1001 Songs Challenge #954: Best of You (2005)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

 

Foo Fighters – Best of You (2005)

 

 

We’re leaving Brazil behind, dear reader, and making our way north to the US once more. To Seattle in Washington we head. In 1994 the tragic suicide of Kurt Cobain led to the demise of Nirvana, the band he had led to global stardom. Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, mourned his friend and put his energy into a one man project that became Foo Fighters. The debut album was released in 1995 with Grohl recording everything alone. When we join Foo Fighters in 2005, Grohl has long since put a band together and they are now onto their fifth album – In Your Honor – and from there 1001 Songs have gone with the track, Best of You. 

Best of You was written by Dave Grohl and was inspired by his support for 2004 US Presidential candidate, John Kerry, who would fail to prevent George W. Bush securing his second and final term in the White House. The song has been interpreted as a love song but Grohl has confirmed the message runs much deeper than that. In a song that millions would come to sing along to, Grohl calls out to us all and challenges us. Are we happy and content with who we are and where we are? Are we giving life our all or are we holding back? The chorus begs the question about whether we are giving the best of ourselves in all that we do, are we embracing the moment and pushing ourselves towards where we most want to be. 

 I remember listening to Foo Fighters’ first two albums but didn’t really keep up with the group beyond that. I’m not sure why because they are a great band. Best of You would be one of the band’s biggest hits and further cemented Dave Grohl’s name as not just a multi-talented performer but a terrific songwriter as well. Foo Fighters are still together and although they might never reach the same heights that Nirvana did, you like to think Kurt Cobain would have been mighty proud of what Grohl has achieved in the years that have followed.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Radiohead – Paranoid Android (1997)

Snow Patrol – Run