Of course, Grohl would rather us concentrate on the Foo Fighters than have us discuss the past, but this proves a bit difficult. Each member of the band appears to have some significant history behind him. In addition to guitarists Grohl and Smear’s association with Nirvana, drummer Taylor Hawkins, the band’s most recent addition, spent the better part of the last two years supporting Alanis Morissette. Furthermore, Smear was a founding member of punk pioneers, the Germs. The only baggage-free member seems to be bassist Nate Mendel.

And then there's the music itself. Upon first hearing the low/loud dynamic of the Foo Fighters, the first thing that comes to mind is the similarity between it and the technique that had been employed by Nirvana. Says Grohl, "I'll probably be forever known as ‘that guy who played drums in Nirvana.' You can think of it two ways: Like the kid who was caught masturbating in the bathroom in high school and for the rest of his high school career [he'll be] the kid who was caught masturbating ... Or you can be proud of it. And I'm proud..."

Proud he may well be, however, the same can't necessarily be said for Smear, Grohl's flamboyant sidekick. "The Germs' contribution to history sucks as far as I'm concerned. It's about somebody committing suicide and becoming a legend because of it," he says, referring to lead singer Crash's intentional heroin OD. "[It's] disgusting ... that somebody had to be so sad to become a legend."

Nirvana, the final lineup (Grohl, Smear on right)

So if the Foo Fighters don't want us to dwell on their past why are we doing just that? Well, okay, on that note let's move along. On listening to the Foo Fighters, it quickly becomes clear why the band is so appealing to the masses: They have a great Les Paul-thru-a-Marshall sound; good, solid vocals that alternate between sensitive crooning and blood-curdling screams; and a repertoire of catchy tunes that often start off loud and somehow manage to get even louder by the end of each song.

One odd thing about the Foo Fighters' music, though, if you delve into their lyrics, you may notice that the songs rarely make any sense. At first listen, I thought there was some sort of secret message that, stupid me, I just couldn't seem to grasp. Not so, according to Grohl: "I've come to the conclusion that it's so much more difficult to write lyrics that are meaningless ... I don't want to let everyone else in on my problems or my personal crisis or my misery. They're mine."

Well, all right -- I can accept this. Hell, "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" didn't make a lot of sense and my mom loved that one. Furthermore, a lot of Beatles tunes and Zeppelin tunes are comprised of cryptic, senseless lyrics and nobody ever seemed to pay them much mind either.

Nevertheless, it would be nice if there were a couple of tunes in Grohl's songbook that allowed us to know a little about the man. What can I say, call me old fashioned. If you're gonna print your words on the insertion slip, why not have them say something. Otherwise, you may as well just publish the recipe for beef Wellington or Hungarian goulash -- then at least maybe we'd get a good meal out of the deal.