After I left the music business, I spent two years trying to make a living as a freelance writer, failed miserably, ended up dead broke, and moved back in with my Mom to avoid starvation. It also meant I had to leave my beloved St. Louis for a not so beloved Fort Wayne, Indiana. Eventually I got a job with KMart, and a few months into my tenure I was asked where I'd be willing to move. I was told the best answer was anywhere, so I put anywhere with the secret hope I'd miraculously end up back in St. Louis. Somewhere in the midst of these changes, this week's tune was released, and it reminded me (though the song itself had absolutely nothing to do with my situation) every time I heard it about my desire to get back home. Alas, I never got back, but life, as it often does, had a funny way of working out. And yet still, our song of the week holds a special place in my heart....
I wrote about the Foo Fighters in November of 2020, so I'll just update their bio this week. On the bright side, the band released another album, won four more Grammys, played at President Biden's inauguration, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On the sad side, their long time drummer Taylor Hawkins passed away last year. The band continues on, however, and might I add that their contribution to music over the past twenty-five years has been quite impressive.
"Next Year" was the fifth and final single released from their 1999 album There Is Nothing Left to Lose. The single, though it received a decent amount of airplay, did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The album, however, reached the top ten, and won a Grammy for Rock Album of the Year.
Fun Fact: Of this week's tune, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl said, "Next Year is a piece of shit! That song is so stupid. It's weird." Contrary to Grohl's assertion, my weekly half-assed research has shown that the song is a solid favorite of the band's countless fans, myself included.
One of the reviews of "Next Year" compared it favorably to Oasis' hit "Wonderwall" (I like the song but that's a bit of a stretch) but noted that the Foo Fighters at their best owed a lot to Brit Pop...which I thought a spot-on observation. The music is sticky sweet pop, Grohl's vocals capture all its sticky sweetness, and the band, from the jangly guitars to Taylor Hawkins drumming (which seemed to take on a life of its own in my listening this week), wraps itself around the stick sweetness and it all makes for a dandy piece of pop pie. Grohl has said the song is about an Air Force pilot thinking about going home after his tour of duty, all the while without knowing if he will get home because of the inherent danger of his missions. In the end, it's a song about going home, and that's a sentiment most of us have, and can relate to, every day (albeit considerably more safely than the pilot).
Lyric Sheet: "I'm in the sky tonight/There I can keep by your side/Watching the whole world wind around/I'll be coming home next year..."
Enjoy (Note that there's an album version and a shorter version that was released as the single--even though I'm more familiar with the single version, after hearing both I liked the extra minute and decided to feature the longer one.):
Republicans = Nazis
Peace,
emaycee
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