Dave Grohl is one of the foremost musicians in memories of my high school era. Having graduated in 2000, grunge and punk rock were the soundtracks to the lives of my very rebellious punk and goth friends. Grohl’s work in bands like Scream, Queens of the Stone Age, and of course Nirvana and Foo Fighters were common in the multi-disc CD players we had in our cars. But there is so much more to this rock legend than his songwriting and skill.
Storyteller is Dave Grohl’s memoir of over 35 years in the music industry. Recounting amazing moments of rubbing elbows with his music heroes (and mine!!) as well as the more traumatic moments like the death of Kurt Cobain, this book shares behind the scenes details you may never have heard before. Written from the wisdom of a dad watching his daughters follow in his footsteps, this book is all about the legacy we leave behind when the work is done.
I give Storyteller 5 out of 5 stars. This book surprised me in many ways. I chose the audiobook version, so I was excited to find Grohl reads his own words here. Hearing his voice talking about his girls or his bandmates was a unique experience! It was also interesting to hear his as a proud parent talking about his daughters – Grohl will forever be a hardcore rocker in my mind, not a typical dad figure. I enjoyed hearing Grohl discuss the struggles he and his bandmates experienced, showing it’s not all glamorous. It was also quite emotional to hear him recount his time with Cobain. He later discusses a memorial concert for George Harrison in which Harrison’s Beatles bandmates paid tribute – there are so many parallels between Grohl’s feelings after Cobain’s death and those the Beatles shared at that tribute. This raw emotionality and transparency about crimes like DUI and drug use seem to validate the truth of his stories.
I would recommend this memoir to the Nirvana and Foo Fighters fans among us – the behind-the-scenes details Grohl shares are fascinating. I would also make this mandatory reading for any teens out there looking to break in to the industry – this gives an honest look at what it’s like on the road with very little cash and options. With themes of drug use and other questionable activities, this book would be best directed to audiences over the age of 16.
I chose Storyteller as my October autobiography or memoir. I’ve been wanting to read this one for quite a while, but needed an audio book for the category this month (I’m out of days to read print books this month). I noticed this in the Audible catalogue and jumped at the chance to listen to it when I realized Grohl narrates the book! This book felt like a trip down memory lane for me – I can remember exactly where I was when I heard Grohl’s work for the first time. If you are up for a walk down a 1990’s memory lane, this is book for you!
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman
- Current audio book: John Marshall, Harlow Giles Unger
- Book I’m most looking forward to: The Rules of Magic, Alice Hoffman
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