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May 30, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Tony Oursler

Foo Fighters are releasing a new album, But Here We Are, this Friday via Roswell/RCA. Now they have shared its fourth single, the 10-minute long “The Teacher,” via a music video. Multimedia artist Tony Oursler directed the short film/video for “The Teacher.” Watch it below.

According to a press release, Oursler’s work spans video, sculpture, installation, performance, and painting and he came to prominence in the late 1970s. Foo Fighters were exposed to his work via his video for David Bowie’s “Where Are We Now?” in 2013. “The Teacher” could be about frontman Dave Grohl’s mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, who died last year and was a teacher. The song’s lyrics do seem to tackle grief.

Previously Foo Fighters shared But Here We Are’s first single, “Rescued,” via a lyric video. “Rescued” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared its second single, “Under You,” and hosted a live stream event, Foo Fighters: Preparing Music For Concerts, where they revealed their new drummer is Josh Freese. Then they shared its third single, “Show Me How,” which ws surprisingly a dream pop song and featured guest vocals from Violet Grohl, the 17-year-old daughter of Dave Grohl. “Show Me How” was one of our Songs of the Week.

But Here We Are is the band’s first album since the 2022 death of the band’s former drummer Taylor Hawkins, who passed away at the age of 50 while the band were on a South American tour in Bogotá, Colombia.

Greg Kurstin produced the album with the band. The band’s last album was 2021’s Medicine at Midnight.

A previous press release describes the new album in more detail:

“A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year, But Here We Are is a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family. Courageous, damaged and unflinchingly authentic, But Here We Are opens with newly released lead single ‘Rescued,’ the first of 10 songs that run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.

“Produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, But Here We Are is in nearly equal measure the 11th Foo Fighters album and the first chapter of the band’s new life. Sonically channeling the naiveté of Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut, informed by decades of maturity and depth, But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life.”

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