ESSENTIAL READING MATERIAL

NME 2000

Dave Grohl picks his perfect festival moments and sounds

SONG TO DRIVE TO THE FESTIVAL:
'Feel Good Hit Of The Summer' - QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

"Because the lyrics are Nicotine, Valium, Vicodan, marijuana, Ecstasy and alcohol'. That's how you should prepare for a festival."

SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF YOUR FIRST FESTIVAL:
'Schizophrenia' - SONIC YOUTH

"That goes back to 1991, when Nirvana was on tour with Sonic Youth and I got my first taste of European festivals. Every day we were fortunate enough to see Sonic Youth run through all their best songs - at the time, 'Kool Thing', 'Schizophrenia'. It was a virtual greatest hits, every day, out in the rain. I loved it. I think the very first one was that Pukkelpop thing in Belgium. We went on at 11 o'clock in the morning; The Ramones headlined. It was great."

SONG TO PLAY AT DUSK:
'Kashmir' - LED ZEPPELIN

"Just because it seems like that's when the magic begins. Once the sun goes down, everything starts to get fucking weird."

SONG TO TALK SOMEONE DOWN TO:
'Kill All Hippies' - PRIMAL SCREAM

"If someone where in that state, I'd like to freak 'em out even more and watch them lose their minds. That's the fun I have when I'm around people who are on Ecstasy or acid."

SONG TO STOP THE RAIN:
'Raining Blood' - SLAYER

"I think I'd put on... oh, shit. We have a boombox in the dressing room before we go on with, like 15 CDs in, but it's all fucking death metal, so it's hard to think of what would work. How about Slayer's 'Raining Blood' off 'Reign In Blood'? Slayer's straight from hell and anything the devil says makes sense to them! Fuck it, I dunno, It's Slayer! It would work!"

SONG THAT MAKES YOU HOMESICK:
'I Ain't The One' - LYNRYD SKYNRYD

"This makes me really homesick. That tape was stuck in the tape deck in my car while we were recording the last album and we had a very good time at home making it. That was the one song I kept rewinding to when I'd have to go to the grocery store."

CAMPFIRE RECORD:
'I Found A Reason' - CAT POWER

"Oh, Cat Power! Definitely Cat Power - something of 'The Covers Record'. 'Satisfaction' is the hit off that record, or so everybody thinks. But for me, it's that Velvet Underground song, 'I Found A Reason'. It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. My favourite."

SONG FOR DRIVING AWAY FROM THE FESTIVAL:
'Party Up' - DMX

"Because when the festival's over, it's time to start having fun."

BEST FESTIVAL SHOW:
Prodigy, V97

"There's been quite a few, but I'd have to say this. I'd never seen 50,000 people lose their fucking minds before and that was really something else. That was pretty amazing."