“A 23 Ears production for MOJO magazine Sporting Bellbottoms Dave Henderson
Still Roving Carl Lawrence
Alright! Mark Wagstaff
Special thanks to Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, BC, Michael Meisel and everyone at SAM, Martin Collins at Beggars Group, Noam Klar at Matador, George and Janice at Damnably, Greg and Lauren at Southern Lord, Rachel and Owen at Secretly, Sir Jon Of Spencer, Steph and Matt at ATC, Megan at Third Man, Eryn and Dave at Warner Bros, Aoife and Colleen at Domino, Steph at BMG, and Ryan at Sub Pop Cover photography Martin Bergsma/Alamy Stock Photo
Sold with MOJO May 2026. Not for resale.
UK
UK MUSIC
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MOJO”
“Foo.Fm
SELECTED BY DAVE GROHL & NATE MENDEL
MOJO
DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL! This month’s MOJO CD tunes into the full-throttle sounds of Foo.FM: a 15-track mix especially compiled for us by Dave Grohl and Nate Mendel of the Foo Fighters. Got some cash? Bought some wheels? Here’s the essential Foo.FM playlist for your next ride…
1 QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE PAPER MACHETE
A choppy, paranoid robo-boogie from Grohl’s sometime bandmates: “They’re out to get you, aren’t they?”
Written by Dean Fertita, Jon Theodore, Joshua Homme, Michael Shuman, Troy Van Leeuwen. @2023 Queens of the Stone Age under exclusive licence to Matador Records. Published by Dr Shoes administered by Kobalt (BMI), Magic Bullet Music (administered by Kobalt Music Publishing), Sleeping Disorder Music (administered by Kobalt Music Publishing), Unintelligent Systems (administered by Kobalt Music Publishing) ISRC No. US-MTD-22-00629 Licensed courtesy of Matador Records. www.matadorrecords.com
2 OTOBOKE BEAVER
S’IL VOUS PLAIT
Asked his opinions on “the state of modern rock music” in 2021, Grohl directed the interviewer towards all-female Kyoto punks Otoboke Beaver. “It’ll blow your mind, dude,” he assured the Vulture reporter. Here’s proof: a frantic ramalam from their 2019 album, Itekoma Hits.
Arranged and performed by Otoboke Beaver. Written by Accorinrin. ©2019 Damnably. 2019 Damnably. From Itekoma Hits released in 2019. Recorded mixed and mastered by Ippei Suda at LM Studio in Osaka, Japan. ISRC GBH3Q1908003
3 BAPTISTS BACHELOR DEGREE BURN
The Foo Fighters’ most noteworthy interaction with Baptists was when they played an impromptu 2011 gig outside the Spirit Centre venue in Kansas City, baiting protestors from the notoriously homophobic Westboro Baptist Church with a gay love song called Keep it Clean (Hot Buns). This, though, is a Canadian metalcore band called Baptists, and a 2010 grinder from their first EP.
Southern Lord Recordings 2010. southernlord.com/band/baptists/
4 SLOWDIVE STAR ROVING
Rivalries stoked by the UK music press in the 1990s might have pitched Slowdive and Grohl on opposite sides of a tribal beef: it was Slowdive’s Reading shoegazer pals Chapterhouse who had to follow Nirvana’s performance at the 1991 Reading Festival. Over 30 years on, dream pop and grunge don’t seem quite so far apart, not least on the surging Star Roving, from Slowdive’s self-titled 2017 comeback LP.
Written by Neil Halstead. Published by Little Homestead Songs. &©2017 Dead Oceans
5 DAVID BYRNE SHE EXPLAINS THINGS TO ME A characteristically quizzical highlight of Byrne’s ninth solo album, Who Is The Sky?, as he grapples with the opposite of mansplaining, amidst the rococo chamber pop backing of the Ghost Train Orchestra. Interesting fact: the version of Walking After You on 1998 soundtrack The X-Files: The Album was produced by Jerry Harrison.
Written by David Byrne. Feat: Ghost Train Orchestra. @2025 Matador Records. Published by Malu Music inc dab Moldy Fig Music ISRC No. US-MTD-25-00205. Licensed courtesy of Matador Records. www.matadorrecords.com
6 THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION BELLBOTTOMS
Feral rock’n’roll from Spencer and co’s 1994 LP, Orange. In 2013, Grohl told NME how he struggled to listen to music after Kurt Cobain’s death: “Anything melancholy just made me so depressed.” But Orange helped him re-engage with rock: “That was a great record.”
Written by Spencer/Explosion (Dirty Shirt, BMI). &©1994 The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Judah Bauer, Russell Simins, Jon Spencer. Courtesy SHOVE Records
7 THE HIVES ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Though Enough Is Enough comes from 2025’s The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, the Foos’ love for the Swedish garage rockers goes way back: a 2002 Halloween NYC gig saw them dressed as The Hives, covering early tune Hate To Say I Told You So. Gigs together have included a joint cover of AC/DC’s Let There Be Rock in Stockholm in 2017. Written by Randy Fitzsimmons, Chip Fitzsimmons, Montgomery Fitzsimmons, Wilbur Fitzsimmons. Produced and Mixed by: Pelle Gunnerfeldt. & 2025 Play It Again Sam. Cat no: PIASR1585DS1. ISRC: GB-ENL-25-04271
8 DIE SPITZ HAIR OF DOG
The forthcoming Foos world tour features younger bands endorsed by Grohl and co, including Otoboke Beaver, Royel Otis, Mannequin Pussy, Gouge Away, The Belair Lip Bombs and this punkish all-female quartet from Austin. Hair Of Dog comes from the band’s self-released 2023 EP, Teeth. An eviscerating ’90s throwback, redolent of Hole and Babes In Toyland.
Released on PoopButt Records 2023. Self-released and self-published. ISRC QZTB62224943. www.diespitz.com/
9 HÜSKER DÜ
DON’T WANT TO KNOW IF YOU ARE LONELY
Grohl has never hidden his debt to Hüsker Dü – when Bob Mould guested on 2010’s Dear Rosemary, Grohl “watched him play guitar, and… I realised I owe more to [him] than to maybe any other musician.” But his admiration also extended to Grant Hart, who wrote and sang this standout from 1986’s Candy Apple Grey.
1986 Warner Records Inc. USWB11800867. Licensed courtesy Of Warner Records
10 FAT DOG PEACE SONG
Another band accompanying the Foos on the 2026 Take Cover tour, south Londoners Fat Dog are booked in as support with Idles for the Berlin and Vienna shows at the start of July. The anthemic Peace Song, complete with children’s choir, came out as a single at the end of 2024. Also worth hearing: Peace Song (A Riot In Sydenham Bus Depot), remixed by TowerBlock1, AKA The KLF’s Jimmy Cauty.
Written by Joe Love. Published by Domino Publishing Company Ltd. & Holders: 2024 Domino Recording Co Ltd ISRC GBCEL2400839
11 SUPERGRASS ALRIGHT
One of Taylor Hawkins’ favourite bands, the Britpop brats supported the Foos on tour in 1997, where the drummer would sometimes join them on-stage. At the Hawkins tribute show at Wembley in 2022, Supergrass played a few of Taylor’s favourite ‘Grass songs – Richard III, Caught By The Fuzz and Alright.
Written by Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey, Mick Quinn. EMI Music Publishing Ltd./BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. 1995 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. trading as Echo. Licensed courtesy of BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ISRC: GBAYE9500044
12 NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS TUPELO
“I always see pictures of Nick Cave sitting at a desk with a typewriter, and that’s how I imagine brilliant writers to write,” Grohl mused in 2017, “not sitting in a fucking garage with a pile of cigarettes next to you.” Cave’s songwriting practice may not, however, have been so disciplined in 1984 circa Tupelo. Written by Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Barry Adamson. Mute Song Ltd./BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. 1985 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG company, Licensed courtesy of BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ISRC: GBAJH0400528″
13 PISSED JEANS KILLING ALL THE WRONG PEOPLE
A punk band from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Pissed Jeans are torchbearers for sounds that Grohl and his bandmates were brought up on in the 1980s and early ’90s: scabrous, unruly, and with affinities to the high-velocity lurch of Nick Cave’s Birthday Party as well as vintage US hardcore. Killing All The Wrong People comes from their sixth album, 2024’s Half Divorced.
Composer: Pissed Jeans. Lyrics: Matt Korvette. Published by Domino Publishing Ltd (ASCAP). Administered by Domino Publishing Company USA. Sub Pop Records. From Half Divorced
14 MARK LANEGAN BEGGAR’S BLUES
Grohl first met Mark Lanegan with Kurt Cobain shortly after he joined Nirvana, and had fallen in love with Lanegan’s early solo work. Later, they would collaborate in Queens Of The Stone Age. “If he sang about pain, you believed it and if he sang about love, you believed it,” Grohl told The Independent after Lanegan’s death in 2022.
Publishers: BMG. Contributors: Mark Lanegan (Composer), Mark Lanegan (Lyricist), Mark Lanegan (Producer), Mike Johnson (Producer). Sub Pop Records. From Whiskey For The Holy
15 KIM GORDON BYE BYE
A key influence in getting Nirvana signed to DGC in 1991, Kim Gordon’s connection to Grohl has endured. She sang with Grohl, Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic at Nirvana’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2014, and also at a California wildfires benefit in 2025. Bye Bye comes from 2024’s The Collective.
Written by Kim Gordon, Jeremiah Raisen, Justin L. Raisen. @2024 Kim Gordon under exclusive licence to Matador Records. Published by Forgetful Songs (BMI), Heavy Duty Music (ASCAP) ISRC No. US-MTD-23-00380 Licensed courtesy of Matador Records. www.matadorrecords.com
“THAT WAS THE DESIGN- BLOWN OUT, LOOSE AND ROUGH!” FOO FIGHTERS
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