The Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins died unexpectedly last Friday evening in Bogota, Colombia. The band was touring South America with a stop in Bogota for the Festival Estéreo Picnic. The cause of death has not been officially released yet but according to a statement from Bogotá’s secretary of health, he died after experiencing chest pains at a hotel in the city. A private health provider was providing treatment when an ambulance arrived on the scene. Efforts to resuscitate Hawkins were unsuccessful. He was 50 years old.

The cause of death hasn’t been released but a preliminary “forensic medical study” released Saturday by Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office shows that a urine toxicology test found 10 substances. I think we know where this is going. The urine test found substances that include THC, tricyclic, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and opioids.
“The National Institute of Forensic Medicine continues the medical studies to achieve total clarification of the events that led to the death of Taylor Hawkins,” the report said, and the Attorney General’s Office will continue to investigate his cause of death in a “timely manner.”

The band tweeted out the news.

“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever,” the band said on Twitter. “Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”

pic.twitter.com/ffPHhUKRT4

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) March 26, 2022

Condolences quickly came from famous and non-famous social media users. On Saturday afternoon, Jill Biden posted a tweet of her own, or at least it showed up on her official Twitter account.

A ferocious drummer, dedicated father, and dear friend gone far too soon.

Sending love to Taylor Hawkins’ family and fans of the Foo Fighters everywhere.

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) March 26, 2022

This White House, like others before it, looks for ways to show how in touch with popular culture it is. Do we think, though, that 70 year old Jill Biden is a big fan of Foo Fighters? Color me skeptical. What it looks like is the first lady is trying too hard to be cool. Maybe her grandkids like the band. Don’t get me wrong, Foo Fighters has millions of fans and has won twelve Grammys. There isn’t anything wrong with their music. It’s just a generational thing. It’s grandma being cool for the grandkids.

Did Jill tweet about, say, Bob Saget’s death? He was well-known to multiple generations because of Full House. Jill commented on Betty White’s death when asked about it, which wasn’t surprising. She, too, was well-known and a beloved actress.

Joe Biden’s campaign used a lot of younger celebrities. So did his COVID-19 team for public service announcements. We’ve seen the White House communications office use Tik Tok influencers to promote talking points on inflation and high energy costs. I still can’t get the image of Joe Biden’s virtual conversation with Cardi B during the presidential campaign out of my head. The old man was holed up in his basement in Delaware and the young music star wanted to talk to him about Medicare for All. The thing is, she didn’t realize that his first name is ‘Joe’ and said so. She kept addressing him as ‘Biden’. It was cringeworthy. I think that conversation was arranged by his daughter, Ashley. Anyway, Biden (and Jill) are not particularly well-served by the younger people they surround themselves with, if you ask me.

The main reason Jill likely specifically tweeted about Taylor Hawkins is because the Foo Fighters were often political messengers for Democrats.

Thank you Dr. Biden. The Foo Fighters celebrated with America when President Biden was announced the winner of the election. pic.twitter.com/fdFBYakWab

— C (@HellloPity) March 26, 2022

The Foo Fighters did a GOTV benefit for Biden in October 2020, just before the presidential election, hosted by George Lopez and Ana Navarro.

Music has the power to change the world. So does voting.

Join us and many other performers for a concert to support @JoeBiden, @KamalaHarris and Democrats down the ballot.

Sign up here: https://t.co/icIBoF580w#VoteEarlyDay pic.twitter.com/QJGorHqDfa

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) October 24, 2020

They played for Obama fundraisers, too. They visited the Obama White House and played a concert for military families.

Last week, Jill hosted the cast of the movie CODA. She must be pleased that it won the Oscar for Best Picture. It made history doing so because it is the first win for Best Picture by a streaming service at the Oscars. (Not Netflix, but Apple.)

CODA!

Congratulations ⁠on your win. You captured our hearts. 💕 #Oscars pic.twitter.com/pxC3P201Mm

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) March 28, 2022

To Marlee, Troy, Emilia, Daniel, and the entire cast of CODA – the Rossi family will always live in our hearts.

Thank you for an afternoon filled with so much 🤟🏻💕 pic.twitter.com/QIWtLSMLr5

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) March 25, 2022

Maybe Jill is just determined to be seen as current on cultural news because Grandpa Joe is so out of touch with everything in general. Stay young, Jill.