Well OK this is a review blog after all but I thought rather than do yet another review of a film, TV show or a game, I thought I would take a slightly different tack. As I had noticed the other night an article someone had put up analysing their favourite songs of the rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins, so I thought I would give it a go with one of my favourite bands, the Foo Fighters. So this post will cover my pick of the best 25 songs from Dave Grohl, Nate Mandel, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shifflet and Pat Smear of the Foo Fighters. And there will be a few surprises here and there in this list, as you might think "why haven't you put this song on here???!" but they are simply based on my personal preferences.
So without further ado let's get on with the countdown and I will split this into two parts as it is too long to do in one post so I will cover songs 25-11.
25. Alone + Easy Target
Well its hard to always to start off lists like this as I'm not used to it but I'l start by choosing Alone + easy target from the Foos first album. Dave Grohl largely recorded his band's debut album all by himself and this track was all Dave as he played bass, guitars and drums and he also double tracked his vocals (which he did for most of the album as he was insecured about his own singing voice at the time. The song itself is pretty catchy and I always like the intro to the song and the way the volume slowly raises as well as being recorded using drop D-tuning and the bridge as well of "can't you ever listen?" followed by "get out!" which finishes the song. Its not quite what I'd call a classic Foos song so that's why I've placed it right at the top of the list (or is it bottom?) but its likeable enough and remains one of their most distinguishable songs from the very early days of the band when there was just one man in it. Dave reportedly had originally recorded the song back in 1991 when he was still in Nirvana and played it to be Kurt Cobain who was said to be delighted that he had another songwriter in the band although Dave played it down at the time He was right though.
24. Have it all
So next up is Have it all, which features on the Foos fourth album, One by One, the album itself was never really a favourite of Dave's or the band's anyway its easy too see why as there are some pretty mediocre tracks on it. However Have it all for me is the exception to that rule as it really is something of an underrated and overlooked gem and no doubt remains one of the best songs on it. The song itself has a pretty neat guitar riff throughout it and Dave's lyrics are actually quite good here with the bridge lyrics "I'm everything you're everything I'm not! I'm anything I'm anyone you want!". The song also builds itself up into a pretty good crescendo towards the end as it closes with the rising riff that runs through most of it. And when you give this song another chance it really does make you think the band are missing a trick by overlooking it themselves when playing live.
23. Wind up
Up next for me is Wind up which features on their 2nd album, Colour and the shape, and straight from the get-go its a song that really grabs you with its meaty guitar hook. The song also features a great vocal throat ripping performance from Dave which pretty much was the start of his screeching vocals career and the song itself was a fine example of poppy punk-rock. The lyrics are also pretty good at the bridge section where Dave screeches "MY ONLY PROMISE IS THAT I'LL NEVER TELL! KEEP YOU AT DISTANCE FROM THE THINGS THAT I FELT! I'LL BITE THE BULLET AND TAKE THE BEATING UNTIL I TAKE IT ALL BACK ANYWAY WHAT WAS I SUPPOSE TO SAY!!". The bridge song also features a cool and rather oddly time signatured riff which again shows you how the Foos had already started to develop their own little moments of unique musicianship before it goes back into the chorus. So in short, Wind up is a great little number, catchy, punky with plenty of bite from its frontman.
22. Headwires
Headwires is another nice little mellow track which is often overlooked taken from their most mellow album, There is nothing left to lose, which Dave had recorded when the Foos were just a three piece band with Nate and Taylor (his debut studio album with the band) in his home studio in Virginia. Headwires also has a Police like influence to it with its warm underlying riff but its the chorus the grabs you and pulls you into the song with Dave's lyric "Better than a bullet being fired, tangled in your headwires now". Its also followed with a nice bridge where Dave sings "stationed on the wire, one day I'll let go, tell them all hello". So for me Headwires remains as another hidden gem on of their third studio album with the likes of Learn to Fly and Breakout overshadowing it.
21. Skin and bones
This is a great little acoustic number which featured on the Foos live acoustic set album of the same name and it featured a full accompliment of musicians including keyboardist Rami Jaffee from the Wallhouse flowers and the reappearance of Pat Smear. Skin and bones maintains the band's ability to write catchy little songs that have a sad and morose undercurrent to them yet they are lit up by the Foo's ability to make something negative be positive. The chorus in itself is what really provides the listener the hook that grabs them and makes you appreciate what a nifty track this one really is. The live show DVD also rather amusingly shows Dave at the start before the live show wonder the corridors playing the chorus riff out loud and then as he wanders into a room with his wife and their new baby, Dave plays the notes quietly and gently. So Skin and bones definitely deserves a place on this list.
20. Let it die
Well it had to be in there somewhere as Let it die really is a fine Foos song with its fairly tricky to play riff, it remains one of their more technical songs as well as another fine example of the quiet-loud dynamic they used. The openning riff itself has an almost hypnotic quality to it with Dave's voice quietly coming in before it starts to build up into the heavy rock stuff and it ends with the Grohlster screeching "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AN LET IT DIE?????!!!!". The song was also rumoured to have been about Courtney Love (Kurt Cobain's widow) and it hinted at Grohl's distaste for Courtney and Kurt's volatile relationship with drugs, which could also be mirrored in the song's lyrics "beautiful veins and bloodshoot eyes, why did you have to go and let it die?". But regardless of its real meaning the song itself really is one of the Foos standout tracks and is well worth a listen.
19. A Matter of Time
With the release of Sonic Highways coming in November this year, I thought I would pick at least one track off their most recent album, Wasting Light and I've opted for this one. A matter of time is a really good track and for me its easily one of the best one to be found on Wasting Light, which I personally think is one of their weaker albums, but here they get it right with a good mix of rock and "oohhh" harmonies. But what makes the song so good for me is the pre-chorus part with the unusual riff when Dave sings "it doesn't matter much to me, it doesn't matter much to you. Ooooh!" and the way which it builds into the chorus. So in short a matter of time is an excellent rock track and that's why its on here.
18. The Last Song
This is another underrated and most likely overlooked song from In your honor which features a really good central riff and some good lyrics from the Grohl. The song also features a good bridge with Grohl singing the lyrics "And yours is a name I will never name again. We pretend it doesn't matter, we pretend all the way. We pretend but it ain't no use!". The song also leads nicely into the following one which I will get to later, Free me and its funny as four of the tracks on the album from DOA to Free Me all run continously into one another with no break in between tracks. Anyway The Last Song which Dave says in his lyrics "is the last one I will dedicate to you" is one which is worth dedicating to anyone.
17. Low
Next is Low which is a great rock track and with its fast pace and its full throttle drums it really is a Foos song which grabs you by the throat and makes you listen. It also has a great chorus with Dave's chorus line "taking you as ow as you go" and followed by an even better bridge with a great guitar line behind it. The song was also well noted for its video which was a pretty rowdy one featuring Dave Grohl and Jack Black (the actor and lead singer from the comedy rock duo of Tenacious D) as a pair of rednecks who go to a motel room, get plastered, trash it and dress up in womens' clothing (as you do!) which caused MTV to ban it for its content. So Dave and Jack may have taken it as low as they can go in the song but song itself is something of a high in the list of the Foos and easily deserves a place on the list.
16. Stacked actors
This is another great example of the Foos showing they can rock out and also was an example of Dave Grohl making a statement for his contempt for all things Hollywood after he lived there for over a year in LA and he despised all the actors there as he thought they were all false and inscincere. The song has a great riff which is quite heavy and crunchy sounding thanks to the fact it is recorded in a drop A tuning (the bottom guitar string is tuned down from E to A basically). Dave's lyrics are also worthy of note and the chorus is memorable "Stack dead actors, stacked to the rafters. Line up all the bastards all I want is the truth!". Played by the Foos live its also a standout track and one where they have often have had fun with live by producing extended jams out of it (although it has to be some of their jams live can be a bit tedious at times!). So for me it is a real fav and it deserves its place quite high up the list.
15. Summer's end
Next is Summer's end which is on Echoes, silence patience & grace and its really enjoyable track which produces a sort of nostalgic haze and a warm and fuzzy feeling for the listener. Dave on the track provides a good vocal and the chorus "meet me in the summertime we can move the air. Sweet Virginia countryside, I will meet you there". Its also a leisurely track isn't in a hurry and it takes its time which is also part of its appeal as well as an enjoyable song to play on the guitar (and I play a little but not much a I used to). So I think Summer's end definitely deserves a place on here as it sees the Foos take a nice gentler pace.
14. Stranger things have happened
So far there hasn't been many of the Foos acoustic songs on here and they have done a few which are very worthy of a listen, but this one certainly is worth it which is on the Echoes album, which for me is still one of my favourite albums of theirs. The song itself rather uniquely starts with the sound of a metronome being wound up and set to go before the guitar gently comes in with its gentle yet warmingly emotional riff. The song itself also showcases how good Dave Grohl's voice can be and the range he has as well and the song's chorus remains one of the strongest and powerful to feature in any of their songs, possibly even more so because its an acoustic number. It also features a nice little solo on it which is played (presumably) by Shifflet and the style of the song allows for moments of staccato silence during the solo which adds to the song. The lyrics also underly a very personal message for Dave to his loved ones although who its aimed at is largely ambiguous, like alot of his songs there is no clear person, but it still provides some strong lines such as "I can change, I can change but who do you want me to be?". So Stranger things have happened remains another strong track in the Foos catalogue with its sparse style and its emotional message its also a nice shift from the norm.
13. Word Forward
Word Forward, which features on the Greatest Hits album I felt deserves to be quite high up here as its both sweet and bittersweet as a song and it starts so well with its gentle riff before it rises up with Dave singing "Years I've wasted these I owe you's" and then rips into shouting "They're just fucking words!". The song was actually dedicated to a friend of Dave's, Jimmy, who had passed away, who he had known for years, which is reflected in the lyric "goodbye Jimmy, farewell youth" and Dave talked about it when the band played on MTV Storytellers. The song also has a good bridge section where it rises up some more and the chorus leads into a great ending where it ends on a rather sinister chord (which is E minor 7th I think!). But song is also about moving on and not lingering over the past and it again it signals that good spirit that the Foos bring to their music, so I think it deserves its place on here.
12. Hey, Johnny Park
This for me I think is quite an important Foos song, which is on Colour and the shape, as it was the song that saw the band start to develop their sound and their ability to write emotional songs but at the same time still have that rock element to it. It also starts well with a drum fill and goes into the song with its riff tuned to drop D and then it turns into a gentle more emotional section and with this song Dave starts to show he has a fine singing voice. The lyrics are also good in the chorus where Dave sings "Its impossible, I can't let it out, you'll never know, if I'm selling you out, sit and watch your every mood!" followed by a few "oooohs" (which also started Dave's "ooooohh" trend in his songs!). Dave later said the reason he named the song Johnny Park was because he based it on one of his best friends from childhood and he had never heard of him since he was about 14, and he named it after him in the hope he'd call up! (whether or not he did who knows???). And for me its a great little song which signalled the development of the Foos sound as they were no longer a one man band writing little catchy tracks but saw Dave starting to emerge as a songwriter.
11. Ballad of the Beaconsfield miners
This is a song on the Echoes album which is a rare instrumental track which Dave dedicated to the miners involved in the collapse of a mine in Beaconsfield in Australia. The incident saw 17 people in the mine at the time where 16 of them survived by one was killed and two of the remaining survivors were trapped for two weeks before being rescued. During the incident one of the trapped miners requested an iPod with the Foos In your honor album on it to be sent down, which moved Dave and he later met with the miner and he wrote the track in dedication to the incident. The track itself also shows off Dave's technical skill on playing the guitar using his finger picking (and it remains a track I am frustrated at as I can't play it properly on the guitar!) it shows that while he is no Hendrix he is quite a spangly rhythmic player. Dave was also accompanied on the track by an American guitarist and musical experimentalist, Kaki King, and together its nice little duet and as such one of my favourite Foos tracks which is great little departure from their norm.
And so that's it for Part 1 and I will continue a bit later with part 2 which will continue the countdown with my top 10 pick of the best Foo Fighters tracks.
Till then that's it for now!
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