An open letter to Dave Grohl
I've been thinking about doing this for a while and I finally said to myself: "Screw it, Grohl will more than likely never even see it, but at least it may spark some discussion and debate for the rest of us." That's what this piece is meant to do. Spark discussion. There are gonna be dudes responding: "That's not exactly what Grohl said.” They may not be exact quotes but we all get the gist. We know what's been said and alluded too. And if Dave Grohl himself wants to counterpoint. Please do. We would love it...
Here's the thing. Guys who are into rock music, metal, punk, stoner and all of the related genres have seen these articles and statements that Dave has put out that say shit like: "Pop music today sucks!” Ok Dave, I agree. He also says things like "American Idol is bullshit!” I would also agree, but at times it can be entertaining TV. But here's the part that chaps my ass a bit. Mr. Grohl has said things like: "Well, what happened to just jamming in the garage with a bunch of friends?” It seems he believes that once the grunge era faded that music ended and there's no one out there playing instruments any more. As if everyone else in the world is programming this fake pop puke. Do I like the state of pop today? HELL NO! But I also know the truth. And this truth is that real music has gone underground again. The musical landscape as we once knew it no longer exists. It has morphed due to technology. For better or for worse, it's a fact. But the music is there Dave. You just need to know where to look for it. There are endless blogs, sites, small labels and the like out there. The fanzines of our day have morphed into blogs and there are probably hundreds of thousands more
Sub Pops out there on
Bandcamp and everywhere else than ever before. Did I like being able to put my demo in a store like
Bleeker Bobs back in the day? Of course I did. Did the band l was in love getting that lone letter from a skater kid in Texas saying he loved the tape and all the while wondering how he got a hold of it? Hell yeah. But that shit still exists. Just in a different wrapper. Dude, I get it. Life is a bit faster, more complicated and different today. There is more manufactured music than ever before. I catch myself yearning for past days at times. But the true artist will always be around. We're here Dave! Yo, over here! Start digging bro. The bands are around. There's a poster hanging in the bathroom of my shitty day job. It says, ‘The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change and a leader adjusts the sail’. Maybe you can adjust the sails? If you don't like the way things are going, start a label, take some good bands on tour with the Foos, reach out to musicians and start your own blog. Logistically I know this shit is a lot easier to say than do. Especially when the machine keeps keepin’ on. But hey, it's just my own two cent rant about the state of music today…
Sincerely, Charlie Tooth
Just a small side note to prove there are young thinkers out there who like rock music. My son sings in his room a lot (not in a band right now). He's into Priest, Cradle of Filth, various metal and black metal groups. His voice is actually pretty good. So, the TV show The Voice came to Philly the other weekend. My wife said to my son. "Why don't you try out for the voice?” My eighteen year old son response? "Mom, even if my voice is good enough, they don't want someone like me. They want a product…"