"Next Year" is a song released as the last single from the third

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

' album '' There Is Nothing Left to Lose''.

History

A shorter version (running at just 3:21 compared to the original's 4:36) was released as a single in 2000 and was used in the music video. Backup vocals were added, and it does not include the outro present in the original album version.

Style

SPIN Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps as ''SPIN'') is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. ...

'' proclaimed the song "a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

in the "

Wonderwall "Wonderwall" is a song by English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 30 October 1995 as the fourth single from the band's second studio album ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?''. Described by lead guitarist and chief songwrite ...

" sense", remarking that the band are "at their loveliest when aping peak-popularity

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

''Ed'' theme song

The opening of "Next Year" was used as the theme song for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

'' Ed'' (2000–2004). The show's creators, Rob Burnett and

Jon Beckerman Jon Beckerman is a producer, director and writer best known for his projects with Rob Burnett. He was born in 1969. He graduated from Shady Side Academy in 1987 and Harvard University in 1991. Career Jon's biggest success has been working with ...

(formerly of the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

)'' used the song despite knowledge of production company

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...

's insistence that they own the rights to the show's theme song. "Next Year" was thus ultimately replaced by

Clem Snide Clem Snide is an alt-country band featuring Eef Barzelay (guitar, vocals), Brendan Fitzpatrick (bass) and Ben Martin (drums). History "Clem Snide" is a character in several novels by William S. Burroughs, including ''Naked Lunch'', '' The Tic ...

's "Moment in the Sun" during the second season. As a result of outcries from Burnett and Beckerman, however, Viacom relented and "Next Year" returned as the theme song in the third and fourth seasons.

Music video

The video, directed by

Phil Harder Philip Harder (born 1965) is an American music video director and commercial director represented by Bob Industries in Santa Monica, California. Phil was also a director at Quentin Tarantino's A Band Apart Commercials and Music Videos where he d ...

, shows the band in a remake of the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

Moon mission and incorporates heavy use of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

stock footage. They experience zero-gravity in the space capsule (where they conduct experiments and perform the song with instruments), land on the Moon, plant a Foo Fighters flag, and return to Earth where they are welcomed back as heroes during a ticker-tape parade. Many moments and images of the

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

era are re-enacted, such as the band meeting President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, bassist

Nate Mendel Nathan ‍Gregor ‍Mendel (born December 2, 1968) is an American musician who is the bass guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, as well as a former member of Sunny Day Real Estate. He has also worked with musical acts The Jealous Sound and ...

golfing on the Moon (a nod to

Alan Shepard Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the List of Apollo astronauts#Apollo astr ...

during

Apollo 14 Apollo 14 (January 31February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to Moon landing, land on the Moon, and the first to land in the Geology of the Moon#Highlands, lunar highlands. It was the las ...

), and depictions of

Vietnam war protests Protests against the Vietnam War took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The protests were part of a movement in opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. The majority of the protests were in the United States, but some took place aro ...

. The video ends with a portrait of the band in the style of a traditional astronaut crew photo. This bears a strong resemblance to the cover of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

's '' Best of Led Zeppelin'' compilation.

Track listing

CD1 dark cover:
(Also comes with the first 6 months of a 2001 poster calendar) #"Next Year" #"

Big Me "Big Me" is the fourth single by Foo Fighters from their Foo Fighters (album), self-titled debut album. Released in the spring of 1996, the song became a crossover hit for the band on pop radio, when it reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay ...

" (acoustic radio performance, 2 Meter Sessions, Netherlands 22 November 1999) #"Next Year" (acoustic radio performance, 2 Meter Sessions, Netherlands 22 November 1999) CD2 light cover:
(Also comes with the second 6 months of a 2001 poster calendar) #"Next Year" #"

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises. The street is ...

" (

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the ...

cover) Enhanced CD-ROM, includes "Next Year" video Australia CD: #"Next Year" #"Next Year" (Dave Way remix) #"

Monkey Wrench A monkey wrench is a type of smooth-jawed adjustable wrench, a 19th century American refinement of 18th-century English coach wrenches. It was widely used in the 19th and early 20th century. It is of interest as an antique among tool collectors ...

" (Melbourne, Australia on 1 February 2000) 7 inch: #"Next Year" #"Next Year" (Acoustic Radio Performance, 2 Meter Sessions, Netherlands 22 November 1999) Japan EP #"Next Year" #" Have a Cigar" (

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

cover) #"Make a Bet" #"Floaty" (Acoustic Radio Performance, 2 Meter Sessions, Netherlands 22 November 1999)) #"Monkey Wrench" (Melbourne, Australia on 1 February 2000) Netherlands Live in Holland, part two #"Next Year" (Dave Way remix) #" My Hero" (Live at the Melkweg 29 February 2000) #" For All the Cows" (Live at the Melkweg 29 February 2000) #"Monkey Wrench" (Live at the Melkweg 29 February 2000)

Chart positions

References

{{authority control 1999 songs 2000 singles Foo Fighters songs Song recordings produced by Adam Kasper Songs written by Dave Grohl Songs written by Nate Mendel Songs written by Taylor Hawkins RCA Records singles Rock ballads Music videos directed by Phil Harder