Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has revealed he made a surprising discovery about the iconic Nirvana hit ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Grohl revealed that when Foo Fighters had begun working on a cover of Rick Astley’s legendary track ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ during Summer Sonic 2017 in Tokyo, they happened to notice that the track resembled the famous Nirvana track from their album, Nevermind.
“We started kind of learning it true to the original,” Grohl said.
“And then I start to realise that the arrangement is exactly the same as ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ The chord progression has an uncanny resemblance. It’s true!
Grohl continued: “There’s a riff and then the drums kick in, and then there’s a verse… there’s a lot. I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ So we start joking around playing it in that same style, and it was so funny that we did it ten times in a row.
“And then we walk out on stage and fucking Rick Astley is standing on side stage. Had we gone through all of the typical logistics that you would go through to ask a famous musician to jam with you, it wouldn’t have been as fun. I walked over to him. I’m like, Hey, ‘I’m Dave.’ He’s like, ‘I’m Rick.’ I’m like, ‘Do you want to do it?’”
Astley also recently joined forces with Foo Fighters once again for a cover of 1995 classic ‘Everlong’ during a pub set at the Mikkeller Brewpub on Thursday, September 16th.
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In other Dave news, the rocker recently discussed the biggest challenges in writing his new memoir, The Storyteller, which is set to hit shelves on October 5th.
“I’ve never been one to collect stuff but I do collect moments – my life flashes in front of my eyes everyday,” he said.
“And in writing this book, I’ve tried to capture those moments as best I can.” And with a career spanning five decades, two iconic bands, and hundreds of legendary stories, there’s a lot to discuss.
Grohl explained that it was the COVID-19 lockdowns that made him take stock of his life, having finally a moment of free time to reflect on everything. He started a new Instagram account, @davestruestories, which gave him a platform to share his extraordinary stories with fans.
“A collection of memories of a life lived loud,” reads his statement on the memoir. “From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!”
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Check out ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Foo Fighters and Rick Astley:
