Dave Grohl escalates drum battle with 10-year old Nandi Bushell by writing her a theme song
Aux Features Music
When last we donned our flak jackets to report from the front lines of Dave Grohl’s ruthless social media war with a 10-year old drummer named Nandi Bushell, he’d taunted her with a challenge to play Them Crooked Vulture’s “Dead End Friends.” Bushell, who’s a very good drummer, obviously had no issue completing the task laid out for her. Last Thursday, she uploaded video of her playing the part and even added onto it by filling out the track with a few of her trademark screams of joy.
Obviously, the only way to increase the battle’s stakes was for Grohl to write a new song in honor of Bushell’s indomitable spirit.
After admitting his child rival had won the first round and promising he had “something special in mind” for a follow-up, Grohl made good on his threat. “Every superhero needs a theme song,” he tweeted to Bushell. “Here’s one for you!”
In the video, Grohl and his daughters, The Grohlettes, perform a song written for Bushell. “I’ve got something special for you,” he says at the beginning. “Something you’ve never heard before. Something I’ve never heard before.” The song calls Bushell the “best drummer in the world” and the “coolest on the scene” and, because Grohl’s written it as much as a tribute (not that one) as another volley in the conflict, it also includes a drum solo that Bushell will probably have mastered by her no-doubt-early bedtime tonight.
What she’ll return with is anyone’s guess. Before responding to Grohl’s first challenge, Bushell showed how she prepares for battle, sharing a video of her calling upon “The Rock Gods Of Old”—John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Neil Peart, and Keith Moon—in an adorable occult ritual. With these titans behind her and a Dave Grohl theme song to her name, Bushell has obviously grown far too powerful to be contained by a single drum battle.
[via Consequence Of Sound]
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85 Comments
This is wonderful! I needed this.
I keep seeing videos of musicians giving her gear and I can’t help but wonder how this one specific girl became a weird rock star meme. It’s cool, though, just a little baffling. Is it just her accent? I feel like her accent gives her a bump.
A lot of energy and charisma.
It’s impossible not to smile when seeing this small girl playing stuff like No One Knows while yelling her lungs out.
hard enough to play w/o the yelling
Watch the video of her watching Grohl’s response. Her excitement after the song ends — she dances around her room and then runs to hug her dad — is lovely. Shes the good stuff when we have too much the bad stuff.
It’s because the world is a flaming pile of shit right now, and everything sucks. And seeing joy is just about all we fucking have. And this girl is joy. And pretty fucking talented. And super fucking cool. And we all need that in our lives.
Hello Half empty Glassperson..
This exactly.
What everyone else said as well, plus she is a fucking awesome drummer. I couldn’t keep up with her when I was in my prime. Plus Grohl’s counter posts are fun and he is putting off this fun weird Dad energy in all of them.
ummm… badass skills and she’s a true original and force of nature. what inspires people more than that?
I feel like it’s her talent and awesomeness that’s giving her the bump.
Because she is a shining ray of hope and optimism and fun and that’s a great thing.
Its because she is amazing! How can you not get that. Her personality, her ability, her talent… She is freakishly good. If you don’t get it that is to bad. You obviously don’t understand pure talent.
Probably because she’s awesome and super fun to watch. I thought she was amazing before I ever heard her talk.
she’s good plusnot only can she play everything, she does the stick spinny thingand she’s funnyalso she has her own presence, as opposed to other ‘OMG young drummer’ vids which are posted by other people
My favorite part about this whole thing is that he’s clearly “challenging” her with upbeat songs that aren’t very complicated and seem like they’re fun to play. Someone pointed out last time that he gave her a technically straightforward TCV song, and this song is a pretty simple uptempo throwback with a cool drum break… which means she can absolutely slay it on social media within the next few days. It’s like the nicest, most considerate way to handle this kind of repartee.
Yeah, it’s really cool and a great way to help her continue to build up. It also kind of indicates of a creative mind Grohl has in that he automatically clicked on this.Suddenly I’m thinking that Old Man Dave there, and it hurts to write that as someone who grew up listening to him, probably would have been a really awesome music teacher.
I believe his mother was a teacher back in either DC or Virginia, and he has always been upfront about his support for education and educators. It was always kinda funny back in the day when the media would interview Nirvana and would always ask about Smells Like Teen Spirit. You know, ask them loaded question hoping these punks would say something like “Fuck School” and then Fox News could proclaim “Even Nirvana says teacher’s unions hinder education!”, and Grohl would always come down on the sides of teachers.Good egg.
Yeah, starting her off with the YYZ drum solo would have been a bit of dick move.
she’d need a Patreon for all the extra drums needed
Such a backhanded compliment.
not to mention it’s honest to god the best song dave grohl’s written in like 2 decades. this is super sweet and i hope the foo fighters are taking notes.
I love that one of the lyrics is just “Twenty-first century.” Just a shoutout to the hundred-year cycle during which this video was made. And you know what? It doesn’t hurt the song a little bit.
i don’t know about a 100 year cycle but i want to think you’re reading into it a little too much because i don’t think it’s any deeper than what you hear. it could’ve been the theme song for a 90’s cartoon about a badass little drummer girl who fights crime.
she played the fills on No One Knows pretty flawlessly
She seems a bit…much.
She’s is a drummer
She’s 10, internet commenter.
Exactly. My son is 11 and a drummer. And she seems a bit…much.
…and you seem a bit…. meh
You would be correct. But that doesn’t change my initial assertion.
Nope, just provides a reason for it.
Let me put it this way…I love the Foo Fighters. I love Dave Grohl. I love that he’s given this girl a platform and her 10 minutes of fame. I would love it if, when the FF’s tour England the next time, like in about 20 years when we can see live concerts again, he pulls her up on stage and they play Everlong together. She’ll be 30 years old by then and the cuteness factor will be lost, but still…I’m all for it.
And yet, she seems a bit…much.
She was already famous before this.
you’d like a 10-year-old girl to be a bit..less? Get in the bin mate.
And you seem a bit … jealous.
Dammit. You got me.
I find it semi-amusing that alls y’alls are so upset with me saying what I said. It’s so innocuous.
Sorry to break it to you but your 11 year old son that likes to drum clearly doesn’t possess the right enthusiasm to make it as far as this little girl. I don’t know if it’s jealousy on your end, or if you’re really just an asshole. Whatever it is, check yourself, before you wreck yourself.
I’m sorry, I didn’t know the reason for drumming was “to make it far…”. What an odd concept. You play the drums to beat the ever loving shit out of an inanimate object instead of needing therapy. And maybe pick up chicks. Did you know that chicks dig, in this order; the singer, the guitarist, the drummer. The bass player never gets chicks. It’s a fact.
Sorry, I can now see that the only reason why you even have a kid is due to a lack of.. ahem, planning, on your part since you’re too dumb to understand why this girl might act the way she does.
You. Are. Adorable.
You. Are. Dumb.
Every single person in this thread called you out, yet here you are trying to die on the hill of bad takes.
No. You. Are. And not because you drive a 240.
Lull, I’m just going to repeat this.
Every single person in this thread called you out, yet here you are trying to die on the hill of bad takes.
Every single person. I’m personally mortified. How long do you want to dance, sailor? I’ve got all night.
Oh that’s cute. You really know how to pick your battles huh? You must be a great parent with a terrible attitude like that.
Oh good GAWD. Listen, I’ll be serious this ONE time…this girl is great! I have absolutely no problem with her. At all. Except, she’s a bit much. But she can be more than one thing. Good for her! I’m trolling all of you dandelions because I can’t believe how OUTRAGED everyone gets by one stupid, throwaway comment. Actually, I can believe it but it’s still kind of mesmerizing.
She’s a child who has a deep passion for her hobby and you seemingly want to stifle that shit because she seems a little loud
Settle down Beavis. Stifle. As if.
We get it. Your “son is an 11-year-old drummer” and you’re mad Dave Grohl isn’t playing with him.
It’s obvious and embarrassing.Now, please stifle yourself.
Dave Grohl is awesome. I could never be mad at Dave. What is wrong with you?
Cry more.
Don’t worry, the world will tell this little black girl to shut up and calm down soon enough. I hope she doesn’t listen and keeps rocking out and yelling when the spirit takes her. There’s nothing in the world like being in a groove and feeling the joy and power of the music take over.
You made this a racial thing, not me.Seriously, did I do any of the things you just mentioned? No.
And I made it gendered, too, because that also matters.
Oh, I noticed. Project much?
She’s a 10 year old rock and roll drummer. Get bent.
Get bent! Is that like “It’s lit!”? Because I’m cool like that.
just get the fuck out of here
it’d be weird if she was a shy, quiet 10 year old drummer
The first sensible reply. You are absolutely correct.
🙂
Because this is 2020, I expect we’re going to find out something horrible about Dave Grohl any day now.Until then, he can keep being everybody’s coolest rock dad.
What, no love for this guy?
I honestly had to do a reverse image search to find out who the fuck that dude is, and… jesus tapdancing christ.https://www.altpress.com/news/trapt-threaten-legal-action-against-parody-account/I think that article says everything necessary. What IS it with dudes named “Chris Brown” all being chodes? I’m hoping to hear from some “Chris Brown” namesakes that have suffered from association with the other, famous asshole Chris Browns.
Sorry, I figured everybody knew who that turd was by now.
Trapt. Aren’t they the band that did “HEADSTRONG, I’LL TAKE YOU ONNNN!!!!”? That song sucked, and so does this guy.
Who is that?
Lead singer of Trapt. Thats my bad; I thought he was infamous enough by now.
Dave Grohl was connected with a HIV denial group years ago in a rather public way. He did finally walk all of it back a couple years ago, but he was, for quite a while, helping some morons promote some serious bullshit all because one of his band mates read some bullshit book.
Wow, I had no idea but I just went & read up and eww. It does seem like they’ve fully disassociated, which is good, but that woman’s denialism killed her kid, so you have to wonder how many other people died because they found that BS via the Foos.
I guess at least he has reversed his position and is working to undo his fuck up.Really, you don’t want to look too close at your heroes.
Take it back, you fuckin’ jinx. Take it back!!!!!!
no no no no no noi just cried happy tears the other day thinking about what a totem of modern rock he is
This kid’s going places.
OMG
MF’ing adorable.
Yoyoka is also 10yrs old and better:
It is nice that I can share this musician battle with my kid instead of classic battles I normally think of, like Tupac/Biggie or Nas/Jay-Z.
But i’ve already invested time into Yoyoka as my child drum prodigy distracting me from the unending hellscape in which we live.
YoKo is in a league of her own. I just adore her relaxed way of playing hard tunes. Plus her smile.
No worries Yokoka. maybe one day Dave will see your rocking talent….
Who cares. Tell me when she goes up against Animal.
She is my new favorite drummer.I want someone to send her Hella songs. I was covering Biblical Violence at 14, horribly. I think she would do it justice.