Best of You (Foo Fighters song)
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| “Best of You” | |||||
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| Single by Foo Fighters from the album In Your Honor |
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| Released | May 30, 2005 | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Recorded | January-March 2005 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 4:16 | ||||
| Label | RCA | ||||
| Producer | Nick Raskulinecz, Foo Fighters | ||||
| Foo Fighters singles chronology | |||||
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| Alternative cover | |||||
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"Best of You" is the first single off the fifth album from the Foo Fighters, In Your Honor. It was their most successful single to date, reaching their record of #18 on the U.S. Hot 100 as well as topping both the U.S. Modern Rock and U.S. Mainstream Rock charts. It has been released on two main discs in 2005. A live version of the song was released on the EP, Five Songs and a Cover, and as a B-side to the double A-side single "No Way Back"/"Cold Day in the Sun". It was written by the Foo Fighters.
It is the band's best selling single and the only to reach Platinum status, other singles such as "Everlong," "Learn to Fly," "Times Like These," and "The Pretender" have gone Gold.
"Best of You" holds the band's highest chart peaks in America (#18), the UK (#4), and Australia (#5). Although it sold the most singles, two songs by the band have gotten more airplay, "The Pretender", and "All My Life". "Long Road to Ruin" has gotten the same amount of airplay.
The album version was one of 5 Grammy nominations the Foo Fighters received in 2005, for Best Rock Song, but it eventually lost to "City of Blinding Lights" by U2.
An acoustic live version of this song is available on both the 2006 CD and DVD Skin and Bones. It is performed solo by vocalist/guitarist Dave Grohl.
"Best of You" gave Foo Fighters their highest ever entry on the Australian rock radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 at #4.
Its music video was directed by Mark Pellington, best known for his work on the video for "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam. He was inspired by the death of his wife a few months prior to the shoot, and was drawn to the song's notion of dealing with pain in life.[1]
The video features the band playing on top of a tower. Along with the band's scenes are some random clips that show pain, depression, or anger:
- Clips with children playing alone or with each other, one scene shows one girl hugging another.
- A car crash
- A lion pouncing on its prey, which is a vulture
- A snake attacks a rodent
- A zebra kicks another zebra behind itself
- A snarling wolf
- Crash test dummies being crushed by a car crash test
- Men and women showing affection for each other.
There have been many remakes of the video on MySpace, with some featuring live performances, CGI/animation, and parodies of the original video's plot line. This song was featured on the MTV series Making the Video.
Prince covered the song during the halftime show at Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Florida, on February 4, 2007. Drummer Taylor Hawkins expressed surprise by the performance, due to Prince's prior criticism of the band's desire to release a cover version of his song, "Darling Nikki", in 2003.[citation needed]
The song was also mentioned in an episode of the NBC series 30 Rock.
The band performed the song at Live Earth in London, where Grohl dedicated the song to "you know who." This is widely believed to be aimed at the George W. Bush administration and their environmental policy. After the band's performance at Live Earth, the song again entered the UK charts at #38. It had previously peaked at #4, giving them their highest performing song there as well. Whenever the New York Islanders get their victory at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the song plays.
Welsh band Stereophonics covered the song for BBC Radio 1 in December 2007 [1]
At the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, the song was played as the two competitors, Glasgow Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg, entered the field at the City of Manchester Stadium, England and when Anatoliy Tymoschuk lifted the trophy.
Contents |
[edit] CD1 Track listing
- "Best of You"
- "Fat Fucking Lie" (FFL)
- "Kiss the Bottle" [jawbreaker]
[edit] CD2 Track listing
- "Best of You"
- "I'm In Love With A German Film Star" [passions]
[edit] 7" Vinyl Track listing
- "Best of You"
- "Spill"
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 94 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles | 35 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 20 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 36 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 38 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 41 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 18 |
| U.S. Pop 100 | 20 |
| U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ James Montgomery (2005). Watch "Best of You" on Youtube "Foo Fighters Get Serious With Director Of Pearl Jam's 'Jeremy'" MTV News (May 12, 2005)
| Preceded by "Beverly Hills" by Weezer |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single July 9, 2005 - August 27, 2005 |
Succeeded by "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz featuring De La Soul |
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