Fighting for respect

I got my absentee voter ballot in the mail the other day, and as I was marking my selections, I came across a position with no candidates running. After reflecting for a few minutes, I respectfully wrote in the coolest guy I could think of. So thanks to my vote and the unbelievably small size of the town involved, the new Director of Soil Conservation for the booming metropolis of St. George, South Carolina may well be Dave Grohl--and, dammit, he deserves it!

He'd probably do a good job, too. Everything the man touches turns to gold. Drumming for Nirvana was a surefire way to achieve musical immortality, but as if that weren' t enough, Grohl formed Foo Fighters in 1995, taking centerstage as lead singer/guitarist. Since then, he' s transformed the band into one of the most thunderous on the alt-radio dial. 1997's The Colour and the Shape was an unsung masterpiece, and 1999's There Is Nothing Left to Lose garnered a Grammy for best rock album, fittingly upsetting a washed-up Bon Jovi and the too-soft-for-the-elevator Matchbox 20.

Barring a career change to small-town politics, what can the man do next? Maybe cut another kick-ass album? Good choice.

One By One, his band's newest, is executed in fine Foo Fighter form. The revolving door of lead guitarists finds former-No Need for a Name member Chris Shiflett handling the duties this time around, and his style doesn't stray much from the other two ex-leads (Franz Stahl and Pat Smear). It's the same down-tuned, crushing-riffed, mid-song guitar break formula, and it still works well. Although drumming for Dave Grohl's band is probably a little like handling the sitar duties while Ravi Shankar accompanies on kazoo, Taylor Hawkins beats the bejesus out of the skins in a way that doesn't do a disservice to Grohl's legacy. Dave himself is still exercising his vocal range, volleying between low, brooding ballads and glass-shattering psycho-screamers with enough gravelly rasp to make Kurt Cobain proud. The Foo formula remains intact--but if it ain't broke.

Interestingly enough, it almost was.

The recording session was split in two when Grohl decided to take time off to tour with Queens of the Stone Age. Tension among bandmates had break-up rumors swirling, and the compounded pressure of a Hawkins drug overdose threatened the future of Foo Fighters and One By One.

Fortunately, the in-demand Grohl may have saved the day and the album by temporarily walking away from it. Upon his return, most of the material was rearranged and re-recorded, and Grohl considers the resulting 11 tracks to be their best ever. To humbly disagree, The Colour and the Shape wins that honor, but One By One keeps the Foo Fighter standard high.

Conflict management, effective leadership. Screw soil conservation--Grohl for President!