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"I think our award is well deserved. Our album is not just the best of the year, it's the best ever."
A humble Chris Martin of Coldplay picks up a gong for Q Magazine's best album of the year.
coming up: cds
8 Mile Soundtrack (Universal)
Features four new Eminem tracks, including Lose Yourself, plus songs from Jay-Z, D12 and, er, Macy Gray. Album out on Monday, the movie's not out until January 23.
helping to push on foo
Foo Fighters
One By One (BMG)
EVEN if the whole world didn't know Dave Grohl spent his recent downtime playing with heavyweight riff monsters Queens of the Stone Age, the new Foo Fighters album would give the game away.
The grinding guitars, suffocating vocal and low harmonies of One By One's second track, Low suggest Grohl enjoyed playing with QOTSA so much, when he returned to his full-time rock family, he smuggled a few ideas back with him.
Having filtered these ideas through his own sharp pop senses and those of his bandmates (which have already produced hits like Learn to Fly), Grohl and the Foo Fighters have concocted their most ear- catching album yet. One By One is a forthright creature that demands attention, especially from those who prefer their Foo Fighters to have more snap, crackle and rock than silky smooth pop hooks.
That is not to say Foo Fighters are no longer radio friendly, but as the acceptance of grunting single All My Life suggests, the world is now ready to take Foo Fighters on their harder-edged new terms.
And when the hooks do arrive on One By One, they're bigger and more confident, but still just as likely to hold fast.
Times Like These instantly places itself alongside Everlong as a love-stricken Foo Fighters classic. It's built on a brilliant, chiming riff and, alongside the haunting Tired of You, is evidence of the starkly honest lyrical approach Grohl has taken on this album.
Considering the band took several shots at One By One before they were happy, the depth of Grohl's explorations into the nitty gritty of love is a welcome surprise. And it will only help to further push a band that's always been popular into the realms of...