{"id":143451,"date":"2019-08-26T04:45:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T08:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=143451"},"modified":"2019-08-30T10:36:03","modified_gmt":"2019-08-30T14:36:03","slug":"143451","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=143451","title":{"rendered":"50 Best Albums, by Brendan O\u2019Malley, #18. Foo Fighters, The Colour And The Shape<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

My talented brother Brendan O’Malley is an amazing writer and actor. He’s wonderful in the recent You & Me<\/i>, directed by Alexander Baack. (I interviewed Baack about the film here<\/a>.) His most recent gig was story editor\/writer on the hit series Survivor’s Remorse<\/i>. Brendan hasn’t blogged in years, but the “content” (dreaded word) is so good I asked if I could import some of it to my blog. He did series on books he loved, and albums he loved. I thought it would be fun to put up some of the stuff here. So we’ll start with his list of 50 Best Albums. I’ll put up one every Monday. <\/p>\n

Brendan’s list of 50 Best Albums is part music-critique and part memoir and part cultural snapshot. <\/p>\n

I have always loved these essays, because I love to hear my brother talk. I am happy to share them with you!<\/em><\/p>\n

50 Best Albums, by Brendan O’Malley<\/h1>\n

18. Foo Fighters – The Colour And The Shape<\/i><\/h2>\n

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\nThis album is a marker for me, a placeholder, a doorjamb. It came out in the spring of 1997 which was a very full time for me, as Cashel would be born on Halloween several months later. If you tested my DNA you would find microcosmic snippets of these songs in there.<\/p>\n

I know many people who are big fans of this band and most of them dislike this album. Most of them had flipped over the first Foo Fighters record which I have never gotten into. In fact, I don’t own any other Foo Fighters music. I’ve heard the songs and like them, I enjoy Dave Grohl immensely and root for them, but I never needed anything but The Colour And The Shape<\/i>. <\/p>\n

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There are a few albums like this in my collection. I knew they were in the pantheon the first time I heard them, I listened to them obsessively until I could sing every note (and by every note I mean every vocal, every guitar solo, every bass line, every drum roll, EVERYTHING), and I consistently revisit them once the initial obsession has passed.<\/p>\n

From what I can tell, Grohl was going through a breakup and much of the album delves into this difficult territory. It’s hard not to layer Cobain over everything, which gives it a whole different level of depth and tragedy, something that doesn’t detract at all. It’s like Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler<\/i>. The movie isn’t about Mickey Rourke fucking up his movie career, but those echoes certainly add to the impact the story has.<\/p>\n

So it is with this album. For me, a guy who was in a trying relationship of his own, it hit me like a ton of bricks. From the gentle opening notes of “Doll” which segue violently into “Monkey Wrench”, it is clear that we are in for a tough ride.<\/p>\n

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