" Next Year" is a song released as the last single from the third Foo Fighters' 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
The song features a
Mellotron, making it the first song by the band to have a keyboard on it.
Dave Grohl wanted to add it to make the song more of a "Sgt. Pepper's rip off."
SPIN Magazine proclaimed the song "a power ballad in the "Wonderwall" sense", remarking that the band are "at their loveliest when aping peak-popularity Britpop".
Ed theme song
The opening of "Next Year" was used as the theme song for the
NBC television series
Ed (2000–2004). The show's creators, Rob Burnett and
Jon Beckerman (formerly of the
Late Show with David Letterman) used the song despite knowledge of production company Viacom's insistence that they own the rights to the show's theme song. "Next Year" was thus ultimately replaced by
Clem Snide'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, shows the band in a remake of the Apollo 11 Moon mission and incorporates heavy use of
NASA 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
Project Apollo era are re-enacted, such as the band meeting President
Richard Nixon, bassist
Nate Mendel golfing on the Moon (a nod to
Alan Shepard during Apollo 14), and depictions of Vietnam war protests. 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's
Best of Led Zeppelin compilation.
Track listing
CD1 dark cover:(Also comes with the first 6 months of a 2001 poster calendar)
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"Next Year"
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"Big Me" (acoustic radio performance, 2 Meter Sessions, Netherlands 22 November 1999)
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"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)
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"Next Year"
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"Baker Street" (Gerry Rafferty cover)
Enhanced CD-ROM, includes "Next Year" video
Australia CD:
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"Next Year"
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"Next Year" (Dave Way remix)
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"Monkey Wrench" (Melbourne, Australia on 1 February 2000)
7 inch:
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"Next Year"
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"Next Year" (Acoustic Radio Performance, 2 Meter Sessions, Netherlands 22 November 1999)
Japan EP
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"Next Year"
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"Have a Cigar" (Pink Floyd cover)
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"Make a Bet"
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"Floaty" (Acoustic Radio Performance, 2 Meter Sessions, Netherlands 22 November 1999))
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"Monkey Wrench" (Melbourne, Australia on 1 February 2000)
Netherlands Live in Holland, part two
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"Next Year" (Dave Way remix)
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"My Hero" (Live at the Melkweg 29 February 2000)
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"For All the Cows" (Live at the Melkweg 29 February 2000)
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"Monkey Wrench" (Live at the Melkweg 29 February 2000)
Chart positions
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Australia (ARIA Charts)[Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.] | 85 |
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Quebec Airplay (ADISQ) | 35 |
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