Foo Fighters release 80-second cover song recorded across three decades, statistically working at a rate of 2.67 seconds a year

Foo Fighters have put out a cover of I Don’t Wanna Hear It by hardcore luminaries Minor Threat.

The post-grunge icons recorded their take on the 80-second 1981 song over thirty years, with the instruments being tracked in 1995 and vocals being done earlier this year.

The band released the cover as part of their 30th-anniversary celebrations, #FF30, and comes with a music video featuring photographs from across their three-decade history. They’ve also published a Substack telling the stories behind each of their 11 studio albums to mark the occasion, and they have a handful of Asian and Central American live dates set for October and November.

I Don’t Wanna Hear It is the first piece of recorded music Foo Fighters have put out since their last album, 2023’s But Here We Are. The band have been rocked by controversy since that release, first after frontman Dave Grohl admitted in September 2024 that he had fathered a child outside of his marriage.

In May, Foo Fighters fired drummer Josh Freese, almost two years after he joined them full-time and replaced the late Taylor Hawkins. Freese said on social media that he was “a bit shocked and disappointed” by the dismissal, and he claimed that he was not given a reason for being let go. The band haven’t publicly commented on the matter nor announced their next drummer.

The drums on I Don’t Wanna Hear It were recorded by Grohl, who in 1995 fulfilled not just his current roles as vocalist and guitarist in Foo Fighters, but also played bass and drums. He recorded the entirety of the band’s 1995 self-titled debut album by himself, apart from one guitar part on the song X-Static that was done by Greg Dulli, and served as producer.

Foo Fighters will return to the stage at Carnaval Ancol in Jakarta, Indonesia on October 2. They’ll then play a show in Singapore and two dates in Japan, before flying to Mexico for a performance at Corona Capital in Mexico City on November 14. Get all the details on their live plans via their website.

I Don’t Wanna Hear It originally came out in June 1981, as part of Minor Threat’s self-titled EP. It was later included on the 1984 compilation of the same name and 1989’s Complete Discography. A demo version can be heard on 2003’s First Demo Tape.

Minor Threat were only active from 1980 to 1983 but have had an enduring impact on hardcore culture, including the ‘straight edge’ movement, named after one of their songs. Frontman Ian MacKaye formed the post-hardcore band Fugazi in 1986.

In Grohl’s biography This Is A Call, written by Paul Brannigan, MacKaye revealed that he approached Grohl to join Fugazi. However, Grohl declined as he was a member of Washington DC punks Scream at the time.

Foo Fighters - I Don't Wanna Hear It (Minor Threat Cover) - YouTube

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