The Foo Fighters song Dave Grohl called a “Sonic Youth rip-off”
Dave Grohl has written an array of classics for Foo Fighters. From the early days to now, he has had a knack for penning songs that resonate with audiences, with his powerful vocals and rousing guitar performances driving themselves into the hearts of fans.
Whilst there are many moments of note, it is arguable that the most effective the former Nirvana man has written is ‘Everlong’, the highlight of their 1997 chef d-oeuvre, The Colour and the Shape, a record that boasts other staples such as ‘Monkey Wrench’ and ‘My Hero’. Complete with an anthemic chorus, candid lyrics, and an earworm of a guitar melody, there’s no surprise the track has made such a cultural impact, as it’s inextricable from one of the lowest periods of Grohl’s life.
As Grohl once revealed when speaking to Mojo, he penned the song during an emotional slump over Christmas 1996. Getting divorced from Jennifer Youngblood, he was staying on a friend’s floor in a sleeping bag and was effectively homeless. Adding to the stress of the situation, he had no access to his bank account, and both guitarist Pat Smear and drummer William Goldsmith were about to quit Foo Fighters after just one album.
When staying at his friend’s, he wrote ‘Everlong’ as a complete song in just 45 minutes. The lyrics were inspired by his intense romance with Louise Post of alternative rock heroes Veruca Salt. He told Kerrang! in 2006: “That song’s about a girl that I’d fallen in love with, and it was basically about being connected to someone so much that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them you harmonise perfectly.”
Interestingly, Grohl had already devised the riff for ‘Everlong’ before that moment at his friend’s house. In late 1996, he stayed at Bear Creek Studios in Washington, recording what would become The Colour and The Shape. Whilst toying around during the downtime between takes of ‘Monkey Wrench’ – a song written in drop D tuning – he stumbled upon what he would describe as a “Sonic Youth rip-off” riff, which he felt was similar to their 1987 fan favourite, ‘Schizophrenia’.
During a 2021 discussion, Grohl revealed that before turning the riff into a fully-fledged song, he was concerned he’d “ripped off this Sonic Youth song somehow,” so he showed the track to their frontman and guitarist, Thurston Moore. Unsurprisingly, Moore was more concerned with why it was still a demo. According to the Foo Fighters leader, Moore asked him: “Why is that a demo? Why isn’t that on the album?”
Grohl reflected: “It just felt so off the cuff and unofficial that I considered it to be a demo. So then we went and we re-recorded it and that’s the song that you hear on the radio today.”
