11. LOW
First of all, this is one of my favorite songs AND videos of... ever. Jack Black and Dave in drag getting hammered and faking a sex tape? YES PLEASE. The song, much like the kick ass video, is dark, sexy and unapologetic. It's unrelenting, like a jackhammer being drilled in stone. Grungy, quick and to the point, Low takes you EXACTLY where you wanna go.
Dave quote: "It's another really aggressive song. It sounds like a machine roaring - it's pretty amazing. The lyrics are kinda sultry - it's about two people getting together because they realize they have more fun f*cking each other than anyone else - it's kinda deep. Some of it reminds me of older Soundgarden and some of it reminds me of weird Black Flag. It's unlike anything we've ever done."
10. Walk
Though rock in sound, with fantastic drums and Dave's signature howling (compliment), if you take away the lyrics you would almost think this was a negative kind of song. Even the (phenomenal) video begins in a bitter, complaining tone. But this is no ordinary "angry rock" song at all. In fact, it's the opposite. It's a rebirth. As any beginning, it's scary and hard. Dave talks about where he comes from, how far he has come, and like he said in his Grammys speech, it's all about returning to what music is really about. The band made "Wasting Light" in his basement, one of their best albums and songs ever. This is such an optimistic, happy song it's almost unusual to hear from them. There is hopefulness as well as looking towards what could be, what's possible. And what a stroke of brilliance to treat the video as an homage to Falling Down, with Michael Douglas!
Dave quote: "I started to realize, wow, lyrically, there's a theme or there's some common threads that go throughout all the songs. And I realized that the album is about the album. You're surrounded by friends and family and nostalgia, and you're singing about the last 20 years of your life - that became a part of the process."