Taylor Hawkins Reveals His Favorite Foo Fighters Songs

Foo Fighters have amassed an expansive catalog in their 25 years as a band, but during a recent chat with Matt Wilkinson on his Apple Music 1 show, drummer Taylor Hawkins was able to narrow things down to his favorite song … or two!

You might expect one of the big hits to be at the top of Taylor's list, but he actually goes a little deeper, selecting "Aurora" off the band's 1999 album There Is Nothing Left to Lose. That album yielded five singles but it was the melodic deeper cut that still tops Taylor's list … at least from his time in the band.

"I would say without a doubt, it would be 'Aurora," says Hawkins, adding, "I just think it's really, I love that side of Dave. I love it when Dave gets in his almost yacht rock softness in his voice and he double tracks his voice really nice. And that was the first drum track that I ever did for the Foo Fighters that I was really, really proud of, because I only played half the drums on the Nothing Left to Lose record, because it was my first time in the studio and I was just… I didn't know how to record. Recording drums and playing live are just super different and the mistakes are polarized heavily, once you're under the scrutiny of the microphones. You had to do it right."

But before fully committing to "Aurora," he also offered a song that pre-dated his time in the group. "I could also say the first time I heard 'This Is a Call' was the first time I heard the Foo Fighters and I wasn't in the band yet. I was playing with Alanis [Morissette] and we were all in the van, traversing the Foo Fighters, playing all the same clubs as they were. And it was just funny, and we just wore that album out. And 'This Is a Call' might be my favorite Foo Fighters song of all time too."

"This Is a Call" was the very first single ever released by Foo Fighters, arriving on June 19, 1995 from the band's self-titled debut. It climbed to No. 2 on the Alternative Airplay chart and peaked at No. 6 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

You can check out more of Taylor's chat with Wilkinson here and be sure to pick up Foo Fighters' Medicine at Midnight when it comes out Feb. 5. Pre-orders are being taken here (As Amazon affiliates we earn on qualifying purchases).