Foo Fighters
Photo: MTV News

By now, Dave Grohl knows a thing or two about the business of rock and roll. So as the Foo Fighters were putting the finishing touches on their Greatest Hits album (which hit stores last week), the next logical question seemed to be, "Which songs will end up in 'Rock Band'?"

"You gotta have the song in 'Rock Band,' he laughed. "You just gotta do it."

As it turns out, the Foos ended up releasing the two new songs from their Greatest Hits package — "Wheels" and 'Word Forward" — on "Rock Band," and they did it on the same day the album hit stores. But to Grohl, this wasn't some nifty act of corporate synergy — rather, it was just what you're supposed to do these days.

" 'Rock Band' is totally changing the way kids are getting their music these days. ... I think it's cool," he said. "As a way to teach a kid to play music, I don't know about that — it's a video game — if you want to learn how to play guitar, pick up a guitar.

"But, like, I get it, you know. And I was happy when the Beatles ['Rock Band'] came out, because there's kids that probably wouldn't have discovered the Beatles any other way. And I think it's important for everyone to know about the Beatles," he continued. "It's the foundation of what we do. It's cool that now you have a 7-year-old kid that knows the chorus to 'Love Me Do,' because otherwise they probably wouldn't."

And though none of the Foos actually play "Rock Band" (or any video games for that matter), they can certainly appreciate it, mostly because of the game's ability to humble even the greatest of rock gods.

"To be honest, I've seen some really great guitar players try to play 'Rock Band,' " Grohl said. "I remember seeing something on YouTube of Rush trying to play 'Tom Sawyer' on 'Rock Band,' like three of the greatest musicians of popular music, ever, just blowing it — like, low score on 'Rock Band.' "

"[And] Some 12-year-old that's never picked up a guitar in his life is just schooling them," drummer Taylor Hawkins laughed.

• Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters
Photo: MTV News

Back in the summer of 1995, a strange album appeared in stores. It had an odd brown cover with a comically futuristic pistol on it, and was simply labeled Foo Fighters. There was no indication that a member of one of the most important bands in history was behind it — but it's hard to imagine that anyone interested didn't know that it was the first album from ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl's new band, which, at the time, was just him.

On Tuesday (November 3), more than 14 years later, the band releases Greatest Hits, a collection of 14 of their biggest singles plus two new songs, Wheels" and "Word Forward." But this isn't Grohl and his bandmates calling it a career — rather, they see it as a way to recharge the batteries and reevaluate their future as a band.

"The last three records happened within four years, so we were constantly working," Grohl told MTV News last week. "At the end of this touring cycle, it seemed like the perfect time to take a break. We're burnt, the audience needs a break and we need to back off and regroup and re-evaluate and get it back together. But in the meantime, let's put out this thing."

Grohl said their record label has been asking them for a hits compilation for several years, but they've been so inspired to make new music that it never felt like the right time. Of course, he's kept himself busy with side-gigs throughout the band's career, whether playing drums for Tom Petty, Killing Joke or Queens of the Stone Age — or, in recent months, forming a band called Them Crooked Vultures with Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Queens' Josh Homme and Alain Johannes (that (that band will release its debut LP on November 17).

Looking back at the body of work the Foos have produced over the years makes their frontman proud — and more than a little amazed.

"It's kind of cool," he said of the album. "I look at the sequence of songs, and it's a pretty accurate representation of what's been going on with the Foo Fighters in the past 15 years. This band started sort of on a dare, and we never intended for it to become as big as it did."

• Foo Fighters
• Dave Grohl

Foo Fighters
Photo: MTV News

It's hard to believe that Foo Fighters, the band that Dave Grohl admits he started "almost on a dare," have been around for 15 years and have cranked out countless hit singles. Those tracks will be celebrated on the upcoming Greatest Hits, a compilation of the group's biggest smashes, including "Learn to Fly," "Best of You" and "Everlong." The album also contains two new songs: a rugged rocker called "Word Forward" and the new single "Wheels," which the band debuted on the lawn of the White House over the summer and which just got a video release.

"On the last tour, we decided to treat soundcheck as a place to write songs and not just to practice," Dave Grohl told MTV News. "So we picked these two songs and called Butch Vig — who I haven't worked with since 1991, when he worked on Nirvana's Nevermind — and he came in and produced them."

Despite the group's devoted following, fan reaction has been somewhat tepid to the group's latest single. But Grohl wouldn't have it any other way. "We kind of took it in this direction that we haven't gone before, which, as a band, is exciting," he explained. "You do a song like 'Wheels' and people go, 'Really? That's the Foo Fighters?' People get all scared. 'Oh no, is that the direction they're going?' It's one of those songs that our biggest fans hate. I like that we have songs that lots of different people either enjoy or dislike."

Greatest Hits will be in stores November 3, and the band will appear in an episode of "VH1 Storytellers" on November 27.

• Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters' David Grohl in "Wheels"
Photo: RCA

Sometimes you need to be reminded that the Foo Fighters are one of the hugest rock acts on the planet. This is because — despite the fact that they've sold millions of albums, won Grammys, toured the globe and jammed out on Zeppelin tunes with John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page at Wembley Stadium — they are basically four exceedingly normal dudes. Half of them look like accountants. The other half are drummers. None of them are really rock stars.

I only bring this up because — in the grand tradition of every huge rock act that has come before them — the Foos are finally getting around to releasing a best-of compilation, the unassumingly titled Foo Fighters: Greatest Hits (due November 3). That it took them more than a decade to do so is only further testament to their humility. It's almost as if they kept putting it off, probably because it didn't feel right.

But now, with the band on a semi-permanent hiatus — and frontman Dave Grohl tooling around with JPJ and Josh Homme in Them Crooked Vultures — the timing seems strangely perfect for Greatest Hits. Like I said, sometimes people need reminding.

And, of course, every massive rock band knows that a best-of comp needs some new material thrown in to sweeten the pot. (The Foos might be unassuming; they are not, however, dummies.) So, in keeping with grand tradition, Greatest Hits features a pair of fresh tracks: "Wheels" and "Word Forward," both produced by Butch Vig. "Wheels," which hit radio last week, draws the honors of serving as the first single. That it would be accompanied by a music video was a given.

Sam Brown (who did the video for the Foos' "The Pretender") helms the clip, and unlike their previous collaboration, it's a decidedly mellow affair. There are no exploding walls of viscous fluid or charging men in riot gear this time out. Rather, the whole thing sort of looks like the cover of Death Cab for Cutie's Plans album: There is much super-imposing of foliage and hazy, gauzy light fixtures that flicker just so. It is a pretty low-key affair — as if the Foo Fighters would have it any other way.

This is not to say that it's not also pretty good (it is), and it fits the well-worn, workmanlike hum of "Wheels" itself, which would not seem out of place among the latest offerings by Chris Daughtry or David Cook on adult-contemporary radio. These days, with modern-rock stations mining the inner recesses of their program director's iPod (or disappearing altogether), that's a decidedly brilliant play for Dave Grohl and company. After all, even huge rock bands need to have their songs heard by the masses.

So while the song (and video) might be slight departures, the Foo Fighters haven't strayed from the course. They are still a massive act. "Wheels" might make them even more massive, which, given that they're currently on hiatus, is somewhat fitting — it's the most unassuming way to go about things, after all.

• Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl (file)
Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Officially, Lollapalooza ended Sunday night in Chicago's Grant Park, with dueling sets from the Killers and Jane's Addiction. Unofficially, it ended very early Monday morning, across town at venerable rock club the Metro, with a surprise show by Them Crooked Vultures.

To the unfamiliar, the Vultures might seem like an odd choice to close out Lolla weekend ... until you realize that they're made up of Foo Fighters frontman/ former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones. And their gig at the Metro was their world premiere.

According to some reports, the Vultures actually turned down Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell's request to replace the Beastie Boys as headliners at the festival, opting to debut in front of some 1,100 super-psyched fans at the Metro, rather than 75,000 in Grant Park (tickets for the gig were announced via Foo Fighter/ QOTSA fan clubs). Meaning that, in a lot of ways, this was the most sought-after ticket in town.

Taking the stage just after midnight, the Vultures — Grohl on drums (of course), Homme on guitar and vocals, Jones on bass and keys and frequent QOTSA contributor Alain Johannes on guitar — ripped through 12 songs in 80 minutes, all taken from their upcoming debut, which may or may not be called Never Deserved the Future, and may or may not be hitting stores on October 23 (early "promo" videos touting both those facts were revealed over the weekend to be hoaxes perpetrated by QOTSA fans).

The songs, with appropriately Homme-ian titles like "Scumbag Blues," "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)," "Caligulove" and "Interlude w/Ludes," sounded pretty much how you'd expect, given the band's pedigree. They rocked, hard — Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot described them as "fresh, invigorating and just plain nasty" — delving off into psychedelic, reverb-filled excursions and exploring proggy territory, "both of the old-school Yes variety, and the more modern Tool flavor," according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis.

It's not known if Monday's Metro performance was a one-off event for the Vultures — there have been whispers of a full-blown tour, but a spokesperson for Homme had not responded to MTV News' request for comment at press time. Nor was it clear whether or not they'll have an album out in October.

Early Monday, a Crooked Vultures Twitter account, which had previously posted links to the band's official-looking Web site and the Metro's online ticketing site — posted a link to what appears to be the group's first bit of official merchandise: a Deserve the Future T-shirt. Cost: $30.

• The Lollapalooza 2009 Experience

• Vampire Weekend, Jane's Addiction, More At Lollapalooza 2009

• Foo Fighters
• Queens of the Stone Age
• Led Zeppelin

Metallica's James Hetfield
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images

Metallica are so excited about their upcoming "Guitar Hero" video game that they couldn't wait to tell their fans what songs were in it.

The band's official Web site recently revealed the full set list of songs that will appear in "Guitar Hero: Metallica," due March 29, which includes 28 tracks spanning Metallica's entire career, as well as tunes from 21 other artists, such as Foo Fighters, Slayer, Queen, Alice in Chains, Lynyrd Skynyrd and System of a Down.

"Metallica gave us input on guest artists they'd like to see in their game, bands that they felt were really important to them," the game's lead designer, Alan Flores, told MTV News during a demo in New York earlier this month. "Guitar Hero: Metallica" is similar to November's full-band music game, "Guitar Hero: World Tour," but players will get to jam to songs strictly by Metallica and the musicians that inspire them.

The game's plot line is based on a true story of European fans who attended every Metallica show until they were finally invited by the band to open for them onstage. Players will take on the role of musicians trying to follow in Metallica's footsteps, but they'll also be able to play as singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo.

"The very first thing you do is you play as Metallica," Flores explained. "We wanted to hit you hard, and we didn't want to put that off."

Flores, a longtime Metallica fan himself who's worked on past "Guitar Hero" games, said that when his company, Activision Blizzard, showed the band their work on June's "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," it was a no-brainer. "They were really impressed by it, and they basically wanted a similar treatment," he said. "So we took that as a blueprint and crammed a lot of new bonus stuff in there."

The bonus material includes virtual re-creations of the venues Metallica's played in, pop-up trivia about the band's history and lyrics, unlockable videos of live performances and exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage from their motion-capture sessions.

The biggest addition is the "expert-plus" difficulty to all the gameplay modes, which adds a second bass pedal so that "Guitar Hero" drummers can play double bass drum tracks with both feet, just like Ulrich does. The second bass pedal, compatible with the existing "Guitar Hero: World Tour" drum peripheral, will be sold in stores separately when "Guitar Hero: Metallica" is released.

"It's a game that can be really hard if you're up for that challenge," Flores said. "But if you want to get in there and just play some songs, it's there for you. Even if you don't like Metallica but you like 'Guitar Hero,' the songs are just so fun to play."

The track list for "Guitar Hero: Metallica," according to Metallica's Web site:

Metallica Tracks:
• "All Nightmare Long"
• "Battery"
• "Creeping Death"
• "Disposable Heroes"
• "Dyers Eve"
• "Enter Sandman"
• "Fade to Black"
• "Fight Fire With Fire"
• "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
• "Frantic"
• "Fuel"
• "Hit the Lights"
• "King Nothing"
• "Master of Puppets"
• "Mercyful Fate (Medley)"
• "No Leaf Clover"
• "Nothing Else Matters"
• "One"
• "Orion"
• "Sad but True"
• "Seek and Destroy"
• "The Memory Remains"
• "The Shortest Straw"
• "The Thing That Should Not Be"
• "The Unforgiven"
• "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
• "Wherever I May Roam"
• "Whiplash"

Other Artists:
• Alice in Chains - "No Excuses"
• Bob Seger - "Turn the Page"
• Corrosion of Conformity - "Albatross"
• Diamond Head - "Am I Evil?"
• Foo Fighters - "Stacked Actors"
• Judas Priest - "Hell Bent for Leather"
• Kyuss - "Demon Cleaner"
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Tuesday's Gone"
• Machine Head - "Beautiful Mourning"
• Mastodon - "Blood and Thunder"
• Mercyful Fate - "Evil"
• Michael Schenker Group - "Armed and Ready"
• Motörhead - "Ace of Spades"
• Queen - "Stone Cold Crazy"
• Samhain - "Mother of Mercy"
• Slayer - "War Ensemble"
• Social Distortion - "Mommy's Little Monster"
• Suicidal Tendencies - "War Inside My Head"
• System of a Down - "Toxicity"
• The Sword - "The Black River"
• Thin Lizzy - "The Boys Are Back in Town"

For more gaming coverage, check out our Multiplayer blog.

• 'Guitar Hero: Metallica' Music Videos

• Metallica
• Foo Fighters
• Slayer

Taylor Swift
Photo: MTV News

Taylor Swift is never one to hide her emotions. These days, she's developing quite a reputation for sharing her feelings about everything — boys, clothes, music — even if it gets her into trouble. Fortunately, we're pretty sure that talking about her birthday (December 13) won't be one of those instances.

"I'm so excited," she told MTV News at the rehearsal for the Grammy Announcement Concert on Tuesday. "I'm turning 19. ... It's not 18; it's not 21. But it's going to be fun. It's the last year of my teens."

Swift plans to throw a combination birthday bash and holiday party to celebrate the end of her teen years. "I am having a party with my band and my crew," she said. "A year-end, you-guys-are-awesome party."

The country star only wants simple gifts for her birthday present. "The best gift for me would be stationery — I really like cards a lot," she revealed. "I asked my family for new glasses, 'cause mine broke, and I need them to drive. I've been, like, taping them, which is, of course, not the best look for anyone."

Swift also talked a bit about her music, saying that the song "Fearless," off her million-plus-selling album of the same name, won't be released as a single for a while. Instead, she will soon be hard at work for the video for "White Horses." "It's a really sad song," she said, adding that video will therefore have "a dramatic theme."

Right now, she's most excited to be a part of the Grammy festivities, which allowed her the opportunity to meet the Foo Fighters. "I'm such a big fan of them," she said. "They've been so cool to me. Sometimes you don't want to meet your heroes, [but] they were so amazing. They do not take themselves seriously."

And she seems to already be taking cues from the Foos' goofy sense of humor. "I probably shouldn't rap at all," she joked. "I am going to announce the rap nominee for the Grammys. I think I'll stick to what's not going to be horrible."

• Taylor Swift
• Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

First, the campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain angered the members of Van Halen. Then, about a week later, it incensed Heart. Now, the campaign has raised the ire of Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters.

In a statement issued by the band's publicist Wednesday morning (October 8), the Foo Fighters slammed the McCain camp for its unauthorized use of the group's 1997 hit single "My Hero" as its latest campaign theme tune.

"This isn't the first time the McCain campaign has used a song without making any attempt to get approval or permission from the artist," the statement reads. "It's frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property. The saddest thing about this is that 'My Hero' was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song. We hope that the McCain campaign will do the right thing and stop using our song — and start asking artists' permission in general."

The band issued the statement after receiving press reports that McCain had been using "My Hero" as the "latest in a number of unauthorized theme songs at his campaign rallies," without seeking permission from the band, its management, record label or the song's publisher.

In late August, Van Halen lashed out at the McCain campaign after it used their track "Right Now" as the candidate's entrance theme during a rally in Dayton, Ohio. The band's publicist told MTV News that Van Halen were not informed that McCain was going to use their song and that they were never approached for permission. "Had they asked, permission would not have been granted," the publicist said.

About a week later, Heart objected to the campaign's use of their song "Barracuda" at McCain rallies and events. The campaign continued to use the track, even after Heart asked that they cease further usage.

"The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission," Heart said in a statement. "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."

• Foo Fighters
• Van Halen

Lil Wayne performs at the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival
Photo: Paul Morigi/ Getty Images

BALTIMORE — Fans got more than they bargained for at this weekend's Virgin Mobile Festival — more Kanye, anyway.

Not content to close out the two-day festival with his headlining Sunday slot, Mr. West stormed the stage earlier in the day, joining Lil Wayne for a meeting of hip-hop's hottest. Maybe 'Ye was pulling double duty to outshine the legends (Bob Dylan, Iggy and the Stooges), big rock veterans (Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Nine Inch Nails, Offspring), and upstarts (Paramore, Jack Johnson, Duffy) who took the Virgin stage over the weekend at Pimlico Race Course.

Rocking a Louis Vuitton backpack, West joined Weezy on Sunday afternoon to spit his verse from the "Lollipop" remix without skipping a beat. The collabo was the high-energy point of a blistering, better-late-than-never performance. Showing up a half-hour late for an hourlong set would be a cardinal sin for most artists, but Weezy more than made up for it. The crowd chanted his name and even booed briefly while waiting for his set, but it was all love once Lil Wayne hit the stage. Wayne came with a mix of old-school, new-school and a lot of gratitude. "How many of y'all got Tha Carter III?" he asked. "I f---in' appreciate you."

He even took time to honor Static Major, asking for a moment of silence for the late rapper and songwriter before jumping into the song that catapulted Wayne from an underground mixtaper to an undeniable mainstream superstar. After welcoming Kanye up for "Lollipop," Wayne wrapped his set with even more gratitude and some laughs, lip-syncing to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" before leaving the stage.

While Wayne's day was done, Kanye was just getting started. He returned to the stage later that night like a hurricane, shrouded in flashing lights and fog. Fans threw up their Roc-A-Fella diamonds early and held them high all night. No irony was lost on 'Ye, who made it a point to prove his authenticity before jumping into "Diamonds From Sierra Leone."

"I work real hard at this rapping sh--," he said. "This is real rap."

Kanye dove into a set spanning his entire career, from his most recent verse from Young Jeezy's "Put On" to his humble beginnings on "All Comes Down," asking fans to "scream so loud I can't hear the music" if they knew the song.

And, of course, 'Ye talked, touching on everything from his mother's death to Barack Obama's nomination to crime in the festival's host city of Baltimore. He freestyled as well, expressing his gratitude for fame and his frustration that comes along with it. The raw emotion was undeniable. "I lost my mama/ I went through so much drama/ I went through so much drama/ I'm for Obama," he rapped. He then described his journey over to Pimlico Race Course, noting the flashing blue lights above cameras stationed throughout the 'hood and being content with the fact that even though many Baltimore natives couldn't afford to attend the concert, they could still see and hear the show from the parking lot outside the gates. He also shouted out MySpace, the Internet and Lil Wayne before beginning "Touch the Sky."

West took a bit of a jab at the festival's schedule, specifically the choice concertgoers had to make between his performance and one from Nine Inch Nails happening at the same time at the other end of the park (a dilemma faced by fans at Chicago's Lollapalooza a week earlier). "It's not a black-or-white thing, it's not a rap-or-rock-and-roll thing," he exclaimed. "It's a good-music thing. We jam about good things from the heart. How can you pick between me and Trent Reznor?"

But at the end of the day, Kanye's focus all came back down to his fans. Again freestyling, 'Ye expressed his eagerness to please those who came out to support him. "I hope you had a good time ... f--- that, the time of your life!" And with diamonds high in the sky and screams that could be heard around the block, the crowd's enthusiasm matched Kanye's (no easy feat).

The day before, it was up to West's fellow Chi-Town native Lupe Fiasco, who had fans bobbing their heads and singing along to "Superstar" and "Kick, Push." Despite technical difficulties, Lupe aimed to please, shouting after his microphone problem was resolved, "Let's hype this bitch back up, all right?" Given the amount of crowd-surfing during his set and the volume of fans chanting his name when he left the stage, he seemed to succeed.

But the weekend wasn't all about hip-hop. The Foos, the Stooges, Paramore and NIN brought the rock, but the guitar heroes of the day might have been Stone Temple Pilots. Taking the stage later than expected (thanks, Weezy), STP seemed to be the picture of reunification. The band was completely in sync thanks to its current 65-date tour. The focus wasn't mainly on themselves, though. Scott Weiland shared the love, shouting out those sharing the bill. "What a great day of f---ing music!," he gushed. "How about Iggy and the Stooges? And Nine Inch Nails are coming up!" He also had love for the crowd. "What a sea of energy," he exclaimed just before the crowd sang and bobbed along to every note of the band's breakthrough hit "Plush."

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports. And send your own concert pics, videos and reviews to MTV News You R Here!

• Paramore, Lil Wayne, More At Virgin Mobile Festival 2008

• Lil Wayne
• Kanye West
• Young Jeezy
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Nine Inch Nails

Tool's Maynard James Keenan
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Revered avant-metallers Tool have been nominated for several Grammy Awards over the years, and they've even won three: Best Metal Performance in 1997 and 2001; and Best Recording Package in 2006 for their most recent LP, 10,000 Days. This year, Tool were up for Best Hard Rock Performance again, for the 10,000 Days track "The Pot," but they lost the award to the Foo Fighters.

Not surprisingly, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has long shunned the Grammys, and had never even been to the ceremony before Sunday night — despite the numerous nods to his band's work. So why the change of heart, Maynard?

"Well, it's the 50th anniversary, and my son's never been to the Grammys, and I've never been to one, so I figured it's probably time," Keenan told MTV News on the Grammy red carpet on Sunday. His date for the event was his 12-year-old son, Devo, who is a cellist for Ashes Divide, the band founded by Keenan's A Perfect Circle co-pilot, Billy Howerdel. "There are other things we could do, but this is very special, I think, and it will be the highlight of the year for him. I think he's pretty stoked about it. We're kind of easygoing."

The reclusive Keenan isn't the awards-show-going type, of course, but, just before heading inside Los Angeles' Staples Center, he admitted he was looking forward to the Foo Fighters' Grammy performance. "It's going to be tremendous," he predicted of the band's outdoor set, which featured a full orchestra conducted by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones.

But really, talking about the Grammys isn't exactly an exciting endeavor for Keenan, and as fans might expect, the enigmatic singer has a lot on his plate anyway. His idiosyncratic side project, Puscifer, is keeping him quite busy, and so is his Sedona, Arizona, winery, Merkin Vineyards. Late last year, Keenan — who is a passionate wine connoisseur — released a 2004 Nagual de la Naga, a 2004 Nagual del Sensei and a new Primer Paso.

And yes, there's also Tool's fifth studio album to think about. While he wouldn't say much about the forthcoming LP, Keenan did reveal that the band would soon be reconvening to start kicking around song ideas.

"We're going to start writing the new Tool record right away," he said.

That said, there's no time table for the disc — Keenan didn't say when he expected the band to start tracking the effort, when it might be ready for release or what it might sound like. But with Tool's touring schedule wide open for the foreseeable future, he said it's time for the band to buckle down. He also elaborated on Tool's creative process.

"The music always comes first," Keenan said. "We all get in a room, shut out all the extra noises from the other people and what goes on outside the room and just focus on the four of us, where we are that day. And then we just start making sounds."

• Tool
• Foo Fighters

2009 Grammy Weekend Parties

• Lil Wayne
• Rihanna
• Akon
• T.I.
• Cassie

2008 Austin City Limits Festival

• N.E.R.D.
• Gnarls Barkley
• MGMT
• Silversun Pickups
• The Fratellis

Great Grammy Moments: Beyonce, Kanye, Rihanna, More

• Alicia Keys
• Kanye West
• Beyoncé
• The Time
• Fergie

2008 Grammy Awards Performers And Presenters

• Foo Fighters
• Beyoncé
• Rihanna
• Aretha Franklin
• Mary J. Blige

2008 Grammy Award Nominees: Akon, Fergie, T.I., More

• Akon
• Amy Winehouse
• Jay-Z
• Christina Aguilera
• Justin Timberlake

2007 MTV Europe Music Awards: Show Highlights

• Snoop Dogg
• My Chemical Romance
• Avril Lavigne
• Foo Fighters
• Will.I.Am

Foo Fighters And Serj Tankian Rehearse For The 2007 VMAs

• Foo Fighters
• System of a Down

2007 VMA: Foo Fighters And Guests Live From The Fantasy Suites

• Foo Fighters
• Gnarls Barkley
• System of a Down
• Mastodon
• Queens of the Stone Age

2007 VMA: Bet On Black

• Alicia Keys
• Ashlee Simpson
• Nelly Furtado
• Foo Fighters

VMA Photo Shoot: Behind-The- Scenes With Foo Fighters

• Foo Fighters