A post on Reddit’s AITA subforum brought up a compelling debate about how people approach the mental health of others. As friends, coworkers and family members of people with mental health issues, how far is too far when it comes to accommodating their unique needs and requests?
It all started when a person with the username GlumDemand, 30, went with his girlfriend Alex, 27, to a friend’s pool party and barbecue. Also attending that party was their friend, Christine, 37, who had recently had a child and was struggling with postpartum depression. She hoped that attending the party would help to “lighten her mood.”
Postpartum depression happens to some women after giving birth and can cause mood swings, a loss of appetite, low energy and feelings of inadequacy. In severe cases, it can lead to major depression or postpartum psychosis.
In Christine’s situation, the depression led to a bad case of body dysmorphia. People with body dysmorphia become obsessed with the perceived flaws in their bodies and it can cause unbearable feelings of insecurity. This can happen to women after they give birth because of the tremendous changes in their bodies.
All this came to a head at the party when Christina became triggered after seeing Alex’s body in a swimsuit.
“My girlfriend Alex … is a model/influencer, and as you can imagine she’s very beautiful, this is important,” GlumDemand wrote. “Everyone at the party is wearing some form of swimming gear, all of the guys are wearing trunks and tank tops or Hawaiian shirts, and the women are wearing bikinis or swimsuits. Alex stole the show. However, she didn’t wear anything too revealing or inappropriate, but it did turn heads.”
A mutual friend told GlumDemand that Christine was getting “upset” by Alex’s appearance and wanted to know if he could ask her to cover up a bit because it triggered her body dysmorphia.
“I was confused but I said okay, I talked to Alex and she said that while she understood she didn’t understand why she had to cover up for the sake of someone else’s feelings,” GlumDemand wrote. “Needless to say she didn’t do it.”
Two hours later, Christine left the party.
GlumDemand reached out to the Reddit AITA community to ask if he and Alex were in the wrong because she didn’t want to cover up. The responders overwhelmingly took their side in the situation.
“Having had PPD and BD, I sympathize. But I just avoided situations like this prior to therapy, and now have had enough therapy to deal. My mental health issues aren’t my fault, but they’re my responsibility,” Relevant-Ad6288 wrote.
“I love that line ‘my mental health issues aren’t my fault, but they’re my responsibility’ amazing, I hope it’s ok to use it?” QuietlyFierce wrote in agreement.
A Reddit user by the name of a Colo-rectal surgeon posed a hypothetical. “If this were an issue where someone was uncomfortable because they found the appearance of someone else’s body very unappealing, then asking them to cover up would be out of the question,” they wrote. “Someone shouldn’t have to cover up because they look ‘too good.’”
Some thought that Christine was downright rude to put Alex in that position.
“It’s already not ok for Christine to ask someone to change their clothes for her comfort; it’s doubly wrong to make Alex feel like her body is the problem,” wrote lefrench75.
Few people thought the original poster and Alex were in the wrong. But those who did questioned whether they were good friends. “Would it have been that hard to cover up to help someone out?” Lord_Buff74 asked. “You don’t have to, and you can choose to be vain and selfish.”
“I would never try to do anything that would upset someone I consider a friend. If you said ‘a stranger at a party,’ I would be like yeah, it’s a little different, but a ‘close friend’? You might think it’s okay, but you probably lost a friend over this,” Kyouji added.
It seems most people agree that even though body dysmorphia isn’t Christine’s fault, it’s her responsibility to manage her issues. It’s also unreasonable for her to ask others to change their appearance. Even though some questioned whether Alex was being considerate of Christine’s feelings, it’s also fair to say that Christine put her in a very uncomfortable position.
Situations surrounding mental illness can be uncomfortable. The problem probably could have been resolved more compassionately if Christine and Alex had the space to discuss their issues so that everyone’s feelings were considered.
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.
Palehound — “My Evil”
Palehound has a one-of-a-kind sound. El Kempner has a way of balancing a sense of beauty with a haunted texture. This idea is reckoned with on their new song “My Evil”: “I waste time with it / Pour wine with it / Bake bread with it / Give head with it,” they sing, like reading off a grocery list, then clarify, “It’s my evil.” No matter how sweet the songs sound, there is a darkness there.
Beach Fossils — Bunny
All of the singles from Bunny, the new record from Beach Fossils, previewed a dreamy, soft album. It’s finally out, and it’s sprawling, moving at its own pace, unhurried. “Numb” floats with hazy guitars and tired vocals, nearing shoegaze territory; “Feel So High” feels like a dizzy spell.
Bully — Lucky For You
Bully’s Lucky For You is a grunge supernova. With infectious hooks and scrappy vocals, Alicia Bognanno captures the bleakness of life and turns it into a sick pop-rock anthem. It’s electrifying off the bat with the soaring “All I Do,” especially in “What A Wonderful Life”: “What a wonderful life. / My hearts breaking on the bathroom floor,” she sings.
Speedy Ortiz — “You S02”
“Scabs” was the first taste of Speedy Ortiz’s forthcoming record Rabbit Rabbit, mixing playful instrumentation with acerbic words to make for a protest anthem. “You S02” operates similarly as Sadie Dupuis quips, “Falling in love with LA / Where the cars cut you off from the right lane.” Dupuis clarified the song is about the occasional time “someone whose work I love(d) reveals themselves to be anti-union, or anti-‘woke,’ or some other gear-grinding ugliness.”
Joanna Sternberg — “People Are Toys To You”
Joanna Sternberg’s new ballad “People Are Toys To You” is predictably heartbreaking. “You said you stayed ‘cause you felt bad for me / How sweet of you to call me charity,” they sing resentfully. “The funny thing is,” Sternberg said about the song, “that Soundcloud Pro’s ‘who is listening’ feature told me the person I wrote this song about listened to it four times when I posted it on Facebook. Oops!”
Spy — Satisfaction
Triple B Records can be trusted with putting out the best hardcore. From Restraining Order to Sunami, the label is stacked. Spy demand attention with this new record, fittingly titled Satisfaction, which can not possibly be louder or faster. The. tumultuous instrumentation blares as noisily as the brutal roars do; it’s a whirlwind of mayhem.
Claud — “Crumbs” & “Wet”
Claud’s new album Supermodels comes out next month. “Crumbs” and “Wet” follow the first single, “Every F*cking Time,” retaining the emotionally vulnerable texture. Both tracks are introspective and intimate: “I’d kill for you I killed for you and I did it for love / ‘Cause the little things are adding up,” they sing on “Crumbs.”
Bloc Party, Kennyhoopla — “Keep It Rolling”
The crossover between Bloc Party and Kennyhoopla was inevitable; Kennyhoopla’s idiosyncratic hits have always been tinged with the influence of their 2006 classic LP Silent Alarm. Their voices mesh well together against the brooding, dynamic instrumentation.
Grian Chatten — “Last Time Every Time Forever”
The Fontaines DC frontman is getting ready for the release of his debut solo album Chaos For The Fly. “All my words / They fail me now / And I have seen it all / And I have no doubt,” he sings on the new single “Last Time Every Time Forever” in an almost nursery rhyme style. The track sparkles with a sense of gloom.
Longings — “Expensive Graves”
“Expensive Graves” by Longings immediately explodes with catchy, heavy riffs that immerse the listener into this powerful sound. The lines are mere fragments, adding to the unsettling texture: “I have this burning inside / A smoldering sound / A forest in my mind / It’s hauntingly clear.”
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.
Palehound — “My Evil”
Palehound has a one-of-a-kind sound. El Kempner has a way of balancing a sense of beauty with a haunted texture. This idea is reckoned with on their new song “My Evil”: “I waste time with it / Pour wine with it / Bake bread with it / Give head with it,” they sing, like reading off a grocery list, then clarify, “It’s my evil.” No matter how sweet the songs sound, there is a darkness there.
Beach Fossils — Bunny
All of the singles from Bunny, the new record from Beach Fossils, previewed a dreamy, soft album. It’s finally out, and it’s sprawling, moving at its own pace, unhurried. “Numb” floats with hazy guitars and tired vocals, nearing shoegaze territory; “Feel So High” feels like a dizzy spell.
Bully — Lucky For You
Bully’s Lucky For You is a grunge supernova. With infectious hooks and scrappy vocals, Alicia Bognanno captures the bleakness of life and turns it into a sick pop-rock anthem. It’s electrifying off the bat with the soaring “All I Do,” especially in “What A Wonderful Life”: “What a wonderful life. / My hearts breaking on the bathroom floor,” she sings.
Speedy Ortiz — “You S02”
“Scabs” was the first taste of Speedy Ortiz’s forthcoming record Rabbit Rabbit, mixing playful instrumentation with acerbic words to make for a protest anthem. “You S02” operates similarly as Sadie Dupuis quips, “Falling in love with LA / Where the cars cut you off from the right lane.” Dupuis clarified the song is about the occasional time “someone whose work I love(d) reveals themselves to be anti-union, or anti-‘woke,’ or some other gear-grinding ugliness.”
Joanna Sternberg — “People Are Toys To You”
Joanna Sternberg’s new ballad “People Are Toys To You” is predictably heartbreaking. “You said you stayed ‘cause you felt bad for me / How sweet of you to call me charity,” they sing resentfully. “The funny thing is,” Sternberg said about the song, “that Soundcloud Pro’s ‘who is listening’ feature told me the person I wrote this song about listened to it four times when I posted it on Facebook. Oops!”
Spy — Satisfaction
Triple B Records can be trusted with putting out the best hardcore. From Restraining Order to Sunami, the label is stacked. Spy demand attention with this new record, fittingly titled Satisfaction, which can not possibly be louder or faster. The. tumultuous instrumentation blares as noisily as the brutal roars do; it’s a whirlwind of mayhem.
Claud — “Crumbs” & “Wet”
Claud’s new album Supermodels comes out next month. “Crumbs” and “Wet” follow the first single, “Every F*cking Time,” retaining the emotionally vulnerable texture. Both tracks are introspective and intimate: “I’d kill for you I killed for you and I did it for love / ‘Cause the little things are adding up,” they sing on “Crumbs.”
Bloc Party, Kennyhoopla — “Keep It Rolling”
The crossover between Bloc Party and Kennyhoopla was inevitable; Kennyhoopla’s idiosyncratic hits have always been tinged with the influence of their 2006 classic LP Silent Alarm. Their voices mesh well together against the brooding, dynamic instrumentation.
Grian Chatten — “Last Time Every Time Forever”
The Fontaines DC frontman is getting ready for the release of his debut solo album Chaos For The Fly. “All my words / They fail me now / And I have seen it all / And I have no doubt,” he sings on the new single “Last Time Every Time Forever” in an almost nursery rhyme style. The track sparkles with a sense of gloom.
Longings — “Expensive Graves”
“Expensive Graves” by Longings immediately explodes with catchy, heavy riffs that immerse the listener into this powerful sound. The lines are mere fragments, adding to the unsettling texture: “I have this burning inside / A smoldering sound / A forest in my mind / It’s hauntingly clear.”
By now, most pop culturally obsessed people are familiar with the controversy regarding The Idol, the intentionally controversial new show from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye. The series premiere was as provocative as Cannes reviews indicated, in which Tedros begins to take control of Lily-Rose Depp’s pop star, Jocelyn, during a confusing sex scene. Of course, most critics have only seen one episode thus far, so they’re on the same page as the audience, but I didn’t see as much social media buzz during the premiere as one would expect.
Tesfaye’s performance as Tedros was certainly unsettling, but it doesn’t burn down any barns. I’m admittedly struck by how his character managed to rehearse saying “Hello, Angel” three times in different ways, yet the delivery was the same in all three instances. Was this purposeful? Only Tesfaye knows, but plenty of viewers agree that there’s a standout performer among the cast, and she stole the pilot episode.
That would be K-pop star Jennie Kim of Blackpink. Jennie has been singled out by The New York Times as “the only reason to watch” the show. She portrays a party-time friend of Jocelyn and, more importantly (for the purposes of Jocelyn’s character development), the backup dancer who nails the choreography so well that we get to see her perform as a Jocelyn stand-in. And that particular scene took off on the Internet with this tweet capturing 2 million views over a few days.
Over on YouTube, the full dance has already nabbed over 1.5 million views and counting. A star is further reborn, it seems. And here’s The Hollywood Reporter‘s summation of The Idol‘s combined HBO and Max numbers on Sunday, which are considerably lower:
The Idol, which courted controversy with provocative trailers and was met with mostly negative reviews, drew 913,000 viewers across HBO (for the premiere and three replays) and Max on Sunday — with the majority of that likely coming via streaming on Max.
As THR notes, those HBO numbers will be firmed up on Tuesday at some point, so no conclusions can be drawn as of yet. However, it remains clear that audiences wouldn’t be mad to see a lot more of Jennie, either on The Idol or elsewhere. Fingers crossed.
By now, most pop culturally obsessed people are familiar with the controversy regarding The Idol, the intentionally controversial new show from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye. The series premiere was as provocative as Cannes reviews indicated, in which Tedros begins to take control of Lily-Rose Depp’s pop star, Jocelyn, during a confusing sex scene. Of course, most critics have only seen one episode thus far, so they’re on the same page as the audience, but I didn’t see as much social media buzz during the premiere as one would expect.
Tesfaye’s performance as Tedros was certainly unsettling, but it doesn’t burn down any barns. I’m admittedly struck by how his character managed to rehearse saying “Hello, Angel” three times in different ways, yet the delivery was the same in all three instances. Was this purposeful? Only Tesfaye knows, but plenty of viewers agree that there’s a standout performer among the cast, and she stole the pilot episode.
That would be K-pop star Jennie Kim of Blackpink. Jennie has been singled out by The New York Times as “the only reason to watch” the show. She portrays a party-time friend of Jocelyn and, more importantly (for the purposes of Jocelyn’s character development), the backup dancer who nails the choreography so well that we get to see her perform as a Jocelyn stand-in. And that particular scene took off on the Internet with this tweet capturing 2 million views over a few days.
Over on YouTube, the full dance has already nabbed over 1.5 million views and counting. A star is further reborn, it seems. And here’s The Hollywood Reporter‘s summation of The Idol‘s combined HBO and Max numbers on Sunday, which are considerably lower:
The Idol, which courted controversy with provocative trailers and was met with mostly negative reviews, drew 913,000 viewers across HBO (for the premiere and three replays) and Max on Sunday — with the majority of that likely coming via streaming on Max.
As THR notes, those HBO numbers will be firmed up on Tuesday at some point, so no conclusions can be drawn as of yet. However, it remains clear that audiences wouldn’t be mad to see a lot more of Jennie, either on The Idol or elsewhere. Fingers crossed.
Starting with 2018’s Bumblebee, the Transformers movies began to move away from the hyper-stylized aesthetic of the Michael Bay movies, which had officially wore out their welcome after five films. Bumblebee sought a return to the more classic look of the robots from their early cartoon days, and the latest installment, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, continues that trend as it slams into theaters this week.
Directed by Steven Caple Jr., Rise of the Beasts is getting wildly different reactions from critics. While some are here for the Saturday morning glee and a reverence for the characters that was missing from the Bay films, others called the latest installment “disposable” and blasted Rise of the Beasts for being another CGI mess.
Honestly, this is one of the least convoluted Transformers stories that has been made. I honestly don’t think I could tell you the plot of any of the six other movies except for Bumblebee. (I think the fifth one involved King Arthur? Am I making that up? That really happened?) And it’s obvious Caple Jr. actually likes the Transformers and treats them as actual characters.
The film was directed by Steven Caple Jr., who made “Creed II,” the most prosaic entry in the “Creed” series, and when I say that he has staged “Rise of the Beasts” in a scruffy plain grounded way, I mean that as a (moderate) compliment. The film invites you in. Set in a hip-hop-inflected 1994, it’s got a relatable human story that works, and thanks to a script that actually has sustained bursts of dialogue, the robots felt more real to me as characters than they usually do.
Director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) steps up to the plate nicely, with this massive production representing a major departure from the smaller-scale films he’s previously helmed. (Of course, it helps to have Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg among the producers.) The many, many action sequences are spectacularly conceived and executed, including a car chase on the Williamsburg Bridge that’s probably still tying up downtown traffic.
Rise of the Beasts is a course correction that unites beloved Transformer clans, introduces decent human characters, and spotlights metal-crunching action that’s an upgrade from the nondescript animated slop we’ve been served in Michael Bay’s last few movies. It’s certainly not going to win over the Academy (outside a possible special effects nomination), but director Steven Caple Jr. executes Rise of the Beasts as a get-the-job-done summer crowd-pleaser that makes me feel like a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons again, only on a grander and more exciting scale.
If you’re a fan of Transformers, you are going to like Rise of the Beasts. It’s got everything that makes these movies worth watching and more. If you don’t like Transformers, there are certainly weaknesses to focus on, but the film’s earnestness and passion for its characters attempts to rise above that. Along with a lot of super fun action, of course, which is always good. Either way, it’s just nice to have another Transformers movie that fans can point at and say “Look, it’s possible to do something of merit with these characters,” because Rise of the Beasts is definitely that.
If you don’t want to read scathing reviews about your favorite robots, you might want to turn back because these critics did not hold back their thoughts on sitting through a seventh Transformers film:
Rather than putting in the legwork to make audiences care about the characters, the film only apes the aspects of Marvel’s shared-universe climax that don’t work in isolation: the nondescript, wide-open setting, and the anonymous legion of faceless enemies that might as well be a sea of metallic goop. The live-action Transformers movies have always been hard to look at, but with Bay at the helm, they at least felt like the work of a deranged madman allowed to run wild with a camera and VFX budget for the sake of experimentation. (He’s made plenty of good films outside the Transformers sandbox.) Instead, this time around, the experiment appears to be a studio testing the limits of what technically qualifies as a Transformers film — or a film in general.
While scanning the haphazard, oppressively grey compositions onscreen, one will eventually notice that the Transformers have faces, yet lack expressions. Like the assorted critters of Disney’s unholy photorealistic remakes, no emotion animates these animated creations, a lack of spark unsettling until it turns plain depressing. Every trace of personality has been scrubbed from a series that could once claim the cold consolation of being bizarre in its badness. Even the movies about the hulking, anthropomorphic heaps of space junk require some semblance of a human touch.
It took five screenwriters to come up with this utter nonsense that has all the dramatic intrigue and emotional depth of a “Transformers” Saturday morning cartoon. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” feels like a film that is at war with itself as Caple Jr. tries to balance character work with the profoundly silly Autobot lore, which talents such as Michelle Yeoh dutifully recite (she voices the eagle bot Airazor). Unable to rise above this internal conflict, it’s a film that’s both dull and disposable.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts rolls into theaters on June 9.
If conservatives weren’t up in arms with the Tool’s Maynard James Keenan onstage wardrobe, then this fall, they are in for a world of emotional hurt. The singer and all of his performance drag glory will be traveling the world beginning in September along with his Tool bandmates for their fall 2023 North American tour.
Kicking off the 28-date run, the “Ænema” musicians will take the stage at the Louder Than Life Festival on September 22 in Lousiville, Kentucky. Between solo dates, the rockers will appear at several music festivals, including Aftershock and Power Trip. The group was sure to keep their Canadian fans in mind during this tour run. Tool will play multiple dates in the country for the first time since 2019.
As an added bonus, the band will offer a limited number of VIP packages, including premium tickets, sound check access, and exclusive merchandise. To view Tool’s fall 2023 North American tour dates, continue below.
Tool’s members-only presale starts on Thursday, June 8, at 10 a.m. local time. While the general public ticket sale will begin on Friday, June 9. Find more information here.
09/22 — Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life Festival
10/03 — Loveland, CO @ Budweiser Events Center
10/06 — Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
10/08 — Indio, CA @ Power Trip
10/11 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
10/12 — Idaho Falls, ID @ Mountain America Center
10/14 — Nampa, ID @ Ford Idaho Center
10/15 — Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
10/17 — Eugene, OR @ Matthew Knight Center
10/19 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
10/20 — Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
10/22 — Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place Arena
10/23 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
10/27 — Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
10/29 — Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Center
10/31 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
11/01 — Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
11/03 — Knoxville, TN @ Thompson-Boling Arena
11/04 — Charleston, WV @ Charleston Coliseum
11/06 — Rochester, NY @ Blue Cross Arena
11/07 — Allentown, PA @ PPL Center
11/10 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
11/13 — Manchester, NH @ SNHU Arena
11/15 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
11/16 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
11/19 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Center
11/20 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
11/21 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
Insomniac Spider-Man from the video games? He’s in there. Web-Slinger, a.k.a. Cowboy Spider-Man? You better believe it. Spider-Popsicle? That’s right. We won’t be able to count them all until Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is on streaming, but one of the more obvious cameos was Donald Glover, not as Spider-Man, but as the human version of Miles Morales’ uncle, Aaron. It was a fun nod to the actor’s role in the MCU’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as the #donald4spiderman campaign that made it all the way to Community.
“It was shot at a studio in New York,” co-director Kemp Powers told Variety about how the Glover scene came together. “Chris Miller flew to be there in person, and Phil Lord and I were on the video feed giving direction. We got it in at the 11th hour. As a matter of fact, even in audience preview screenings, it was a little cardboard cutout of Donald Glover.”
Co-director Joaquim Dos Santos added, “We knew it was still going to land, though, because the idea of it still got people geeked. That’s when you know you have something.”
Jenny Lewis did a recent interview with Rolling Stone ahead of her next solo album, Joy’All. During it, she spoke about everything from the record’s creation to touring with Harry Styles.
Lewis also was asked about her thoughts on heading out for The Postal Service’s upcoming anniversary tour — and if a Rilo Kiley reunion would ever happen. Fans might have a little more hope based on her answer.
“I’m open to it, for sure,” she responded. “It just has to be the right alchemy and the right timing. I think we owe it to each other to play those songs again, because that’s the magic of being in a band. It’s just the four people in a room and the energy that creates.”
In 2020, Rilo Kiley released their rare 1999 self-titled album on streaming services, giving all fans a chance to hear the songs.
She added her thoughts on where Rilo Kiley might fit in on the current state of the festival circuit.
“I mean, I don’t think we’d be headlining,” Lewis noted. “Maybe seven years ago. Not at Coachella now. We’d probably be on the second stage… The first couple years of Coachella, I was there. I played eight of them over the years, and the last time I went was for Sunday Service.”
“By [2019], the festival had shifted,” she continued. “It was all LED screens. You’re like, ‘Whoa. This is where I saw Leonard Cohen play and Jimmy Eat World. [Now] it’s Ariana Grande,’ which is great and fun, but it’s a different festival. Is there an older person’s festival that my bands would play at?”
Joy’All is out 6/9 via Blue Note/Capitol Records. Find more information here.
Are those people correct? Before I attempt to answer that question, let’s review the three tiers of Foo Fighters albums.
Now, these tiers have been determined by me, and my assessments of each record’s merits is obviously subjective. However, I would argue that these tiers are very close to being objectively true, as Foo Fighters are a band in which the good work is extremely well delineated from the decent and mediocre work. (Obvious opposite examples are bands like The National, Spoon and Yo La Tengo that have four or five albums that could be credibly classified as “best.” Foo Fighters have three at the most, and probably only two and possibly just one.)
Here are the Foo tiers, with the corresponding albums listed in chronological order:
TIER 1 FOOS
Foo Fighters (1995) The Colour And The Shape (1997) There Is Nothing Left To Lose (1999)
TIER 2 FOOS
One By One (2002) In Your Honor (2005) Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007) Wasting Light (2011)
TIER 3 FOOS
Sonic Highways (2014) Concrete And Gold (2017) Medicine At Midnight (2021)
Two notes about these tiers. One, Wasting Light almost went into Tier 1, so while I listed the albums within each tier chronologically that one should, in terms of quality, be put at the very top of Tier 2. (Or perhaps on an island between Tiers 1 and 2.)
Two, I am obviously making the case that each era of the Foos — late ’90s, the aughts and early ’10, and the ’10s into the early ’20s — is slightly worse than the one that preceded it. I suspect a contingent of hard-core fans will vehemently disagree with this, and accuse me of constructing the tiers in the laziest fashion imaginable. But I can defend the tiers by explaining how I see the arc of the Foo Fighters’ career — and why But Here We Are bucks the trend and belongs with the band’s best work in Tier 1.
When I look at the albums in Tier 1, there are all, in some sense, reboot records. Foo Fighters is a reboot from Nirvana. This is hard to remember now, but Dave Grohl was the least famous person coming out of that band — at the time Krist Novoselic was Kurt Cobain’s acknowledged sidekick, and Pat Smear already had a pedigree with The Germs. And there was also very little precedent for a drummer who heretofore did not sing lead or contribute much in the way of songs to his previous band establishing a meaningful solo career. That Foo Fighters sounds relatively low-key and unassuming compared with the later albums is not incidental. While the debut became a surprise hit, it doesn’t seem like it was made to be a hit. That’s a big part of its charm.
With The Colour And The Shape, Foo Fighters rebooted again, this time from a one-man side project to a full-on alt-rock juggernaut. Then, with There Is Nothing Left To Lose, there was yet another reboot, this time as a pared-back three-person lineup. (Grohl was also reeling from a recent divorce.) Both records produced deathless radio singles, but they were also melancholy and introspective. Dave Grohl hadn’t developed his “Mayor Of Rock” persona yet, because his band wasn’t stable enough for him to have that kind of confidence. Instead, the vibe of the Foos was very much captured by the title of their third record. Grohl’s professional life by then had already been rocked by the shocking death of a bandmate, so he responded like a man playing with house money. There really was nothing left to lose.
In the aughts and beyond, however, Foo Fighters settled into being one of the world’s preeminent stadium-conquering bands. And Grohl gradually became preoccupied with “representing” rock music as best he could at the center of culture. Their music grew broader, more bombastic and bludgeoning, and less melodic. In time, the albums started to blend together. They felt like adjuncts to other projects: concert tours, HBO TV shows, comedic horror movies, best-selling memoirs. But because Foo Fighters were very successful at being this version of Foo Fighters, there was little reason to think it would ever change.
Enter But Here We Are, their first reboot album since There Is Nothing Left To Lose, and the only Foo Fighters record made under more trying circumstances than the self-titled debut. Here’s where I’ll join my fellow critics in praising it as their best work since the late ’90s. I’m a little concerned about overstating how good this album is because I’m frankly shocked by how much I like it, given my indifference toward the Foos’ work over the past dozen or so years. But I think it deserves the accolades.
Going in to But Here We Are, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Clearly the loss of Hawkins was going to be a focal point, but there was little reason to expect that Grohl would be forthcoming about his feelings. For a guy who made a documentary series and wrote a book covering portions of his personal background, Grohl has tended to be guarded as a public figure. He lets us know what he wants us to know, and very little else. We know he’s a likable and charming guy, but that public image is only skin deep. That might very well be a defense mechanism for one of the world’s most famous rock stars who now is adjacent to two of the most infamous rock-star deaths of the last 30 years. But it has sometimes made his music feel more like collections of “rock song” signifiers than personal expressions.
However, this new album, obviously, is very personal. It’s natural to put But Here We Are under the same microscope that critics put Foo Fighters after Kurt Cobain’s passing. Only this time, you barely have to squint to notice lyrical allusions to Hawkins. “I’m just waiting to be rescued / bring me back to life,” Grohl sings in the chorus of the opening track, “Rescued.” On the second song, “Under You,” he’s even more direct: “Someone said I’ll never see your face again / Part of me just can’t believe it’s true / Pictures of us sharing songs and cigarettes / This is how I’ll always picture you.”
It’s not just that Grohl writes about Hawkins with unusual (for him) candidness. It’s how he writes about him. When I found myself feeling more moved than I expected by But Here We Are, I noticed it was because these songs of grief are written like they’re about romantic breakups. “I gave you my heart / but here we are,” he hollers on the title track, effectively delivering one of those classically insistent, do-or-die Foo Fighters choruses. On the album’s best cut, “The Glass,” Grohl sighs over a power-pop bounce, “I found a version of love, and just like that / I was left to live without it.” Later on the song “Nothing At All,” over a quasi-new wave reggae rhythm that evokes The Police, he says that this love has “put me into your locket / and pulled me off of the ledge.” You realize by the end of the album that Grohl isn’t merely singing about a bandmate, he’s mourning a soulmate. And that raises the stakes. In the heartbreaking album closer “Rest,” he envisions a reunion fit for the love of your life: “In the warm Virginia sun, there I will find you.”
This emotional resonance is the obvious selling point for But Here We Are. But the album’s secret weapon is the music, which offers an unexpectedly breezy counterpoint to the heavy lyrics. In a pre-release statement, the band likened the album to the homey 1995 self-titled LP. But I think it more closely resembles their most melodic and Beatlesque record, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, which perhaps not coincidentally is the album where Grohl and Hawkins sealed their bond as the band’s core. You hear the moody, jangly beauty of Lose most clearly on “Show Me How,” which includes a harmony vocal by Grohl’s daughter Violet that sounds almost identical to Phoebe Bridgers. (I actually assumed it was Bridgers during the first few listens, given that Bridgers seems to guest on every big album these days.)
The miracle of But Here We Are is that while it’s the Foo Fighters record made under the most duress, it’s also the rare instance where Dave Grohl isn’t trying too hard to make something “more” or “bigger” than just another Foo Fighters album. Even “The Teacher,” the penultimate 10-minute epic that’s really five or six tracks squeezed into one, doesn’t aim for mythic status as a world-changing face-melter. It just sounds like a guy working through one of the worst times of his life. It’s Dave, for once, showing us how hard it is to be Dave. And while it’s sad, it’s also refreshingly down-to-earth and human.
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