Foo Fighters

1. Let's Get Ready To Rumble
2. Grilling Up The Hits
3. All Heart
4. I Thought You Guys Were Chinese
5. All My Life
6. Where There's Foo There's Fire
7. Battle Of The Flying Saucers
8. Have It All

1. Let's Get Ready To Rumble

The Foo Fighters have been knocking out hard rocking tunes since their inception in 1995. Originally the band was a solo project for Nirvana drummer David Grohl. The self-titled 1995 debut album was a crisper snapper approach to post-punk than what Nirvana was doing.

2. Grilling Up The Hits

After the death of Kurt Cobain and the demise of Nirvana due to endless legal battles with Courtney Love, David Grohl strived for something with big fun and out came the 1997 hit single, "Big Me" from the Foo Fighters album, "Colour & the Shape". Grohl seemed a bit disturbed by the sudden pop level success when it led to the less than great third album tilted, "There's Nothing Left to Lose" in 1999. He didn't like the direction the band had moved into and by his own admission deemed it a flat commercialized record that was heavy on industry sensibilities but short on heart.

3. All Heart

Perhaps that is exactly why a heart graces the cover of their newest album, "One by One". He's out to mix things up and this time lands on the right track. In the single form the album titled, "Lonely As You" Grohl remarks, "blame it on the past". Their new album once again redefines what the band can and will be. The lyrics are grittier and deeper than before, the guitar is sharp and strong leaving one with the feeling that they might have just heard a new album from the Cure or even AC/DC. But the band maintains a pop through line with the very airwaves friendly tune, "Have it All". This album just might have it all.

4. I Thought You Guys Were Chinese

If you were paying any attention to the television this past week you would have gotten an ear and eye full of the rocking Foo Fighters. They were on David Letterman Monday the 24th. Before that, they were the musical guests with Christopher Walken hosting Saturday Night Live on Feb. 22. In one the ads for the show, Christopher Walken made the funny remark, "For some reason I thought you guys were Chinese."

5. All My Life

Also, if you caught the show, lead singer David Grohl made a special appearance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards singing a tribute and sharing the stage with New Jersey mainstay, Bruce Springstein.

6. Where There's Foo There's Fire

Despite how it sounds, the term "foo fighters" has nothing to do with anything Chinese. The term finds its roots in a popular 1940's comic strip called "Smoky Stover". The star character Smoky was fond of saying "Where there's foo there's fire". But the stranger thing is how it came to be paired with the word, "fighter".

7. Battle Of The Flying Saucers

During World War 2, American fighter pilots flying over Europe would come across strange flying objects in the sky. Here is one account that happened high over Germany:

December 22, 1944: The pilot of the Allied plane suddenly saw two large, orange glowing balls approaching him. His radio operator saw them as well. They didn't look like enemy fighters, but neither did they look like anything they had ever seen.

The balls suddenly leveled off and started following the plane. The pilot decided to try and lose them with evasive maneuvers. He put his plane into a steep dive. The objects immediately followed. Next he tried a sharply banked turn. The objects stayed with him. For several more minutes the pilot used his best tricks to lose his pursuers and failed. When he was about to give up suddenly the objects were gone, disappearing suddenly into the night.

These objects seemed to be balls of fire, taking the term "foo" from the comic strip. The objects were neither allied nor enemy fighters, but they were still dubbed, "fighters" because no one knew what they were. Despite much investigation, no explanation has ever been found to determine what the mysterious "foo fighters" actually were.

8. Have It All

"I hate writing lyrics," Grohl admits. "Although the lyrics on this album I love more than anything I've ever done." It seems he has hit the gopher on the head, a jackpot win is in order. Their new effort has been compared to the hard-hitting pop elemental album turned out by Def Leppard with "Pyromania". If this album has anywhere the same kind of staying power, the Foo Fighters have a sure fire hit on their hands. David Grohl and his band prove over and over again that they truly can, "Have It All".