningless.
I’m old enough to have lived through pretty much the whole modern rock era, and nobody cared about these bands at the time, other than those who liked them, nobody else cared, nobody else knew anything about them, it’s only with the luxury of hindsight, and huge global success, that anyone is now giving an opinion based on history that’s built up via a media that’s become hungry for anything to gain an advantage by promoting the successful.
There are bands around now, that most here will have never heard of, who I absolutely adore, and who I rate very, very highly, and never miss an opportunity to try to get others to like them, but that’s just my life-long enthusiasm, love of music wanting them to be successful in what they’re doing; there’s no guarantee any of my friends would like them, though there’s a very good chance they would, shared music history with contemporaries and all that.
And the Foos? I like them, Grohl is a lovely bloke, they play music that I enjoy and having seen them live, get a tingle from quite a few of their songs, but there are plenty of others who are more original, and who I listen to much more.
Such is the way with music.
And always has been. 😀

Overated? No, they are very good at what they do. It’s just unfortunate that their albums seem to now have to have a bit of a backstory.

Wasting Light was all about tape/garage rock, this one is an extension of Sound City.

The documentary that they’ve done is (so far) excellent, and I said this the other day, the Foos part all seems a bit tacked on at the end. They’ve announced UK dates, but I saw them last time and never felt so disconnected at a concert. It really did feel like they were just running through the hits.

I’ve tried to like/get into the Foo Fighters in the past but their music just bores me, despite even going to a few live shows with friends, I enjoy hearing what Dave Grohl has to say in interviews and i’d like to share a drink and a chat about music in general with him but when it comes to listening to any of their songs i’ll pass thank you very much.

As others have said:

The Foo Fighters live are INCREDIBLE. By far the best band I’ve ever seen – the only ones that even come close are Muse.

unfortunately, the last decent song they released (IMO) was Pretender 🙁 and I would agree that there tends to be quite a lot of filler on their albums.

If the Foo Fighters were a dish it would be meat and plain boiled potatoes.

If they didn’t have a famous frontman they’d be as popular as a harder rocking Counting Crows would be, and rightly so.

Well the thread has pointed me at Sonic Highways on Spotify, I’ll know in 8 tracks time.

I did try and get pre sale tickets for them as they actually do bother to turn up and play in Tassie but that sold out quick.

hmmm halfway through and I’m enjoying it though as always I know I’m wrong, can somebody pop a link up the STW approved music list please.

Hmm – agree with a lot of the sentiment on this thread, live they are a must see, recently on record a little radio 2…

A lot of people on here could do worse that heeding the words from this:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoN6XfyQsr4[/video]

To answer the OP. Yes. I find them well over rated. Never liked them. Far to vanilla for me. But then millions of people can’t be wrong can they?

I, personally, really have a deep-rooted dislike of the Manic Bloody Street Bloody Preachers

Is it cos they is Welsh mun tidy aye?

Are FF overrated? No, because they are very good at what they do. The fact you don’t like the style of music is a separate matter.

However, my personal feeling is that they are a good band with occasional moments of genius ie. Everlong, Monkey Wrench, Times like these, Best of You etc.

Edit: I do love Grohl’s work with QOTSA and Killing Joke. Plus he does seem like a nice fella.

On a slight tangent…

Anyone know details of ticket pre-sales for next summer’s UK gigs? Think the tickets go on general sale on Fri but there’s mention of a pre-sale on Weds.

Wednesday at 9am it would seem

http://www.gigsandtours.com/tour/foo-fighters/?pre=ffshpre&src=ffpre

First two albums excellent, fairly steep decline after that.

have to agree with that, never forget watching them headline witnness 2002 in dublin, it was wet day and was muddy but the sun came out about an hour before they came on… dave came on stage and first thing he said

“any of you mother****ers throw any mud and were off”

3 seconds later about 2000 lumps of mud were thrown at the stage, the band didnt flinch and cracked into the first song.

epic

I bought their first 12″ on glow in he dark vinyl and the cd with Everlong on it. That’s it. The Washington D.C. Sonic Highway was excellent. Mr Grohl seems like a nice chap. Good luck to him.

Don’t think they’ve ever been that good to be overrated TBH. Half decent band that’s produces listenable rockish type music. Think the fact Grohl is such a likeable bloke has a lot to do with their appeal…

Overrated?

Underrated if anything. They are, fundamentally, a live band. Their albums are all right but there are few bands who will give such an electric live performance. Batfink here (IIRC) hit the nail on the head earlier with the comparison to Muse, I don’t own a single Muse album and have no desire to do so, but I’d sell a minor organ for gig tickets.

Just googled to remind me of who they are …

Yes, I can confirm that they are absolutely shite.

FFS! Why do they insist on shouting?

FFS! Why do they insist on shouting?

Your cardigan, slippers and pension book are over there >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> grandad.

mikey74 – Member
Your cardigan, slippers and pension book are over there >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> grandad.

😆 I prefer James Last … much more soothing. Look at those people they are so happy.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvrLUJ5mTXg[/video]

chewkw – Member
Just googled to remind me of who they are …

Yes, I can confirm that they are absolutely shite.

FFS! Why do they insist on shouting?
No they’re not, any more than most other bands are ‘shite’; it’s just that you don’t happen to like them.
I loath Manic Street Preachers, doesn’t make them shite, though.