Classic or Dud - "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters

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I mean, you do all like that song, right? It's not just me, right?

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, it is a great song.

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh yeah, it's a fantastic song, probably their finest moment. Incredible video, as well. I just don't think it's one of the thirty best of the 90s.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:49 (twenty-one years ago)

is the one with the dream video? probably the only Foo Fighters song I ever liked.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:51 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:52 (twenty-one years ago)

It's their best song, but that still doesn't mean enough for me to vote for it in the 90s singles poll, I'm afraid.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:54 (twenty-one years ago)

It's by the Foo Fighers, thus dud.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:55 (twenty-one years ago)

"Monkey Wrench" is their best single, but only if you pretend that it's by a nu-metal band who've just read the definiton of "melody" out of a dictionary and gone "Ah, right".

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:56 (twenty-one years ago)

But what about that annoying barky-lyric break in Monkey Wrench? It's godawful.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 23:59 (twenty-one years ago)

anything by the foo fighters after their first album (the one thats basically just grohl cutting loose by himself after the demise of nirvana) is like a huge momument to the concept of "meh".

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:03 (twenty-one years ago)

But the videos! He dresses up as a woman! Like Keith Moon probably did at some point! Genius.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, having a Moog Cookbook cover playing in a lift at the start of a video is damned cool.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:14 (twenty-one years ago)

"Everlong" is probably my favorite Foo Fighters song. If I was gonna buy any album it would probably be The Colour And The Shape. It probably had little to do with it, but for some reason I want to credit the presence of Pat Smear.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:29 (twenty-one years ago)

It's their best album, IMO, but I'm only a lukewarm appreciator of their music. You should see me if I'm at a party and all the person has are lots of Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Offspring etc. records though - I become the biggest FF fan that ever lived.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

The post-Smear singles are pretty rank (though I like "Breakout" and I'd probably like "All My Life" if the lyrics weren't so blatantly about his dickin' around) and the early ones never did much for me. The singles from Colour And The Shape seem like that moment where his anguish was more direct than on the debut but hadn't quite turned into preening.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:38 (twenty-one years ago)

actually I like "All My Life" despite the lyrics. Great arrangement, great hooks. But "Times Like These" and "Learn To Fly" are sooooo wack.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I like this song quite a bit.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:43 (twenty-one years ago)

i think my main draw to this are the weird suspended chords during the intro/verses.

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:45 (twenty-one years ago)

It's an excellent song. I like it better than single Nirvana song (although I'm otherwise neutral on the rest of the Foo Fighters' oeuvre). Things I like about it: a) the overwhelming tension, b) those jagged minor-7th guitar chords, c) the insanely fast cymbal pattern, d) THE BREAKDOWN, which absolutely makes the song (cf. Interpol's "PDA").

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 11 November 2004 00:47 (twenty-one years ago)

How is it that Aja has not weighed in on this thread as yet?

Not my favorite song of theirs (by a looooooooooooooooong shot), but not their worst, either (that would be "There Goes My Hero" or whatever). Entertaining video, I reckon.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 11 November 2004 01:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Alex, you've been a rare sight around the place recently - are there still problems post election?

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 11 November 2004 01:18 (twenty-one years ago)

hating on everlong is fucking bulllllllllshit. it is a great song.

― Ian John50n (orion), Thursday, 11 November 2004 01:29 (twenty-one years ago)

absolute classic.

― tk, Thursday, 11 November 2004 01:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Alex, you've been a rare sight around the place recently - are there still problems post election?

Nah, just busy. Election-wise, I wouldn't go as far as to say "I'm over it," but it's clear that expressing my true thoughts on the subject (which are significantly less than charitable) will not help matters.

Kick a Republican. Go on. You know they deserve it.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Things I like about it: a) the overwhelming tension, b) those jagged minor-7th guitar chords, c) the insanely fast cymbal pattern, d) THE BREAKDOWN, which absolutely makes the song (cf. Interpol's "PDA").

are these the reasons why i love this song? cuz fuck if i could ever explain it. i love it

― john'n'chicago, Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

best alt-rock song of all time

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

brian krakow-division perhaps

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Is this the song that sounded like Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street"? (Which I do know they also covered separately.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:24 (twenty-one years ago)

you're thinking of "pretty fly for a white guy"

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I do the funky thing.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:26 (twenty-one years ago)

For a while I thought Soul Asylum's "Somebody To Shove" was the pinnacle of '90s Brian Krakow-rock, but this gets the nod.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:29 (twenty-one years ago)

who's brian krakow?

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:30 (twenty-one years ago)

isn't brian krakow that dude on My So Called Life?

― Ian John50n (orion), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:30 (twenty-one years ago)

yup.

now this kind of thing is called emo thankyouverymuchjimmyeatworld

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:31 (twenty-one years ago)

ugh jimmyeatshit

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:33 (twenty-one years ago)

i like a few Jimmy hits (JEW hits?) despite their inanity

ooh I thought of another contender. Weezer's "Only In Dreams"

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:34 (twenty-one years ago)

only in dreams is too long. maybe El Scorcho.

― Ian John50n (orion), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:34 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah "only in dreams" is a power ballad, but el scorcho (like most weezer) is too happy for krakow, nonetheless.

i should probably just be calling this stuff proto-mall-emo

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:37 (twenty-one years ago)

what other alt-rock hits could be the soundtrack of "tell her...just tell her...now! TELL HER NOW!!!!"?

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:41 (twenty-one years ago)

???

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:42 (twenty-one years ago)

maybe its my own adolescent context but I always hear "Everlong" and "Somebody To Shove" as these relentless, anxious odes to sexual/romantic frustration. Pacing outside the house, debating whether to talk to that girl. HIGH drama. Brian Krakow on the verge of tears thinking about Angela Chase drama.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:44 (twenty-one years ago)

watch less tv tone

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:47 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm taking it for granted that grohl drums on 'everlong' - he does yeah? cuz that's a good chunk of what sells it for me

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:48 (twenty-one years ago)

he probably does. that sunny day guy quit cuz Grohl was being domineering during the making of the album.

p.s. I don't watch tv now. This was high school.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:50 (twenty-one years ago)

though the idea of liking this track for the drums...man, it's about pain.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:51 (twenty-one years ago)

corny

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:56 (twenty-one years ago)

haha - "i've got blisters on my fingers!"

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 03:57 (twenty-one years ago)

What the f*** is wrong w/ Jimmy Eat Stuff?

&, yeah, Foo w/ Dave drumming, but not doing everything else, is choice. (DG drums on everything except for the first track, I think.) (The drumming kinda blows on the newest Foo.) Just don't pay attention to ANY of the lyrics, though. But lyrics are bunk, right, Nedward?

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 11 November 2004 04:23 (twenty-one years ago)

how good is the second foo fighters lp? i enjoyed the first well enough even if it was one of the more hilariously overrated albums of all time (at the time)

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 04:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I loved the second one when I was twelve or so. Totally loved. It got really scratched up and I threw it out when I was sixteen or seventeen.. never re-bought it, but if I saw it cheap I would in a heartbeat. Their first album too, which I only originally had on cassette.

― Ian John50n (orion), Thursday, 11 November 2004 04:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Their finest song by a country mile. I'll never forget driving from Oak Park back into Chicago about 6-7 years ago via the dicey West Side roads at 3am, drunker than I ought to have been, blasting the fuck out of this on the radio, marvelling at the ho's, pimps and open-air drug dealing going on on Augusta Blvd.

― Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Thursday, 11 November 2004 04:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I wondered if it was Grohl who was drumming. The drumming is fantastic.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 11 November 2004 05:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Just don't pay attention to ANY of the lyrics, though. But lyrics are bunk, right, Nedward?

Most wise.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 11 November 2004 06:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Even though most rock is reprehensible, "Everlong" is actually a timeless classic. Really. I should own "Colour & The Shape" but I hated MOnkey Wrench and My Hero.

― edward o (edwardo), Thursday, 11 November 2004 06:13 (twenty-one years ago)

That song was the first and last time I reconsidered the Foo Fighters and thought "hey, maybe they're actually good."

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 11 November 2004 06:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Anthony is fucking on re: "Somebody to Shove". I like it even more than "Everlong". And the world would be a better place if "Brian Krakow-rock" was acceptable parlance in music criticism.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Thursday, 11 November 2004 14:08 (twenty-one years ago)

KRAKOW! KRAKOW!

The 2nd Foo album is solid. I liked it a lot more when it came out (duh), but it's not bad by any means. Light years better than the initial salvo in my book. (Though I can't understand hating "Monkey Wrench".) (Ed, you lovable kook!) Diminishing returns on the 3rd & 4th, though the 4th is probably "the best" of the Foo ouevre (if you can overlook Mr. Grohl's attempts at arena-rockdom) (and Taylor Hawkins' somewhat suspect drumming) ("somewhat suspect" only because I WANT GROHL ON DRUMS).

Actually, what the hell am I saying? Colour & Shape beats all comers. The Foo best-of is going to be fantastic (though they're probably going to include "Baker Street") (weak).

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 11 November 2004 14:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Colour & Shape is the best Foo album I love Everlong and New Way Home.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Thursday, 11 November 2004 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

i feel validated by this thread. 'Everlong's bridge reminds me of the bridge to Van Halen's 'Why Can't This Be Love' which is a big factor in why i love it so.

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 11 November 2004 14:51 (twenty-one years ago)

have to say i don't like 'somebody to shove' much tho

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 11 November 2004 14:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Daver, Monkey Wrench is just so UGLY and unpalatable, especially that ludicrous shouty bit in the middle. I did love Walking After You but then again, he was apparently an arsehole to poor Louise around the time, so it rings a BIT hollow. No, fuck it, Walking After You is still great, and I know a few of the other album tracks - if only I could find it bloody cheap somewhere. I'd probably go with a self-mdae CDR of the songs I do like, as I seem to enjoy every second single they put out. i.e. "I'll Stick Around" but not "This Is A Call", "Generator" but not "Learn To Fly", etc etc.

― edward o (edwardo), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Finest Foo moment = "Stacked Actors"

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh please, if you're going to jab at Courtney Love, at least you should be half as good a lyricist as she is.

― edward o (edwardo), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't heard "Monkeywrench" in ages but I liked it when it came out (sounds corny when I think of it my head, way cornier than "Everlong" - which, aside from chops, evidently - is a totally Jimmy Eat World template). First time I heard the word "shit" being played on the radio frequently. I dunno if it was because they didn't have a radio edit or cuz it wasn't being used in a scatalogical sense.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh please, if you're going to jab at Courtney Love, at least you should be half as good a lyricist as she is.

i'd argue he has shown he is on occasion, but probably not enough

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm biased, though, I like my rock melodic, and Grohl can do it, but seemingly chooses NOT to do it in favour of these ugly, thudding over-testosteroned monstrosities like "Stacked Actors" and "Low".

― edward o (edwardo), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Courtney's a good lyricist. Excuse me for a second while I point and laugh in your face.

BAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:43 (twenty-one years ago)

KRAKOW! KRAKOW!

Two direct hits! (the first thing I thought of, too)

I think "Big Me" is regrettably overlooked in discussions like this. What a glorious, sugary sweet pop tune. Classic video as well.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Courtney is a great lyricist. Your laughter means nothing, though the force is admirable.

x-post- yes "Big Me" is fantastic, the Mentos send-up. The question is, was their Mentos send-up before Blink 182's Mentos joke in one of their videos?

― edward o (edwardo), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Courtney's a better plagiarist

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 11 November 2004 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, I'm not sure what B182 vid you're referring to, but unless it was pre-"Dammit" the answer is yes.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't really like the Foos, but Everlong is superb.

― Wooden (Wooden), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:13 (twenty-one years ago)

The B182 video I'm referring to is "M&Ms".

― edward o (edwardo), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:14 (twenty-one years ago)

i had totally forgotten how great "my hero" is. what a wonderful video, too! the stepladder progression in the chorus with the snare stutters is so lethargic it's great.

1) the snare skims
2) that, if heard from the distance, the verses totally sound like they are just one chord; the tonal shifts are so subtle as to almost be imperceivable
3) just subtlety from top to bottom, actually
4) it sounds like it was recorded underwater
5) grohl's voice actually sounds good! the whole numb/not trying motif works well with his voice, which is equally nonplussed
6) this is a great song to fuck to

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

there needs to be a "top ten songs the poster would like you to know they enjoy fucking to" thread.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

one final point: i've always closely associated fugazi's end hits (their best record, hands down) with colour and the shape; certainly the fact that they came out within a year of each other is part of it, but structurally i think they're kind similar (track sequencing in particular) and i also think that they have similar goals -- basically to make the bugger-off rock opera without seeming like they're trying to -- only the foos are a bit more gauche about it. this is prolly horseshit, but there ya go.

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

haha, miccio. i haven't fucked to music in 4evah. that was a college thing, and only so the girl's sweetmates wouldn't know how she liked it (to big black, actually!).

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Do I need to guess which album?

1. "Stairway To Heaven" Led Zeppelin
2. "Short Dick Man" 20 Fingers Feat. Gilette
3. "November Rain" Guns'n'Roses
4. "Can I Touch You...There?" Michael Bolton
5. "Damn! I Feel Like A Woman" Shania Twain
6. "Everlong" Foo Fighters
7. "Rush Rush" Paula Abdul
8. "Sadeness Pt. 1" Enigma
9. "Mother Mother" Tracy Bonham
10. "Hypnotize" Ja Rule feat. Ashanti

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:24 (twenty-one years ago)

anthony you seem more like a double nickels on the dime dude to me...

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:28 (twenty-one years ago)

43 positions in a one night stand

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:32 (twenty-one years ago)

People! Take 4 and 10 off Anthony's CD there and I am yours for the night... rrrr.

― edward o (edwardo), Thursday, 11 November 2004 16:37 (twenty-one years ago)

sweetmates

Unintentional hilarity.

And please, Anthony, it's "Mesmerize," not "Hypnotize".

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:03 (twenty-one years ago)

i'd apologize for getting the name of a Ja Rule song wrong, but I'm kinda proud that I did.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:07 (twenty-one years ago)

haha this - only so the girl's sweetmates wouldn't know how she liked it (to big black, actually!) - can totally be read a different way

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I want Busted to cover Everlong.

I agree with Blount - Everlong is, along with a fair wedge of The Colour And The Shape, among the small amount of 90s alt-rock stuff I still *love*. It narrowly beats Up In Arms as my favourite, I think.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:17 (twenty-one years ago)

it's meant both ways, james

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:17 (twenty-one years ago)

that's what she said wakka wakka

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:18 (twenty-one years ago)

i'd apologize for getting the name of a Ja Rule song wrong, but I'm kinda proud that I did.

I have a sort of soft spot for that song. I just really like Ashanti.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I want Busted to cover Everlong.

you want a slap

mind you i drifted off to sleep last night wanting a dronerock version of Madonna's 'Cherish' so i can't talk

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:22 (twenty-one years ago)

"Everlong" is an awesome song and also HI GUYS I HAVE TEH SEX NOW!

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:24 (twenty-one years ago)

HI GUYS I HAVE TEH SEX NOW!

you should post that on the old 'describe a band's entire career in one sentence' thread

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Two things I like about "Mesmerize."

1) "Thug" as a verb (I like to assume its synonymous with "rape").

2) There's a scene in Friday The 13th III where a jheri-curled r&b singer runs out of a van and into a shack, muttering about those "damn enchiladas." While returning the beans from whence they came, the guy sings "oooh baby oooh baby" in harmony with his girlfriend, who is patiently waiting outside the shack. Eventually Jason kills them both. This song reminds me of that scene. Ashanti, I think I'm gonna need MAGAZIIIIIIINE

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

o man last week i'm flipping thru channels and i stop at mtv hits (cuz i was hoping to see "mosh" on something bigger than a quicktime window), and this really really lite pop-punk song comes on (it's odd how each successive wave of pop-punk is even liter than the last, "1985" makes "jesse's girl" sound like "nonalignment pact")(to be fair "jesse's girl" kinda sounds like "nonalignment pact" already), and i'm watching it and thinking 'man i LIKE pop-punk but this is really really ass' and thinking 'alex in nyc is really gonna HATE this'. anyhow it turns out it was busted.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

M2 is doing a strange push for Busted--apparently there's going to be a show about them trying to make it in the states, tying it into a whole thing about bands that were huge in the UK but didn't make a dent over here. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

"1985" is atrocious. Gives nostalgia a bad name.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't think MTV2 in the UK would touch Busted (prove me wrong if you can viewers)

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Everschlong

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:52 (twenty-one years ago)

haha - i'm totally picturing a busted tour with the libertines opening.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

"1985" is Bowling for Soup, not Busted

― Mike O. (Mike Ouderkirk), Thursday, 11 November 2004 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

we know

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 11 November 2004 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

was it the 'monkeywrench' video that had the muzak version of 'big me' playing in the elevator at the beginning? genius!

they need to make cloning legal so grohl can play drums at their shows, though. when i saw the foo fighters on their first tour, grohl came out and did some jamming on a couple drums w/ spearhead during spearhead's set...it was a pretty cool moment even though i thought that spearhead sucked for most of their set.

― 6335, Thursday, 11 November 2004 20:57 (twenty-one years ago)

oh, and everlong = classic. + it has an awesome video

― 6335, Thursday, 11 November 2004 20:59 (twenty-one years ago)

The video is the one thing about "Everlong" I can never forgive.

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 11 November 2004 21:33 (twenty-one years ago)

But Michel Gondry, man!

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Thursday, 11 November 2004 23:01 (twenty-one years ago)

b-but they grow BIG HANDS!!!

― 6335, Friday, 12 November 2004 00:33 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

I actually have come to really like The Colour and the Shape!

― RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Friday, 31 March 2006 15:35 (twenty years ago)

The song is classic and the video (which i just saw for the first time) is classic, but they don't match well at all.

― sleep (sleep), Friday, 31 March 2006 17:10 (twenty years ago)

Man, I remember when this song first came out, I couldn't find a single person in my school who was into the Foo Fighters. Actually, the song that got me into the Foo Fighters back then was "Monkey Wrench", it would be even harder to find someone who liked that song. It seemed to me that "Everlong" was the song that brought the Foo Fighters to most people's anttention. I don't know about their first album being incredibly hyped.....and my testament to that is that I had no clue that Dave Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana!!! I remember switching on Mtv one day and they were showing Nirvana Unplugged, and I was all like, "why is Dave Grohl drumming with Nirvana???" Yeah, I know. I was just a kid discovering all this stuff on my own without an older influence.

― xgurggleglgllg (xgurggleglgllg), Friday, 31 March 2006 23:29 (twenty years ago)

Classic. Girls love this song

― pinder (pinder), Friday, 31 March 2006 23:55 (twenty years ago)

I really love everlong, and I really love the everlong video, but I really don't think they fit together very well.

That recent FF song was pretty good too, that shouty best the best the best the best the best thing, whatever it was.

― JimD (JimD), Friday, 31 March 2006 23:59 (twenty years ago)

i only like their first album. it sounds so different (and less polished, which is probably why i like it more) from anything else they ever did.

― latebloomer: a power and finesse vocalist (latebloomer), Saturday, 1 April 2006 00:07 (twenty years ago)

i'll admit though, "everlong" is a good song. "my poor brain" from colour and the shape is pretty good, too.

― latebloomer: a power and finesse vocalist (latebloomer), Saturday, 1 April 2006 00:08 (twenty years ago)

I think that I'd agree that the first s/t album is my favorite one too. I remember after the Colour and the Shape came out I was waiting so long for them to release another album, and by the time they did, I had already moved on to other music, plus I remember when Pat Smear left the band I knew that I wouldn't be as into them as I once was.
The first thing of the Foo Fighters that I ever bought was the "This is a Call" single. I thought the song was pretty good, but it came with two awesome tracks that are not on the self titled album, "Podunk" and "Winnebago",the single was worth it just for those two tracks.

― xgurggleglgllg (xgurggleglgllg), Saturday, 1 April 2006 01:57 (twenty years ago)

JimD, that song is "The Best of You" and it was my #2 single for 2005.

"Everlong" is classic, mostly for the reasons jaymc gives.

― Sundar (sundar), Saturday, 1 April 2006 03:05 (twenty years ago)

The only time I ever really liked Krakow was when he stood up to the principal and cops and wouldn't tell them what they wanted to hear about the gun incident.

― Sundar (sundar), Saturday, 1 April 2006 03:14 (twenty years ago)

classic. great song.

― Harpal (harpal), Saturday, 1 April 2006 03:18 (twenty years ago)

classic song, good album

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Saturday, 1 April 2006 03:20 (twenty years ago)

Big Me is their best song

― Period period period (Period period period), Saturday, 1 April 2006 03:30 (twenty years ago)

"Big Me" has a classic hook but I think it just repeats it too much without going anywhere.

― Sundar (sundar), Saturday, 1 April 2006 05:03 (twenty years ago)

The funny thing is that the first time I heard big me was on the monkey wrench video!

― xgurggleglgllg (xgurggleglgllg), Saturday, 1 April 2006 07:56 (twenty years ago)

If I went to that school I would've called him Brian 'Crack Ho'

― JtNash, Saturday, 1 April 2006 09:01 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

ok let's start this way,
everlong is a classic video for two reasons, michel gondry and evil dead. It references it about the whole video. (By the way Eternal Sunshine is the best charlie kaufman script) but for the bands of the 90's by the way no one has mentioned green day i heard a weezer in there nirvana, and what year was bossanova by the pixies

as for the best video of the 90's,

Buddy Holly - Weezer - Spike Jonze (By the way, besides Eternal sunshine being better than Being John Malkovich or Adaptation Spike Jonze is the better director)

― Kristianisclearlytheman, Wednesday, 24 May 2006 07:29 (twenty years ago)

"Everlong" is so, so awesome.

― Dan (YAY) Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 24 May 2006 11:29 (twenty years ago)

agreed.

Man, I remember when this song first came out, I couldn't find a single person in my school who was into the Foo Fighters.

I read this as "who was in the Foo Fighters," which seems reasonable enough.

"Everlong" kicks ass, although of course it no longer feels like the most dramatic, brilliant forward step rock has ever taken like it did when I was 16 (Note: "Superman's Dead" was in close competition for the title). The album is full of great stuff if you can stand the shoutiness and the shininess (better title)... "My Poor Brain," "My Hero," and most importantly the closer, "New Way Home," which is the best buildup-and-release that alt-rock EVER pulled off. Period, flat-out.

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 24 May 2006 13:57 (twenty years ago)

anyhow, as for "everlong," yes, it's the greatest mod-rock single ever. i remember the first time i ever heard it, stoned and driving around rural va with some buddies. we had just finished listening to appetite... what makes it, in order:
1) the snare skims
2) that, if heard from the distance, the verses totally sound like they are just one chord; the tonal shifts are so subtle as to almost be imperceivable
3) just subtlety from top to bottom, actually
4) it sounds like it was recorded underwater
5) grohl's voice actually sounds good! the whole numb/not trying motif works well with his voice, which is equally nonplussed
6) this is a great song to fuck to

-- Yanc3y (ystrickle...), November 11th, 2004.

This is one of the funnier comments on ILM I've read in a long time. Saved me the trouble of calling Everlong a DUD.

― Billy Pilgrim (Billy Pilgrim), Wednesday, 24 May 2006 19:03 (twenty years ago)

how so?

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 24 May 2006 19:21 (twenty years ago)

My work band does a cover of "My Hero"! That song is too fucking high.

We also do "What If I Do".

― Dan (So So Awesome) Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 24 May 2006 19:29 (twenty years ago)

Because it's so teenage male. Everlong seems designed to appeal to teenage males, and he went for it whole hog. It's funny because it's exactly how I'd describe a song like Everlong if it appealed to me on that level. What makes Everlong a dud to me is how transparently it wants to be subtle, complex, and good for fucking, when it's really just overwrought and boring.

xpost

― Billy Pilgrim (Billy Pilgrim), Wednesday, 24 May 2006 19:39 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

A+, still.

― roxymuzak, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 16:48 (eighteen years ago)

If I could turn back the hands of time I would have made sure Pat Smear never left the Foos.

― da croupier, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 16:52 (eighteen years ago)

ok that sounds like I had a say in the matter anyway, but you know what I mean.

― da croupier, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 16:53 (eighteen years ago)

Yes, you never should have let him leave!

He never played on any albums, did he? I have only heard the first two albums anyway, and they are the only ones I plan to hear.

― roxymuzak, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 16:58 (eighteen years ago)

I'm pretty sure he played on the second, along with that Sunny Day bassist. The drums were redone by Grohl though when the Sunny Day drummer quit, I think.

There are some decent tunes on later albums, but after Pat left the mood got way more macho.

― da croupier, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 17:01 (eighteen years ago)

Oh, why did I tell him that House Of Style would make him a millionaire.

― da croupier, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 17:04 (eighteen years ago)

from wikipedia!

On Sunday, September 9th 2007, Smear joined the Foo Fighters for their MTV Music Video Awards party room show. Smear has been added to the band as a touring guitarist for their upcoming tour to support the album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace Smear also is credited with playing guitar on the song "Let It Die" off the same album.

― da croupier, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 17:05 (eighteen years ago)

Well, well!

― roxymuzak, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 17:08 (eighteen years ago)

holy shit!

David Letterman has named "Everlong" to be his favorite song. It was performed by the Foo Fighters on the 21 February 2000 episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, his first since returning from heart surgery. Letterman introduced them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song." He had been impressed with their first performance of the song on his show in 1997, which coincided with its initial release as a single. The song was performed again for the comeback episode at the personal request of Letterman, who also promoted the band's current album at the time, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. "Everlong" itself is not featured on the album.

― da croupier, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 19:39 (eighteen years ago)

how fucking emo is that

― da croupier, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 19:39 (eighteen years ago)

Cute!

― roxymuzak, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 19:41 (eighteen years ago)

This is the best Foo Fighters song.

― Jordan, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 19:44 (eighteen years ago)

That is incorrect.

― Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 21:16 (eighteen years ago)

here is pat smear and taylor from the foos accosting me
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/chakisaki/smallpat1.jpg

― chaki, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 21:21 (eighteen years ago)

jealous!

― roxymuzak, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 21:26 (eighteen years ago)

five months pass...

Still a damn good song.

― youcangoyourownway, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 00:43 (eighteen years ago)

Best Foo Fighters song by a mile.

― chap, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 00:56 (eighteen years ago)

I adore "Everlong"!!!

― Tape Store, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 01:11 (eighteen years ago)

Only song of theirs I ever liked is the one that sounds like the theme from "Welcome Back, Kotter."

― Mark Rich@rdson, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 03:27 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Definitely one of the only (if not THE only) mid-90s alt-rock songs I'd still feel comfortable putting on a regular mixtape in 2008, not just some mix that's heavy on nostalgia. It's perfect in just about every way (including the video).

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 20 April 2008 06:28 (eighteen years ago)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=I2GX0JUnLXE

Excellent idea, bad execution.

― edwardo, Sunday, 20 April 2008 07:05 (eighteen years ago)

I didn't hate that even half as much as I thought I might.

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 20 April 2008 07:32 (eighteen years ago)

I've heard the studio version, it's a bit rub.

― edwardo, Sunday, 20 April 2008 10:04 (eighteen years ago)

wtf is "alt" about this?

― banriquit, Sunday, 20 April 2008 10:13 (eighteen years ago)

It's no "Learn to Fly".

― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 20 April 2008 11:20 (eighteen years ago)

wtf is "alt" about this?

^ OTM

― stephen, Sunday, 20 April 2008 16:17 (eighteen years ago)

beating arcade fire at a game they're not even bold enough etc.

― blueski, Sunday, 20 April 2008 16:32 (eighteen years ago)

lol @ chaki looking like perez hilton upthread

― Alex in Baltimore, Sunday, 20 April 2008 17:16 (eighteen years ago)

four years pass...

Man, this song slays.

― Trewster Dare (jaymc), Tuesday, 31 July 2012 15:59 (thirteen years ago)

I wouldn't put this as either 'classic' or 'dud'. I mean, it's okay. It's not shit, but it doesn't blow my mind. There are Foo Fighters tracks that I like more, and all of them are on the first two albums.

― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Friday, 3 August 2012 21:04 (thirteen years ago)

just watched the video for the first time in like 10 years and that extra chorus at the end is just perfect

― diamonddave85, Friday, 3 August 2012 21:15 (thirteen years ago)

classique

― Listen to this, dad (President Keyes), Saturday, 4 August 2012 00:56 (thirteen years ago)

One of my favorite radio hits of the '90s.

― Crabbits, Saturday, 4 August 2012 01:22 (thirteen years ago)

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