Watch Foo Fighters' cinematic 'Waiting on a War' video
New album 'Medicine at Midnight' is released next month
Foo Fighters have shared the visually striking music video for their latest single ‘Waiting on a War.’
Penned by Foo Fighters lynchpin Dave Grohl, the intensely personal track is inspired by Dave’s fear of impending war when he was growing up in the 1980s and his 11-year-old daughter Harper’s same anxieties today.
The accompanying Paola Kudacki directed video centres on Dave singing the track and features cinematic shots of young people living ostensibly carefree lives; unlike the adults in the video who have paper bags on their heads.
As the song reaches its epic climax, the rest of the Foo Fighters join Dave to belt out the finale with great aplomb.
Watch Foo Fighters’ ‘Waiting on a War’ video:
Commenting on the themes of ‘Waiting on a War’, Dave Grohl says: “As a child growing up in the suburbs of Washington DC, I was always afraid of war. I had nightmares of missiles in the sky and soldiers in my backyard, most likely brought upon by the political tension of the early 1980’s and my proximity to the Nation’s Capitol. My youth was spent under the dark cloud of a hopeless future.
“Last fall, as I was driving my 11 year old daughter to school, she turned to me and asked, ‘Daddy, is there going to be a war?’ My heart sank in my chest as I looked into her innocent eyes, because I realized that she was now living under that same dark cloud of a hopeless future that I had felt 40 years ago.
“I wrote 'Waiting On a War' that day.
“Everyday waiting for the sky to fall. Is there more to this than that? Is there more to this than just waiting on a war? Because I need more. We all do.
“This song was written for my daughter, Harper, who deserves a future, just as every child does.”
Following in the footsteps of the barnstorming ‘No Son of Mine’ and the Planet Rock playlisted banger ‘Shame Shame’, ‘Waiting on a War’ is the third offshoot from Foo Fighters’ tenth studio album ‘Medicine at Midnight’, which lands on Friday 5th February 2021.
Feature: The heaviest Foo Fighters songs
Produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, engineered by Darrell Thorp and mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent, 'Medicine at Midnight' packs the following nine songs into 37 minutes:
1) Making a Fire
2) Shame Shame
3) Cloudspotter
4) Waiting on a War
5) Medicine at Midnight
6) No Son of Mine
7) Holding Poison
8) Chasing Birds
9) Love Dies Young
The real names of famous rock stars, including Foo Fighters' Pat Smear:
Cozy Powell’s real name: Colin Trevor Flooks
Alex Lifeson’s real name: Alexandar Živojinović
'Lifeson' is a semi-literal English translation of the Yugoslavian surname Živojinović, which means 'son of life'
Ginger Baker's real name: Peter Edward Baker
John 5’s real name: John William Lowery
Yngwie Malmsteen’s real name: Lars Johann Yngwie Lannerback
Rudy Sarzo’s real name: Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont
Eric Carr's real name: Paul Charles Caravello
Vinnie Vincent’s real name: Vincent John Cusano
Tina Turner’s real name: Anna Mae Bullock
King Diamond’s real name: Kim Bendix Petersen
Joey Tempest's real name: Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson
Michael Monroe’s real name: Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm
Mikkey Dee’s real name: Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou
Jonathan Cain’s real name: Jonathan Leonard Friga
Nikki Sixx's real name: Frank Ferrano
Steven Adler’s real name: Michael Coletti
Axl Rose's real name: William Bruce Rose
Bon Scott's real name: Ronald Belford Scott
Fish’s real name: Derek William Dick
Eddie Vedder's real name: Edward Louis Severson III
Peter Criss’ real name: George Peter John Criscuola
Freddie Mercury's real name: Farrokh Bulsara
Flea's real name: Michael Peter Balzary
Perry Farrell's real name: Perry Bernstein
Geddy Lee’s real name: Gary Lee Weinrib
Mick Mars' real name: Robert Deal
Tré Cool's real name: Frank Edwin Wright III
Courtney Love's real name: Courtney Michelle Harrison
Pat Smear's real name: Georg Albert Ruthenberg
Gene Simmons' real name: Chaim Klein Witz
Spike’s real name: Jonathan Gray
Iggy Pop's real name: James Newell Osterberg, JR.
Alice Cooper's real name: Vincent Damon Furnier
Slash's real name: Saul Hudson
Mike Dirnt's real name: Michael Ryan Pritchard
Ronnie James Dio's real name: Ronald James Padavona
Brody Dalle's real name: Bree Joanna Alice Robinson
Skin's real name: Deborah Anne Dyer
Nicky Wire's real name: Nicholas Jones
Amy Lee's real name: Amy Lynn Hartzler
Bill Wyman's real name: William Perks
Izzy Stradlin's real name: Jeffrey Isbell
Paul Stanley's real name: Stanley Eisen
Vince Neil's real name: Vincent Neil Wharton
Duff McKagan's real name: Michael McKagan
Jack Black’s real name: Thomas Jacob Black
Lemmy's real name: Ian Fraser Kilmister
John Paul Jones' real name: John Baldwin
Joan Jett's real name: Joan Larkin
Eric Clapton's real name: Eric Patrick Clapp
Siouxsie Sioux's real name: Susan Janet Ballion
Rachel Bolan’s real name: James Richard Southworth
David Bowie's real name: David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones
Little Richard's real name: Richard Wayne Penniman
Sid Vicious' real name: John Simon Ritchie
Ace Frehley's real name: Paul Daniel Frehley
Lou Reed's real name: Louis Firbank
Joe Strummer's real name: John Graham Mellor
Marc Bolan's real name: Mark Feld
The Edge's real name: David Howell Evans
Meat Loaf's real name: Marvin Lee Aday
Steven Tyler's real name: Steven Victor Tallarico
Ozzy Osbourne's real name: John Michael Osbourne
Jon Bon Jovi's real name: John Francis Bongiovi
Joey Belladonna’s real name: Joseph Bellardini
Jack White's real name: John Anthony Gillis
Bono's real name: Paul David Hewson
Sting's real name: Gordon Sumner
Billy Idol’s real name: William Michael Albert Broad
Geezer Butler’s real name: Terence Butler
Pat Benatar’s real name: Patricia Mae Giraldo
Bo Diddley’s real name: Ellas McDaniel
Muddy Waters’ real name: McKinley Morganfield
Stevie Nicks’ real name: Stephanie Lynn Nicks
Doro’s real name: Dorothee Pesch
Sebastian Bach’s real name: Sebastian Philip Bierk
Joe Perry’s real name: Joseph Pereira
Jimi Hendrix’s real name: James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix)
Zakk Wylde’s real name: Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt
Maynard James Keenan’s real name: James Herbert Keenan
Blaze Bayley’s real name: Bayley Alexander Cooke
Biff Byford's real name: Peter Rodney Byford
M. Shadows' real name: Matthew Charles Sanders
Syd Barrett's real name: Roger Keith Barrett
Chris Jericho's real name: Christopher Keith Irvine
Ginger Wildheart's real name: David Leslie Walls
Paul Di'Anno's real name: Paul Andrews
Phil X’s real name: Theofilos Xenidis
Peter Green’s real name: Peter Allen Greenbaum
Nicko McBrain’s real name: Michael Henry McBrain
Noddy Holder’s real name: Neville John Holder
Steel Panther’s real names
Michael Starr: Ralph Michael Saenz, Satchel: Russell John Parrish, Stix Zadinia: Darren Leader, Spyder: Joe Lester.