‘Sonic Highways’ is a fine rock doc, until the Foo Fighters start to play
Good music documentaries are hard to come by. In recent history, there have only been a few that can truly be considered a cut above, in use of archival footage and a strong soundtrack, in telling a story through the art of filmmaking itself and cultural importance.
The best films that come to mind in the last few years are Kevin McDonald’s “Marley,” the pinnacle of the dozens of docs on the reggae legend over the last few decades; “Muscle Shoals” and the story of its signature sound and studio; and “Filmage: The Story of Descendents/All,” with Descendents generally acknowledged as one of the most underrated punk bands around.
So much else, though, seems like record company-financed and artist-led vanity projects, which I suppose can be good, too, if done right.
Something happening in that vein right now is Dave Grohl’s “Sonic Highways” series on HBO. Tonight is the show’s fourth episode and it’s actually a supercool concept.
The series is directed by Grohl, who cut his teeth on last year’s “Sound City,” a labor of love about the famed Sound City Studios in Van Nuys where his former band, Nirvana, recorded “Nevermind,” and where rock luminaries like Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers recorded their masterworks.
It was really a good piece of filmmaking and awesome California rock nostalgia, that is, until Grohl went overboard in documenting his purchase of the studio’s mixing console and the terrible album he made as part of the movie.
With “Sonic Highways,” which is also the name of the accompanying Grohl-led Foo Fighters album the band will release next week, each episode focuses on the musical scene of a particular city, Grohl’s influences from said city, and how it all works together in the crafting of a Foo Fighters song in that city’s seminal recording studio. By episode’s end, the song is debuted and cross-promoted as a single.
Like I said, very cool idea, but the songs themselves get in the way. Each track through three full episodes has failed to live up to the power and cultural importance of the influences, which is often the problem with the Foo Fighters’ music and with Grohl himself.
At least for me, I always want to like the Foo Fighters more than I actually do. Grohl is an awesome drummer, the closest thing there is to a modern Keith Moon in ferocity, vibe and the idea that drums can drive and shape a band in equal measure to the songs.
As a rock personality, he feels like someone I want to hang with in small doses and talk about tunes. He’s opinionated, articulate and funny.
But as a songwriter and singer, Grohl and the Foo Fighters pretty much suck. The music feels painfully calculating, like it’s manufactured for active rock radio airplay with just enough polished edges to slip into top 40 playlists.
I’m getting sidetracked here, but Grohl and his band are a bit of an illusion. He grew up in the D.C. punk scene and has all the right legit punk credentials, yet the music comes on more Nickleback than Nirvana. That’s the single-biggest flaw with “Sonic Highways,” or at least my enjoyment of it.
I can never lose myself in the series, because the result of that trip down the annals of music history and each city’s impassioned product is tempered with Grohl’s own botched attempt at making music that belies all of the human drama and soul of his influences.
A great example of this twisted dichotomy is the second episode, “Washington, D.C.” Grohl, who’s conducting the interviews and directing, is getting all of these great stories from Ian MacKaye, singer of Minor Threat/Fugazi and founder of Dischord Records, and sitting down with original Bad Brains guitarist Dr. Know and bassist Darryl Jennifer, but what it all results in is this bland middle-of-the-road rock song “The Feast and the Famine.”
For 50 minutes, “Sonic Highways” is often on par with all the best rock documentaries around, full of historical impact, the spirit of better days and what they meant to the foundation and future of music, but then the last five minutes happens, Grohl opens his mouth and the band begins to play, and I’m reminded about the problem with vanity projects.
On the Web: http://www.hbo.com/foo-fighters-sonic-highways#/
This column initially appeared in the Imperial Valley Press, Nov. 7, 2014.