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The Foo Fighters have released a new single: “Of All People”. The raucous track is the fourth teaser from the rock band’s upcoming twelfth studio album, Your Favorite Toy. which will be released on April 24th.
In the song, frontman Dave Grohl reflects on the injustice of life. “Of all people, you survived/ When no one else could stay alive,” he sings on the aggressive rock song. “You know you should be dead/ But you’re alive instead.”
Last month, Grohl told the Guardian that he wrote “Of All People” “after I ran into a ’90s drug dealer who used to dope everyone up with heroin.”
Grohl’s inner conflict
“I hadn’t seen this person in 30 years, and he is alive, healthy and clean,” Grohl said. “I was so happy that she had survived – and at the same time devastated because I had to think about all the people we have lost because of this very drug. I was so damn angry and at the same time so grateful to see her well. Another conversation with myself, torn between two feelings. As I was re-reading the lyrics, I mentioned them to my therapist: Is this survivor’s guilt?”
The Foo Fighters announced “Your Favorite Toy” in February when they released the album’s title track. “‘Your Favorite Toy’ was truly the key that unlocked the tone and energetic direction of the new album,” Grohl explained in a statement. “We came across it after over a year of experimenting with different sounds and dynamics, and the day it took shape, I knew we had to follow this path. It was the fuse to the powder keg of songs we then recorded for this album. It feels new.”
The band recorded the album, which includes the previously released single “Asking for a Friend,” at home with co-producer Oliver Roman. It is the band’s first recording since new drummer Ilan Rubin joined.
Tour dates and festival appearances
“Your Favorite Toy” arrives two weeks before the group performs at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida on May 8th. This will be followed by an appearance at Bottlerock Napa Valley on May 23rd, before a series of European dates. The Foos will then return to North America: On August 4th they will play at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, with further concerts planned until the end of September. Queens of the Stone Age and Mannequin Pussy support most of the shows.
