Maps of Music

Sonic Highways (2014)

Where the lyrics of Sonic Highways take you, and where it was really made.

Each of the eight songs was recorded in a different American city, at a different studio, with a local musician on the track.

Key places

Recorded at Electrical Audio (2014)

Recording site Electrical Audio — One of the eight songs was recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago. The album credits list it as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Inner Ear Studios (2014)

Recording site Inner Ear Studios — One of the eight songs was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington County, Virginia. The album credits list it as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Southern Ground in Nashville (2014)

Recording site Nashville — One of the eight songs was recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville. The album credits list it as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Rancho De La Luna (2014)

Recording site Rancho De La Luna — One of the eight songs was recorded at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, California. The album credits list it as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Preservation Hall (2014)

Recording site Preservation Hall — One of the eight songs was recorded at Preservation Hall in New Orleans. The album credits list it as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Robert Lang Studios (2014)

Recording site Robert Lang Studios — One of the eight songs was recorded at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle. The album credits list it as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Ocean Way Recording (2014)

Recording site Ocean Way Recording — One of the eight songs was recorded at Ocean Way Recording in Los Angeles. The album credits list it as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at The Magic Shop (2014)

Recording site Magic Shop — One of the eight songs was recorded at The Magic Shop in New York City. The album credits list it as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Sonic Highways: eighth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters
• Released November 10, 2014 through Roswell and RCA Records
• Produced by the band with Butch Vig, similar to the previous album Wasting Light (2011)
• Eight songs, each recorded in a different American city
• Each track features one or more musicians tied to that city's musical history
• The process was filmed for the HBO series Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways, broadcast around the album's release

Background

• Dave Grohl interviewed musicians, recording engineers, record producers and others in eight cities
• These interviews on each city's music history served as inspiration for the lyrics
• The band had announced a break after supporting Wasting Light
• In January 2013 Grohl said the band had started writing material for an eighth album
• Grohl would finish the lyrics just before recording his vocals
• The album was announced to commemorate the band's 20th anniversary

Recording

• The band and Vig travelled to a different recording location in each city
• Credits list recording locations including Electrical Audio, Inner Ear Studios, Southern Ground Studios in Nashville, Rancho De La Luna, Preservation Hall, Robert Lang Studios, Ocean Way Recording and The Magic Shop
• On July 30, 2014 Vig revealed that recording and mixing had been finished

Cover

• Cover art by Stephan Martiniere combines a cityscape of landmarks from the production towns
• A recurring number eight marks both the eighth album and infinity

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Seattle in 1994 as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.
• Grohl recorded the debut album mostly alone in six days after Nirvana disbanded.
• Recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith of Sunny Day Real Estate, and guitarist Pat Smear.
• The band made its first public performance in February 1995, five months before the debut album's release.

Members

• Current members: Dave Grohl (vocals, guitar), Nate Mendel (bass), Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett (guitars), Rami Jaffee (keyboards), Ilan Rubin (drums).
• Taylor Hawkins died in March 2022; Josh Freese served as drummer from 2023 to 2025 and Rubin from 2025 onward.

Career

• Released twelve studio albums, the twelfth, Your Favorite Toy, in April 2026.
• Won 15 Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album five times.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, their first year of eligibility.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Pitchfork: Stuart Berman gave a more critical review, calling the project a glorified homework assignment, educational but laboriously procedural
• AllMusic: Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album for celebrating classic rock that unites the US from coast to coast, rather than the underground rock of Wasting Light
• Consequence of Sound: Philip Cosores said the album plays out more like a bonus feature that enhances the television series
• Rolling Stone: Patrick Doyle noted that some songs are among the band's most ambitious moments yet, though the result was not a real surprise
• Metacritic: average score of 68 out of 100 from 31 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• Mixed reviews also came from the Observer, the Daily Telegraph and Clash, which questioned how strongly the cities shaped the songs

Records

• Billboard 200: debuted at number two with 190,000 copies sold in the United States in its first week
• UK Albums Chart: number two, behind The Endless River by Pink Floyd
• Topped the sales charts in Australia and Flanders
• Platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom; gold in Germany and Austria
• As of September 2015, 490,000 copies sold in the US
• Won Best International Group at the NME Awards 2015 and the Brit Awards 2015
• Nominated for two Grammy Awards in early 2016 and won none

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Grohl's travelling and interviewing in eight cities produced the lyrics; he would take his notes, spread them out and write each song from them.
• Most retailers could not promise which of the nine vinyl covers a buyer would get, and the band's website selected covers at random.
• The vinyl pressings came in nine covers: eight for the cities visited, plus one showing the central building shaped like an eight.
• Something from Nothing was a collaboration with guitarist Rick Nielsen and producer Steve Albini.
• The band and Vig recorded in a different studio in each city, with songs written and rehearsed beforehand at Studio 606 in Los Angeles.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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