It was probably just a funny coincidence that, back in February, Foo Fighters announced a new album called Your Favorite Toy on the exact same day that Pixar released the trailer for another Toy Story movie. But it feels like something that could’ve been drummed up during a Disney/Sony power lunch. After all, what is Dave Grohl if not the Woody Pride of rock: the all-round nice-guy ringleader who’s always trying to stoke our sentimental attachments to analog-era joys in an ever-changing world. And like Woody, he’s keenly aware that our favorite toys inevitably get taken for granted, and he’ll do anything in his power—disco makeovers, documentaries, horror movies, fam jams, Angine de Poitrine endorsements—to avoid getting tossed into the proverbial donation bin.
In recent years, Grohl has been in the news for less cheerful reasons. Your Favorite Toy is the second Foo Fighters album to arrive in the wake of life-altering events: In the case of 2023’s But Here We Are, it was the sudden death of Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins and the passing of Grohl’s mother, Virginia; Your Favorite Toy, meanwhile, follows the bombshell admission that even the most well-adjusted rock star on the planet is not immune to tabloid scandal. Given all that he’s been through of late, the Foo Fighters frontman has effectively become the target audience for the life-coach aphorisms of a Foo Fighters song.
