The Foo Fighters classic Dave Grohl called “one of my least favourite songs”
It is difficult to find someone as unremittingly enthusiastic about rock ‘n’ roll as Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters frontman is eager to discuss his early years learning to drum by listening to Beatles records, the time his hero, Prince, covered ‘Best of You’ at the Suber Bowl or his undying adoration for ABBA. However, he hasn’t always been so happy to talk music.
Before he re-established himself as a guitar-wielding frontman, Grohl played drums for Nirvana. In 1994, following Kurt Cobain’s tragic suicide, he began to associate music with tragedy and embraced silence instead. “For a while after Kurt died, I couldn’t even listen to music,” Grohl told the NME. “I hated turning on the radio for fear that I’d hear a Nirvana song or any sort of sad music. Anything melancholy just made me so depressed.”
After a few weeks, Grohl began to lower himself carefully back into the musical bathtub, ensuring that whatever he listened to was upbeat and, if possible, silly and distracting. “I would listen to shit like Ace Of Base,” he added. “I got really into that! I was listening to some really ridiculous shit.”
Soon, it became apparent that music was the way out. Grohl recalled falling in love with Black Francis’ solo album Teenager Of The Year and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s Orange at this point, which helped direct his vision as he began his new project, Foo Fighters. “That was a funny time with me musically because I just didn’t really want to hear any music,” Grohl reflected. “Then I realised, ‘Oh wait, it’s music that’s going to heal me. What am I doing? I should be listening to music. I should be making music that will make me feel better.’ And it did.”
Grohl’s early meddling in creative catharsis spawned the classic self-titled album of 1995, which followed in the footsteps of the grunge tradition with Black Francis’ famous loud-quiet-loud formula. The album was a pivotal moment in Grohl’s road to recovery, but the sophomore attempt, The Colour and the Shape, was Foo Fighters’ major breakthrough, thanks to some broad strides in Grohl’s songwriting output.
Following the success of hits like ‘Everlong’ and ‘Monkey Wrench’, Grohl decided to change things up in the studio to create a more experimental record. Working with drummer Taylor Hawkins for the first time, the band recorded 1999’s There Is Nothing Left to Lose using some sound effects that brought nuance to the classic Foo Fighters sound and a little more in the way of melody to grunge.
In a past interview with Kerrang, Grohl revealed that There Is Nothing Left to Lose was his favourite Foo Fighters album due to a brazen departure from convention. He deemed the embrace of melody and discerning vocal recordings a breakthrough in the band’s evolution and was proud of the way most of the songs turned out. “It was all about just settling into the next phase of your life, that place where you can sit back and relax because there had been so much crazy shit in the past three years,” Grohl reflected. “At that point, it was me, Taylor and Nate [Mendel], and we were best friends. It was one of the most relaxing times of my whole life.”
While Grohl singles out ‘Ain’t It the Life’ as one of his more obscure favourites on the record, he isn’t entirely happy with the singles quota. As far as he is concerned, the lead single, ‘Learn to Fly’ was the album’s lowpoint. “It’s about the search for some sort of inspiration, the search for signs of life that will make you feel alive,” he commented on the track. “It’s actually one of my least favourite songs on the record.”
Grohl’s contempt for the single can be partly attributed to its popularity, which he deems unwarranted. During an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021, the host lauded Grohl’s “moving” lyric: “Look to the sky to save me / Looking for a sign of life / Looking for something to help me burn out bright”. Though appreciative, Grohl explained that the lyric was actually much less profound. “I wanted to learn to fly – I did! That’s it,” he chuckled. “I’m sorry. It’s what I’m talking about. I’m singing because I want to learn how to be a pilot.”
