Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl Rips, Rebuffs 'Glee'

Dave Grohl don't wanna be "Glee's" monkey wrench. And Ryan Murphy isn't his hero.

Song play on words aside, the Foo Fighters won't be on "Glee" anytime soon.

Grohl, the band's lead singer, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the high school choir dramedy's penchant for using current pop music. He's not a fan of the pressure the show's creator puts on bands to give permission to use their songs.

"It's every band's right, you shouldn't have to do fucking 'Glee,'" Grohl told The Hollywood Reporter. "And then the guy who created 'Glee' is so offended that we're not, like, begging to be on his f**king show... f**k that guy for thinking anybody and everybody should want to do 'Glee.'"

The rocker went on to mention the dispute Murphy and Kings of Leon had earlier in the year; Murphy was upset that the band didn't want their music on the show, and their drummer, Nathan Followill, struck back.

"F--- you, Kings of Leon," Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter in January. "They're self-centered assholes, and they missed the big picture. They missed that a 7-year-old kid can see someone close to their age singing a Kings of Leon song, which will maybe make them want to join a glee club or pick up a musical instrument. It's like, OK, hate on arts education. You can make fun of Glee all you want, but at its heart, what we really do is turn kids on to music."

In response, Followill said, "Dear Ryan Murphy, let it go. See a therapist, get a manicure, buy a new bra. Zip your lip and focus on educating 7yr olds how to say f**k."

Those comments were seen as homophobic by some -- Murphy is openly gay -- and following the criticism, Followill apologized for the words, though not for refusing the show.

Ironically, it was a dispute that "Glee" guest star Gwyneth Paltrow helped mediate, and "Glee" cast members have since been seen at Kings of Leon shows.

Still, it doesn't seem like that's in the cards for the Foo Fighters -- Grohl revealed that he's no fan of the show himself.

"I watched 10 minutes. It's not my thing," he told THR.

For much more on Grohl's dispute with "Glee," click over to The Hollywood Reporter.

Comments

[Patchy]

05:15 PM on 04/08/2011

Didn't think it was possible to love Dave Grohl any more than I already did... then he goes and says something like this. Now I'm madly in love

[BlackJAC]

02:06 PM on 03/21/2011

Dave Grohl never had anything to worry about, as the show's too upbeat to ever use his grunge-derivative stuff that's never going to stand the test of time anyway.  If you don't believe me, hit the bookstore and look in the music biography section: I did this weekend and the closest I came was a Nirvana book...but then again, Nirvana was a trendsetter and Grohl's just trying to wring what little blood is left from that stone.

[leskataus]

03:50 PM on 03/21/2011

I think the music the Foo Fighters do isn't remotely grunge at all. If anything, their music is pop. They don't sound anything like Nirvana at all and the only thing the two bands have in common is having Dave Grohl as a member.

[BlackJAC]

04:17 PM on 03/21/2011

Like '80s hair metal before it, so-called "alternative" was soulless and formulaic and and MTV-propelled and image-driven.  I'm surprised Grohl even has a fanbase given how slowly their albums come out.

[Patchy]

05:21 PM on 04/08/2011

People will never let Dave forget he was in Nirvana. You are right, FF and Nirvana are two totally different sounding bands, the only thing in common is DG.

[Patchy]

05:19 PM on 04/08/2011

Obviously you didn't look too hard because I own 2 Dave Grohl biographies, lol.

[Sansea]

01:35 PM on 03/21/2011

Headline should be: "Dave Grohl says it like it is."

Murphy is acting like a bully who is way too full of himself.

[BlackJAC]

02:03 PM on 03/21/2011

More like "Grohl's Greedy," as Murphy simply wants the far cheaper and therefore less lucrative when it comes to royalties rerecord rights.

[RobertFromMN]

07:20 AM on 03/21/2011

Ryan Murphy sounds like a tantruming 13 year old girl.

[foobler]

12:12 AM on 03/21/2011

Glee is freakin Kids Bop for teens.

[Sol76]

09:27 PM on 03/20/2011

Glee may a show that the gay community has rallied behind on the internet but that does not make it any less cheesy than the High School Musical movies that came out before it. It is the prerogative of artists to decide if they want their work butchered by the show's cast for the right price.

[markie G]

01:29 AM on 03/21/2011

butchered is correct, thank you

[freddychef]

08:03 PM on 03/20/2011

Dave, its OK, we understand.
Its hard for somebody so good at hiding in the closet, to be associated with anything that is even slightly pro-gay.

But the more you screem and shout, the more that closet door opens.

[Sol76]

09:34 PM on 03/20/2011

Wishful thinking. He will never be available to you so get over it.

Also, if you think anyone straight who rejects pro-gay shows like Glee is really gay, does that mean gay people who reject pro-heterosexual shows like Two and a Half Men or Entourage are secretly straight?

[freddychef]

09:59 PM on 03/20/2011

let me check with my wife.............

she says your protesting too much..
btw, courtney all ready outed dave years ago for being a receiver.

[NoSillyName]

03:14 AM on 03/21/2011

Sounds like you're the one who's seeing "gay" everywhere, freddy.

[yea91]

06:40 PM on 03/20/2011

Okay glee is slightly ridiculous but it is fun, they pick decent songs and the characters are adorable. I am not a huge fan of the show but will watch it from time to time. These bands should be feel honored that an immensely popular show like Glee wants to do their song. If the song is played then kids might like it and go on to purchase the original song or album by the artist. It could benefit the artists financially. There is no need to through a hissy fit in the press and insult each other. The band should simply respond with a "no thank you" and the shows creator should just leave well enough alone.

[badbadbad101]

08:24 PM on 03/20/2011

glee is kinda lame any band that doesnt want to sell out should not sign off on the show the bands should be able to tell murphy off and keep their songs from being dragged through the mud

[yea91]

09:54 PM on 03/20/2011

It's not selling out...it's free advertising. It is a good way to market your band. I am sure the bands get paid by Glee to use their songs. All bands no matter how underground you may think they are, are always looking for free publicity. Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon have every right to decline the offer they just miss out on a free meal.

[patman77]

04:58 PM on 03/20/2011

and any band worth theyre wage from 65' to 72' say fu to foo who ?

[mike dougles]

06:45 PM on 03/20/2011

What does that even mean?

[A Wright]

03:08 PM on 03/20/2011

Glee is as bad for music as it is for comedy. Having a huge fan base doesn't make the show not mediocre, it only reflects the enormous amount of mediocrity found and embraced in it's viewership.

Not funny. Terrible music. Patchwork choreography.
Just half-assed.

[mike dougles]

05:07 PM on 03/20/2011

to true, 2 and a half men gets huge ratings.

[NoSillyName]

06:37 PM on 03/20/2011

That says a lot about the taste of too many Americans... toilet humor, fart jokes, etc.

Pathetic.

[leskataus]

03:52 PM on 03/21/2011

I've heard some of their covers of popular songs and they're not good at all.

[jalapeno]

02:55 PM on 03/20/2011

Oooh, I suddenly don't like Foo Fighters quite as much.

[Parade Keegan]

03:19 PM on 03/20/2011

And I find myself liking the Foo Fighters so much more. Funny how things roll sometimes, huh?

[mike dougles]

05:08 PM on 03/20/2011

I like them so much more now, dont sell out guys.

[Leadsled]

02:33 PM on 03/20/2011

Good for Mr. Grohl. If the producer of Glee is as aggressive as he is being claimed to be bands should reject him/his show. If he doesn't like the show or the idea of having a group of other performers play his music on national television that is his choice and it is his right not to allow them to. Its called "intellectual property"

[AGooglyMinotaur]

01:56 PM on 03/20/2011

Dave Grohl hasn't been cool since 1993. If Kurt Cobain heard the poppy garbage he's making like "Learn to Fly," he'd pick up that shotgun all over again.

[Sol76]

09:18 PM on 03/20/2011

Newsflash: The 90s are over and music has moved on from grunge.

[markie G]

01:35 AM on 03/21/2011

thank the gods

[AGooglyMinotaur]

11:42 AM on 03/21/2011

No kidding. And so what Grohl and others did for the remainder of the 90s was to use that grunge template and water it down and water it down... til eventually it's got a distorted guitar somewhere way in the back, but it's tame enough for the soft rock stations. His singles don't sound much different from "Party in the USA."

[markie G]

01:38 AM on 03/21/2011

and point it at a minotaur, maybe?...got news for ya---kurt cobain hasnt been cool since 1994

[AGooglyMinotaur]

11:45 AM on 03/21/2011

I didn't say he was. What I'm saying is that Dave Grohl started by trying to keep that hard sound (Foo Fighters, Colour and the Shape) and then diluted it and diluted it until it was soft-rock pop (the single I mentioned). He has no direction, no inspiration. I'm not saying everyone should still be making music that sounds like Nirvana. I'm saying that Kurt was the only songwriting inspiration that Grohl ever had, and he's just recycled those ideas into less and less interesting music. Have you ever noticed that Foo Fighters songs are never about anything at all?

[AGooglyMinotaur]

10:02 AM on 03/22/2011

(to your post below)

I guess it's not worth arguing over musical preference, since it's not like one of us is right or wrong. Probably not the best example though to bring up "I Want to Hold Your Hand." No Beatles fan is defending their first few albums as groundbreaking. The Beatles were just starting to develop their craft. My personal opinion is that Grohl has long since lost his. As for Nickelback and Kings of Leon, I couldn't agree with you more. Arcade Fire's first album was pretty good though, but the rest suck.

And yeah, I agree that rock is in a sorry state. Really never recovered from that whole Nu Metal thing. Ugh. I shudder when I think about it.

[NoSillyName]

12:25 PM on 03/20/2011

Grohl reminds me of Denver's Jimmy West, only Jimmy is more feral and 10X more intense.

[ninetailedfox]

12:10 PM on 03/20/2011

Now this is where I connect David Grohl, he was having an affair with Courtney Love. Not 100% sure but ive heard allegations.

[CeeMac]

01:08 PM on 03/20/2011

What is your point in bringing up this rumor and innuendo at this time? How is it relevant to the Foo Fighters not wanting to have their music played on Glee? Just sayin'.

[leskataus]

03:57 PM on 03/21/2011

They obviously don't think too highly of the show and don't want their music used on it. There's nothing wrong with feeling that way.