Foo Fighters’ first “new” music since their 2023 album But Here We Are is, appropriately, an 80-second cover of iconic Washington D.C. hardcore band Minor Threat’s 1981 song “I Don’t Wanna Hear It.” The instrumental for the new version, which arrived on YouTube this morning (June 30) but is not yet on streaming services, was recorded in 1995 and frontman Dave Grohl added vocals this year.
Grohl was reared in the D.C. underground music scene and released music with his pre-Nirvana band Scream on Dischord Records, which was founded by Minor Threat’s Ian MacKaye. Despite this, the Foos have rarely covered acts from that era, preferring to more frequently trot out classic rock songs by Queen and David Bowie, AC/DC, Queen and Pink Floyd.
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In 2015, MacKaye revealed that he’d found old fan letter from a teenaged Grohl, asking for “some numbers of people to get in touch with.” The note included his phone number and the hours that he could be reached — between 3:00 and 10:00 pm. Grohl later gushed to NME, “I’m telling you, if the Foos could do a Dischord single, then we could break up. Done deal.”
“I Don’t Wanna Hear It” arrives amid the impending 30th anniversary on July 4 of the band’s self-titled debut, which has been teased with a Substack page featuring rare images and contemporary recollections about the Foos’ career.
Grohl and company will return to the road Oct. 2 in Jakarta, marking their first shows following drummer Josh Freese’s sudden departure earlier this year. No replacement has been named.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
