I must admit I found myself stupefied as I watched the Grammy nominations being announced on Thursday. Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins had just finished reading two sets of nominations when producer Jimmy Jam announced that the guys had just been nominated for Record of the Year for "The Pretender." I knew the song had gotten a lot of alt rock and active rock airplay through the fall, but who knew that would actually sink into the heads of Grammy voters? "The Pretender" had already secured a place in my Top 20 Singles of the Year. (Ed note: coming to a mailbox near you the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.) It's another entry in a long line of catchy singles Dave Grohl has unleashed upon us over the past decade. Did I finally have something in common with the Recording Academy? I had to play it again to get a clearer view.
After a couple more listens "The Pretender" didn't seem that different from the patented soft-loud-louder-soft-loudest template that Grohl helped perfect during his time in Nirvana. Then I searched out the lyrics, and that is where I discovered what won over Grammy voters. "The Pretender" isn't about a girl keeping secrets--it's a spot-on indictment of our current administration. Get a gander at these lines:
"Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend
Keep you in the dark
And so it all began
Send in your skeletons
Sing as their bones go marching in... again
The need you buried deep
The secrets that you keep are ever ready
Are you ready?
I'm finished making sense
Done pleading ignorance
That whole defense
Spinning infinity, boy
The wheel is spinning me
It's never-ending, never-ending
Same old story
What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?"
In light of the CIA destroying evidence and the revelation that we, the people, were being lied to about Iraq...I mean Iran, Grohl's words really take on a new meaning.
Well, that, and that it fucking rocks.
1 comment:
I had no idea you are a fan of the Foo. I tried to get Monkey Wrench onto the list, but it never happened. I have every album except the latest. I guess I need to get it. I was thinking it might be their fall into mainstream, but if you recommend it...
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