My bedroom door opened, and my backpack was thrown into my lap with the words “Get dressed, let’s go.”. The dreaded “What do you want to do with your life?” lecture followed soon after dinner. Some bands keep things fresh by experimenting and mixing things up, but they’ve kept things alive by driving straight towards what they do best and perfecting it. I love that I want to sing along with the chorus every time it hits (and nine times out of ten I do). In my case, it ripped off the branch and rolled all the way down the hill. The band tends to use “All My Life” as a show-opener, but sadly, they don’t play “Breakout” all that much anymore (although to be fair, no one is really playing anything live anymore). If you want to question the legacy of the Foo Fighters, then you have to do so while ignoring this song and I just don’t think you can—and you definitely can’t when it comes to the song we all knew was going to take the top slot. So we did too. What could possibly go wrong? Without it, I was just another kid, searching to belong. Perhaps there’s a whole slew of rankings and Foo-related articles and retrospectives that do nothing but sing the album’s praises. It just feels like, well, the Foo Fighters. Feeling like I could actually be who I wanted to be. It was an ambitious project that they pulled off while being filmed and the end result was a rock-solid album of eight killer tunes. Don’t fuck with me. As a result, I’m forced to celebrate one of America’s best rock bands achieving a magnificent milestone in a virtual manner and am doing so with a ranking of their 25 best songs. A rather nondescript, sterile community center in Bethesda, Maryland, just across the state line. So, with that wrinkled cash in hand, my bandmates and I retreated like bandits with a few pizzas to celebrate our lofty accomplishments. Just call it “kicking the apple back up the hill a bit.”, The Life of a Little Black Boy in America, Don’t Isolate Yourself This Holiday Season. I knew deep down that I was better than that. Actually, go ahead and laugh—it was ridiculous.) Have you ever heard “Make It Right” before? I literally had to flip a coin to decide if “Bridge Burning” or “My Hero” deserved the bronze. I know, I know. I learned to appreciate his wonderful eccentricities and puzzling idiosyncrasies (finding glimpses of myself in more than a few of them) and reconciled many of our past differences. We reached that point with these rankings a few entries ago, which is how a classic like “Learn to Fly” finds itself at 15. If this was a list of, say, the best Foo Fighters songs to hear in concert, this track would be much, much higher, but it’s not, so it isn’t. We all sometimes go left when we should go right. The opening track from Sonic Highways was recorded in Chicago, and while other songs on the album might be considered more “fun,” “Something from Nothing” is just one hell of a rock song. After all these years, this simple message, my first words of true validation as a fledgling writer, has never left me. I wanted chaos. “Wheels” is where it is because despite it being a great rock song, the Foo Fighters somehow have six that are better—starting with “This Is a Call.”. One of the reasons I was looking forward to the warmer months of this particular year was the many bands who were slated to hit the road—including the Foo Fighters, who were set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the titular debut album that marked Dave Grohl’s return to music following the death of Kurt Cobain. The ten facts you need to know about Dave Grohl, including life path number, birthstone, body stats, zodiac and net worth. The guitars are razor-sharp and the drums are manically wild in the best possible way, but at the same time, the vocals are so melodic and earnest and work perfectly in contrast with the instrumentation. Whoa! I rejected his narrow-minded life coaching and chastised him for his lack of faith in me, proudly confessing to my whereabouts the night before as an example of my capabilities. Grohl has one older sister, Lisa. Ugh. Dave Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and song-writer. He started playing guitar at a very young age, and is self-taught for the most part. Even Ant-Man. I had finally found my voice, my identity, my tribe, only to have it all cruelly pulled out from under me on account of another disastrous report card. Especially considering the type of music my heart had chosen to play. Stop being so withholding, internet. “Rope” is kind of like Smart Hulk from Endgame; it’s Hulk, sure, but a slightly more refined Hulk. I remember hearing my father’s footsteps as he came through the front door the next morning. I’d like to tip my cap to drummer Taylor Hawkins on this one because the thundering tom work he gets into throughout this song is so deliciously heavy. Dave Grohl wrote it during the Christmastime of 1996. Born to a blue-collar, Ohioan steelworking family in 1938, my father was a complicated man … Things are about to get nuts. No small victory for the delinquent son of a public-school teacher, but let’s be honest, I was never destined to become the next Bill Shakespeare (ask any of my traumatized English teachers). This is an anthem that the Foo Fighters will be remembered for long after they’re gone, but that’s not enough to earn it a higher spot on the list. I quietly placed the note on the dining-room table, grabbed my backpack, and left. The Foo Fighters capped off their first decade with In Your Honor, a 20-song rock explosion that features some of the band’s most famous and memorable tracks—one of which is “No Way Back,” a buzzsaw of energetic, unapologetic rock. Nevertheless, being the quintessential stubborn Capricorn that I am, his ruling only strengthened my resolve. The Foo Fighters have so many really, really good songs that open with nothing but Dave Grohl’s voice and some guitar. My dreams had been shattered, and I was now reduced to being just another high-school failure with nothing but a dismal life in a dead-end rat race to look forward to. Old James believed that music was the thing keeping me from my studies, obviously. Perhaps it’s the moment when the apple grinds to a halt at the bottom of the hill. His father, Robert Sr., was known as "Mr. Republican," and his grandfather was President of the United States. It shows they hadn’t lost a step but also didn’t intend to slow down at all in the years ahead. It deserves praise. Again, I don’t understand why Sonic Highways wasn’t better received. Does it help? It will be in the shows and movies our kids watch and maybe even the ones their kids watch. No band rehearsal? A seriously low blow that burned me from the inside out. Or will it? I was broken down and reduced to rubble, lowering my head in shame as my father delivered my sentence from his Eames chair. Dave Grohl, Jon Batiste, Jim James and More to Play Preservation Hall Benefit Dave Grohl, Neil Young, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga and More Send Letter to … So much that I’ve even contemplated trying my hand at writing a book someday. We just can’t. My heart was inflated with a feeling that I had yet to find in life: the feeling of worth. What was I thinking? “February Stars” is also an overlooked golden nugget in the Foo Fighters catalog. I would rehearse the songs in my head as I made my 30-minute walk to school each day, memorizing arrangements as I played every drum part with my teeth. Listen, I don’t need to explain myself again. Stay young, my friends. I don’t know if this is the case but I feel like that’s exactly what they had in mind when they make songs like “Walk.” If they did indeed set out to achieve that goal when putting this together, then they absolutely nailed it, because this track is the kind of rafter-shattering tune that rock fans dream about. (Yes, I can play the drums with my teeth, just ask my horrified dentist.) The Foo Fighters capped off their first decade with In Your Honor, a 20-song rock explosion that features some of the band’s most famous and memorable tracks—one of which is “No Way Back,” a buzzsaw of energetic, unapologetic rock. With a ranking like this one, there will come a time when the amount of daylight that exists between songs starts to get smaller. Nothing could keep me from doing what my body and soul commanded—no, demanded. It’s kind of like they’re gaining people’s trust by coming in all quiet and unassuming as if to say, “Don’t worry, we’re pretty lowkey and definitely not liable to cause any trouble. Nothing to see here. Dave Grohl “This year, instead of doing a Christmas song, Greg and I decided to celebrate Hanukkah by recording eight songs by eight famous Jewish artists and releasing one song each night of Hanukkah,” Grohl said of the series. It’s especially fun because of how well it exists within the framework of what makes for a great Foo song. My feeling of accomplishment quickly vanished, as did my newfound sense of purpose and identity that had filled me with so much pride. I’m a big fan of the guitar riff that comes right before the verse, too; the one that is heading in one direction and then abruptly stops to see what’s cracking in the other room. It was just that neck and neck coming down the straightaway. Or maybe it was? The long, silent drive to my father’s apartment was suffocating. “Where's David?” his voice bellowed. Like food. He has also appeared in various TV series documentaries. “Long Road To Ruin” would probably be much higher on that list, but on this one, 18 feels about right. It’s massive and heavy and moves across the wild plains of America like a Mac truck fueled by Bud Heavy and hot dogs, but whenever I hear it, there’s only one thing I can think about. These were the same emotions and ideas that filled the songs I sang along to every Saturday night in those sweaty nightclubs, so it only made sense that I was compelled to apply them to my own life and follow a path outside convention. (He once very proudly bragged to me that the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg had hit on him at a party. I had forgotten about “Resolve” until diving into these rankings, but in just a few short seconds, I instantly remembered just how rad the song is. Either way, the guitars in the beginning are sweet. It’s not a country song (which is good) but it feels a little like one. His father was then a journalist and his mother a teacher. As the father of three amazing children of my own (all musically inclined), nothing is more important to me than their safety and well-being. It just makes you feel alive. “This Is a Call” is from their debut album but I promise nostalgia isn’t the reason why it’s so high up. Beyond all our differences, if there is one gene that I am most thankful for, it is the one that fueled my love of music. To him, my dreams were just dreams. As I sat there at his cluttered desk, books open, pen in hand, my mind was reeling. It builds and it builds and it builds, and while it calms down for a little bit here and there, it never once loses any kind of forward momentum. With Grohl on drums and vocals and Kurstin on keyboard, the duo’s take on the 1994 single retains the same electric energy of the original. I needed music like air. “No Way Back” is also a great bridge track between decades for the band. Now, rather than delivering imposing lectures from his dreaded Eames chair, he spun yarns of his childhood in Ohio, or of his time as a reporter in D.C. in the ’70s during Watergate, or of his years in Stuttgart serving in the Army. If not, we’re in for one hell of a treat at some point in the future. But that made no difference to me. “Bridge Burning” is definitely the least-known Foo Fighters track in this top five but it’s certainly not the song’s fault. I suppose I get why they went with “Doll” first, as sometimes it’s fun to start things off on the mellow tip before really going in. It starts on the softer side (although unlike other songs of this nature, it’s the whole band involved from the jump) and then there’s a mellow vibe that runs through the first verse until everything just explodes once the band gets to the chorus. I could have become the next Charles Darwin! Cutest-couple alert!). Some people might knock that framework but it’s what’s helped make the Foo Fighters so consistently good for all of these years. I practiced for hours on the pillows in my bedroom. ), Determined, I put my plan in motion and found a suitable venue. Like water. If only I had applied that same energy and focus to dissecting frogs in biology class! One of these days, I’m going to do another article like this that focuses on the best Foo Fighters songs to listen to while driving. Yup, and it’s not the only one. It makes me want to drink shit beer and play pool in a place where I’d probably end up getting into a fight after finding myself unable to resist the urge to pull out a Palm Springs-esque dance routine. Sound good? All this and more, poured into a crisp, clean seersucker suit. “My Hero” just makes me want to watch Varsity Blues. In the midst of divorce, he was crashing at a friend’s home in Virginia in a sleeping bag on the floor. He maintains his own blog, Giddy Up America, and has previously contributed work to UPROXX & Heavy. It echoes in my mind like a long canyon scream each time I sit down to a blank page, and inspires me to fill it with my true voice. It was time to fight back. “Rope” is a tad too subdued to be considered “nuts.” It gets close but never quite there. It’s got a little 70s funk to it, too, and I think that helps put some space between it and everything else on the album. To his credit, I now understand his concern. I love “Wheels.” I love everything about it. And growing up on the outskirts of one of America’s most thriving punk-rock scenes, Washington, D.C., our heroes just happened to be the local bands that we could see every weekend. These were bands that existed entirely outside the conventional, corporate music industry. It happens. As the years passed and my dreams of becoming a musician came true, he was always there to impart little gems of insight and wisdom, often steering me clear of the clichéd occupational hazards that typically clutter life in the music business. The song you wrote for me was truly, truly EPIC! I bet Iron Man as well. Like my father had done. From that day forward, my father and I formed a new dynamic in our relationship, and over the years we developed a friendship based on mutual respect. I had taken the hereditary generosity of my father’s musical abilities and mutated them into the antithesis of his classically trained ear. Also, the screams Grohl unleashes a few ticks after the two-minute mark are the kind that have the ability to reach deep into the insides of those fans in the seats furthest from the stage and tear ’em up with reckless abandon. I thought. The countdown began …. My father read my letter. You know, Nirvana used to start rehearsals with the three of us just jamming. For, like, a half an hour, just noise and freeform crap - and usually it was crap. It was always going to be “Everlong” and likely always will be. Getting old kind of sucks. He was endlessly entertaining and, without realizing it, inadvertently shaping my sense of composition and prose while quickly becoming my favorite read. (Fuck biology!) Hey Foo Fighters: how about when all this madness is over and you start playing shows again, you play “All My Life” and then “Breakout” right after? Imagine that. It’s easy to assume he is, however, and I can’t even imagine the shit tornado that would’ve ensued if social media had been around when Foo Fighters came out today. The family moved from Ohio to Springfield, VA when Grohl was three. Actor, writer, award-winning journalist, lover of art and food, and a ferocious, classically trained musician. Over the course of their 25-year career, Dave Grohl and Co. have taken the soft-loud songwriting style that was a cornerstone of the grunge movement and pumped it full of arena rock goodness. A new, brighter chapter was about to begin. Former Nirvana drummer Grohl responded on August 29, posting a video of himself playing along to the song on his daughter Harper’s drum kit, and then laid down a challenge of his own, inviting Bushell to cover Them Crooked Vultures’ … I got cocky. He really did Billy Bob dirty. I know that kind of monkey business is frowned upon in drinking establishments like that but goddamn would it be worth it. ... who worked on 18 James Bond films and received an … Grohl told The Sun that he tried to explain his thoughts to Corden more clearly. It’s one of those wild, kick-open-the-doors-of-the-saloon-like-cowboys-used-to-do Foo Fighters’ songs. It was time to take a stand, I thought. The man, the myth, the legend … my father, James Harper Grohl. No way. However, it’s the titular track that ultimately gets the nod here. It’s pretty wild that Dave Grohl—a guy brought in to play drums for Nirvana right before they recorded Nevermind and who was subsequently primarily known for his head-banging and cymbal-slamming abilities—would not only go on to front his own band after Cobain passed away but that the band would still be going 25 years later. Being in charge of something. I’m sorry, but I’m also not sorry. We may have shared the same passion for music, but eventually I swapped his trademark baton and Eames chair for my splintered drumsticks and leather jackets. As is the case with all lists like this, this is fairly subjective, as the line between “the best” and “your favorite” is easily blurred—although I think we can all agree that “Everlong” will probably be number one. The line was now drawn. How far does the apple fall from the tree? Actually, I think all the Avengers would get down with it. Cool as a cucumber, he could turn on the charm and work any Republican Capitol Hill shindig like he was to the manor born. At the time, I was in a band with a ragtag group of other misfits, suburban teens by the name of Mission Impossible. “Congregation” is another tune from Sonic Highways, this one recorded in Nashville and featuring Zac Brown on vocals and guitar. Yes, Dave Grohl's dad worked with the lineage of our nation's fattest president. The same goes for the songs on The Colour And The Shape. When Virginia and James divorced, Dave and his sister were raised primarily by their mother. All rights reserved. Dude, it’s “Everlong.” It’s one of the best rock songs written in the last 25 years. A lot of the Foo’s best songs operate at different speeds and come at you from different angles, but not “Breakout.”  It’s a ballbuster from start to finish and that’s what makes it so great. Minor Threat, Faith, Void, Government Issue, Bad Brains, Rites of Spring, just to name a few. A tie?! A true Renaissance man, yet so conservative that he would sometimes be mistaken in public for the legendary political commentator George Will. Part of what makes me so confident that this song will live in perpetuity is that it was released all the way back in 2002 but somehow still feels fresh 18 years later. He started playing guitar at a very young age, and is self-taught for the most part. Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin's The Hanukkah Sessions song series continued Monday night with a cover of music by Robert Zimmerman, otherwise known … “Times Like These” will outlive all of us, friends. That’d be nice. This song sounds so damn dirty and so damn sleazy. How dare he! Who else would send me an email beginning with “To writ” or containing words like redolent? There’s only one way to find out. Steeped in the DIY culture of underground, independent music, I wanted nothing to do with the convention and formalities of becoming a classical musician. 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