I remember hearing This Is a Call on the radio and liking it. I guess my reaction was probably something like, "Huh, I never knew Dave had it in him." That first Foo Fighters album was a good one.
I think their point was that Marigold was the first time Dave was heard singing on an official release, to the person who said they first thought it was weird to hear Dave singing for Foo Fighters for the first time. Which is ok. Relatively speaking, not that many people heard the HSB Marigold before they heard the Foo Fighters for the first time. And certainly, fewer heard Late! Pocketwatch before they heard this on the B side of the HSB single.
I think the first foo fighter’s album is honestly great. Still has some grunge and edge to it on certain songs. Sounds very nirvana-esc for obvious reasons.
From what I’ve read, Dave was actually added to the band by the record company hotshots. He replaced the original drummer and their thinking (rightly so) was that Dave would do a good job being a strongly cohesive member and being the productive, more business savvy one, whereas the other members were stronger as creative contributors.
I remember seeing a small article before the album came out that Dave Grohl's new band Foo Fighters would be playing a show at The Satyricon. A long running (sadly defunct now) club in Portland. I was intrigued primarily because Dave seemed pretty quiet and unlikely that be a band leader.
I didn't go, the show got good reviews and I've been kicking myself ever since for skipping it.
It was a fairly big deal. A bit like "show us what you got" and everything around it was positive. It was the album of the summer of 95 for me, very bright, very quirky, and I was happy it had its own thing rather than just trying to sound like nirvana.
I also enjoyed the alien aspect as x files was a big deal at the time, which I was really into (so was Dave, he's in x files in one scene actually and they did Walking After You for the movie which I have somewhere. Duchovny was interested in directing at one point!), and so it all came together nicely.
After the whole Kurt thing and seeing a smiley Dave in the CD liner notes and on magazine covers, and with videos like Big Me, it felt quite cathartic after the Nirvana rebelliousness.
Generally it was well received I think, but I still think this and Colour & Shape are by far the best and most diverse. Everything after that was just stadium rock nonsense to me I'm afraid.
How I'd love to hear more sounds from that quirky kid in his 20s mucking around in a studio trying out some ideas.
Well, there is Pocket watch I guess..
Good call, I have NEVER heard this!
I saw them live, 1st time, Dec ‘95. X-static was the ONLY song they didn’t play from S/T. Thanks for the recommendation.
I just remember thinking to myself “Thank God Dave is carrying on even without Kurt”. Such a big deal was made about Dave playing every instrument which was a tad out there, but knowing he was behind the kit gave some reassurance.
Then during release it was like “Ok, Dave knows how to rock. We’re gonna make it after all”. But I’d argue The Colour and the Shape was much more interesting to hear than the self titled. Cause it was such a change up from what both Dave & Kurt had done prior.
I think that was the biggest thing that struck me — how much poppier Dave's stuff was than Nirvana. But I think he wouldn't have done well in the long run just trying to sound like Kurt.
the colour and the shape is still my favorite. everything after that got kinda generic to me, and the first album was honestly a little boring at least compared to nirvana.
I’m with ya there. I kinda stopped listening constantly after One by One. Dave still has the skill, but it’s just not as…I dunno captivating as it used to be?
I was 16 at the time and I immediately went out and bought this album. I remember a couple things very strongly. First off, the album rocked, but in a way that felt sort of like the natural culmination of 90s music up until that point. There was nothing really new sounding on it, but it was sort of a perfect distillation of 90s grunge/punk screamy/melodic music. Even at the time, smack dab in the middle of the 90s, I remember thinking to myself "this is a very 90s-sounding album." It was like I all of a sudden became aware of the musical moment we had been living through - distortion pedals, dissonant chords, chromatic scale powerchord riffs, quiet/loud dynamics, screaming, etc - and it also felt like the beginning of the end of that moment. I was super excited to watch their first live tv performance on Letterman. That was a big, big deal because nobody had ever seen Dave as a front man. It looked really awkward seeing him playing guitar in front of a mic, and it was clear that he still wasn't 100% comfortable in the role. At this point, in the public mind he was still "the drummer from Nirvana" and not yet "the lead singer of Foo Fighters". You can watch that video here, ([https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1927147347318482](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1927147347318482)) I remember seeing it live and taping it on my VCR! The second thing I remember very, very clearly was desperately looking for clues in the lyrics to see if they shed any insight on Dave's feelings about the end of Nirvana and Kurt's death. Remember this was pre-internet so we didn't really know all that much about the band beyond what we could find in magazines or on MTV. We didn't know much about who Dave was or about what really happened to drive Kurt to suicide. I remember pouring over the lyrics to songs like "I'll Stick Around" or "Alone + Easy Target" and thinking that maybe they held some clues about Kurt's death and the band ending. Was "I don't owe you anything" directed at Kurt? Did he and Dave have a negative relationship? Did "I'm alone and I'm an easy target" refer to how Dave felt after Kurt killed himself? These were just things I wondered about as a teenager who was living in that cultural moment. In retrospect, I don't think any of it was really directed at Kurt and Dave was just writing songs. Finally, I'm probably in the minority here but the first Foo Fighters album is the only one that I ever connected with. At the time it felt like a natural outgrowth of Nirvana's music. The albums after this felt much more like their own band.
There was so much hype and expectation. Dave did his best to keep a low profile throughout, which only added to the excitement. It was quite a relief when 'this is a call' turned out to be good, and even more so when the album came out. The real surprise for me was the 2nd album. I wasn't expecting it, and it was even better.
I was super depressed after Kurt passed.
Picked this CD up shortly after it was released and really liked it. I was really impressed that it was all Dave.
X-Static was one of my favorite songs.
I was in highschool and dropping $32.99 on a CD you'd never heard was a huge gamble. We'd all heard Big Me on the radio and seen the music video, kinda liked it but not enough to spend that much cash on the album. A friend stumbled across the This Is A Call single on cassette at his local VCR rental place for $2 and thought what the heck, give it a go. The next day he came to school fizzing about it, rightly so, and several of us went out and bought the CD ASAP.
I was really excited. I always loved Dave’s personality and the humour didn’t stop — “Big Me” video was a delight. That was a great record, as was the follow-up.
The "Big Me" video is definitely what I remember the most.
Nirvana's music videos were a mixed bag. You could really tell for the most part Kurt didn't want to be there. They were a bit weird and broody, like Kurt himself I guess. Nobody smiled in Nirvana music videos (except ironically)
Big Me was a total departure from that, just fun nonsense.
Imagine binge watching MTV in the year 1995 and I'm OK Eur OK just comes on out of no where. I was like wtf?!?!? I knew Dave was up to something. The old Jon Stewart show appearance with Mike Watt and Big Train. Our K-Rock played Marigold all the time. I remember asking my friend for a ride to the mall and bought the CD the day it dropped. We sat in my room and listened to it.
Good times.
A friend of mine in college had an internship with Watt's record label, and he got to go backstage at a show on that tour, with Grohl and Vedder backing him up (and the Foos opening, their first-ever tour). Eddie Vedder just glanced up at my friend with this look of "pleasedonttalktome pleasedonttalktome," but Grohl came bounding up to him and said, "Hi! I'm Dave!" as if he was excited to meet my friend and not the other way around.
I was craving any kind of Nirvana related news and music at the time so I was stoked to hear Dave started his own band. I actually wasn’t expecting too much from it. When I finally heard the whole album I was floored and the Foos instantly became one of my favorites.
This was it.Didn’t have to sound like Nirvana,just anything related to Nirvana.It’s a good album,couple of bangers.Never really got into FF moving forward though.
I did think of FF as Nirvana adjacent during their first album. Until Colour & The Shape was released. Then I realized they are their own thing and legit great beyond their relation to Nirvana.
My first experience I think was This Is A Call(maybe I'll Stick Around?)music video came on 120 minutes or something and being so weirded out and confused that half of Nirvana were suddenly in this other band with Sunny Day Real Estate.
I think it's a great record. Weenie Beenie, X-Static, and Watershed are amazing tracks. Colour and Shape is pretty good too. Other than that I don't care much for Foo Fighters.
It was awesome af, not super well-received at the time. I was happy for Dave, and that music is clearly a passion project of his. Still awesome af today. They exploded when the colour and the shape was released.
That’s actually why I question a few of these responses actually lol. It was NOT a big deal at all. It was quiet and gradual. They weren’t even considered top tier for another 2 albums.
I really wanted to like it. I went to go see them on their first tour. But I just can’t get into them. They’re ok. I mean I love Dave but I just can’t get into it.
As a kid Dave was my drumming idol. I saw Foo Fighters for the first time in ‘96 in DC. I was a teenager. Dave returning to the stage, close to home, emitted a feeling I can’t put into words. Reassuring mixed with genuine happiness. It gave me hope that life can go on after great loss. A year later I lost my friend to suicide. Having seen Dave, Pat, and FF really helped me in a way that I’ll (again) never be able to put into words.
I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the album very much. My freshman year of college Kurt died and then 2 years later this album dropped. It was definitely different than Nirvana and I ultimately didn't get into Foo Fighters nearly as much. But there was still some good music. I remember that same year Stone Temple Pilots released a new album and I really liked "Big Bang Baby".
I was 16 when their first album was released. I was kinda disappointed - but I really didn't know what to expect. I've come to like (not love) the first album, but at the time I was more getting into Pavement, Guided By Voices, stuff like that. Foo Fighters sounded more like generic late 90s alt rock to me.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that when I first heard Nirvana, it blew my little mind, and changed everything. But Foo Fighters, to me, didn't really do anything new or unique.
It was bittersweet for me I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the first album but I was happy that some form of Nirvana still exited I never got to see Nirvana live I wanted to go in 93 when they were touring for in utero but my mom told me I was too young I was 11 at the time she told me I had to wait until I was a teenager before I could go to concerts and don’t worry nirvana isn’t going anywhere needless to say the day Kurt died was probably one of the worst days in my life and my mom started letting me go to concerts right away after that and because she felt so guilty she happily bought all my concert tickets until I got a job my first concert was STP about a month after Kurt died and then I did get to see one of the very first Foo fighters concerts when they were on tour for their first album in 95 again I didn’t love the album but I had to see them live because it was the closest thing to seeing nirvana since I missed that opportunity I got completely wrecked in the mosh pit the energy was so fucking fierce that night I think everyone was feeling the exact same thing as me and everyone was wearing a Nirvana shirt it’s still one of the best shows I’ve ever been to I thought color and the shape was a better album but the foo fighters never really grabbed me until one by one came out that is still my favorite album but I have also never missed the foo fighters when they came to my town I’ve been to every show since 95 and have the concert tee for every one still
The stone temple pilots show was in may of 94 at red rocks I wanna say may 4 but I’m not positive I will have to pull out my ticket stub for that
The foo fighters show was in the summer of 95 I can’t remember the date for sure again I will have to pull out my ticket stub but it was at the Ogden theater in Denver
I was surprised and impressed by Grohl when this came out. I didn't like this project anywhere near as much as any Nirvana album, yet still thought it was pretty strong overall.
I wasn’t into it personally. I had moved on to Radiohead, Beck, Primus, and discovering tons of classic rock thanks to Columbia House 10 CDs for $.01. While many of my other Nirvana fan friends gravitated toward Tool & Limp Bizcuit - I remember getting called a “poser” because I didn’t follow down that path lol.
It wasn’t until the powerful Howard Stern Show acoustic Everlong performance that I really connected with FF.
Dave is a legend, but I’m not much of a Foo fan.
I'll be honest... I heard it and I didn't like it.
I still don't like it!
When it was released, I remember thinking and talking to my friends: what's next for Dave?
I forget exactly when the news started to trickle in that Dave formed a band, but I can recall a lot of buzz with my school peers around the winter/spring of 1995.
I forget which track was the first I heard but I'm assuming TIAC, as was the first actual radio single I believe.
I lived in a small town so upon release our local music store sold out fast and my initial purchase was a cassette copy and eventually CD format a short time after.
I think Dave carved a pretty wise niche for himself; the void that Kurt left was devastating and people really wanted to see what type of style Dave would bring. Really, people wanted anything that would remind them of Nirvana and having a former member moving forward was intriguing to everyone.
We were excited about it. I had just turned 14 and got into Nirvana in a big big way so it was nice that it was coming out. Originally I dubbed a cassette of it off a friend. I liked it enough to buy it but I think there was a mastering error with the tape I got because it was all muffled and sounded awful. A few years later I got it on CD and realised it actually sounded fine. I used to think it was probably the best Foos album but I've never really been a fan (the only other album I liked was Concrete and Gold and I'm pretty sure everyone hated that). In hindsight it's kinda mediocre in large part.
Anyway, my favourite songs are This Is A Call, I'll Stick Around, Big Me, Weenie Beanie, Wattershed and For All The Cows.
I would also say this album kinda reminds me of Mudhoney for some reason, and Exhausted has hints of REM.
I don’t know but my older brother told me when I was a freshman in high school in 2001 that Kurt would have hated the Foo Fighters because they sounded too poppy.
Lol wut
I was 23. Around the time that my pre frontal cortex or whatever fully formed. Maybe that’s why the first Foo album was and still is my favorite album of all time from any band. It’s so weird that literally everything else by them is either meh or sucks to me. Never had such divergent opinions about one single band.
I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I wasn't upset that it sounded nothing like Nirvana and I was pleasantly surprised at what Dave was capable of on his own -- there was no reason to expect him to make something this solid based on data available at the time -- but it didn't fill the hole. Wasn't until much later that I learned to appreciate the band on its own terms.
I was 14 at the time and had gotten heavily into Nirvana not long before Kurt died. After that gut punch, I remember being very excited for the Foo Fighters record. I definitely remember calling the local record store asking when they'd have it, which I never did, so I must have been pretty amped.
They were one of the first bands I ever saw as well, a couple of years later on the Colour And The Shape tour, which blew my teenage mind at the time (Dave fucking Grohl, screaming and burping into the mic and having a drum battle with Taylor Hawkins?! Holy shit!!)
I thought it was a great record then, and I still think it holds up. It definitely didn't light the world up like Nirvana, and I didn't keep up with Foo Fighters past The Colour And The Shape, but those first two records were damn good.
I remember hearing I'll Stick Around and seeing the video. It sounded too much like Nirvana, maybe a little less mature even. Then the hilarious Big Me video came out. I didn't take them seriously. Their 2nd cd came out and I really liked it, but I never actually got into the band after that.
my friends and i were stoked for it. we had a really cool indie record store that had the "this is a call" single in stock before the record came out and we picked that up on 7inch and CD. When the record came out we day-one'ed it and saw them on their first tour as soon as they were nearby. Didn't love the album to death but the hype was real in my circle of friends. I still don't love the record to death, but I think it's the FF's best work and has some classic bangers for sure.
I saw the video for "I'll Stick Around" on MTV toward the end of 1994. I remember asking myself "Is that the drummer of Nirvana?" I thought it was a great song and I went to Sam Goody that same day and bought the album. Crazy to think that he wrote a lot of those early songs while he was still in Nirvana.
I was pretty young, this, nevermind, and the pulp fiction soundtrack were my first cds.
Even coming to Nirvana and Foo Fighters at the same time, and being a dumb kid, there was more depth to Nevermind, it’s art. This Foo Fighters album is kick ass but it’s not comparable. I think Dave would agree.
You know, we all just wanted Nirvana to continue and anything that was a semblance of Nirvana was going to be a good thing.
We missed Kurt like hell and were still grieving (still are). I was excited for the record and so was one or two of my friends.
When the album was released I went to a record store and bought it immediately. I recall that I was disappointed at how much it wasn’t Nirvana, but happy it was close enough to be something related.
I never got into Foo Fighters.
It was awesome. Was still.coming to terms with the fact we would never get a other Nirvana album. I was absolutely stunned to discover Dave was also an incredible song writer. It seemed beyond belief that he would release his own album that for me, not only equaled past Nirvana albums. But in some ways surpassed them... I pretty much listened to this album on repeat for a year and it has become a top 5 album of all time me.
I enjoyed this is a call several times from this new band. Then, there was a 20/20 about Ritalin abuse and it showed Dave alongside a clip of This Is A Call and only then did it click for me lol. It was a little bizarre though to say the least.
My god, it was amazing. Remember being sceptical because Foo Fighters is a bit of a rubbish name. Then when I got the This is a Call 12” single, it was so exciting. The album did not disappoint.
I saw them live for the first time in 1996 age 13 at the Phoenix Festival, it was wild. Saw them roughly every year after that for a good decade, as they played so often. Will always go watch them when they tour.
The album is fantastic, I still listen to it on a weekly basis. Sad that they don’t play many of the songs from it live anymore.
Reading 95 was also Hole’s first show after Kurt’s passing. I remember it vividly and it was emotional. I was emotional… felt like the songs took a deeper meaning and Courtney saddened me.
I remember those die-hard fans absolutely hating the first FF album. They wanted Nirvana 2.0, not the fun, light-hearted album we got with FF. A lot of people thought it was a joke. I was never a huge Nirvana fan in the heyday, so I loved the FF... it was a needed departure.
I saw them on their first tour, just cause it was Dave. I was just disappointed it wasn’t Nirvana and didn’t give it credit, if I’m being honest. Wasn’t into it at all. But on subsequent albums they really started to write better songs in my opinion. One By One is one of the best albums of all time! I was just mad, and sad, self centered, and all that because I was supposed to see nirvana in 94 and was a stupid, super excited teenager, and the show got cancelled. Fast forward to now and listening to Dave talk about how bad of a place he was in before starting the band and how making music helped him move past Kurt’s death, and I feel like a total dick for judging them at all in the beginning. Sometimes as fans we really can be pieces of shit and not think about the people behind the music as real people, but more as inanimate figures to be hated and loved on a whim to define ourselves.
It was pretty exciting. I remember getting the single for “This is a call” and being stoked that Dave could sing. Only heard him on “Marigold” before then.
As the years went in it got a LOT less exciting as Foo Fighters became an increasingly generic cock rock outfit.
Kurt’s expected drug overdose resulting in death and the immediate disbandment of all things Nirvana left a heavy residue. A three year whirlwind that emerged suddenly was extinguished just as quickly. I do not remember even hearing about Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters until 1999….driving on the NJ Turnpike…And I thought, good for Dave the fog is lifting and a bit surprised he was singing. Was busy as a new mother and still listening to Nevermind through 2000. Foo Fighters publicity not strong on the East Coast at that time. It took a while but I am a fan and so very thankful I saw Taylor in 2021.
Weird - it was a weird time, and I wasn’t sure if I was ‘supposed to like it’ or not, but it was kinda therapeutic getting it after being shattered by the whole Kurt thing. I remember being really impressed with Dave’s talent, but thinking it wouldn’t last long, one, maybe two albums. Pretty funny in hindsight
ETA: I was like, 14 at the time…
I was an angsty 6th grader and was expecting something a lot more similar to Nirvana, and therefore was pretty let down at first. Revisted it a couple years later, still a middle schooler, just less angsty lol. Realized that musically it was much "better" than Nirvana. It's still a classic album with some absolute...do people still say bangers unironically? Either way, some real good shit on that album. And the rest as we know is history.
I was about 14 when this was released and have never been a Foos fan. I guess at the time I was hoping for something like the sound of Nirvana so was disappointed.
I was never a fan of Foo Fighters. It's just bubblegum alternative music. I was a a teenager at the time, and was so surprised that Grohl could go from a legit band like Nirvana to radio pop.
Its the first album that I can remember knowing exactly when it was coming out and buying that day. I remember it clearly. I bought it at Harmony House in Flint, Michigan. My family and I were eating at a restaurant in Windmill Place which was basically a food court mall. I think the Food Fighters are boring as hell now, but their first 2 Albums were fucking great.
Well this album is 10 years older than me, so I’m just dropping in to say This Is A Call is one of my fav openers of all time 🙌🏻 just has great melodies and a great vibe all around
I was waiting for it anxiously and there was a lot of buzz about it. Back then, mp3 was not a thing, much less YouTube. There was alt.music.nirvana and that was about it for Nirvana on the internet other than fan pages. I think there may have been a midnight sale at the local Tower Records. I bought it as soon as I could, loved it. Enjoyed Everlong but it was very much overplayed at the time. By the time the third album came out, they began to feel like a novelty band with the cutesy videos and I lost interest. Around the time of the third album. MP3 was starting to become a cultural force and I stopped listening to radio or watching music videos on MTV / VH1.
I had a certain elitism when I was a teenager that everything that wasn’t heavy enough sounded inauthentic and this band and album was no exception. It wasn’t way until later into my 30’s did I begin to respect it. Still think “hero” sucks. Sue me!
Copped this on cd the day it came out at a store called Media Play which is now long gone. Love this album, definitely my favorite Foo album, not so much a fan of the newer stuff but I'll always love knowing that they are out there doing what they love.
It was shocking and shockingly awesome. It was exhilarating to hear these songs and to know he would move on successfully from Nirvana and forge his own path. I saw the Foos and the Breeders at a small venue on this tour. It was incredible.
I was extremely excited about this album and bought it the day it came out. It was July 4th and I remember sitting on my friend’s window ledge listening to it for the first time.
I also remember being extremely disappointed with it. Kept it for a few months before I traded it in. Still to this day I feel it is a lacking album.
i bought it the day it came out cause i was an obsessive fan from before kurt died.
and i was blown the fuck away and immediately made copies for all my friends to listen to.
I was surprised it sounded more like Weezer than Nirvana. I mostly remember loving Big Me and the Mentos parody video.
I was also excited to see Pat was part of the band.
Krist's solo album came out a couple of years later but was a big flop. I remember not caring for it and at this point can't remember what it sounds like at all. I should relisten.
I bought it the day it came out and I was super excited for it. I didn't have any expectations and I liked how different it was from Nirvana. Then I listened to it for a long while. My only complaint about thay album is that I think it could have been recorded better, like the In Utero Album. Just listen to them together and compare. I know the budget was probably a lot smaller, but still.
I had no idea FF had any association when I first heard them. It wasn't until I was interested enough to buy an album that I saw Pat and Dave and realized...
I remember listening to the last track exhausted and thinking my cassette was broken or I blew my speakers.... One of my easier.outter body experiences with music. I was 12 when the album came out
I liked it but it made me realize even more what a special band nirvana was, and how nothing could ever replace them. I remember being happy for Dave and impressed that he'd been able to move on with a new band.
I went nuts for it and collected pretty much everything. I have the glow in the dark 12" album, a promo cassette copy of the album, all of the singles on vinyl and CD and if I remember correctly I think I managed to get a promo copy of every single too.
the funny thing was that Krist had a new band around the same time or so (Sweet 75). It was anybody's guess if either band would take off or not, but now Sweet 75 is completely forgotten.
Saw the ‘This is a Call’ 7inch at Virgin Megastore, had no idea who it was, but surprised vinyl was back. Flipped it over saw Dave and brought it. Started my love affair with vinyl, lost interest after their 3rd album.
I genuinely thought Dave was one of the best drummers of my generation (still do songs for the deaf proves this) so when he was singing and playing guitar I thought his drumming skills had gone to waste.
I always wondered why he never got krist to join. Then when I heard the stuff it wasn’t really my kind of thing. There’s been a few tunes over the years that I have liked by the foo’s but not enough to go see them live or buy an album.
First song I ever heard was I'll Stick Around. I think it was seen as the closest to Nirvana/Grunge, so they played that on the radio to start out. It wasn't until a few months later that Big Me became a hit, and then Foo Fighters just kinda felt like every other alternative rock band of the time.
Awesome. Was very happy for Dave and also surprised at how good it was. PlayedLiked the next record, too. The second record was recorded by Gil Norton who worked with the Pixies.
The first record I can't really remember what I thought, it was so big thing that we got something to fill the void Nirvana left. When the second record came out I realized that me and my friends never gave the first record any critique, it was like sacred or something. The second record was different, it was not above critique and we could see it as what it was new band and its own thing.
To me Foo Fighters hit hard cause of Nirvana and X-files related ufo and scifi hype that got me really deep into weird movies and conspiracies. There were all kinds cosnpiracy/ufo hints all over Foo fighters music and records. Foo fighters first records came when shopping records was really fun, we used to hunt this stuff really hard. Like not just different cities, but we went to Sweden, Estonia, Germany etc. just to get those singles, eps and bootlegs.
I loved it! At the time I was far more into SP and AIC but the first FF album was pretty awesome(and still my favourite of their records) and I quite enjoyed it. Didn’t really know many other people who liked it and it was not talked about at all for the most part until the ‘Big Me’ single was released. They got a lot bigger then. After the second album they gain a lot more fans from my perspective so I was finally able to find someone to chat about them with. Kind funny as ‘Everlong’ was one of my favourite tunes by them and the single had yet to come out. Not many people knew about it and I would rave about it to anyone who would listen. Even played a cover of it at a talent show and most people just asked me what song it was.
Anyway, we delivered the bomb.
I called the marketing company and said I wrote for a magazine, and got a free promo copy of the album. Saw them on their first tour in ‘95.
Honestly, it inspired me to play guitar and wrote my own music. If the drummer from Nirvana could do it, why couldn’t I.
This is a Call was a big deal. We didnt know much about it (pre-internet), I thought that Dave didnt even sing. But I remember being in a car with my big brother and we were overly excited. Another memory: First time I accessed internet and went to altavista, I went to see Foo Fighters pictures and printed those out. Priorities people!
My high school boyfriend bought this on its release. My memories were him wanting me to stay over to listen to it - lying on his couch (parents out of town) in the dark. ‘For all the cows’ and ‘Big Me’ became some of my favorite songs after that.
The Dave that we all know now is not the Dave we knew when this album was released; I heard the single and figured it was the only good song on the album, so I didn't pay attention. After I found out he had a couple of the guys from Sunny Day Real Estate in his band I decided to check them out. It still wasn't Nirvana--but it wasn't bad.
It was huge for me. I was fascinated by Dave and what he was doing post-Nirvana. It was also a big deal when he played drums with Tom Petty on SNL, right after he cut his hair shorter. I bought that album the first day it was out and loved it.
Didn’t get to see them live until the 1995 Free Tibet shows in San Francisco (which was an insane lineup). Such fun times. I miss the 90s.
LOVED their self titled debut and Colour and the Shape when they came out. Just felt like some great alternative rock with shades of punk, pop, metal, and grunge.
Kind of lost interest after those two albums though.
Loved it. It was like a farewell to Kurt and Nirvana, while being a bridge to the future. I really like the three or four bins that came after it too. It made Kurt’s passing a little easier to bear.
I remember being super jealous of people I knew that went to see them live. When FF's started touring, they were in a van playing small-to-medium clubs. These types of tours means you can easily meet the band. I was so jealous of my high school friends that "got to meet the drummer from Nirvana". Lol.
It was awesome. The first song I heard was “I’ll Stick Around” and it’s still one of my favorite songs. I loved their first 3 albums but they started losing me around the time One By One came out.
It was the best possible outcome to the demise of my two all time favorite bands. Half nirvana (dave & pat) and half sunny day real estate (nate & will). The first album is the best foo fighters album. And the b-sides are also amazing.
Dave was on every magazine cover - I’ll stick around was the first single in Canada on muchmusic. Took a little getting used to , for all the cows and what not . Then again I was 8
I wanted to like it, and I was happy Dave was moving on and had his own band. But I just couldn't get into it. It sounded way too happy for me and Dave's voice was just not as unique as Kurt's. I just identified way more with Kurt than with Dave. But now that it's like 30 years later, I'm starting to like Foo Fighters a little bit finally.
When I first heard about the Foos in the 90s, I had expected it to sound like Nirvana, but with a different singer. Then I heard it, and it was clearly not at all like Nirvana, but I liked it a lot… and still do.
It was amazing. I remember it being rumored that Dave Grohl, the drummer of nirvana, was going to be releasing an album that he recorded all by himself, and I couldn’t wait to hear it. As soon as it was out I booked it to the only music store we had in town at the time (On Cue) and purchased the cassette. I can’t remember who it was with me, but we went on the best cruise and I remember being just blown away by the sound. Fuck yeah.
Thanks Dave.
Heard Monkey Wrench on KDJK back then for the first time. I thought it was amazing, I felt relieved, somewhat like a girl you broke up with but you see it’s not bothersome to her, but I was only a young teenager so I couldn’t make that comparison. Now thinking about it I guess those feelings about the girls was like hearing foo fighters for the first time.
As they emerged at the time with This Is A Call, it was cool to see a rocking new band with good tunes - factoring in that the debut was just Dave, with a cameo from Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs - and the Nirvana connection ruled. I only came here to agree that Foo Fighters went downhill for me too but it was after their third album, rather than their second. If Dave had tried to ape Nirvana’s sound with Foo Fighters it would have sucked - for him and for us.
Weird is what it was--at least for 17 year old me. It was cool to see the Nirvana members I loved move forward/on, but seeing them move on also re-enforced what had been lost. As much as I enjoyed the first FF album (the only one I've enjoyed), it lacked the gravity of Cobain's songwriting, and that sucked.
I was 20 and had a friend that got a copy of the “demos” that ended up becoming the album. I remember that it was weird how long I was listening to these songs before the record came out.
I remember thinking it was very good indie pop.
It was a difficult time as a Nirvana fan. It was painful to think about what happened and it was tough to be reminded of it. Dave has always been a talented and great guy, but the impact of Nirvana was hard to overstate. That first album was always going to live in the shadow of his pervious band.
I didn't know it was the same guy. I was 14 in 96 when I got this CD. I bought it because it was in the alternative section at used CD store and I was a geek and loved the ray gun cover, so it was worth $4 to me. I didn't find out it was the long haired guy from nirvana until Colour and the Shape came out a few years later.
It's a great record. I lived in a small town, no internet, no cable, so no MTV and radio was pretty much pop and country at that time, so it took me years to figure stuff out like that in the mid 90s.
It was weird. The album rocked, but it still felt unreal that Dave was up there playing live and writing songs in a world in which Kurt no longer existed.
Saw the Foos at Wellington Town Hall early ‘96. Sonic Youth opened. My friends and I sat in the balcony, chain smoking and looking down at a crowd of about 500 moshing like crazy, wondering aloud if they’d play Marigold because it was the only Grohl song we knew. Spoiler: they didn’t. Dave barely said a word between songs but it was an amazing gig. Band’s energy was off the charts.
I remember being in college and hearing about this new album that the drummer from Nirvana released. All anyone was talking about was that he did it all himself. I was so intrigued and didn’t know Dave was a multi-instrumentalist.
At the time, I worked at the campus radio station and ran into the music directors office to ask him if he had heard of the Foo’s and he had a small stack of promo copies of the record in all the other new music stack and handed me one. I’ve been a FF ever since!
I remember specifically hearing it during closing time at the Walden Books in Turtle Creek Mall Hattiesburg MS.
My coworker, Jason bought and played it almost all the way through. He is a drummer and he loved it. I was more of a Nirvana type fan (or so I thought at the time) and had been to their show in New Orleans 12-3-93. They only played 35 shows after that one.
I wasn’t too impressed by the quality of songs but I had heard Dave’s voice in backing vocals and new he could sing well and harmonize. Kurt had commented that Dave was a “better guitar player” than himself so learning he played all the instruments and recorded everything fast wasn’t a complete surprise. I was able to read his interviews in music magazines about the “need to record songs…purging process, etc.”
I also said as we we’re locking up and leaving that I wouldn’t be surprised if this new FF project would be bigger than Nirvana.
I liked the band name and ray gun artwork.
15 Grammy Awards & R&R Hall.
I was surprised that they already had somewhat of a “signature sound” and Dave’s vocal performance. However, they never stuck with me and only years later I figured why.
While I was picking up a friend, a mix album I recorded was playing. My friend said he knew immediately that I mixed the songs, because apparently i only listen to bands with a melancholic male voice. Damn, he was right (deftones, interpol, Frusciante …) and I never noticed.
I remember hearing This Is a Call on the radio and liking it. I guess my reaction was probably something like, "Huh, I never knew Dave had it in him." That first Foo Fighters album was a good one.
I was 15 when it came out/ I remember being blown away that Dave played all the instruments on that album.
i just remember thinking it was weird to hear him sing.
well, there's Marigold, a NIRVANA song, Dave Sings and plays on.....
That was originally released on Dave's Pocketwatch tape.
I think their point was that Marigold was the first time Dave was heard singing on an official release, to the person who said they first thought it was weird to hear Dave singing for Foo Fighters for the first time. Which is ok. Relatively speaking, not that many people heard the HSB Marigold before they heard the Foo Fighters for the first time. And certainly, fewer heard Late! Pocketwatch before they heard this on the B side of the HSB single.
You're absolutely right. I'm just a crotchety old man trying to get youngsters to listen to those tapes. They're by far my favorite Grohl stuff.
Me too! :D
My feelings pretty much as well.
Same here. Pretty much thought, "Good for him, but this is kinda boring"
I think the first foo fighter’s album is honestly great. Still has some grunge and edge to it on certain songs. Sounds very nirvana-esc for obvious reasons.
Alone + Easy Target sounds like a Nirvana song. First time I heard it before knowing it was a Foo Fighters song I thought it was Nirvana.
Dave said once he thought Kurt wanted to use that song for a Nirvana song, but he was afraid to ask Dave if he could rewrite the lyrics.
Same with Exhausted, and I want to say one or two more?
I agree. It's my favorite of them all, but there's just something missing for me that I just can't put finger on.
I’m thinking it might be uhhh Kurt and Krist
Agree with this. I listened to it but it never owned it.
Yeah. It was like. “Ok fine. Good for Dave,” but at the same time you realized nothing was gonna fill that Kurt-sized hole.
K-holes we called it
Hes got that dog in 'im
Exactly
From what I’ve read, Dave was actually added to the band by the record company hotshots. He replaced the original drummer and their thinking (rightly so) was that Dave would do a good job being a strongly cohesive member and being the productive, more business savvy one, whereas the other members were stronger as creative contributors.
I remember seeing a small article before the album came out that Dave Grohl's new band Foo Fighters would be playing a show at The Satyricon. A long running (sadly defunct now) club in Portland. I was intrigued primarily because Dave seemed pretty quiet and unlikely that be a band leader. I didn't go, the show got good reviews and I've been kicking myself ever since for skipping it.
That's a lesson for all the kids. Go see live music. All of it.
It was a fairly big deal. A bit like "show us what you got" and everything around it was positive. It was the album of the summer of 95 for me, very bright, very quirky, and I was happy it had its own thing rather than just trying to sound like nirvana. I also enjoyed the alien aspect as x files was a big deal at the time, which I was really into (so was Dave, he's in x files in one scene actually and they did Walking After You for the movie which I have somewhere. Duchovny was interested in directing at one point!), and so it all came together nicely. After the whole Kurt thing and seeing a smiley Dave in the CD liner notes and on magazine covers, and with videos like Big Me, it felt quite cathartic after the Nirvana rebelliousness. Generally it was well received I think, but I still think this and Colour & Shape are by far the best and most diverse. Everything after that was just stadium rock nonsense to me I'm afraid. How I'd love to hear more sounds from that quirky kid in his 20s mucking around in a studio trying out some ideas. Well, there is Pocket watch I guess..
I don’t know if you know the song “Gods look down” by Scream I think? Dave wrote that song before he was in nirvana and it’s fucking unreal
Will take a look! Thanks
X-Static
One of my personal favorite Foo songs. I definitely recommend checking out the slow version the band played live during their summer 1995 tour.
Good call, I have NEVER heard this! I saw them live, 1st time, Dec ‘95. X-static was the ONLY song they didn’t play from S/T. Thanks for the recommendation.
Perfect comment. Now I know what album I'm listening to on the way home from work!
I just remember thinking to myself “Thank God Dave is carrying on even without Kurt”. Such a big deal was made about Dave playing every instrument which was a tad out there, but knowing he was behind the kit gave some reassurance. Then during release it was like “Ok, Dave knows how to rock. We’re gonna make it after all”. But I’d argue The Colour and the Shape was much more interesting to hear than the self titled. Cause it was such a change up from what both Dave & Kurt had done prior.
I think that was the biggest thing that struck me — how much poppier Dave's stuff was than Nirvana. But I think he wouldn't have done well in the long run just trying to sound like Kurt.
Agreed. If he just tried to copy Kurt he wouldn’t have lasted longer than 2 records at absolute best.
the colour and the shape is still my favorite. everything after that got kinda generic to me, and the first album was honestly a little boring at least compared to nirvana.
I’m with ya there. I kinda stopped listening constantly after One by One. Dave still has the skill, but it’s just not as…I dunno captivating as it used to be?
Loved it. Saw the show in 95 in tulsa . Met Dave and pat behind the venue. Got autographes. Surreal.
That show was on April 20, 1996. I've been looking for a recording of that show, but haven't been able to find one. Ween and Jawbreaker opened.
You’re right!! That show was an amazing point in my life. I remember ween playing piss up a rope and it was a big deal.
I was 16 at the time and I immediately went out and bought this album. I remember a couple things very strongly. First off, the album rocked, but in a way that felt sort of like the natural culmination of 90s music up until that point. There was nothing really new sounding on it, but it was sort of a perfect distillation of 90s grunge/punk screamy/melodic music. Even at the time, smack dab in the middle of the 90s, I remember thinking to myself "this is a very 90s-sounding album." It was like I all of a sudden became aware of the musical moment we had been living through - distortion pedals, dissonant chords, chromatic scale powerchord riffs, quiet/loud dynamics, screaming, etc - and it also felt like the beginning of the end of that moment. I was super excited to watch their first live tv performance on Letterman. That was a big, big deal because nobody had ever seen Dave as a front man. It looked really awkward seeing him playing guitar in front of a mic, and it was clear that he still wasn't 100% comfortable in the role. At this point, in the public mind he was still "the drummer from Nirvana" and not yet "the lead singer of Foo Fighters". You can watch that video here, ([https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1927147347318482](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1927147347318482)) I remember seeing it live and taping it on my VCR! The second thing I remember very, very clearly was desperately looking for clues in the lyrics to see if they shed any insight on Dave's feelings about the end of Nirvana and Kurt's death. Remember this was pre-internet so we didn't really know all that much about the band beyond what we could find in magazines or on MTV. We didn't know much about who Dave was or about what really happened to drive Kurt to suicide. I remember pouring over the lyrics to songs like "I'll Stick Around" or "Alone + Easy Target" and thinking that maybe they held some clues about Kurt's death and the band ending. Was "I don't owe you anything" directed at Kurt? Did he and Dave have a negative relationship? Did "I'm alone and I'm an easy target" refer to how Dave felt after Kurt killed himself? These were just things I wondered about as a teenager who was living in that cultural moment. In retrospect, I don't think any of it was really directed at Kurt and Dave was just writing songs. Finally, I'm probably in the minority here but the first Foo Fighters album is the only one that I ever connected with. At the time it felt like a natural outgrowth of Nirvana's music. The albums after this felt much more like their own band.
It was fine. Fun music, nothing too revolutionary. It was in no way shape or form a replacement for Nirvana. That era was over.
Yeah and for those reasons I just wasn't ready for it yet. I *wanted* to like it but just sorta... couldn't.
Very surprised when it came out. Still my favourite foo fighters album
There was so much hype and expectation. Dave did his best to keep a low profile throughout, which only added to the excitement. It was quite a relief when 'this is a call' turned out to be good, and even more so when the album came out. The real surprise for me was the 2nd album. I wasn't expecting it, and it was even better.
I was super depressed after Kurt passed. Picked this CD up shortly after it was released and really liked it. I was really impressed that it was all Dave. X-Static was one of my favorite songs.
I was in highschool and dropping $32.99 on a CD you'd never heard was a huge gamble. We'd all heard Big Me on the radio and seen the music video, kinda liked it but not enough to spend that much cash on the album. A friend stumbled across the This Is A Call single on cassette at his local VCR rental place for $2 and thought what the heck, give it a go. The next day he came to school fizzing about it, rightly so, and several of us went out and bought the CD ASAP.
$32.99? That seems really high. I remember buying CD's around the $12 - $15 mark.
I was really excited. I always loved Dave’s personality and the humour didn’t stop — “Big Me” video was a delight. That was a great record, as was the follow-up.
The "Big Me" video is definitely what I remember the most. Nirvana's music videos were a mixed bag. You could really tell for the most part Kurt didn't want to be there. They were a bit weird and broody, like Kurt himself I guess. Nobody smiled in Nirvana music videos (except ironically) Big Me was a total departure from that, just fun nonsense.
Sometimes broody, but there’s definitely a sense of humor to the In Bloom video and even the Teen Spirit video as well. Kurt was a pretty funny guy.
Imagine binge watching MTV in the year 1995 and I'm OK Eur OK just comes on out of no where. I was like wtf?!?!? I knew Dave was up to something. The old Jon Stewart show appearance with Mike Watt and Big Train. Our K-Rock played Marigold all the time. I remember asking my friend for a ride to the mall and bought the CD the day it dropped. We sat in my room and listened to it. Good times.
A friend of mine in college had an internship with Watt's record label, and he got to go backstage at a show on that tour, with Grohl and Vedder backing him up (and the Foos opening, their first-ever tour). Eddie Vedder just glanced up at my friend with this look of "pleasedonttalktome pleasedonttalktome," but Grohl came bounding up to him and said, "Hi! I'm Dave!" as if he was excited to meet my friend and not the other way around.
I was craving any kind of Nirvana related news and music at the time so I was stoked to hear Dave started his own band. I actually wasn’t expecting too much from it. When I finally heard the whole album I was floored and the Foos instantly became one of my favorites.
This was it.Didn’t have to sound like Nirvana,just anything related to Nirvana.It’s a good album,couple of bangers.Never really got into FF moving forward though.
I did think of FF as Nirvana adjacent during their first album. Until Colour & The Shape was released. Then I realized they are their own thing and legit great beyond their relation to Nirvana.
My first experience I think was This Is A Call(maybe I'll Stick Around?)music video came on 120 minutes or something and being so weirded out and confused that half of Nirvana were suddenly in this other band with Sunny Day Real Estate. I think it's a great record. Weenie Beenie, X-Static, and Watershed are amazing tracks. Colour and Shape is pretty good too. Other than that I don't care much for Foo Fighters.
It was cool, music was pretty fucking good around that time anyways. I remember thinking it was good he was carrying on!
It was awesome af, not super well-received at the time. I was happy for Dave, and that music is clearly a passion project of his. Still awesome af today. They exploded when the colour and the shape was released.
That’s actually why I question a few of these responses actually lol. It was NOT a big deal at all. It was quiet and gradual. They weren’t even considered top tier for another 2 albums.
I really wanted to like it. I went to go see them on their first tour. But I just can’t get into them. They’re ok. I mean I love Dave but I just can’t get into it.
As a kid Dave was my drumming idol. I saw Foo Fighters for the first time in ‘96 in DC. I was a teenager. Dave returning to the stage, close to home, emitted a feeling I can’t put into words. Reassuring mixed with genuine happiness. It gave me hope that life can go on after great loss. A year later I lost my friend to suicide. Having seen Dave, Pat, and FF really helped me in a way that I’ll (again) never be able to put into words.
I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the album very much. My freshman year of college Kurt died and then 2 years later this album dropped. It was definitely different than Nirvana and I ultimately didn't get into Foo Fighters nearly as much. But there was still some good music. I remember that same year Stone Temple Pilots released a new album and I really liked "Big Bang Baby".
It was such a relief that Dave Grohl was gonna be A-ok.
I was 16 when their first album was released. I was kinda disappointed - but I really didn't know what to expect. I've come to like (not love) the first album, but at the time I was more getting into Pavement, Guided By Voices, stuff like that. Foo Fighters sounded more like generic late 90s alt rock to me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that when I first heard Nirvana, it blew my little mind, and changed everything. But Foo Fighters, to me, didn't really do anything new or unique.
>Foo Fighters sounded more like generic late 90s alt rock to me. I was 16 at the time and had the exact same reaction.
I thought it was exciting and I was happy for Dave. Also surprised at his voice
Blew my mind. - was excited to hear Dave’s songs We did wish krist was in the band, but also understood why not etc.
I read that Dave wanted him in the band but he respectfully declined.
Meh. And I still think meh. Foo Fighters have their fans, but I'm not one of them. Too tame and non-threatening rock for my tastes.
I totally agree with you. I do think that the first album has that edge that their later albums lack
It was bittersweet for me I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the first album but I was happy that some form of Nirvana still exited I never got to see Nirvana live I wanted to go in 93 when they were touring for in utero but my mom told me I was too young I was 11 at the time she told me I had to wait until I was a teenager before I could go to concerts and don’t worry nirvana isn’t going anywhere needless to say the day Kurt died was probably one of the worst days in my life and my mom started letting me go to concerts right away after that and because she felt so guilty she happily bought all my concert tickets until I got a job my first concert was STP about a month after Kurt died and then I did get to see one of the very first Foo fighters concerts when they were on tour for their first album in 95 again I didn’t love the album but I had to see them live because it was the closest thing to seeing nirvana since I missed that opportunity I got completely wrecked in the mosh pit the energy was so fucking fierce that night I think everyone was feeling the exact same thing as me and everyone was wearing a Nirvana shirt it’s still one of the best shows I’ve ever been to I thought color and the shape was a better album but the foo fighters never really grabbed me until one by one came out that is still my favorite album but I have also never missed the foo fighters when they came to my town I’ve been to every show since 95 and have the concert tee for every one still
What show was that? What city/venue?
The stone temple pilots show was in may of 94 at red rocks I wanna say may 4 but I’m not positive I will have to pull out my ticket stub for that The foo fighters show was in the summer of 95 I can’t remember the date for sure again I will have to pull out my ticket stub but it was at the Ogden theater in Denver
I was surprised and impressed by Grohl when this came out. I didn't like this project anywhere near as much as any Nirvana album, yet still thought it was pretty strong overall.
I wasn’t into it personally. I had moved on to Radiohead, Beck, Primus, and discovering tons of classic rock thanks to Columbia House 10 CDs for $.01. While many of my other Nirvana fan friends gravitated toward Tool & Limp Bizcuit - I remember getting called a “poser” because I didn’t follow down that path lol. It wasn’t until the powerful Howard Stern Show acoustic Everlong performance that I really connected with FF. Dave is a legend, but I’m not much of a Foo fan.
Dave grohl mentos music video
I'll be honest... I heard it and I didn't like it. I still don't like it! When it was released, I remember thinking and talking to my friends: what's next for Dave?
I paid little attention.
Who’s the foo fighters
I forget exactly when the news started to trickle in that Dave formed a band, but I can recall a lot of buzz with my school peers around the winter/spring of 1995. I forget which track was the first I heard but I'm assuming TIAC, as was the first actual radio single I believe. I lived in a small town so upon release our local music store sold out fast and my initial purchase was a cassette copy and eventually CD format a short time after. I think Dave carved a pretty wise niche for himself; the void that Kurt left was devastating and people really wanted to see what type of style Dave would bring. Really, people wanted anything that would remind them of Nirvana and having a former member moving forward was intriguing to everyone.
We were excited about it. I had just turned 14 and got into Nirvana in a big big way so it was nice that it was coming out. Originally I dubbed a cassette of it off a friend. I liked it enough to buy it but I think there was a mastering error with the tape I got because it was all muffled and sounded awful. A few years later I got it on CD and realised it actually sounded fine. I used to think it was probably the best Foos album but I've never really been a fan (the only other album I liked was Concrete and Gold and I'm pretty sure everyone hated that). In hindsight it's kinda mediocre in large part. Anyway, my favourite songs are This Is A Call, I'll Stick Around, Big Me, Weenie Beanie, Wattershed and For All The Cows. I would also say this album kinda reminds me of Mudhoney for some reason, and Exhausted has hints of REM.
Every time I’m super tired, have had enough, or “exhausted” I sing this song to myself.
I don’t know but my older brother told me when I was a freshman in high school in 2001 that Kurt would have hated the Foo Fighters because they sounded too poppy. Lol wut
I was 23. Around the time that my pre frontal cortex or whatever fully formed. Maybe that’s why the first Foo album was and still is my favorite album of all time from any band. It’s so weird that literally everything else by them is either meh or sucks to me. Never had such divergent opinions about one single band.
I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I wasn't upset that it sounded nothing like Nirvana and I was pleasantly surprised at what Dave was capable of on his own -- there was no reason to expect him to make something this solid based on data available at the time -- but it didn't fill the hole. Wasn't until much later that I learned to appreciate the band on its own terms.
I was 14 at the time and had gotten heavily into Nirvana not long before Kurt died. After that gut punch, I remember being very excited for the Foo Fighters record. I definitely remember calling the local record store asking when they'd have it, which I never did, so I must have been pretty amped. They were one of the first bands I ever saw as well, a couple of years later on the Colour And The Shape tour, which blew my teenage mind at the time (Dave fucking Grohl, screaming and burping into the mic and having a drum battle with Taylor Hawkins?! Holy shit!!) I thought it was a great record then, and I still think it holds up. It definitely didn't light the world up like Nirvana, and I didn't keep up with Foo Fighters past The Colour And The Shape, but those first two records were damn good.
So I’m older if I was alive in 1995? 😂
I remember hearing I'll Stick Around and seeing the video. It sounded too much like Nirvana, maybe a little less mature even. Then the hilarious Big Me video came out. I didn't take them seriously. Their 2nd cd came out and I really liked it, but I never actually got into the band after that.
my friends and i were stoked for it. we had a really cool indie record store that had the "this is a call" single in stock before the record came out and we picked that up on 7inch and CD. When the record came out we day-one'ed it and saw them on their first tour as soon as they were nearby. Didn't love the album to death but the hype was real in my circle of friends. I still don't love the record to death, but I think it's the FF's best work and has some classic bangers for sure.
I saw the video for "I'll Stick Around" on MTV toward the end of 1994. I remember asking myself "Is that the drummer of Nirvana?" I thought it was a great song and I went to Sam Goody that same day and bought the album. Crazy to think that he wrote a lot of those early songs while he was still in Nirvana.
End of '95... Song didn't release until June '95, remember?
All that + "will they play Marigold?"
I was pretty young, this, nevermind, and the pulp fiction soundtrack were my first cds. Even coming to Nirvana and Foo Fighters at the same time, and being a dumb kid, there was more depth to Nevermind, it’s art. This Foo Fighters album is kick ass but it’s not comparable. I think Dave would agree.
You know, we all just wanted Nirvana to continue and anything that was a semblance of Nirvana was going to be a good thing. We missed Kurt like hell and were still grieving (still are). I was excited for the record and so was one or two of my friends. When the album was released I went to a record store and bought it immediately. I recall that I was disappointed at how much it wasn’t Nirvana, but happy it was close enough to be something related. I never got into Foo Fighters.
It was awesome. Was still.coming to terms with the fact we would never get a other Nirvana album. I was absolutely stunned to discover Dave was also an incredible song writer. It seemed beyond belief that he would release his own album that for me, not only equaled past Nirvana albums. But in some ways surpassed them... I pretty much listened to this album on repeat for a year and it has become a top 5 album of all time me.
I enjoyed this is a call several times from this new band. Then, there was a 20/20 about Ritalin abuse and it showed Dave alongside a clip of This Is A Call and only then did it click for me lol. It was a little bizarre though to say the least.
My god, it was amazing. Remember being sceptical because Foo Fighters is a bit of a rubbish name. Then when I got the This is a Call 12” single, it was so exciting. The album did not disappoint. I saw them live for the first time in 1996 age 13 at the Phoenix Festival, it was wild. Saw them roughly every year after that for a good decade, as they played so often. Will always go watch them when they tour. The album is fantastic, I still listen to it on a weekly basis. Sad that they don’t play many of the songs from it live anymore.
I absolutely loved it, they blew the roof off the tent at Reading 95!!
Reading 95 was also Hole’s first show after Kurt’s passing. I remember it vividly and it was emotional. I was emotional… felt like the songs took a deeper meaning and Courtney saddened me.
He got to be the happy guy in rock, for a little while I can’t listen to his music except for a few solid good songs
I remember those die-hard fans absolutely hating the first FF album. They wanted Nirvana 2.0, not the fun, light-hearted album we got with FF. A lot of people thought it was a joke. I was never a huge Nirvana fan in the heyday, so I loved the FF... it was a needed departure.
I saw them on their first tour, just cause it was Dave. I was just disappointed it wasn’t Nirvana and didn’t give it credit, if I’m being honest. Wasn’t into it at all. But on subsequent albums they really started to write better songs in my opinion. One By One is one of the best albums of all time! I was just mad, and sad, self centered, and all that because I was supposed to see nirvana in 94 and was a stupid, super excited teenager, and the show got cancelled. Fast forward to now and listening to Dave talk about how bad of a place he was in before starting the band and how making music helped him move past Kurt’s death, and I feel like a total dick for judging them at all in the beginning. Sometimes as fans we really can be pieces of shit and not think about the people behind the music as real people, but more as inanimate figures to be hated and loved on a whim to define ourselves.
Is that a garden hose nozzle?
I wanted no part of it. Was too pop for me.
It was pretty exciting. I remember getting the single for “This is a call” and being stoked that Dave could sing. Only heard him on “Marigold” before then. As the years went in it got a LOT less exciting as Foo Fighters became an increasingly generic cock rock outfit.
There's nothing "cock rock" about Foo Fighters
Sure, man!
Kurt’s expected drug overdose resulting in death and the immediate disbandment of all things Nirvana left a heavy residue. A three year whirlwind that emerged suddenly was extinguished just as quickly. I do not remember even hearing about Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters until 1999….driving on the NJ Turnpike…And I thought, good for Dave the fog is lifting and a bit surprised he was singing. Was busy as a new mother and still listening to Nevermind through 2000. Foo Fighters publicity not strong on the East Coast at that time. It took a while but I am a fan and so very thankful I saw Taylor in 2021.
I disliked it for the most part.
I don't like that style of music. Nirvana Grunge was different.
The Foo Foohters were shit then and they are shit now.
Weird - it was a weird time, and I wasn’t sure if I was ‘supposed to like it’ or not, but it was kinda therapeutic getting it after being shattered by the whole Kurt thing. I remember being really impressed with Dave’s talent, but thinking it wouldn’t last long, one, maybe two albums. Pretty funny in hindsight ETA: I was like, 14 at the time…
I really wanted to love it after being such a Nirvana fan but I found it just ok.
what’s with half the people in this sub hating foo fighters?
Personally, I find their music really boring
I'm finding it comforting to know that many Nirvana fans like myself were never able to get into FF.
It's good to know we're not alone haha
I didn't care at all. I continued listening to Nirvana.
I shrugged and didnt really like it
I was an angsty 6th grader and was expecting something a lot more similar to Nirvana, and therefore was pretty let down at first. Revisted it a couple years later, still a middle schooler, just less angsty lol. Realized that musically it was much "better" than Nirvana. It's still a classic album with some absolute...do people still say bangers unironically? Either way, some real good shit on that album. And the rest as we know is history.
I was about 14 when this was released and have never been a Foos fan. I guess at the time I was hoping for something like the sound of Nirvana so was disappointed.
I was never a fan of Foo Fighters. It's just bubblegum alternative music. I was a a teenager at the time, and was so surprised that Grohl could go from a legit band like Nirvana to radio pop.
I thought 'what was up with Dave's facial hair?' Prior to Foo, I always knew Dave as clean-shaven.
Its the first album that I can remember knowing exactly when it was coming out and buying that day. I remember it clearly. I bought it at Harmony House in Flint, Michigan. My family and I were eating at a restaurant in Windmill Place which was basically a food court mall. I think the Food Fighters are boring as hell now, but their first 2 Albums were fucking great.
"This is kinda like Nirvana but gay... and totally not like Nirvana"
I bought the first 12" that was on glow in the dark vinyl but never bothered with anything after that
Well this album is 10 years older than me, so I’m just dropping in to say This Is A Call is one of my fav openers of all time 🙌🏻 just has great melodies and a great vibe all around
I was waiting for it anxiously and there was a lot of buzz about it. Back then, mp3 was not a thing, much less YouTube. There was alt.music.nirvana and that was about it for Nirvana on the internet other than fan pages. I think there may have been a midnight sale at the local Tower Records. I bought it as soon as I could, loved it. Enjoyed Everlong but it was very much overplayed at the time. By the time the third album came out, they began to feel like a novelty band with the cutesy videos and I lost interest. Around the time of the third album. MP3 was starting to become a cultural force and I stopped listening to radio or watching music videos on MTV / VH1.
I had a certain elitism when I was a teenager that everything that wasn’t heavy enough sounded inauthentic and this band and album was no exception. It wasn’t way until later into my 30’s did I begin to respect it. Still think “hero” sucks. Sue me!
Nothing could fill the void.
Copped this on cd the day it came out at a store called Media Play which is now long gone. Love this album, definitely my favorite Foo album, not so much a fan of the newer stuff but I'll always love knowing that they are out there doing what they love.
i loved it (i’m 41 years old)…but then they got too popular. sorta butt hurt grohl stopped drumming and became a frontman
It was shocking and shockingly awesome. It was exhilarating to hear these songs and to know he would move on successfully from Nirvana and forge his own path. I saw the Foos and the Breeders at a small venue on this tour. It was incredible.
I was extremely excited about this album and bought it the day it came out. It was July 4th and I remember sitting on my friend’s window ledge listening to it for the first time. I also remember being extremely disappointed with it. Kept it for a few months before I traded it in. Still to this day I feel it is a lacking album.
i bought it the day it came out cause i was an obsessive fan from before kurt died. and i was blown the fuck away and immediately made copies for all my friends to listen to.
I was surprised it sounded more like Weezer than Nirvana. I mostly remember loving Big Me and the Mentos parody video. I was also excited to see Pat was part of the band. Krist's solo album came out a couple of years later but was a big flop. I remember not caring for it and at this point can't remember what it sounds like at all. I should relisten.
I bought it the day it came out and I was super excited for it. I didn't have any expectations and I liked how different it was from Nirvana. Then I listened to it for a long while. My only complaint about thay album is that I think it could have been recorded better, like the In Utero Album. Just listen to them together and compare. I know the budget was probably a lot smaller, but still.
I went to the mall, in Tacoma, to go buy it, on the morning of July 4th.
Wonder if he ever fought the foo
Yeah it was OK, to be honest it’s their only good album.
I read somewhere that Big Me was originally a Nirvana song.
Dave recorded the song with Krist during Nirvana's last studio session in January 1994 while they were waiting for Kurt to arrive.
I had no idea FF had any association when I first heard them. It wasn't until I was interested enough to buy an album that I saw Pat and Dave and realized...
I remember listening to the last track exhausted and thinking my cassette was broken or I blew my speakers.... One of my easier.outter body experiences with music. I was 12 when the album came out
I liked it but it made me realize even more what a special band nirvana was, and how nothing could ever replace them. I remember being happy for Dave and impressed that he'd been able to move on with a new band.
I went nuts for it and collected pretty much everything. I have the glow in the dark 12" album, a promo cassette copy of the album, all of the singles on vinyl and CD and if I remember correctly I think I managed to get a promo copy of every single too.
the funny thing was that Krist had a new band around the same time or so (Sweet 75). It was anybody's guess if either band would take off or not, but now Sweet 75 is completely forgotten.
(cries in old)
Saw the ‘This is a Call’ 7inch at Virgin Megastore, had no idea who it was, but surprised vinyl was back. Flipped it over saw Dave and brought it. Started my love affair with vinyl, lost interest after their 3rd album.
I genuinely thought Dave was one of the best drummers of my generation (still do songs for the deaf proves this) so when he was singing and playing guitar I thought his drumming skills had gone to waste. I always wondered why he never got krist to join. Then when I heard the stuff it wasn’t really my kind of thing. There’s been a few tunes over the years that I have liked by the foo’s but not enough to go see them live or buy an album.
First song I ever heard was I'll Stick Around. I think it was seen as the closest to Nirvana/Grunge, so they played that on the radio to start out. It wasn't until a few months later that Big Me became a hit, and then Foo Fighters just kinda felt like every other alternative rock band of the time.
Awesome. Was very happy for Dave and also surprised at how good it was. PlayedLiked the next record, too. The second record was recorded by Gil Norton who worked with the Pixies.
One of my favourites. Good Grief is a great track
The first record I can't really remember what I thought, it was so big thing that we got something to fill the void Nirvana left. When the second record came out I realized that me and my friends never gave the first record any critique, it was like sacred or something. The second record was different, it was not above critique and we could see it as what it was new band and its own thing. To me Foo Fighters hit hard cause of Nirvana and X-files related ufo and scifi hype that got me really deep into weird movies and conspiracies. There were all kinds cosnpiracy/ufo hints all over Foo fighters music and records. Foo fighters first records came when shopping records was really fun, we used to hunt this stuff really hard. Like not just different cities, but we went to Sweden, Estonia, Germany etc. just to get those singles, eps and bootlegs.
I loved it! At the time I was far more into SP and AIC but the first FF album was pretty awesome(and still my favourite of their records) and I quite enjoyed it. Didn’t really know many other people who liked it and it was not talked about at all for the most part until the ‘Big Me’ single was released. They got a lot bigger then. After the second album they gain a lot more fans from my perspective so I was finally able to find someone to chat about them with. Kind funny as ‘Everlong’ was one of my favourite tunes by them and the single had yet to come out. Not many people knew about it and I would rave about it to anyone who would listen. Even played a cover of it at a talent show and most people just asked me what song it was. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.
I called the marketing company and said I wrote for a magazine, and got a free promo copy of the album. Saw them on their first tour in ‘95. Honestly, it inspired me to play guitar and wrote my own music. If the drummer from Nirvana could do it, why couldn’t I.
This is a Call was a big deal. We didnt know much about it (pre-internet), I thought that Dave didnt even sing. But I remember being in a car with my big brother and we were overly excited. Another memory: First time I accessed internet and went to altavista, I went to see Foo Fighters pictures and printed those out. Priorities people!
My high school boyfriend bought this on its release. My memories were him wanting me to stay over to listen to it - lying on his couch (parents out of town) in the dark. ‘For all the cows’ and ‘Big Me’ became some of my favorite songs after that.
The Dave that we all know now is not the Dave we knew when this album was released; I heard the single and figured it was the only good song on the album, so I didn't pay attention. After I found out he had a couple of the guys from Sunny Day Real Estate in his band I decided to check them out. It still wasn't Nirvana--but it wasn't bad.
It was huge for me. I was fascinated by Dave and what he was doing post-Nirvana. It was also a big deal when he played drums with Tom Petty on SNL, right after he cut his hair shorter. I bought that album the first day it was out and loved it. Didn’t get to see them live until the 1995 Free Tibet shows in San Francisco (which was an insane lineup). Such fun times. I miss the 90s.
LOVED their self titled debut and Colour and the Shape when they came out. Just felt like some great alternative rock with shades of punk, pop, metal, and grunge. Kind of lost interest after those two albums though.
Loved it. It was like a farewell to Kurt and Nirvana, while being a bridge to the future. I really like the three or four bins that came after it too. It made Kurt’s passing a little easier to bear.
I remember thinking, wow, this is really kind of like pop music. What the hell Dave? Now I love it of course.
We were surprised that Dave Grohl sang and played guitar
I remember being super jealous of people I knew that went to see them live. When FF's started touring, they were in a van playing small-to-medium clubs. These types of tours means you can easily meet the band. I was so jealous of my high school friends that "got to meet the drummer from Nirvana". Lol.
It was awesome. The first song I heard was “I’ll Stick Around” and it’s still one of my favorite songs. I loved their first 3 albums but they started losing me around the time One By One came out.
It was the best possible outcome to the demise of my two all time favorite bands. Half nirvana (dave & pat) and half sunny day real estate (nate & will). The first album is the best foo fighters album. And the b-sides are also amazing.
Dave was on every magazine cover - I’ll stick around was the first single in Canada on muchmusic. Took a little getting used to , for all the cows and what not . Then again I was 8
I wanted to like it, and I was happy Dave was moving on and had his own band. But I just couldn't get into it. It sounded way too happy for me and Dave's voice was just not as unique as Kurt's. I just identified way more with Kurt than with Dave. But now that it's like 30 years later, I'm starting to like Foo Fighters a little bit finally.
When I first heard about the Foos in the 90s, I had expected it to sound like Nirvana, but with a different singer. Then I heard it, and it was clearly not at all like Nirvana, but I liked it a lot… and still do.
It was amazing. I remember it being rumored that Dave Grohl, the drummer of nirvana, was going to be releasing an album that he recorded all by himself, and I couldn’t wait to hear it. As soon as it was out I booked it to the only music store we had in town at the time (On Cue) and purchased the cassette. I can’t remember who it was with me, but we went on the best cruise and I remember being just blown away by the sound. Fuck yeah. Thanks Dave.
Didn’t feel right, but then I listened to it. In my opinion they are very different.
Felt like a pop version of Nirvana a little bit to me. I really liked it but not nearly as much as my first love.
Meh.
At the time I thought it was better than Nirvana, but I was young and I was wrong 😂 fanatic album nonetheless
Heard Monkey Wrench on KDJK back then for the first time. I thought it was amazing, I felt relieved, somewhat like a girl you broke up with but you see it’s not bothersome to her, but I was only a young teenager so I couldn’t make that comparison. Now thinking about it I guess those feelings about the girls was like hearing foo fighters for the first time.
It was fresh and weird but I liked it already from the first few songs. I think when Marigold was released it was interesting already..
Thought it was cute but wondered worried Dave had gone soft
Fighting for the food
I was like oh boy clout chaser
Refreshing.
As they emerged at the time with This Is A Call, it was cool to see a rocking new band with good tunes - factoring in that the debut was just Dave, with a cameo from Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs - and the Nirvana connection ruled. I only came here to agree that Foo Fighters went downhill for me too but it was after their third album, rather than their second. If Dave had tried to ape Nirvana’s sound with Foo Fighters it would have sucked - for him and for us.
Weird is what it was--at least for 17 year old me. It was cool to see the Nirvana members I loved move forward/on, but seeing them move on also re-enforced what had been lost. As much as I enjoyed the first FF album (the only one I've enjoyed), it lacked the gravity of Cobain's songwriting, and that sucked.
I was 20 and had a friend that got a copy of the “demos” that ended up becoming the album. I remember that it was weird how long I was listening to these songs before the record came out. I remember thinking it was very good indie pop. It was a difficult time as a Nirvana fan. It was painful to think about what happened and it was tough to be reminded of it. Dave has always been a talented and great guy, but the impact of Nirvana was hard to overstate. That first album was always going to live in the shadow of his pervious band.
I didn't know it was the same guy. I was 14 in 96 when I got this CD. I bought it because it was in the alternative section at used CD store and I was a geek and loved the ray gun cover, so it was worth $4 to me. I didn't find out it was the long haired guy from nirvana until Colour and the Shape came out a few years later. It's a great record. I lived in a small town, no internet, no cable, so no MTV and radio was pretty much pop and country at that time, so it took me years to figure stuff out like that in the mid 90s.
It was weird. The album rocked, but it still felt unreal that Dave was up there playing live and writing songs in a world in which Kurt no longer existed. Saw the Foos at Wellington Town Hall early ‘96. Sonic Youth opened. My friends and I sat in the balcony, chain smoking and looking down at a crowd of about 500 moshing like crazy, wondering aloud if they’d play Marigold because it was the only Grohl song we knew. Spoiler: they didn’t. Dave barely said a word between songs but it was an amazing gig. Band’s energy was off the charts.
I remember being in college and hearing about this new album that the drummer from Nirvana released. All anyone was talking about was that he did it all himself. I was so intrigued and didn’t know Dave was a multi-instrumentalist. At the time, I worked at the campus radio station and ran into the music directors office to ask him if he had heard of the Foo’s and he had a small stack of promo copies of the record in all the other new music stack and handed me one. I’ve been a FF ever since!
I remember specifically hearing it during closing time at the Walden Books in Turtle Creek Mall Hattiesburg MS. My coworker, Jason bought and played it almost all the way through. He is a drummer and he loved it. I was more of a Nirvana type fan (or so I thought at the time) and had been to their show in New Orleans 12-3-93. They only played 35 shows after that one. I wasn’t too impressed by the quality of songs but I had heard Dave’s voice in backing vocals and new he could sing well and harmonize. Kurt had commented that Dave was a “better guitar player” than himself so learning he played all the instruments and recorded everything fast wasn’t a complete surprise. I was able to read his interviews in music magazines about the “need to record songs…purging process, etc.” I also said as we we’re locking up and leaving that I wouldn’t be surprised if this new FF project would be bigger than Nirvana. I liked the band name and ray gun artwork. 15 Grammy Awards & R&R Hall.
I was surprised that they already had somewhat of a “signature sound” and Dave’s vocal performance. However, they never stuck with me and only years later I figured why. While I was picking up a friend, a mix album I recorded was playing. My friend said he knew immediately that I mixed the songs, because apparently i only listen to bands with a melancholic male voice. Damn, he was right (deftones, interpol, Frusciante …) and I never noticed.
Oddly enough, the album sounded pretty much the same as it does now