The group who brought 1979 back to life for Dave Grohl: “Is the band for real?”
For a man who played in a generation-defining band in the form of Nirvana, Dave Grohl didn’t half grow up to be a throwback. The whole idea of rock bands was old hat in 2010, let alone the year this is being written, 2025. To be clear, it’s not that people suddenly don’t like rock music anymore. Olivia Rodrigo became one of the world’s biggest pop stars off the back of singles that sound like Paramore covering The Cars, and Fontaines DC are one of the biggest bands in the UK.
If anything, it’s the impracticality of the act that makes the rock band a dying art form. The idea of spending loads of money getting a band together that you’re probably going to play bass in for a month before everyone loses interest just isn’t viable today. Especially when its cheaper, more commercially viable and artistically fulfilling to learn music production and become a solo artist.
Thus, there’s no real way a rock band can be truly relevant, at least in the way they were in the past. So it makes sense that this era’s defining rock star is arguably Dave Grohl, whose idea of rock stardom is a nostalgic throwback to the 1970s. This is a man whose concerts still make time for extended guitar solos, Marshall amp stacks and setlists that rival prime Bruce Springsteen for length.
So, when in the early 2000s, a band came along who summed up his vibe better than just about anyone, Grohl took one listen and, predictably enough, was hooked.
Which band took Dave Grohl back to 1979?
I’m not making any assumptions here, by the way. Dave Grohl all but said this in a column he wrote for the arts section of The New York Times back in 2004. At the time, there was a recurring column called Playlist where artists would talk about the bands they were listening to at the moment. In fairness to Grohl, he did have the good taste to shout out acts like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and My Morning Jacket—very on the pulse for the time.
His most effusive praise is saved for a band that today is more of a meme than anything else. He begins in typical take-no-prisoners fashion, saying, “Show of hands: who here misses the days of extended guitar solos, striped leotards, falsetto vocals and songs demanding, ‘Get Your Hands off My Woman’? Yeah, me too.” Even if you don’t know the song he’s quoting there, you can probably guess who he’s referring to, just based on the time period.
“The Darkness is here to put that hickey back on your neck, fire up the Camaro and party down at the nearest parking lot like it’s 1979.” Grohl did have the self-awareness to at least ask the question that was on everyone’s mind when The Darkness broke through. He asked, “Is the band for real? Yes. Does it rock? Yes. Is it hard to get around the multiple-octave range that Justin Hawkins is ripping in every song? Well, a little.”
From a purely musical perspective, though, Dave Grohl and his more serious brand of classic rock would have the last laugh. His Foo Fighters would achieve stadium-slaying success not long after the heyday of The Darkness, and would stay there for the next two decades. However, two decades later, The Darkness is little more than a novelty act. For all his talk of wanting rock to throwback to the 1970s, perhaps Grohl does know how to speak to the current day better than we give him credit for.
