Worst Music-R Article I've Read in a Long Time

willie_fugal · June 2010

Buried deep in my new book, ???Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life,??? is the following footnote: Let me add for the record here ???- knowing it to be a mortal sin against Rock Critic Dogma ???- that I consider Dave Grohl a more talented musician than Kurt Cobain.

I issued this declaration mostly to enrage rock critics, a self-important and generally humorless lot, who spend their days sitting in judgment of artists that, deep down, they wish they could be. I myself am a former rock critic.

What???s more, the practice of ranking musicians, or forcing them to compete against each other, is a pretty bogus exercise, given that listening to music is a totally subjective experience. Everyone has a different set of ears, and a different set of needs.

All that being said, I will now (stupidly) elaborate.

Ahem.

To begin: Kurt Cobain was a fantastic musician. He wrote several of the most beautiful and tortured songs in the modern rock songbook. He was clearly the seminal figure in the grunge movement of the early-???90s. He composed and performed with great authenticity, which is why so many of his tunes have become touchstones.

But Cobain basically wrote two kinds of songs: the angst-ridden anthem (???Smells Like Teen Spirit???) and the angst-ridden ballad (???All Apologies???). As bracing as these songs are ???- particularly if you are an angst-ridden adolescent or post-adolescent -??? they all kind of sound the same.

Dave Grohl, on the other hand, has produced a dazzling body of work over the past two decades. He???s veered from Beatles-style pop confections to propulsive arena rock to all-out speed metal. More recently, his music has included infusions of country, bluegrass, folk and even soul. He???s considered one of the greatest (if not the greatest) drummers alive. He maintains several side projects, and collaborates with everyone from Tenacious D to Slash. [Editor's note: Grohl was also the standout performer at the White House ceremony last night honoring Paul McCartney, playing a blistering cover of Band on the Run]

It???s a testament to Grohl???s chops and his ambition that he emerged from the long, dark shadow of Nirvana at all, and became a rock star in his own right. But I myself never recognized the depth of his talent until I watched him perform live. The occasion was a mini-concert being recorded by Wal-Mart, for a special giveaway DVD. He led his mates through half a dozen scorchers, then sat down at a piano and sang a crushingly beautiful ballad called ???Home.???

I realize Dave Grohl will never be the icon Kurt Cobain was. Cobain, after all, met all the requirements of rock and roll sanctification: he suffered for his art, got addicted to drugs, died too young. I also realize that lots of folks think Cobain was a genius, and adore his songs, and I wouldn???t think to argue with their joy.

But for my money, Dave Grohl is the member of Nirvana who deserves our recognition. He may not gratify our collective Rock Star Mythos, but his music is immensely gratifying.