Foo Fighters

About Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl was sitting on about forty songs when Nirvana ended in the worst way possible in 1994. He'd been the drummer, writing on the side, and suddenly had nowhere to put any of it. So he booked a week at Robert Lang's studio in Seattle, played everything himself, and called it Foo Fighters — a name lifted from World War II pilot slang for UFOs. The tape was supposed to stay private. It didn't.

That self-titled debut in 1995 sounds like exactly what it was: one guy working through some things in a basement. Scrappy, loud, with hooks that didn't quit. "This Is a Call" and "I'll Stick Around" got radio play, but the bigger trick was Grohl proving he could step out from behind the kit without everyone constantly measuring him against his previous band. He put together an actual group with Pat Smear from Nirvana on guitar, and they hit the road.

The Colour and the Shape in 1997 is where they figured out what Foo Fighters actually was. Gil Norton produced it, pushed them toward actual dynamics, and "Everlong" became the kind of song that soundtracks other people's memories. "My Hero" was the arena-ready anthem. The album went double platinum and made it clear this wasn't a side project anymore.

They've been remarkably consistent since then, which is either their strength or the thing people complain about depending on who you ask. There Is Nothing Left to Lose brought "Learn to Fly" and a Grammy. One by One had "Times Like These" and "All My Life," the latter being possibly their heaviest moment. Taylor Hawkins was on drums by then, and the live show turned into the kind of thing that could headline festivals without anyone questioning it.

They've put out ten more albums since then, kept up the same basic formula — loud-quiet-loud, big choruses, Grohl's voice fraying at the edges in that way that sounds earnest even when he's screaming. In Your Honor tried the double album thing, one disc electric and one acoustic. Wasting Light went back to analog tape with Butch Vig. Concrete and Gold had collaborations. They soundtracked a horror comedy they made themselves called Studio 666.

Hawkins died in 2022 before a show in Colombia. The band went quiet for a while, understandably. They came back with But Here We Are in 2023, Grohl playing drums again, working through grief the way he seems to work through everything — by making a record. Josh Freese is on drums now when they tour.

They're one of the last bands from that era still operating at full scale, playing stadiums, headlining Glastonbury. Grohl's basically rock's designated nice guy at this point, which is its own weird kind of fame. They just keep going.

Foo Fighters shows are the opposite of ironic. Grohl treats every gig like it matters—the band plays for hours, and crowds sing back every word. You get a sense people came specifically for this, not just because they were in town. High energy, no cynicism.

Known for Everlong, The Pretender, Learn to Fly, Best of You, Rope

See Foo Fighters Live