Subterranean

Album: Sonic Highways (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a track from Sonic Highways, an album containing eight songs, each recorded in a different US city. A TV documentary series, also titled Sonic Highways, was created for HBO by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl to coincide with the release of the record.
  • The hard-hitting anthem was recorded in Seattle and was inspired by the end of Dave Grohl's previous band, Nirvana. The first music that he recorded under the Foo Fighters banner after the death of of Kurt Cobain was done in the same studio where Nirvana had recorded its last complete song, "You Know You're Right." Grohl recalled to the Studio Brussel radio station: "I didn't want to make music any more after Nirvana, then time went on and I thought wait a minute, music is the one thing that's going to help me start over, it's going to heal me, so that's what I have to keep doing.

    "So I went back to that same studio, and recorded again, and my life started over again, so that becomes the theme of the episode, and that also becomes the theme of the song."
  • The mood according to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins was sombre. " I had a dark feeling about Seattle," he told Q magazine. "The song is dark and sad, it's about the end of something."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Sam Phillips

Sam PhillipsSongwriter Interviews

Collaborating with T Bone Burnett, Leslie Phillips changed her name and left her Christian label behind - Robert Plant, who recorded one of her songs on Raising Sand, is a fan.

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"They're Playing My Song

With the band in danger of being dropped from their label, Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith co-wrote the song that started their trek from horror show curiosity to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.