Music Video Sunday – Foo Fighters buffet

Wilco is probably my favorite band. I don’t think anyone can match both their musical ability and their lyrics. But, they’re a bit on the mellow side. If I really want to rock out, it’s the Foo Fighters all the way. The following videos comprise my Foo Fighters playlist on my iPod. It is almost exactly the same length as my walk to (or from) college, so it’s a great way to start (or end) the day.It took me a long time, way longer than it should have, to figure out Dave Grohl was in Nirvana. I missed Nirvana by a few years. I’ve always been aware of their music and their contributions to the music world, but I wasn’t old enough to really be into them when they hit it big. For me, Dave Grohl was always the lead singer for the Foo Fighters. Then one day, lo and behold, I’m watching the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and who’s playing the drums but Dave Grohl. It threw me for a huge loop, and I’ve felt a bit like a doofus ever since.

For me to pick my favorite Foo Fighters song is just an impossible task. If I had to absolutely pick, I’d say it’s my first offering of “Everlong”. This is definitely the one song I want to be able to play on guitar. If I can learn this, I can die happy with my musical accomplishments. This is also David Letterman’s favorite song, so much so that at his request the Foo Fighters played this on his first show back from his heart surgery a few years back. That video is below.

Next is “Best of You”. The emotion behind Grohl’s singing still can make me shiver. When the band kicks in about 48 seconds in is a big rush. This is easily #1a on my list of Foo Fighters songs. If I ever have the cojones to do karaoke, I’d probably try this out. I’m gonna suck anyway, so I’m going to sing my favorite song to sing along to.

Last week when I was walking into City Center to watch the inauguration, I put on my Foo Fighters playlist for my iPod. I was listening to this like I had a million times before, singing along a little too loudly for a guy walking by himself down the street. When I came to the chorus, I sang along with “the hope that starts the broken heart”. Given what I’d just written about Obama, it seemed oddly fitting. It was a lyric I’d heard countless times before, but that was the first time I’d really taken it to heart.

“The Pretender” is off of the latest album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. The first time I ever saw this video was on the plane over to Dublin. The beginning of the chorus “What if I say I’m not like the others” reminds me of Sesame Street’s “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” It’s a weird association to be sure.

“Learn To Fly” really shows off the band’s funny side. Dave Grohl plays about 5 different characters in this music video. Look out for Jack Black and Kyle Gass, otherwise known as Tenacious D, as the devious mechanics.

“Times Like These” The intro for this is the intro music for the sports roundup show here on RTE (Radio Telefís Éireann, the government run network. Think the Irish version of the BBC).

“My Hero” I guess I’m running out of stuff to say. The intro to each video is getting progressively shorter, so I’m going to stop blabbing and let you enjoy the last video.