Dave Grohl has shown off his extensive knowledge of music history in a new episode of Track Star.
The singer appeared alongside his Foo Fighters bandmates Nate Mendel and Chris Shiflett on the YouTube show in which musicians are played tracks on headphones and they have to identify them as quickly as possible.
In this case, all three came through with their music nerd credentials – Mendel easily was able to name The Clash from the opening strains of ‘London Calling’ and Buzzcocks from ‘Ever Fallen In Love’.
Shiflett ripped off his headphones and asked “are you joking?” when played Van Halen’s ‘Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love’, and immediately knew NOFX’s ‘Linoleum’, but struggled more with Sonic Youth’s ‘Teen Age Riot’.
Grohl, meanwhile, took only a few seconds to name Minor Threat’s ‘Straight Edge’, proclaiming that “these are too easy” and saying “all you need to hear is the guitars and the tone”. He went on to explain Minor Threat’s importance to D.C.-area punk music and the foundation of Dischord Records.
Later in the episode, Grohl also made time to wax lyrical about the Melvins, Void and even Harry Belafonte. Watch the whole episode above.
Foo Fighters recently released their new album ‘Your Favorite Toy’, which NME awarded three-and-a-half stars and noted: “Vocally, Grohl has rediscovered his roar, but lyricism has never been his strongest suit, and much of it here is throwaway; those looking for signs of where his head is at after his infidelity scandal two years ago will be largely disappointed.
“‘Your Favorite Toy’ is a few more tracks of that depth away from being the most vital Foo Fighters record since 1997’s ‘The Colour and the Shape’. For now, at least, they have remembered that no-frills punk, played fast and loud, suits them much better than middle-of-the-road dad-rock.”
Since it dropped, the band have revealed that they were forced to rename their latest album because of Wicked: For Good, and are gearing up to head out on the road.
They will be playing a European stadium tour that is set to include two nights at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium at the end of June. They will also be playing a range of major European shows, a North American stadium tour, and have announced an Australian and New Zealand tour for late 2026 and early 2027.
Any remaining tickets for all shows on the Foo Fighters’ US tour are available here and for UK and Europe shows, you can find tickets here.