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Foo Fighters member Chris Shiflett detailed the inspiration behind his newest single "Long, Long Year," and it's pretty relatable.
Though most known for his work as the lead guitarist for the Foo Fighters, Shfilett has a storied career outside the legendary band that involves collaborating with bands like No Use for a Name, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, but he also has a history of solo music that swerves from the rockstar vibe into Americana.
After a three year break from his solo music, Shiflett has returned with his newest single "Long, Long Year," which details the slow decay of a loving relationship. In a series with Consequence talking about the origins of the track, Shiflett said the biggest inspiration behind it was the pandemic.
"After spending most of my adult life making records and touring, always with a jam packed schedule that stretches out for months or years in front of ya, all of a sudden I found myself, like everyone else, grounded at home," he said. "After a couple months stressing on wiping down groceries and being scared to leave the house ... I found refuge in my studio and started strumming a lot of guitar and working up new tunes."
While writing the song, he drew inspiration from his obsession with Southern California as well as music from the 1990s.
"I don't really remember specifically any other music that I was listening to when I wrote this tune, but overall the vibe in my head was pretty 90s," he said. He added that it could be described as "90s soft alt-pop" or "something that maybe woulda been on the radio in 1997."
Though the track was created as a result of his experience with the pandemic, don't expect it to be explicitly about it. Rather, Shiflett chose to write "a sad love song" that "grew out of isolation, loneliness, and missing my normal life."
"Long, Long Year" drops Friday, July 29.