Dave Grohl dedicates Foo Fighters song to Steve Albini
Following the tragic news of the passing of Steve Albini on Wednesday, May 8th, tributes flooded in dedicated to the producer and musician, noting his extraordinary contributions to the underground music scene and beyond.
Leading major punk acts Shellac and Big Black, Albini was an instrumental force in shaping alternative rock music, whose most well-known projects included the likes of Nirvana’s 1994 album In Utero.
Albini passed away at the age of 61, after which Nirvana’s social account shared a letter the musician wrote in 1992 requesting to be involved in the band’s forthcoming project. In the letter, he famously attacked record labels, explaining that he is only interested “in working on records that legitimately reflect the band’s own perception of their music and existence”.
He continued, “If you will commit yourselves to that as a tenet of the recording methodology, then I will bust my ass for you. I’ll work circles around you. I’ll rap your head with a ratchet”.
Paying respects to Albini on stage, ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl dedicated the band’s performance of ‘My Hero’ to the producer during a recent concert in Charlotte.
Prior to the performance, Grohl said: “Tonight, I’d like to dedicate this song to a friend that we lost the other day, who I’ve known a long, long time”.
He continued, “He left us much too soon. He’s touched all of your lives, I’m sure. I’m talking about Steve Albini. For those of you who know, you know. For those of you who don’t know, just remember that name: Steve Albini. Let’s sing this one for him”.
Albini’s work in the music industry was far from over at the time of his death. Shellac announced plans to release a new album in March this year, which is scheduled for May 17th via Touch And Go. It was recorded at Electrical Audio over a series of weekends between 2017 and 2022.
Shellac confirmed in a statement at the time: “The band will continue to play shows or tour at the same sporadic and relaxed pace as always. There is no correlation between shows and record releases.”
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