Wasting Light will be released April 12 on Roswell/RCA, while “Rope” is available now both as a digital single and as an instant grat with iTunes pre-orders of the full record.
Produced by Butch Vig and mixed by Alan Moulder, Wasting Light’s no computers/no software back to basics approach has resulted in arguably the strongest and most cohesive effort of the band’s 15-year-plus career: From first single “Rope” to the frenetic opener “Bridge Burning” to the beautifully bipolar “These Days” to stunning guest spots from Bob Mould (“Dear Rosemary”) and Krist Novoselic (“I Should Have Known”), Wasting Light is a singular triumph: a band that’s headlined arenas, stadiums and festivals the world over stripping itself down to the bare essentials and coming up with its finest hour.
Following hot on the heels of Wasting Light’s release will be Medium Rare, a vinyl-only compendium of the Foo Fighters’ arsenal of classic cover tunes, released to commemorate this year’s annual Record Store Day at participating stores only. Medium Rare is a must for every serious Foo Fighters fan who’s thrilled to the band’s versions of Paul McCartney & Wings’ “Band On The Run” recorded at Abbey Road, seen them bust out Pink Floyd’s “Have A Cigar,” Gary Numan’s “Down In The Park” or Mose Allison’s (by way of The Who) “Young Man Blues” in live sets over the years, or scoured the digital and physical worlds for their versions of Husker Du’s “Never Talking To You Again,” The Ramones’ “Danny Says” or Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street.” Medium Rare marks the first and only time all these and more have been compiled in one place, along with previously unreleased versions of Thin Lizzy’s “Bad Reputation” and The Zombies’ “This Will Be Our Year.”
In other news, the namesake of the “White Limo” video (which has surpassed one million views at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebJ2brErERQ) will soon be embarking on a cross-country tour of record stores, radio stations, gas stations and more, playing Wasting Light for those lucky enough to find it. Yes, the same vehicle that co-stars in the smash vital video along with Foo Fighters Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, and the legendary Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, will be traversing the country and spreading the rock. Follow it here http://whitelimotour.tumblr.com/ and here http://twitter.com/WHITELIMOTOUR
Finally, Wasting Light’s release will be preceded by the release of a feature length Foo Fighters documentary directed by Academy Award winner James Moll (The Last Days, Running The Sahara), produced by Nigel Sinclair (No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who, The Last Play At Shea) and financed by Exclusive Media Group and RCA Records. Moll’s documentary, from Spitfire Pictures, chronicles the entire history of the Foo Fighters, from the cassette demos Grohl recorded during his tenure as Nirvana’s drummer through their ascent to their Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, arena and stadium headlining status as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.