“Aurora” by Foo Fighters

When Dave proclaims that ‘hell yeah, he remembers Aurora’, it has been deduced that what he is speaking to is one Aurora Avenue. This avenue is found in Seattle, i.e. the Foo Fighters’ hometown. Grohl has also admitted that accordingly, this piece is, at least in part, nostalgic in nature. That sentiment really comes across in the second verse, where the vocalist is presented as having once someone lad who dreamt of transcending his less-than-inspiring surroundings.

This is an idea we commonly come across in songs, especially from artists who grew up in what can be deemed small-town environments. But of course, Seattle is a major city. So it should be noted that Dave was actually birthed in a town called Warren, which is found in Ohio and is a whole lot smaller. 

He also lived in other parts of the United States – such as Evanston, Illinois, which also is not a metropolitan center – before blowing up. But as far as his formative years as a musician, those were in fact spent in Seattle, which the vocalist is apparently acknowledging. So it seems as if what Dave is saying is that even then, during an early Seattle days, he was a starving artist who strove towards, shall we say transcending the ‘hood.

“Aurora” is hard to decipher!

Outside of the above, you may notice that certain parts of this song, such as the first verse, are not as easy to understand. And if you’re having trouble comprehensively deciphering this piece don’t worry, as you are not alone. Even Grohl himself admitted that he doesn’t fully understand this song. He further stated that the “lyrically, it’s just kind of a big question mark”. According to him, it questions life’s meaning.

Or taking his full explanation into consideration, what he said is something like this song is so deep, ‘the heaviest he’s ever written’, that he can’t put its full meaning into words. And along those same lines, he also implied that the lyrics came out as being sort of existential in nature (and were, at least based on one credible report, inspired by the passing of his grandmother).

When was “Aurora” released?

This track officially hit the store shelves on 2 November 1999 as part of the Foo Fighters album “There Is Nothing Left to Lose”. Said project holds a special place in the band’s history, being the first upon which the late Taylor Hawkins appeared, i.e. who held down the spot of being the band’s drummer from 1997 until his passing in 2022. 

Whereas five singles were released form “There Is Nothing Left to Lose”, this track was not one of them.

Credits

Hawkins co-wrote this piece alongside two of his bandmates, vocalist Dave Grohl and bassist Nate Mendel. Additionally, it has been noted that Aurora was actually Taylor’s personal favorite amongst the band’s entire discography (and one of Grohl’s favorites also).

The Foo Fighters in their entirety, which at the time consisted sole of Grohl, Mendel and Hawkins, produced this song with Adam Kasper. 

Foo Fighters’ “There Is Nothing Left to Lose”

American rock band from Seattle, Foo Fighters released “There Is Nothing Left to Lose” as their 3rd studio album. It was officially launched on the 2nd of November, 1999.

The album was recorded at the band’s own Studio 606 in Virginia and Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Recording was done with a man short of the band’s original lineup. Guitarist Franz Stahl was relieved of his duties for not being in sync with the rest of the band. Guitarist Chris Shiflett joined Foo Fighters after the album’s release.

Foo Fighters joined hands with award winning American record producer, Adam Kasper to produce the album.

Roswell Records, a record label established by the band’s founder, Dave Grohl and American record label, RCA Records were responsible for the official release of the album.

In support of the album, the band embarked on the “There Is Nothing Left to Lose” tour in 2000.

The album peaked at No. 10 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK’s OCC. It ranked top-10 in a number of countries:

• Sweden (7)
• Norway (8)
• Canada (4)
• Australia (5)

The album has been certified platinum in the US, UK as well as Canada. It is currently 2x platinum in Australia and gold in Japan.

At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2001, the album was honored with the “Best Rock Album” award.