TOMMY

GAERTNER
Music 1010 MUSIC ANALYSIS:
FOO FIGHTERS
BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOO FIGHTERS

■ Formed in 1994.
■ Founding member is Dave Grohl, who was previously the drummer for Nirvana.
■ Debut and self titeled “Foo Fighters” album released in 1995, Dave Grohl played
accounts for all instruments and vocals in this album.
■ In 1997, The Colour and The Shape was released. This would be the first album by
the Foo Fighters as a fully constructed “band”
Everlong, Monkey Wrench, My Hero
■ In 1999, There is Nothing Left to Lose is released.
Learn to Fly
BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOO FIGHTERS

■ In 2002, One By One is released.

All My Life, Times Like These
■ In 2005, In Your Honor is released.
Best of You, DOA, Resolve
■ Skin and Bones released in 2006
Razor, Marigold, Skin and Bones, Over and Out
■ Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace debuted in 2007
The Pretender
BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOO FIGHTERS

■ Wasting Light released in 2011

Bridge Burning, These Days, Arlandria
■ In 2014, Sonic Highways is released
– Something from Nothing, Outside
■ In 2017, Concrete and Gold is released
– Run, The Sky is a Neighborhood
BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOO FIGHTERS
Albums
■ Foo Fighters – 1995 (First album) ■ Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace –
2007
■ The Colour and the Shape – 1997
■ There is Nothing Left to Lose – 1999
■ Wasting Light – 2011
■ One by One – 2002
■ Sonic Highways – 2014
■ In Your Honor - 2005
■ Concrete and Gold – 2017
BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOO FIGHTERS
Meet the Band:
■ Dave Grohl: Born January 14th, 1969 (49 years old) in Springfield, Virginia. Lead singer,
guitarist
■ Nate Mendel: Born December 2nd, 1968 (50 years old) in Richland, Washington. Bassist
■ Pat Smear: Born August 5th, 1959 (59 years old) in West LA, California. Guitarist, backup
vocalist
■ Chris Shiflett: Born May 6th, 1971 (47 years old) in Santa Barbara, California. Guitarist,
backup vocalist.
■ Taylor Hawkins: Born February 17th, 1972 (46 years old) in Laguna Beach, California.
Drummer
BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOO FIGHTERS:
Influences for the Band

■ Pixies ■ The Beatles

■ Neil Young ■ The Germs
■ Led Zeppelin ■ The Ramones
■ The Who ■ AC/DC
■ Kurt Cobain ■ Tom Petty
ALL MY LIFE:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
■ Recorded in May 2002
■ Released in September 2002
■ Featured on “One by One” album
■ Won Grammy for Best Hard Rock
Performance
■ Ten consecutive weeks at #1 on Hot
Modern Rock Tracks
ALL MY LIFE:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
■ Written by: Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins,
Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett
■ Performed by: The Foo Fighters
■ Produced by: Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters
and Nick Raskulinecz
■ Genre: Alternative Rock, Post-Grunge,
Hard Rock
■ Length: 4:24
ALL MY LIFE:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Section Time

Section 1 - Intro 0:00-0:46

Section 2 – Verse 1 0:47-1:11

Section 3 - Chorus 1:12-1:37
Section 4 – Verse 2 1:38-2:03

Section 5 - Chorus 2:04-2:29

Section 6 - Bridge 2:30-3:49

Section 7 – Chorus 3:50-4:14

Section 8 - Outro 4:15-4:24

ALL MY LIFE:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 1 Section 2
■ Distorted guitar ■ Whole band
playing triplet including vocals
notes are in full swing at
this point
■ Add vocals
■ Very heavy on the
■ Full band joins in
guitars and
at 0:35 mark
drums.
■ Vocalist is now
singing loud.
ALL MY LIFE:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 3 Section 4
■ Lots of cymbal ■ Distinguishable
usage by difference
drummer between lead and
rhythm guitarists
■ Very loud and
drawn out vocals ■ Use of effects on
guitars and vocals
■ Distorted guitars
ALL MY LIFE:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 5 Section 6
■ Lots of cymbal ■ Bridge
usage by
■ Repeat of triplets
drummer
from the intro for
■ Very loud and the whole bridge
drawn out vocals
■ At first, we hear
■ Distorted guitars just guitar, then
guitar and vocals
and then another
guitar on top
ALL MY LIFE:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 7 Section 8
■ Lots of cymbal ■ Outro
usage by
■ Vocals on par with
drummer
instruments as far
■ Very loud and as volume
drawn out vocals
■ Shortest section
■ Distorted guitars of the song,
incorporates
entire band
THE PRETENDER:
Foo Fighters Composition History

■ Written by: Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett
■ Performed by: The Foo Fighters
■ Produced by: Gil Norton
■ Genre: Hard Rock
THE PRETENDER:
Foo Fighters Composition History

■ Length: 4:29
■ Release Date: August 21, 2007
■ Featured on album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace

■ The album this song was featured on would be nominated for a Grammy for Record
of the Year
THE PRETENDER:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Section Time

Section 1 – Intro 0:00-0:58

Section 2 – Pre Verse 0:59-1:08
Section 3 – Verse 1 1:09-1:21
Section 4 – Chorus 1:22-1:45
Section 5- Pre Verse 2 1:46-1:59
Section 6- Verse 2 2:00-2:13
Section 7- Chorus 2 2:14-2:35
Section 8: Bridge 2:36-3:27
Section 9: Chorus 3:28-4:14
Section 10: Outro 4:15-4:29
THE PRETENDER:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 1 Section 2
■ Higher pitched, solo guitar opens song ■ Established loud nature of song
with soft and melodic tune
■ Intro builds into pre-verse, which builds
■ Repeats throughout intro into the verse.
■ After first repetition, vocalist joins in ■ All instruments now in full effect
singing softly to match guitar
■ Drum tempo changes to 172, began at
■ After 4 measures, snare drum in 8th 86
notes come in, song gets louder
■ Distinguishable lead and rhythm guitars
■ Distorted guitars, vocalist louder
THE PRETENDER:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 3 Section 4
■ Palm muted, distorted rhythm guitar ■ Strong usage of cymbals by drummer
sets tone
■ A lot going on as far as instruments, but
■ Still able to make out lead guitar playing still easy to dissect what’s doing what
high notes, similar to first two sections
■ Vocals are very loud here in order to
but not exact
match the rest of the music
■ Leads directly into chorus
THE PRETENDER:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 5 Section 6
■ Pre-verse two is started with snare ■ Palm muted, distorted rhythm guitar
drummer playing in 8th notes again sets tone
■ Unlike the intro, here we have the snare ■ Still able to make out lead guitar playing
and guitar playing instead of just a solo high notes, similar to first two sections
guitar but not exact
■ Drum tempo changes to 172, began at ■ Leads directly into chorus
86
■ Distinguishable lead and rhythm guitars
THE PRETENDER:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 7
■ 2nd repetition of chorus
■ Strong usage of cymbals by drummer
■ Multiple guitars playing different parts
■ Vocals loud to match the rest of the
band
Section 8
■ Fade out of the chorus into the bridge
■ Very cool transition from entire band playing to
just the guitarist, similar to how the song opened.
■ After 2 playthroughs of the solo guitar riff in the
bridge, we get another guitar, vocalists and the
drummer making quarter beats with his bass
drum.
■ Rest of band joins loudly, then stops, and we hear
the intro riff play us out of the bridge
THE PRETENDER:
Foo Fighters Composition History
Listening Guide
Section 9
■ 3rd repetition of chorus
■ Strong usage of cymbals by drummer
■ Multiple guitars playing different parts
Section 10
■ Loud/aggressive outro completely contrasts the
soft melodic intro
■ Also contrasting the intro, we have the whole band
playing rather than just a solo guitar

■ Vocals loud to match the rest of the

band
■ This chorus is changes form to prepare
for outro by having a second theme play
in background starting at 3:50
BRIDGE BURNING:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
■ Recorded between September 6-
December 21, 2010
■ Released on June 5, 2012
■ Featured on album Wasting Light
■ Written by Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins,
Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear
■ Produced by Butch Vig
BRIDGE BURNING:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
■ Genre: Post-Grunge, Hard Rock
■ Length of song: 4:46
■ Reached US Hot Rock Song Billboard top
100 at 74 in 2012
BRIDGE BURNING:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
Section Time

Section 1: Intro – 0:00-0:33

Section 2: Pre Verse - 0:34-0:45
Section 3: Verse 1- 0:46-1:30
Section 4: Pre Chorus 1:31-1:41
Section 5: Chorus 1:42-2:15
Section 6: Verse 2 - 2:16-2:37
Section 7: Pre Chorus 2:38-2:49
Section 8: Chorus 2:50-3:17
Section 9: Bridge 3:18-3:42
Section 10: Chorus 3:43-4:33
Section 11: Outro: 4:34-4:46
BRIDGE BURNING:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
Section 1 Section 2
■ Single distorted guitar ■ Band stops and we
playing triplet notes not have only the
begins the song
vocals and guitar
■ Second guitar comes for brief moment
in 12 seconds in
■ Once pre verse
■ Third guitar comes in begins, entire band
at 18 seconds
is now playing
■ Drums come in at 24
seconds
BRIDGE BURNING:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
Section 3 Section 4 Section 5
■ Much more toned ■ Drummer again ■ 1st play through
down compared shifts beat to of the chorus
to intro and pre prepare for the
verse chorus ■ Loud and follows
a similar form to
■ Guitars and bass ■ Music overall the rest of the
both very distinct
gets louder to song
and noticeable
shift into the
sounds
chorus
■ Drummer
changes drum
pattern after 3
repetitions of his
initial beat in the
verse
BRIDGE BURNING:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
Section 6 Section 7 Section 8
■ Drummer once ■ Drummer again ■ 2nd play through
again shifts shifts beat to of the chorus
pattern but after prepare for the
one cycle instead chorus ■ Loud and follows
of three this time a similar form to
■ Music overall the rest of the
gets louder to song
shift into the
chorus
BRIDGE BURNING:
Foo Fighters Composition
History
Section 9 Section 10 Section 11
■ All guitars doing ■ 3rd and final ■ One of the same
something playthrough of guitar parts we
different chorus heard in the
intro plays the
■ Follows similar ■ Final play
form that the
outro also
through adds
chorus ended
some new
with
elements to the
form of the song
■ Music overall
gets louder to
shift into the
chorus
References
■ "Foo Fighters." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 4 Feb. 2019. Web. 6 Feb. 2019.
■ “Foo Fighters Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, Advameg, Inc.,
www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-Ei-La/Foo-Fighters.html.
■ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. “Foo Fighters | Album Discography.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/foo-fighters-
mn0000184043/discography.
■ Fletcher, Ian. “Under the Influence: the Bands and Movements That Defined Foo Fighters' Sound.” Loudersound,
Louder Together We're Louder, 8 May 2018, www.loudersound.com/features/under-the-influence-the-bands-and-
movements-that-defined-foo-fighters-sound.
■ “Discover Who Influenced Foo Fighters.” Run-D.M.C.'s Biggest Music Influences, inflooenz.com/?artist=foo fighters.
■ “File:Foo Fighters - Bridge Burning - Cover Art.jpg.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Sept. 2017,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_Burning#/media/File:Foo_Fighters_-_Bridge_Burning_-_cover_art.jpg.
■ Motivation, Metal. “Metal Motivation - Foo Fighters - ‘The Pretender.’” We Are Superior Men, 20 Jan. 2019,
www.wearesuperiormen.com/metal-motivation-foo-fighters-the-pretender/.
■ Wikipedia contributors. "All My Life (Foo Fighters song)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia, 12 Mar. 2019. Web. 12 Mar. 2019.
■ Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/morghangibson/dave-grohl-quotes/?lp=true.

■ “Foo Fighters.” IMVDb, imvdb.com/n/foo-fighters.