Maps of Music

There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999)

Where the lyrics of There Is Nothing Left to Lose take you, and where it was really made.

The album was made in a Virginia basement, with no record company present during production.

Key places

Grohl's basement studio in Alexandria (1999)

Recording site Studio 606 — The album was recorded in the basement of Grohl's house in Alexandria, Virginia, which he named Studio 606. The map point sits at the city centre of Alexandria, not at the exact house. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording at Conway Studios (1999)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Additional recording for the album took place at Conway Studios in Los Angeles. Adam Kasper also mixed the songs at Conway Studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Third studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters
• Released 2 November 1999 through Roswell and RCA Records
• Marks the first studio credit for drummer Taylor Hawkins
• Often seen as a departure from the band's earlier work, with a softer and more experimental sound
• Dave Grohl has called it his favorite Foo Fighters album
• Last release before But Here We Are (2023), on which Grohl played drums

Background

• Guitarist Franz Stahl was dropped after about a year because Grohl felt he had not found his place in the band
• Grohl chose a three-piece lineup: himself, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer Taylor Hawkins
• The band had just exhausted itself making The Colour and the Shape and lost two members in the process
• Foo Fighters left Capitol Records after label president Gary Gersh left
• Grohl bought a house in Alexandria, Virginia and made the record in its basement
• Grohl named the home studio Studio 606, a number tied to his father's apartment
• Before returning to Virginia, Grohl had lived in Los Angeles for about a year and a half

Recording

• The album was recorded by only three musicians in the basement of Grohl's home
• Adam Kasper helped set up the studio and later co-produced the album
• Grohl's biggest challenge was making the record sound good without Pro Tools or AutoTune
• Hawkins played most of the album and left the faster songs to Grohl
• The liner notes do not specify who plays on which songs
• Mixing was split between Adam Kasper and Andy Wallace

Cover

• The cover art shows the band's initials on the back of Grohl's neck
• Early pressings included a temporary tattoo similar to the one on the cover

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

• Rolling Stone's Greg Kot rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars
• Kot said the album marks a departure, with more emphasis on melody and actual singing
• Kot tied Grohl's punk background to a dislike of string sections

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album four out of five stars in a retrospective review
• Erlewine called it the first Foo Fighters album that sounds like the work of a unified, muscular band
• A Sputnikmusic reviewer rated it 3.5 out of 5 points in a retrospective review
• The Sputnikmusic reviewer found Stacked Actors and Breakout satisfying, but Headwires weak

Records

• Won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2001, the band's first Grammy win
• The band went on to win the same Grammy for three of their next four studio releases
• Debuted at number 10 in Europe and the UK (according to Spanish Wikipedia)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Grohl named his home studio Studio 606, and the number was his father's apartment number
• Grohl later recalled recording with the windows open in spring, doing vocals until birds could be heard through the microphone
• Chris Shiflett was hired as second guitarist for live shows after 35 musicians were auditioned
• Grohl has called this record the one that most brings him back to that basement
• The band won the Grammy for Best Rock Album for three of their next four studio releases

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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