I'll Stick Around

Along with "Oh, George" and "This Is a Call," this was one of the first songs Dave Grohl wrote after the death of Kurt Cobain. Grohl went through a dark time after Cobain's passing, but found creative ambition after performing on Mike Watt's solo album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat? Grohl made a home demo of "I'll Stick Around" which he recorded with producer Barrett Jones at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle in October 1994. As was the case with most tracks on Foo Fighters first album, Grohl played all the instruments, waiting until the end to do the part he most feared: adding vocals. It took Grohl and Barrett just a week to complete the album, which was later designated as Foo Fighters but was really a solo project.

With the rousing chorus, "I don't owe you anything," some listeners thought this song was targeted at Kurt Cobain, which Dave Grohl was quick to deny. The real target of this song's vitriol is Courtney Love, something Grohl didn't admit until 2009 when he told his biographer Paul Brannigan: "I don't think it's any secret that 'I'll Stick Around' is about Courtney. I've denied it for 15 years, but I'm finally coming out and saying it. Just read the f--king words!" Some of those words Grohl speaks of include "I had no hand in your ever desperate plan," a reference to Love's possible role in Cobain's death. "I should have known, you were better off alone" is Grohl regretting getting them together. One of the most scathing lines, "How could it be I'm the only one who sees your rehearsed insanity?" indicates that Love's histrionics in the wake of her husband's death were somewhat contrived and possibly meant to advance her career (her band Hole released an album in 1994). Inflamed by legal entanglements, Grohl and Love remained at odds until 2014 when Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Putting the past behind, they embraced at the ceremony, signaling their reconciliation.

In America, Foo Fighters didn't make the singles from their first album available for sale - they just sent them to radio stations as promo copies. This was the second song they released, and because you couldn't buy it, it was not eligible for the Billboard Hot 100. It did make #51 on the Airplay chart, since many radio stations picked up the song.