Monkey Wrench

A monkey wrench is a piece of hardware - an adjustable wrench handy for many tasks. In the song, it's a metaphor for being used and trapped in a relationship; Dave Grohl doesn't want to be the guy who hangs around and gets picked up like a tool only when this person needs him. It was the first single off the Foo's second album.

Dave Grohl directed the video himself. At the beginning of the clip when he steps into the elevator, a lounge version of "Big Me," from the Foo Fighters' debut album, is playing. Grohl commissioned the Muzak company, which makes such "elevator music," to create the song, but their attempt sounded too earnest and sapped the comedy from the scene. Grohl turned to the duo Moog Cookbook for help; the electronic act released a cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on their 1996 debut album that Grohl loved, so he had them give "Big Me" the same treatment. Brian Kehew, who was part of the duo, told us: "I went to the filming of 'Monkey Wrench' to deliver the song. They shot the exterior scenes at the old Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, and the interior/band scenes on the soundstage where Nirvana did 'Teen Spirit.' I believe it is Taylor Hawkins' first appearance on the drums with them."

The screamy bridge of this song is almost impossible for Dave Grohl to sing live. The bridge on the CD was yelled all in one breath. During many of Foo Fighters concerts, Grohl has the crowd scream the bridge out. If he does sing the bridge, there are usually a few breaths that can be heard in between.