Track information

Doll
Grohl stated that is "basically a song about being afraid to enter into something you're not prepared for."

Monkey Wrench
Grohl stated that it was "a song about realising that you are the source of all of the problems in a relationship and you love the other person so much, you want to free them of the problem, which is actually yourself. It was a riff that turned into another riff that turned into another riff and ended up being a nice little power punk song.
In another interview, Grohl stated his pride in the song,
"With Monkey Wrench I remember I had the main riff, but I didn't have the little jangly riff that goes over the top of it and I thought it needed something. So I came up with the jangly riff and thought 'Oh my God this is never gonna fly! Everyone's gonna hate it'. But I was really excited the first time I heard it on the radio - it was in the middle of a load of mid-'90s grunge shit and I thought it was so killer."
The song was released as the first single from the album in 1997.

Hey, Johnny Park!
The lyrics to this song follow a series of different themes, as Grohl noted himself, "Oh, my God, that song's about 15 different things! The only reason why it's called 'Hey, Johnny Park!' is because when I was young, my best friend was this kid who lived across the street from me called Johnny Park and we were like brothers from the age of 5 to 12. I haven't heard from him since I was about 14 years old and I thought if I named a song after him he might call."

My Poor Brain
Grohl says of the song, "This song's an experiment with dynamics, whether it's the lyrics or the sound of the song. It's just going from dreamy vocals to screamy vocals and Jackson Five to Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

. Sling it all in there."
This song was first played live in 1996 and was called "Chicken Derby".

Wind Up
A song which lyrically is said to be "the story of the relationship between the journalist and the musician."

Up in Arms
Of the song, Grohl said, "A typical love song. It's almost like a Knack song, just a simple pop song."
In another interview Grohl stated, "I wrote that song to be a teenage makeout song. I just love the image of two teenagers making out on the beach listening to that song."

My Hero
Many fans have speculated that this song was a tribute to Grohl's deceased friend and bandmate, Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...

. However, in Grohl's own words, the song is, "(his) way of saying that when I was young, I didn't have big rock heroes, I didn't want to grow up and be some big sporting hero. My heroes were ordinary people and the people that I have a lot of respect for are just solid everyday people - people you can rely on." This was the third single to be released from the album.

See You
Grohl stated this song was, "Just another pop song. It was the one song that nobody wanted to put on the record, but it's my favourite song. I think that the only reason it ended up on the record was that I re-did the drum track to make it sound like 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track featured on their 1980 album The Game, and also appears on the band's compilation album, Greatest Hits...

' by Queen

Queen (band)

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

."

Enough Space
Grohl has said, "[Enough Space] is actually about a movie called Arizona Dream

Arizona Dream

Arizona Dream is a 1993 film directed by Emir Kusturica and starring Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis and Faye Dunaway.-Plot:Axel has a dream about an Eskimo who catches a rare halibut and brings it back to his family in an igloo...

, which is one of my favorite films!"
Also, in the 2011 documentary Back and Forth

Back and Forth (documentary)

Back and Forth is a 2011 documentary released by Foo Fighters. It documents the band's history. The film takes its title from a track on the Foo Fighters' seventh studio album Wasting Light.-Charts:...

, Grohl mentions that after he had a riff and song idea, he could not find a tempo for the song. Mimicking the jumping/bouncing of European crowds in the beginning of sets, he jumped up and down in order to find the correct tempo.

February Stars
The lyrics are said to be about "hanging on by the tips of your fingers and hoping you don't slip and fall."
This song dates back to at least January 1994, when an early take of the song was recorded by Grohl and Krist Novoselic

Krist Novoselic

Krist Anthony Novoselic II is a Croatian-American rock musician, best known for being the bassist and co-founder of the grunge band Nirvana. After Nirvana ended, Novoselic formed Sweet 75 and then Eyes Adrift, releasing one album with each band...

 during Nirvana

Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

's last recording session.

Everlong
The song was written when the band took a 2-week break from recording after the initial sessions. Grohl wrote "Everlong" by himself at his home in Virginia. It is considered to be one of the best songs by the band and is highly acclaimed.
Grohl was apparently reduced to tears after performing the song at Neil Young

Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

's Bridge School Benefit

Bridge School Benefit

The Bridge School Benefit is an annual non-profit charity concert held in Mountain View, California, every October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The concerts are all organized by musician Neil Young and his wife, Pegi....

. In the words of bandmate Taylor Hawkins, it is a "powerful song." In 2000, David Letterman

David Letterman

David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...

 revealed that it is his favorite song.

Walking After You
This song was written and recorded by Grohl on his own in a studio in Washington. This version appears on the album.
The band would later re-record the song with all the members for The X-Files soundtrack

The X-Files: The Album

The X-Files: The Album was the soundtrack album by various artists released in conjunction with the 1998 movie, The X-Files. The album peaked at #26 on Billboard's chart and it was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies....

. Grohl stated, "It's an emotional, sappy song about getting dumped."

New Way Home
According to Grohl, "That's about winding your way through all of these songs, emotions and pitfalls and ups and downs, but at the end of the day, you realize that you're not scared any more and you're gonna make it."

Bonus track information

• "Down in the Park" was recorded in January 1996 at Bob Lang's Studio in Seattle, Washington. It was originally released on Songs in the Key of X
  Songs in the Key of X
  Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by The X-Files is a 1996 compilation album released in association with the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The album contained a mixture of songs that were either featured in the series, or shared thematic elements with it....
  
  in 1996. Early takes of "My Hero" and "Enough Space" were also recorded during the session, as well as a new take of a much older Grohl composition entitled "Butterflies". Another unreleased song, "I'm Alone Again", was said to be done at these sessions.
• "The Colour and the Shape" was recorded during the sessions at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington.
• "Dear Lover" was recorded during the sessions at Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, California. It was released on the Scream 2 soundtrack, but not as a single. It was also included as a bonus track (#14) on the Japanese release of the album.
• "Requiem", "Drive Me Wild", and "Baker Street" were recorded for BBC Radio 1
  BBC Radio 1
  BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
  
   Evening Session on April 30, 1997.
• "Walking After You" was re-recorded in 1998 by the full band (with recent additions Taylor Hawkins
  Taylor Hawkins
  Oliver Taylor Hawkins is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters....
  
   and Franz Stahl
  Franz Stahl
  Franz Stahl was the guitarist of the Washington, DC hardcore punk band Scream. Stahl is the brother of Scream lead singer Peter Stahl. Stahl was also briefly a member of Foo Fighters from 1997 to 1999, replacing the band's original guitarist Pat Smear...
  
  ) and released as a single as part of the soundtrack to the X-Files
  The X Files (film)
  The X-Files is a 1998 American science fiction-thriller film written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Rob Bowman. It is the first feature film based on The X-Files series created by Carter that revolves around a fictional FBI paranormal investigation unit called the X-Files...
  
  movie.
• "Everlong" and "Monkey Wrench" have appeared as playable songs in both the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series of video games. The entire album is available for the Rock Band series, but with the exception of "Everlong," which is on the Rock Band 2
  Rock Band 2
  Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
  
  disc, all of the songs must be purchased as downloadable content
  Downloadable content
  Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
  
  .

Production

Foo Fighters

• Dave Grohl
  Dave Grohl
  David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
  
   – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  , drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Pat Smear
  Pat Smear
  Pat Smear is a rock musician who has been a guitarist in several well-known bands including The Germs and Nirvana. He is currently a guitarist for the Foo Fighters...
  
   – guitar
• Nate Mendel
  Nate Mendel
  Nathan Gregor "Nate" Mendel is an American bassist for the bands Foo Fighters, The Jealous Sound, Sunny Day Real Estate, and The Fire Theft.-Biography:...
  
   – bass
  Electric Bass
  Electric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
  
  

• William Goldsmith
  William Goldsmith
  William Goldsmith is an American drummer best known for being the drummer of the popular Seattle Alternative band Sunny Day Real Estate and for his tenure as the drummer of the alternative rock band Foo Fighters...
  
   – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
   on "Doll", "Up In Arms" (credited for slow intro), "My Poor Brain" (verses only, uncredited) and bonus tracks "The Colour and the Shape" (uncredited) and "Down in the Park" (uncredited)
• Taylor Hawkins
  Taylor Hawkins
  Oliver Taylor Hawkins is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters....
  
   – drums on bonus tracks "Requiem", "Drive Me Wild" and "Baker Street"

Additional personnel

• Lance Bangs
  Lance Bangs
  Lance Bangs is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and music video director who has created videos for Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Green Day, the Arcade Fire, the Shins, The Thermals, Belle & Sebastian, Menomena, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, R.E.M., Mike Watt, Death Cab for Cutie, The Black Keys, Kanye West, and...
  
  , Chris Bilheimer and Ryan Boesch – handclaps on "See You"

Production

• Gil Norton
  Gil Norton
  Gil Norton is a British record producer known for his work with such bands as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo Park, Counting Crows, Terrorvision, The Triffids, Del Amitri, James, The Feelers, The Beekeepers,...
  
   – production
• Bradley Cook, Geoff Turner – engineering
• Ryan Boesch, Todd Burke, Don Farwell, Ryan Hadlock, Jason Mauza – assistant engineering
• Chris Sheldon
  Chris Sheldon
  Chris Sheldon is a record producer, particularly of rock music, based in London, UK. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Feeder, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize and Pixies amongst others...
  
   – mixing
• Bob Ludwig
  Bob Ludwig
  Bob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
  
   – mastering
• Bradley Cook, Geoff Turner – recording technicians
• Jeffery Fey, Foo Fighters, Tommy Steele – art direction
• Jeffery Fey, George Mimnaugh – design
• Andy Engel – logo design
• Josh Kessler – photography

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...  Albums Chart	5
Austrian Albums Chart	19
Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...	8
Finland Albums Chart	12
French Albums Chart	24
German Albums Chart	41
New Zealand Albums Chart	10
Norwegian Albums Chart	20
Swedish Albums Chart	10
Swiss Albums Chart	50
UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	3
U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	10
Chart (2003)	Peak position
Finland Albums Chart (re-entry)	5

Accolades

• Kerrang!
  Kerrang!
  Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
  
  magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Readers Choice #10 (1998)
• Kerrang! magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Editors Choice #95 (1998)