Even for a band who have sold over 32 million records and continue to fill the world’s stadia three decades after Dave Grohl first stepped forward as a bandleader in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s death, there is still plenty of buried treasure in the Foo Fighters’ back catalogue for those willing to dig. As part of MOJO’s world-exclusive Foo Fighters cover feature — available to order for delivery wherever you are HERE! — David Fricke explores the lesser-known corners of the Foos’ story: from the recordings Grohl made under the name Late! while still in Nirvana, to 2005’s super-limited white-label Today’s Song, via B-sides, covers and incendiary live cuts...
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READ MORE: Dave Grohl: "Losing Taylor was never meant to be. I still have a hard time making sense of it..."
Winnebago
(Find It: Pocketwatch, 1992)
Resurrected for the stage in 2025, Winnebago was Grohl’s post-Nirvana ride in a fast, rattling one-man-band nutshell – recorded in 1991 (before Nevermind came out), issued on an undercover solo cassette. Remade for debut single This Is A Call’s B-side, the original is where it’s at.
Color Pictures Of A Marigold
(Find It: Pocketwatch, 1992)
This ballad’s woozy spell, reminiscent of Kurt Cobain’s home demos, was on the same incognito tape. As Marigold, it was Grohl’s solo-writing debut for Nirvana; an In Utero outtake became a Heart-Shaped Box B-side. Foo Fighters’ version on 2006’s Skin And Bones made it the only song ever recorded by both bands.
The Colour And The Shape
(Find It: Monkey Wrench B-side, 1997)
Not that album’s title song – Grohl (on drums) scrapped it for being “a step backwards.” Or maybe the squealing feedback, stabbing guitars and free-rock meltdown were too close to In Utero for comfort. A Monkey Wrench flipside, find it on the album’s 2007 reissue.
The One
(Find It: Orange County OST, 2002)
Quality mayhem sent to teen comedy purgatory, from the 30 songs recorded for 2002’s One By One (only 11 made the cut). It’s a rowdy gallop with a harsh lyric twist (“You’re the only one who can make me feel like shit”) that you didn’t hear in the video edit for MTV.
Seda
(Find It: Long Road To Ruin B-side, 2007)
The title is a woman’s name in Turkish meaning “echo” and descended from the Latin for “silk” – a perfect summation of this mirage-like ballad, part of the textural expansion for Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace drawn from Grohl’s affection for 1970s Neil Young and the Zombies’ Odessey And Oracle.
Word Forward
(Find It: Greatest Hits, 2009)
This grief-stricken rager, written by Grohl after the death of a childhood friend, is not a rarity; its parent compilation went platinum. But the song was a special addition to the set produced by Butch Vig in his first work with Grohl since Nevermind and a preview of their full-LP reunion on 2011's Wasting Light.
Savior Breath
(Find It: Saint Cecilia EP, 2015)
Pure Motörhead in the image of Ace Of Spades, Savior Breath (pun intended) was recorded in a Texas hotel and released as a free-download EP. A month later, Motörhead’s Lemmy died at 70. Grohl wrote No Son Of Mine on 2021’s Medicine At Midnight in remembrance.
Stacked Actors
(Find It: 00050525 (Live in Roswell, NM), 2019)
In 2005, Foo Fighters marked their 10th birthday at America’s UFO HQ – the inspiration for their label’s name. Grohl’s affinity for the jamming Zeppelin is loud and clear in this 10-minute blowout of a There Is Nothing Left To Lose track on the digital release from that gig.
Honey Bee
(Find It: YouTube, Sirius XM Garage, Los Angeles, 2021)
Grohl’s first trip back to the drums after Nirvana’s end was sitting in with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for this Wildflowers stomp on Saturday Night Live. Here Grohl goes hard-boiled AC/DC on the song live on Sirius XM radio. It’s not on a record but catch the video on YouTube.
Today’s Song
(Find It: 7-inch single, 2005)
The first single of the new era went straight to streaming. But a no-frills 45 (title and artist stamped on a white label) was limited to 300 copies. On the other side: a blank label and a live blast of I’ll Stick Around with fidelity like you’re in the pit in 1995.
“This was something we needed to do, because it saved us once before...”
Get the latest issue of MOJO Magazine to read our Foo Fighters cover feature in full. In his first in-depth print interview for four years, Dave Grohl unveils a new chapter in the band's musical odyssey, previewing Foo Fighters' incendiary new album Your Favorite Toy, while still processing the fallout from Taylor Hawkins' death. “Why do I keep doing this?” he asks David Fricke. “I don’t know the answer.” Plus! Get your hands on our bespoke Foos FM CD, featuring 15 full-throttle rock and roll transmissions handpicked by Grohl and Foos bassist Nate Mendel. More info and to order a copy HERE!
