Times Like These (song)

"Times Like These"
Single by Foo Fighters
from the album One by One
B-side	"Life of Illusion" "Planet Claire" "Normal"
Released	January 20, 2003
Format	CD
Recorded	May 2002
Genre	Alternative rock, psychedelic rock
Length	4:26 (album version) 3:55 (acoustic version)
Label	Roswell, RCA
Writer(s)	Dave Grohl
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Foo Fighters singles chronology
"All My Life" (2002) "Times Like These" (2003) "Low" (2003)

"Times Like These" is the second single released from the Foo Fighters' fourth album One by One. It was released on two main discs in 2003. The song is sometimes listed by its full original title, "Times Like These (One-Way Motorway)".

The lyrics discuss how Dave Grohl felt "like I wasn't entirely myself" during the three month hiatus the Foo Fighters entered following the tense and unsatisfying first recording sessions for One by One, as well as his uncertaintity about the future of the band. The lyric "I'm a new day rising" is a reference to the album New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü, one of Grohl's favorite groups.

"Times Like These" is in D mixolydian mode and the section that begins at 0:13 is in 4/4 time. The chorus of the song is also grouped in bars of 3 rather than the regular bars of 4.

After the album version ended its run on the charts, a solo acoustic version of the song performed by Grohl was released and had some success on pop and adult contemporary radio. The entire band performed a version of the song with jazz pianist Chick Corea during the Grammy Awards in 2004.

The acoustic version of this song was used in episode 21 of season 4 of One Tree Hill during the graduation scene, which is also when Haley's water breaks.

This is also used as the theme song for a video montage showing memorable past goals at Turf Moor for all of Burnley FC's home games from 2009 to present, to commemorate being in the Premier Division for the 2009/2010 season and remembering special "Times Like These".

Both of the band's official live DVD releases, 2003's Everywhere but Home and 2006's Skin and Bones, feature acoustic performances of the song.

Glen Campbell recorded the song for his Meet Glen Campbell album in 2008.

The song was used by George W. Bush for his 2004 re-election campaign without the band's knowledge. When Grohl found out about it, it prompted him and the rest of the band to get more politically active, and they helped John Kerry's campaign as a result.

The song was used at the end of episode 20 ("Coalition of the Willing") of the American television series Jericho.

The acoustic version of the song was also used by the Calgary Flames during their 2003–04 NHL season cup run, for their opening.

"Times Like These" was also been released as a Rock Band and Rock Band 2 DLC track on Xbox Live and PSN on December 23, 2008.

The song was also featured in the 2003 film American Wedding. It is the first track on the film's soundtrack.

Track listings

CD Single

1. "Times Like These"
2. "Planet Claire" live in New York, featuring Fred Schneider of The B-52's)

CD1

1. "Times Like These"
2. "Life of Illusion" (Joe Walsh cover)
3. "Planet Claire" (live in New York, featuring Fred Schneider of The B-52's)
4. Enhanced Section ("Nice Hat")
5. Enhanced Section ("Back Slapper")

CD2

1. "Times Like These"
2. "Normal"
3. "Learn to Fly" (live)
4. Enhanced section ("Japanese Grunge")

Japanese EP

1. "Times Like These"
2. "Life of Illusion" (Joe Walsh cover)
3. "The One"
4. "Normal"
5. "Planet Claire" (live, featuring Fred Schneider of The B-52's)
6. "Learn to Fly" (live)

7" Vinyl

1. "Times Like These"
2. "Life of Illusion" (Joe Walsh cover)

Chart positions

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	22
Dutch Singles Chart	90
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	43
Irish Singles Chart	27
UK Singles Chart	12
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	65
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	5
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	5

Music videos

All 3 versions were made available via the DVD release "Low/Times Like These"(2003):

Version 1

Directed by Liam Lynch. The band is shown performing the song against changing backgrounds, consisting mainly of brightly colored kaleidoscopic forms similar to those found in music visualization, giving the video a psychedelic, hopeful, joyful mood. In the end, the backgrounds blink out to reveal that the band are performing against a greenscreen in a studio. This version is often referred to as the "UK version" and received little airplay in the US as the band ultimately opted to film another video shortly afterwards.

Version 2

Directed by Marc Klasfeld. The video was shot on the Mojave River Bridge in Victorville, CA and shows the band performing the song on location, below and in front of a bridge. A girl wanders onto the bridge and eventually tosses her Game Boy Advance at them. Gradually, more and more people arrive at the bridge and start throwing other inanimate objects (including appliances, instruments, and furniture) behind and around the oblivious band members. The items never hit any of them, though they come close, and the motivations and intentions of the people are never made clear.

Two cars are then simultaneously dropped off the bridge and behind the band, resulting in clouds of smoke and fire. This is followed by an entire house (only with walls and roof) being dropped onto the band by a crane, and the walls falling onto the ground without anyone getting hurt. A continuity error occurs at the end: when the house falls apart, the roof is missing.

Some of the extras featured in the video were fans selected through the band's official web site.

Version 3

A music video was produced for the acoustic version. It consists solely of clips of Grohl recording the song's vocal, guitar, and piano tracks in the studio. It was co-directed by Grohl and Bill Yukich. It has only been made officially available through this release.

External links

• "Times Like These" Official Music Video (1st Version) on YouTube
• "Times Like These" Official Music Video (2nd Version)