Foo Fighters: Next Year
Continuing my list of the Top 10 albums of 1999, coming in at #3 is There Is Nothing Left To Lose by Foo Fighters. The first new television show that Ms. Faux and I watched together every week was Ed. Starring Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen, with an incredible supporting cast that included Michael Ian Black, Justin Long, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, and several other great character actors of the period, the show was one of the best dramedy-style shows ever produced. It is criminal that the show has never made it to streaming, especially since many of the stars of the show have gone on to more famous roles. Cavanagh has multiple wonderful roles on his filmography – he was especially wonderful in the even more forgotten show Love Monkey – and is now best-known for his work on The Flash. Bowen was the star of Modern Family for 11 seasons. Black, Long, and Mitchell are cult heroes to all of their fans. Even more minor characters, such as those portrayed by John Slattery (Mad Men) and Kelly Ripa (Live! With Regis & Kelly, etc.), led to future stardom for the stars of Ed. So, how does this have anything to do with Foo Fighters? The connection is that the song “Next Year” was selected as the theme song for Ed. Taken from the band’s third album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, it was a wonderful surprise when we watched the pilot episode and the song came on. I had never been a huge fan of the band at that time. The first album, basically a Dave Grohl solo experiment, was filled with clever ideas but very few fully-defined compositions. The second album was their breakthrough due to the songs “Monkey Wrench,” “My Hero,” and “Everlong,” but I still don’t find most of the songs on it to be fully developed beyond Grohl’s Nirvana days. It was their 1999 album that finally pulled Grohl’s musical vision together into a fully realized collection of complete songs. In the words of Grohl, it is his favorite Foo Fighters album, was totally based on melody, and the recording process was a serene experience. It is no secret that this is because it was the album where drummer Taylor Hawkins became an integral member of the band and Grohl’s much-needed musical partner. Although Nate Mendel (bass) was involved in the previous album, and is still the driving rhythmic force behind the band’s albums, it was Hawkins who allowed Grohl to become a full-time guitarist/vocalist and leave the drumming to someone he trusted with his rock vision. The songs on There Is Nothing Left To Lose range from indie-rock ballads to retro grunge (a la Nirvana, obviously) to contemporary pop/rock (especially the popular “Learn To Fly”). The song “Generator” showed the quickly advancing maturity of Grohl’s songwriting ability and the song “Aurora” presented a modernized anthemic rock style. Foo Fighters are now one of the only modern rock bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I can’t say that they deserve that accolade, but if they do then it is because of their shift toward a more popular sound in 1999.
To learn more about Foo Fighters, check out their Wikipedia page or watch their video for the song “Learn to Fly,” featuring cameos by Jack Black and Kyle Gass (Tenacious D).
To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.
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