Dave Grohl’s favourite CBGB album
The sticky floors and sweat-stained walls of New York’s CBGB club was effectively ground zero for the punk rebellion of the 1970s. Producing such legendary bands as Blondie, Talking Heads and the Ramones among countless others. Despite closing its doors for good back in 2006, the club remains prominent in the memory of any punk or rock musicians worth their salt, including one Dave Grohl.
Since rising to prominence as the drummer of grunge icons Nirvana, Grohl has enjoyed a long and illustrious career fronting the Foo Fighters. From his early days in Nirvana, Grohl was the natural ancestor of the punk rock movement. In fact, the grunge scene, in general, was often hailed as a punk revolution for the 1990s generation, something which Nirvana certainly personified.
Since forming Foo Fighters in the years following Kurt Cobain’s suicide and the break-up of Nirvana, Grohl has adopted a sound akin more towards alternative rock and post-grunge. However, Grohl never strayed too far from the punk rock roots that inspired him. However, upon revealing his favourite albums of all time to Melody Maker, the multi-instrumentalist shared his favourite record from the CBGB era, and it was an unexpected choice.
The B-52’s were a truly original outfit, even among the rife non-conformity of the punk and new wave boom. Rising out of the art movement of Athens, Georgia, the group soon found fame in the punk rock scene of New York, particularly in CBGB. Often remembered solely for their kitsch classic ‘Rock Lobster’, The B-52’s were fearlessly individual, splicing together influences of surf rock, doo-wop and the modernism of new wave. Their unique way of operating seemingly endeared them to Dave Grohl, who chose their eponymous debut record as one of his all-time favourites.
“I remember seeing the B-52’s on Saturday Night Live, and this introduced me to the world of weird music,” Grohl revealed. “I was young, my parents were asleep. Songs like ’52 Girls’, ‘Rock Lobster’, of course… they definitely opened up a whole new world to me”. As, indeed, they did for many people.
Although The B-52’s quickly outgrew the confines of New York’s punk rock scene, which quickly devolved into a conformist fashion movement, the group always imbued themselves with a punk spirit. The fierce individualism of frontman Fred Schneider, along with Cindy Wilson, has clearly played a large part in influencing the performance of Dave Grohl in fronting Foo Fighters.
Elsewhere among Grohl’s list of favourites, the songwriter affirmed his appreciation for the scene fostered by CBGB, selecting Bad Brains’ Rock for Light. An iconic group from the hardcore punk rock boom of the 1980s, the H.R.-fronted band helped to keep the CBGB scene alive – though they were distinctly more raucous and raw than the polished art pop of The B-52’s.
