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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Too much unnecessary information and not enough about Dave Grohl himself. A shame, because the topic is so interesting.
This book took me almost 3 years to get through... The first half was a really tough slog; a history of punk in America and how it impacted Grohl and his contemporaries. For me, not having any background in the genre it was dense. The Nirvana bit on to the making of Wasting Light took about four days and was half of the book. I learned a bunch I didn't know, some cool background on some of the songs that I didn't know I.e. "I Should Have Known" wasn't about Kurt Cobain.
In any case, this was a solid book for big fans of Grohl and Foo Fighters. I'd definitely recommend it.
In any case, this was a solid book for big fans of Grohl and Foo Fighters. I'd definitely recommend it.
Maybe its just me, but I hate books, non and fiction which start with a disclaimer. In This is a Call - author Brannigan is quick to point out that this work is unauthorised and in fact the real Dave Grohl is somewhat of a closed book, despite being the 'nicest man in rock.' I guess the the hope is the enigmatic front-man is revealed by this piece, however what we get is more like a historical record of Grohl's early punk years, the Nirvana times, and of course the Foo Fighters rise and rise.
I hate to make a comparison that already occurs too much in the music world - but Heavier than Heaven, the Kurt Cobain biography, felt like much more of a personal insight into the man. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Brannigan's summary of Grohl's life and the small insights he does provide, it's just in all honesty I would rather dive fright into Grohl's head and experience his life a little.
Readers may enjoy hearing about Grohl's early experiences in music, the Nirvana years are somewhat clumsily handled, at times I wondered if Brannigan wanted to smuggle his views on Cobain in this section and Dave seemed to disappear into the background. The last section of the book focussed on Grohl's rise at the Foo Fighter's frontman and superstar collaborator is perfectly enjoyable but lacks enough depth to be really compelling. In some respects Grohl may be too nice, or I suspect only a true autobiography will provide what fans really want.
I hate to make a comparison that already occurs too much in the music world - but Heavier than Heaven, the Kurt Cobain biography, felt like much more of a personal insight into the man. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Brannigan's summary of Grohl's life and the small insights he does provide, it's just in all honesty I would rather dive fright into Grohl's head and experience his life a little.
Readers may enjoy hearing about Grohl's early experiences in music, the Nirvana years are somewhat clumsily handled, at times I wondered if Brannigan wanted to smuggle his views on Cobain in this section and Dave seemed to disappear into the background. The last section of the book focussed on Grohl's rise at the Foo Fighter's frontman and superstar collaborator is perfectly enjoyable but lacks enough depth to be really compelling. In some respects Grohl may be too nice, or I suspect only a true autobiography will provide what fans really want.
This was a nice present from my brother and his wife for Christmas, and I finally got around to reading it!! Though I loved what I was reading, it still took me a fair while to get it done, which seems strange. But anyway...this is not the kind of book you should read if you're not interested in music. Maybe you're interested in Dave Grohl, maybe you've got a little crush on the purported "nicest man in rock" (though the man himself disputes he's this ALL of the time)...but if you're wanting to read 400 pages about Dave, this isn't the book for you. This is definitely a good read for anyone who loves rock music and is interested in the history of certain genres in America (and elsewhere, for that matter).
The book has a great focus on the punk/hardcore scene of Washington D.C., since that's what Dave Grohl grew up on so to speak. It also touches on other areas like, naturally, grunge, and also the underground (or overground in the case of Metallica) metal scene. It does tell Dave's story, from humble beginnings to where he is today. And it was news to me that Foo Fighters had had such dramatic moments in their history. I guess I've lost the desire to stay totally on the pulse with my favourite musicians' personal lives - I was really into that as a teenager, but the phase has passed me by - so I didn't pay attention to any of this stuff while it was actually happening. One thing that Dave Grohl hasn't lost, it seems, is his utter enthusiasm for life, for music, etc. He's gotta be just a little bit ADD, surely? hehe
I loved how the book ended, with that scene with Dave, Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic revisiting some "mouldy oldies". What I would have given to be in or near that room while that particular jam session was going on! Anyway, in conclusion this is a great read for anyone who's enthusiastic about music in general. Not just Dave Grohl. But it does help if you're interested in his story! And yes, Kurt is mentioned a lot. For other people apparently this was a problem, but for me, who hasn't read any Nirvana or Kurt biographies (or hardly any biographies at all, really), it wasn't a bother at all.
The book has a great focus on the punk/hardcore scene of Washington D.C., since that's what Dave Grohl grew up on so to speak. It also touches on other areas like, naturally, grunge, and also the underground (or overground in the case of Metallica) metal scene. It does tell Dave's story, from humble beginnings to where he is today. And it was news to me that Foo Fighters had had such dramatic moments in their history. I guess I've lost the desire to stay totally on the pulse with my favourite musicians' personal lives - I was really into that as a teenager, but the phase has passed me by - so I didn't pay attention to any of this stuff while it was actually happening. One thing that Dave Grohl hasn't lost, it seems, is his utter enthusiasm for life, for music, etc. He's gotta be just a little bit ADD, surely? hehe
I loved how the book ended, with that scene with Dave, Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic revisiting some "mouldy oldies". What I would have given to be in or near that room while that particular jam session was going on! Anyway, in conclusion this is a great read for anyone who's enthusiastic about music in general. Not just Dave Grohl. But it does help if you're interested in his story! And yes, Kurt is mentioned a lot. For other people apparently this was a problem, but for me, who hasn't read any Nirvana or Kurt biographies (or hardly any biographies at all, really), it wasn't a bother at all.
A history of punk rock and the Seattle scene before and after Nirvana became famous as well as all things Foo.
A poorly written 400 page puff piece. It's not really fair for me to review this as I'm very far from the target audience. I only read it to complete Storygraph's 2024 Genre Challenge and I saw this in a charity shop for $2.
So, now that I've completed the challenge I'm going to do something totally "punk rock" that I'm sure Dave would approve of. I'm going to splay this book open on the ground, take a big dump inside it, and then set it on fire while shouting something like, "Fuck man! This is fucking awesome!"
So, now that I've completed the challenge I'm going to do something totally "punk rock" that I'm sure Dave would approve of. I'm going to splay this book open on the ground, take a big dump inside it, and then set it on fire while shouting something like, "Fuck man! This is fucking awesome!"
informative
inspiring
reflective
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
This book confuses me as it both does and doesn’t deliver on its promise. On one hand it has heaps of info on Dave Grohl pre 2011. On the other hand it has even more info on the grunge punk rock metal music scenes from 1970ish up to 2011. Life and Times of Dave Grohl, I get. We gotta have some times in there. But I think the times sections overpowers the Dave sections a lot. I didn’t pick up the book because I wanted a breakdown of the history of those music genres. I wanted to read about Dave Grohl.
So while I appreciate this book and truly did enjoy it, I also think it has no real claim to the large fine in which it prints a Foo Fighters song.
So while I appreciate this book and truly did enjoy it, I also think it has no real claim to the large fine in which it prints a Foo Fighters song.
It took me eight months to read, but I just wanted to nurse it and didn't want it to end. It was amazing. I'm a huge fan of Dave Grohl's, and I loved reading about him. I'm really glad I own a copy of this so I read it again and again.
It was disappointing to spend so much time on Grohl's childhood and the band's that influenced him, and so little time on the past fifteen years. If I wanted a punk history, I'd read that book. If I wanted a book about Nirvana I'd read one.