"Big Me" was written and performed entirely by Dave Grohl, who at the time was the sole member of Foo Fighters.[8] The song originated during Grohl's time with Nirvana, and was played during their final studio session, which also produced the band's last recorded song, "You Know You're Right".[9] A version of "Big Me" from this era was later released on the Foo Fighters EP Songs from the Laundry Room.[10]
Music video
The song became well known for its music video, which parodies Mentos advertisements, turning them into commercials for "Footos," with the "Freshmaker" slogan being rendered as "The Fresh Fighter".[11] The concept came from director Jesse Peretz, who had originally pitched the idea to another band, and the Foo Fighters accepted the concept because, according to Dave Grohl, "We had some difficulty finding a treatment that would suit the song, which is this short, tongue-in-cheek, ridiculously candy-coated pop tune. We didn't want to make this big, pretentious portrait video. We wanted to make fun of ourselves and the song." The video was filmed entirely on location in the Sydney Central Business District, McMahons Point, Kirribilli, and North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.[12] It debuted on MTV on February 14, 1996, and quickly became a Buzz Bin clip.[13] It was eventually nominated for 5 MTV Video Music Awards at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, winning only "Best Group Video".
The video's success led to many fans throwing Mentos at the band whenever they played the song live.[14] 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 stoned. Those little … things are like pebbles – they hurt." The band only started to change its mind after Weezer started performing "Big Me" during the Foozer tour both bands did together.[15][16]
Release
In the US, "Big Me" was released as a 7-track maxi single making it ineligible for the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart because it had more than four songs, but having sold more than 5,000 copies it should have charted at number 175 on the Billboard 200 album chart but was not included on the chart due to a production error.[17]
The "Big Me" single was re-released on a 3-inch vinyl for Record Store Day on April 13, 2019.[18] The single is one of several 3-inch Record Store Day re-issues that is playable on special miniature record players.[18]
Singles
CD single
"Big Me"
"Floaty (BBC Evening Session Recording 23 November 1995)"
↑"Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Modern Rock Tracks"(PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol.4, no.53. December 27, 1996. p.24. Retrieved December 26, 2023. Alternative Airplay was previously called Modern Rock Tracks
