It’s almost 30 years to the day since the Foo Fighters released their first album, and to mark the occasion, the band have dropped a brand new song - their first new material since their 2023 album, But Here We Are.
Today's Song is one of the Foos’ more reflective pieces, touching on some deep themes. “I woke today screaming for change / I knew that I must,” Grohl sings, “So here lies the shadow / Ashes to ashes, dust into dust.” Listening to it, it’s hard not to think not just of the band’s long-time drummer, the late Taylor Hawkins, but also the tragedy that the band were originally born out of: Kurt Cobain’s 1994 suicide.
And Dave Grohl has issued a kind of anniversary statement to accompany the new song: “Over the years, we’ve had moments of unbridled joy, and moments of devastating heartbreak. Moments of beautiful victory, and moments of painful defeat. We have mended broken bones and broken hearts. But we have followed this road together, with each other, for each other, no matter what. Because in life, you just can’t go it alone.”
Referring to former members of the band, he added: “It should go without saying that without the boundless energy of William Goldsmith, the seasoned wisdom of Franz Stahl, and the thunderous wizardry of Josh Freese, this story would be incomplete, so we extend our heartfelt gratitude for the time, music, and memories that we shared with each of them over the years. Thank you, gentlemen.” (Freese took over behind the kit after Hawkins’ death but departed in May this year)
“And... Taylor,” Grohl continued. “Your name is spoken every day, sometimes with tears, sometimes with a smile, but you are still in everything we do, everywhere we go, forever. The enormity of your beautiful soul is only rivaled by the infinite longing we feel in your absence. We all miss you beyond words. Foo Fighters will forever include Taylor Hawkins in every note that we play, until we do finally reach our destination.”
There’s no indication whether Today's Song will precede a new album of any kind. Maybe. Possibly not. In the meantime, it takes the band into what will be its fourth decade, a scenario few could have predicted back in July 1995.
