The artist Dave Grohl said taught him how to write songs: “Not from anyone else”
Despite playing a pivotal role in forging the iconic hardcore scene in Washington, DC, Dave Grohl has proudly worn the influence of his forefathers on his sleeve. Whether it was the early impact of The Beatles, the bonafide attitude of AC/DC or the technical brilliance of Neil Peart and Rush, Grohl has been sure to acknowledge the lineage of rock and roll.
It’s partly why he is revered so highly today. For the modern music fan, he is a representation of classic rock’s transition into the modern world, providing safe spaces for the thrusting the devil horns above your head and the sort of headbanging that made the culture of decades past so rich.
As the worlds of hardcore punk and hyper-commercialised pop warred against one another, Dave Grohl and Nirvana carved their own lane of alternative music that showcased a more nuanced sense of melody. While Kurt Cobain is understandably heralded as the figurehead of this sonic movement, Grohl’s personal influence undoubtedly informed the direction of the band.
Grohl’s musical schooling fed off a healthy diet of both Slayer and Abba in equal parts, developing an eclectic tonal palette. But it was when Hüsker Dü emerged in the late 1970s that the myriad of Grohl’s influences were crystallised into one coherent idea. Headed by Bob Mould, they were one of the first bands to fully embrace melodicism and became unsung heroes of the underground alternative scene, for their existence ultimately paved the way for bands now considered godfathers of the scene.
Grohl has consistently gone on record to credit their influence and has done his best to give their 1984 Zen Arcade album a wider sense of acclaim. He once told Mojo, “Their album Zen Arcade is one of the most underrated American rock ‘n’ roll records of all time. And only recently did I realise how much I’ve ripped Bob off for the last 16 years! I met him for the first time last summer and said, ‘You know that I’d be nowhere and nobody without your music, right?’ and he very politely nodded and said, ‘I know.’”
With such obvious admiration, it was only a matter of time before Grohl extended an olive branch of collaboration. On Foo Fighters’ 2011 record Wasting Light, Mould was brought in to lay down some vocal tracks and contribute some guitar parts.
“I was a huge Hüsker Dü fan, and Bob Mould’s music has influenced the way I write music and the way I play guitar,” he told Classic Rock in 2011. “I had this song [Dear Rosemary] that I thought might sound cool if he sang with me on it, call and response, so I texted him and said: ‘Hey, do you want to come down?’ And he did. We weren’t really sure what we were going to do.”
Mould’s contribution to the track is seemingly subtle, but that’s simply due to the direct impact he has on Grohl’s guitar playing and, in particular, the guitar playing on Foo’s songs. Grohl concluded: “I watched him play guitar, and as I watched him do it, I realised that I owe more to Bob Mould than to maybe any other musician. There are specific things he does that I learnt from him, not from anyone else.”
