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For the last episode of the year, I got the chance to drive up to Northridge, California, and have a conversation with Dave Grohl. We talked about the Foo Fighters song “The Teacher,” which is an epic, 10-minute long song. Dave told me it’s the most important piece of music he’s ever written, because it’s dedicated to his mother, Virginia, who passed away in 2022.

Dave Grohl started Foo Fighters in 1994, after Nirvana ended. This year, Foo Fighters set a record for having the most Top 10 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. They’ve won 15 Grammy awards, including winning the Grammy for Best Rock album five times — more than anyone else.

“The Teacher” is from their 11th album, But Here We Are, which came out in June 2023. I sat with Dave in the Foo Fighters practice space, and he told me the whole story of the song. Coming up, you’ll hear the two voice memos he originally recorded on acoustic guitar, plus the two demos he made on his way to figuring the song out.

You can buy or stream “The Teacher” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
Foo Fighters: Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, Rami Jaffee, Josh Freese
Greg Kurstin – Producer
Taylor Hawkins

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Raye is a singer, songwriter and producer from London. Besides being an artist in her own right, she’s also been a songwriter for other artists since she was a teenager. She’s co-written songs for Beyoncé, Charli XCX, and Ellie Goulding. In 2023, she released her debut album, My 21st Century Blues. The first single, “Escapism,” became her first song to hit #1 in the UK. It’s gone platinum in the US, the UK, and seven other countries. It features guest vocals from 070 Shake. When she was here in LA on tour, I talked to Raye about how she made “Escapism.”

You can buy or stream “Escapism” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
Mike Sabath – Co-writer, producer, programmer, synths, mellotron, strings arranger

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Sampha is a singer, songwriter and producer from London. His first album, Process, won the Mercury Prize in 2017. He’s collaborated with artists like the XX, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and Solange. If you saw the Song Exploder Netflix show, Sampha was in the Alicia Keys episode, for the song they did together as a duet. This year, in October 2023, Sampha put out his second album, Lahai. And for this episode, I talked to Sampha about the song “Spirit 2.0.” Coming up, you’ll hear the original demo, and some early voice memos.

Sampha recruited some collaborators for the song, like producer Pablo Díaz-Reixa, aka El Guincho, who won a Grammy for his work on Rosalia’s first album; plus Yaeji; and Lisa Kaindé, from Ibeyi. But the song “Spirit 2.0” first took shape when Sampha was by himself, at home.

You can buy or stream “Spirit 2.0” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
El Guincho – Co-writer, co-producer, programmer
Owen Pallett – Arranger, conductor
Yussef Dayes – Drums
Yaeji – Additional vocals
Lisa Kaindé, from Ibeyi – Additional vocals
Oberheim OB-6
Moog Mother-32
Ngoni and Kora – West African instruments
Wassoulou music
“Sabu” by Oumou Sangaré, from her album Worotan
Kodwo Eshun – Writer on Ghanaian percussion taking architectural form
RAK Studios
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
In Conflict – Owen Pallett album featuring “The Passions”

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