Big Me
Encyclopedia
"Big Me" is the fourth major single, released in 1996, by the Foo Fighters
from their self-titled debut album Foo Fighters
. Although it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100
, the song became a crossover hit for the band on pop radio during the spring of 1996, when it reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay.
"Big Me" was nominated for 5 VMA
s in 1996
, winning only "Best Group Video
". The video, which parodies the Mentos
ad campaign, was filmed on location in Sydney
, Australia.
The song demonstrates a light, blissful side of Foo Fighters with gentle vocal harmonies
and guitar melodies comparable to The Beatles
. Its affectionate lyrics describe falling in love.
. Those little … things are like pebbles – they hurt." The band played the song for the first time in several years at the Queens Wharf Events Centre
in Wellington
, New Zealand
in November 2005.
in 2009 on their album Sparks.
After Weezer
covered this song often during the 2005 Foozer
tour, the band brought it back into their live lineup. It was played during the encore of their Echoes
tour. An acoustic version of the song was released on the band's 2006 live CD, Skin and Bones
. This version featured Dave singing the song with Petra Haden
.
Canadian singer Kate Rogers
covered the song on her 2005 record Seconds
.
A muzak
, or elevator music
, version of the song was featured in the Grohl-directed video for their song "Monkey Wrench
".
Maxi-single
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
from their self-titled debut album Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters (album)
Foo Fighters is the debut album by the Foo Fighters. At the time, the only official member of the Foo Fighters was Dave Grohl, who wrote and recorded the entire album himself at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, Washington in 1994, prior to organizing the band...
. Although it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, the song became a crossover hit for the band on pop radio during the spring of 1996, when it reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay.
"Big Me" was nominated for 5 VMA
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
s in 1996
1996 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1996 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1996, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1995, to June 14, 1996. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
, winning only "Best Group Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video was first given out at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards; and in 2007, going along with how the VMAs were revamped that year, the award was renamed Best Group, as it awarded the artist's body of work for the full year rather than a specific video...
". The video, which parodies the Mentos
Mentos
Mentos is a brand of mints, of the "scotch mint" type, sold in many markets across the world by the Perfetti Van Melle corporation. Mentos was first produced in the Netherlands during the 1950s. The mints are small oblate spheroids, with a slightly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior...
ad campaign, was filmed on location in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia.
The song demonstrates a light, blissful side of Foo Fighters with gentle vocal harmonies
Vocal harmony
Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are sung at the same time as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from...
and guitar melodies comparable to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. Its affectionate lyrics describe falling in love.
Music video
The song became well known for its music video, which parodies Mentos advertisements, turning them into commercials for "Footos." This led to many fans throwing Mentos at the band whenever they played the song live. For an extended period of time, the band did not play the song live due to this, as Grohl cited: "We did stop playing that song for a while because, honestly, it's like being stonedStoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
. Those little … things are like pebbles – they hurt." The band played the song for the first time in several years at the Queens Wharf Events Centre
TSB Bank Arena
The TSB Bank Arena, formerly known as the Queens Wharf Events Centre, is an indoor arena, located in Wellington, New Zealand. The arena hosts mainly basketball games and is the home arena for the Century City Saints and part-time home arena of the New Zealand Breakers when they play in Wellington,...
in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in November 2005.
Covers
The song was covered by Sahara HotnightsSahara Hotnights
Sahara Hotnights is a rock band from Robertsfors, Sweden. Their style incorporates elements of garage rock, power pop and punk. While in Australia, Josephine Forsman bet on a horse named Sahara Hotnights and used the name for the band.-History:...
in 2009 on their album Sparks.
After Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
covered this song often during the 2005 Foozer
Foozer
Foozer was the title given to the Fall 2005 co-headlining concert tour of Foo Fighters and Weezer. Various openers for the bands included Mae, Kaiser Chiefs and Hot Hot Heat...
tour, the band brought it back into their live lineup. It was played during the encore of their Echoes
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
The album debuted at the top of the UK album chart, selling 135,685 albums in its first week. The album also went platinum in its first week in both Australia and New Zealand. In the U.S., it entered the Billboard 200 album chart at #3, selling 168,000 copies in its first week, and has since been...
tour. An acoustic version of the song was released on the band's 2006 live CD, Skin and Bones
Skin and Bones
-Live in Los Angeles :-Live in Hyde Park :Note: The whole setlist is not included on the DVD. The song "The One" is excluded, as Taylor Hawkins made a mistake on the drums...
. This version featured Dave singing the song with Petra Haden
Petra Haden
Petra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age,...
.
Canadian singer Kate Rogers
Kate Rogers
Kate Rogers is the cousin of Grand Central Records head, Mark Rae. She was born just outside Toronto, Canada and as a child studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music....
covered the song on her 2005 record Seconds
Seconds (album)
Seconds is a release by rock band The Dogs D'Amour. The album was available as part of a limited edition "Dogs Dinner" boxet in 2000, that was sold as part of the fanclub in conjunction with the independent release of "Happy Ever After".-Track listing:...
.
A muzak
Muzak
Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
, or elevator music
Elevator music
Elevator music refers to instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for playing in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, telephone systems , cruise ships, airports, doctors' and dentists' offices, and elevators...
, version of the song was featured in the Grohl-directed video for their song "Monkey Wrench
Monkey Wrench (song)
"Monkey Wrench" is the first single released from the second Foo Fighters album, The Colour and the Shape. Blistering lyrics chronicled the 1997 disintegration of singer/song writer Dave Grohl's four year marriage to Jennifer Youngblood...
".
Track listing
CD single- "Big Me"
- "Floaty (BBC Evening Session Recording 23 November 1995)"
- "Gas Chamber (BBC Evening Session Recording 23 November 1995)" (cover of a song by Angry SamoansAngry SamoansThe Angry Samoans are an American punk rock band in the first wave of American punk. Formed in August 1978 in Los Angeles, California by early 1970s rock writer "Metal" Mike Saunders and his sibling lead guitarist bonze blayk, along with co-conspirator Gregg Turner and original recruits bassist...
) - "Alone+Easy TargetAlone+Easy Target"Alone+Easy Target" is a radio only single released by Foo Fighters from their self-titled debut album. It was released only as a promotional single.- Song history :...
(BBC Evening Session Recording 23 November 1995)"
Maxi-single
- "Big Me"
- "Winnebago"
- "How I Miss You" (features Dave Grohl's sister Lisa on bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - "Podunk"
- "Ozone" (Ace FrehleyAce FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
cover) - "For All the CowsFor All the Cows"For All the Cows" is the third major single released by the Foo Fighters from their self-titled debut album Foo Fighters. The band had discussed the creation of a music video for this single which would feature the band dressing up in cow costumes. No video was made, however...
" (live at the Reading Festival, August 26, 1995) - "Wattershed" (live at the Reading Festival, August 26, 1995)
Chart positions
| Chart (1996) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart 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... |
65 |
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Top Singles |
16 |
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30 RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
4 |
| Euro Hot 100 Singles Chart | 58 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
27 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
19 |
| Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 13 |
| U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 3 |
| U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
18 |
| U.S. Adult Top 40 | 23 |