2012 Grammy Awards: Dave Grohl on Musical Creation

Last night music fans around the world celebrated the 54th Grammy Awards.  Together, we witnessed a dazzling Coldplay/Rihanna duet, a heart-warming cover of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" preformed by Jennifer Hudson, and a mask on Lady Gaga's face too closely resembling a Waffle Maker imprint.  However, what I found most interesting was not the host's presence (LL Cool J) or who won Best Album (Adele), but rather the words of Dave Grohl.

Grohl, front man of Foo Fighters and former drummer of Nirvana, took the stage shortly after the band's first performance to receive the Grammy for Best Rock Album.  With his four other bandmates and record producer behind him, Grohl approached the microphone with the award in hand.  Grohl went into how special their newest album, Wasting Light, was to the band because they did not rent out a fancy studio and opted to record the album in his garage with a tape machine.  Harking back to his grunge days in Nirvana, Grohl seemed to be paying tribute to the late Kurt Cobain with that comment and the crowd responded well.  However, it was the quick jab the Foo Fighters lead singer tossed out at the end of his speech that caused the "Big Dogs" running the Grammys to transition away from Grohl.  After the traditional thank you's every artist gives out to family, record labels, fans, and so on, Grohl dropped a decent sized bomb on why the award was so special in this musical age:

"This award means a lot, because it shows that the human element of making music is what is most important.  Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft; that's the most important thing for people to do... It's not about being perfect, it's not about sounding absolutely correct, it's not about what goes on in a computer... It's about what goes on in here (points to heart) and what goes on in here (points to head)."

Woooaaaah!  Sounds to me like little Davey Grohl and his gang of rockers are going out late at night and tee-peeing the house of the electronic music kid in the class.  It comes as no surprise to anyone that electronic music is breaking through to the mainstream music scene.  Electronic DJs such as David Guetta, DeadMau5 (pronounced Dead Mouse), and Skrillex (nominated for Best New Artist) were in attendance and preforming at last night's Grammy Awards.  It should also come to no surprise that certain musicians and music fans do not approve of the new electronic sound.  The fact that vocals, guitars, drums, and other human-played instruments (for lack of a better term) do not need to be in a song to make it a song can frustrate people.  What does surprise me, though, is how Dave Grohl vocalized his disdain for the genre on music's biggest stage.  I mean, how many musicians in that room have been involved with making a song composed of electronic rhythms, ninety percent?  There was some applause as the transition music came on, but it was pretty obvious Grohl had laid a rotten egg on the party.  As soon as Grohl finished, those editing the awards night quickly flipped the switch to the music before commercials.  The transition song, you ask?  Party Rock Anthem by the popular electronic/party band, LMFAO.  I took this as a very funny way of those running the Grammys telling Grohl, "Hey, this is what the kids are into, get off the goddamned stage."

Now, the quote by itself is badass.  While I dabble with bits and pieces of the electronic scene, I have always taken traditional music with actual instrumentation as my first pick.  Also, I have had an extreme interest in the Foo Fighters for a number of years and Nirvana was my gateway drug to alternative/punk music, so I was listening to one of my idols speak, as well.  Grohl was up there defending the music he likes to create.  If I could guess, I am sure he felt slightly out numbered when he showed up to the Grammys and saw less and less instrumentation over the years; I am sure it freaked him out.  I was thinking of an entire list of ligament reasons to defend someone as legendary as Dave Grohl, but then I saw Foo Fighters second performance of the night... a split show with DeadMau5.

WHAT?!?  Make up your mind, Dave!  Was this not the guy who was accepting a Grammy on stage and bashing computer made music?  Did Dave Grohl not tell the audience to go with feelings of the heart and mind over a perfectly produced, perfectly recorded album?  This guy either has no clue what he just said, loves going back on his word, or received a handsome reward from the Grammy Academy to do the song with DeadMau5, squashing any and all future problems relating the prior comment.  It was literally one of the craziest moments I have ever scene.  Grohl went from sounding like the most anti-electronic musician ever to standing on stage with and preforming with an electronic DJ...talk about your all-time backfires.

So, what happened?  Personally, I think Foo Fighters were going to play with DeadMau5 to end the show regardless.  This split between the top rockers and one of the top DJs of the modern day was a great way to gain viewership, but I believe what Grohl dropped at the podium came as a shock to those in the stands and watching on the monitors.  Grohl's words were honest, but intense; suggesting those involved with the electronic scene focus too much on perfection and production, rather than the heart and mind.  What do you guys think?  Do you respect Grohl for saying what he did?  Do you think he's a close-minded old man?  Do you think he and the rest of the Foo Fighters are crazy for bashing a scene they later preformed with?  Let's get the conversation flowing, I'd love to argue with all of you.

Check out Dave Grohl's musical rant upon winning Best Rock Album at last night's Grammy Awards: