Dave Grohl’s ‘Mortifying’ Experience of ‘Times Like These’ Cover
Dave Grohl reflected on the “mortifying” moment when he got it wrong as he tried to contribute to the all-star cover of the Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These.”
The track was assembled by the BBC in order to raise funds for the battle against the coronavirus. It reached No.1 on the U.K. charts, featuring a wide range of guest artists – and even though Grohl himself wasn’t originally asked to be involved, he was touched to hear one of his songs was being recorded.
“I was so flattered you have no idea,” he told Entertainment Weekly in a new interview. “I almost cried. I mean, for them to use a song that I had written on a fucking napkin at a difficult time in my life where I was scared but I was also hopeful … for them to use that song for such a good cause and then to bring together all of these amazing artists … I was fucking humbled, you know?”
When he was finally asked to contribute his own part, he found himself in awe of what the others had done. “I’m watching these performances come in, and these people can fucking sing,” he said. “Our version is like Motorhead at a dive bar down the street, and this is beautiful.”
Then came the moment his technical abilities let him down: “They told me, ‘Just make sure you film yourself in landscape,’ and of course being the old guy, I don't even know what landscape is. So I just sent them the up-and-down version. ... It was mortifying.”
Grohl described himself as “practically Amish” when it comes to technology. “I can barely use a laptop or an iPhone," he noted. "I really am so analog it's ridiculous. But I’m getting a crash course in it right now. I mean, I’ve been doing some Zoom, I’ve been doing some Cisco Jabber.”
Watch the Live Lounge Allstars Perform 'Days Like These’
The Foo Fighters’ 25th-anniversary activities were curtailed by the global pandemic, meaning that Grohl and his bandmates had to abandon nearly a year’s worth of work, with unannounced releases remaining on hold for now.
But he struck a positive note about the future. “I honestly believe that at some point, people will come back outside into the sun and want to share music together," he said. "It’s human nature, I think. Who knows how long it will be, but, fuck, we’ll be there. I know that.”