Dave Grohl & Greg Kurstin Join Forces for 8-part The Hanukkah Sessions with Beastie Boys "Sabotage" Cover (Night One)

"Hi, I'm Greg Kurstin and I'm Jewish. And I'm Dave Grohl. I am NOT Jewish... but this year, instead of doing a Christmas song, Greg & I decided to celebrate Hanukkah by recording eight songs by eight famous Jewish artists and releasing one song each night of Hanukkah for you. So, we hope you enjoy! Happy Hanukkah!" close friends, cohorts, and collaborators Dave Grohl & Greg Kurstin explained within a recent video. They were, of course, announcing what we now know to be dubbed The Hanukkah Sessions! credited to Kurstin x Grohl. However, thisisn't the first time Grohl & Kurstin have worked together, as Kurstin produced Grohl's band, Foo Fighter's critically-acclaimed 2017 album, Concrete & Gold. It appears as though Greg Kurstin was, also, behind the boards for Foo Fighters' upcoming tenth studio album, Medicine At Midnight, as he shares a co-producer credit along with The Foos. Plus, Dave Grohl fittingly plays drums on "Little Drummer Boy" from Kurstin's passion project, the bird and the bee's new Christmas album, PUT UP THE LIGHTS, as well as Stevie Nicks' latest Kurstin-produced single, "Show Them The Way."


Since last night was the first night of Hanukkah, Kurstinx Grohl shared their first collaborative cover from The Hanukkah Sessions, a cover of "Sabotage" from the Beastie Boys' 1994 album, Ill Communication. "As the only Rock & Roll Hall of Famers with a lyric about kugel we thought it would be a shandra to not kick off this party with New York's (and Abraham's) finest... know by some as Shadrach, Meshach & Abedengeo, known by others as AD-ROCK, MIKE D & MCA... known by their Imas & Abas as Adam Horovitz, Mike Diamond & Adam Yauch... Beastie Boys!" read a message posted to Foo Fighters' Instagram page around sundown. Oddly enough, there's a Beastie Boys & Foo Fighters connection, too, as the two band appeared to have played a series of shows together between about 1/16-22/96 held in Singapore and Hong Kong. It appears, around the same time, Foo Fighters & Beastie Boys shared slots on a number of bills for festivals seemingly dubbed MTV Alternative Nation Tour Rain Malt Soda In Cooperation with Levi's Present: 3 In 1 Rock Concert and Golden Sounds, Triple J & DB Present: SUMMERSAULT along with Sonic Youth, Eraserheads, Pavement, Beck, Rancid, The Amps, Jawbreaker, Bikini Kill, and more.

For The Feastival of Lights, this first installment of said Hanukkah Sessions really delivers, in our opinion. However, we may be a bit partial because Beastie Boys & Foo Fighters are easily two of our all-time favorite bands... but it's pretty safe to say Kurtsin x Grohl do Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" justice. What was already a pre-Rap/Rock or Alt. Rock/Hip-Hop smash single has been amped up into a full on Punk/Metal-leaning romp with Dave Grohl harkening back to his DC Punk days for a gravely growl delivery not too far off from that of Ad-Rock, Mike D & MCA. It's the second night of Hanukkah tonight, so we suggest staying tuned in to Foo Fighters' YouTube channel this evening (and the next six night) for the next installments of The Hanukkah Sessions. Additionally, earlier today, Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters bandmate Taylor Hawkins announced he and fellow drummer Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden) had started a 2-man band of their own. Nighttime Boogie Association unleashed their first official recordings, "Long In The Tooth" and "The Path We're On," and plan to record and release more music within the next six to eight months. Foo Fighters' Greg Kurstin-produced Medicine At Midnight will be released Friday, February 5, 2021 on RCA/Roswell Records.