LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – While Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones have been working on a new studio album for the better part of a decade, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl likes to work fast — and his influenced apparently rubbed off on Jagger, as the duo surprise-released a pandemic anthem deceptively called “Eazy Sleazy” on Tuesday.
Judging by the socially distanced video, the song was performed entirely by the two of them, with Jagger on lead vocals and rhythm guitar and Grohl playing everything else.
The punky song is certainly the liveliest thing Jagger has released in many years, and despite its raunchy title, it’s entirely about the pandemic. While the lyrics, presumably written by Jagger, aren’t terribly deep, they are funny in a dark-humor kind of way: “Cancel all the tours, football’s fake applause, no more travel brochures”; “Trying to write a tune, better hook me up to Zoom”; “Way too much TV, it’s lobotomizing me”; and best of all, “Shooting the vaccine, Bill Gates is in my bloodstream.”
Jagger commented in the press release that accompanied the video: “It’s a song that I wrote about coming out of lockdown, with some much-needed optimism. Thanks to Dave Grohl for jumping on drums, bass, and guitar, it was a lot of fun working with him. – hope you all enjoy Eazy Sleazy”
Grohl added: “It’s hard to put into words what recording this song with Sir Mick means to me. It’s beyond a dream come true. Just when I thought life couldn’t get any crazier……and it’s the song of the summer, without a doubt!!”