Thursday, July 23, 2015

7/23/15



My love for Ryan Adams is no secret, but my adoration for the Foo Fighters - especially "One By One" - is a bit more unspoken. So what a treat for my tired, waiting ears today to hear Adams tear it up acoustic to "Times Like These" at a performance abroad captured on YouTube this week.
I could write a lot about why I think this song is great from a pop-rock standpoint, or why so mny Foo songs are, but I think, here, the hook speaks for itself. So memorable. Throw in  Adams' delicate, unwavering delivery, and there is no better vehicle for a message of resilience. What a fantastic song this is - this record was the first Foos I ever indulged in, and I glommed on like a hungry thing, taken by the strength and aggression encapsulated in melody. This record made me feel good, and it made me friends, and it never got old. Neither did they, production enthusiasts as they are. So what a thrill it has been to once again rediscover the Foos and Dave in their 2015 "Sonic Highways" stage, broken leg and all - it's like nothing has changed.

Far as covers are considered, RyanmAdams crushes it with mastery and grace as he does so many others. Adams dedicated this to Dave, unrecorded in the video above but included in others. I love his live performances and watch them near constantly, it seems; the day I see Adams live, finally, will feel like some kind of holiday, I'm sure, where I am hopefully hopeful and proper-buzzed, shrouded in love and inspiration and gratitude for living, the way the best moments always are.

"It's times like these you learn to live again
iIt's times like these you give and give again
I's times like these you learn to love again
It's times like these time and time again"
~Times Like These
Foo Fighters, One by One