Long Road to Ruin (3:44)

“Long Road to Ruin” is the second single from the Foo Fighters’ sixth studio album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007). The music video was released on November 1 2007, with the single released on December 3 2007. The video features an appearance by actress Rashida Jones, and was directed by Jesse Peretz, who had previously collaborated with the band for “Big Me”, “Learn to Fly”, “The One”, and “Low”.

“Long Road to Ruin” began with a slow start, but still managed to top the Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven consecutive weeks and reach #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. The song had been successful in the rock charts but achieved small success on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #89. With “Long Road to Ruin” topping the Modern Rock Tracks earlier this year, it made Foo Fighters the first act to have a number 1 hit every year for four consecutive years.

Unlike the US, in Europe the song has had major success peaking in the top 40 of the pop charts and number 1 on the UK Rock Chart. The success was aided due to a Radio 1 performance and an extensive tour in the UK.

The music video of the song is a comedic spoof of a stereotypical 1970s-era hospital soap opera (General Hospital in particular), and is essentially a “show within a show”. As seen in the opening credit sequence, the Foo Fighters portray the actors who in turn portray the show’s characters. Grohl plays “Davy Grolton”, who stars as the main doctor, “Hansom Davidoff”.