Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl once again defended the young musicians and rockstars against the claim, ‘rock is dead.’ He talked about Billie Eilish and said she initiated a new rock and roll era with her music.
Iconic rock bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Guns N’ Roses have created a famous cult sound for rock and roll that will always be remembered. Their influence has continued to this day, and they are a source of inspiration for younger musicians. The current rock scene has been shaped with the help of their musical and stylistic rock and roll influence, and perhaps decades later, they will still be remembered as icons.
The claim ‘rock is dead’ was first made by KISS’ Gene Simmons and has received much criticism. One of the musicians that criticized this claim was Dave Grohl. Being in a relatively young band compared to the other leading figures in the industry, he is happy with the point they have reached and appreciates the new generation of music.
Billie Eilish is one of the contemporary young musicians that Grohl admires. During a previous interview, he had compared the young musician to Kurt Cobain and had said that Eilish reminds him of Nirvana. Furthermore, she called her music rock and roll and stressed that she’s a good representative.
Dave Grohl was asked about rock music’s relevance during his recent interview. He repeated that Billie Eilish is a rock and roll musician and has started a revolution and is taking over the world. He mentioned Foo Fighters’ and Billie’s massive fanbases and said that they prove that rock music is very much alive.
Although most of Eilish’s songs are usually considered slightly off the genre, her recent song ‘Happier Than Ever’ received many praiseful comments from the rock and roll community, and it is now considered a part of the genre. In the five-minute song, she starts slow and emotional, and after the first two and a half minutes, the listener hears a poweful rock and roll riff closing the song.
Here are Grohl’s words on rock music’s relevance and Billie Eilish:
“Well, I think you have to define ‘relevant.’ It’s hard for us to say that rock’n’roll is in a rough patch because we get up on stage, and there’ll be thousands of people f*cking going bananas and singing along to our songs.
I can understand how it’s a different game nowadays for younger bands. There are a lot of great young bands that are f*cking killing it and have devoted fan bases. They might not be as popular as Nicki Minaj, but honestly, when I see f*cking Billie Eilish, that’s rock’n’roll to me. She started a revolution and took over the world.”
In this interview, Grohl pointed out that rock and roll are not limited to specific definitions. According to him, making the crowd go ‘bananas’ and singing along to the performer’s songs is rock and roll. Although he understands that the sound of the instruments might not be as important as it used to be, the genre is developing, and Grohl supports this fully.
