By the time their second album The Colour and the Shape (1997) had arrived, the Foo Fighters were really finding their footing. When the band first started, frontman Dave Grohl, originally the drummer for ’90s grunge icons Nirvana, was nervous about how it would go. But the strong reaction to their 1995 self-titled debut inspired them to take things to the next level.
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Looking Inward
Grohl has stated the song “Monkey Wrench,” which was the lead single for their sophomore album, was a soul-searching, inward reflection: “This is a song about realizing that you are the source of all of the problems in a relationship and you love the other person so much, you want to free them of the problem, which is actually yourself.” He added, “It was a riff that turned into another riff that turned into another riff and ended up being a nice little power punk song.”
Don’t wanna be your monkey wrench
One more indecent accident
I’d rather leave than suffer this
I’ll never be your monkey wrench
A lot of people say that they’re self-aware, but it’s different to actually create change in their own life and in the lives of people they are affecting. As with the song “Walking After You,” the single “Monkey Wrench” was said to be inspired by Grohl’s separation from first wife Jennifer Youngblood, whom he later admitted he had cheated on. They divorced in 1997, and she inspired some early Foos songs. She also photographed the cover for their debut album.
Dream Inspiration
The video for “Monkey Wrench,” directed by Grohl himself, features him returning to his apartment where he hears a band rehearsing inside with the door shut. He can’t get in. When he looks through the peephole he sees himself fronting a black-clad band in a red room. Then he invites his neighbors over to see—it’s the Foos watching the Foos. When they break into the room the band has disappeared, having fled down the street. Grohl and his bandmates then take over playing the song as another version of themselves now watch through the door. Grohl told MTV in 1995 that the video was based on a dream he had.
A Welcome Monkey Wrench
On more than one occasion in recent years, Grohl has invited a fan onstage to perform “Monkey Wrench.” But at an Austin, Texas gig in 2018, the Foos frontman got more than he expected when a fan named Yayo Sanchez, made up as Gene Simmons from KISS and wearing a Motorhead t-shirt, jumped onstage when offered the chance, borrowed Grohl’s guitar, and put on a major performance of his own. It turns out that the Foos are Sanchez’s favorite band. Grohl actually forgot the lyrics to his own song because he was so awed by Sanchez’s hyperactive headbanging and wailing axework. The “KISS guy” could play. In that case, it was fine to be Grohl’s monkey wrench.
An Early Radio Hit that’s Gone the Distance
Although it did not crack the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, “Monkey Wrench” reached No. 9 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart (spending 20 weeks on it), and also hit No. 9 on the Alternative radio chart (lasting 15 weeks there). It was an early hit and has become, according to Setlist.fm, the group’s No. 2 most played song ever in concert.
In 1997, Grohl told MTV News UK that, despite the prevalent electronic dance music trend of the time, the band would never bring those sounds into a Foo Fighters record. And with EDM currently experiencing a resurgence well timed to the ’90s cultural revival, the band have stuck to their guns—or more appropriately, their guitars. They have stayed true to themselves, no unnecessary musical monkey wrench needed.
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Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images
