The Foo Fighters have become so ubiquitous that it's easy to forget what they were like when Dave Grohl first put the band together. Grohl recorded the band's first album all by himself, then gathered some fellow musicians so he could take his rock out on the road. Since then, the Foo Fighters have been steadily doing cool s---.

The first Foos lineup included punk legend and former Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear, as well as Sunny Day Real Estate members William Goldsmith and Nate Mendel. Mendel is the only band member, besides Grohl, who's been in the band since it formed. Smear left, only to return as a touring guitarist before rejoining the band full-time in 2010.

Grohl looks so fresh-faced and innocent here, not to mention skinny. His arms look like string beans as he hammers away on his Les Paul. And perhaps he hadn't quite gotten the particulars of singing professionally down yet, because he blew out his throat on the band's first tour. You can hear the trouble he has singing right away.

Despite his vocal calamity, the band knocks 'This Is a Call' out of the park in this clip from a French TV show. Grohl's vocal issues almost lend the song a certain element of realism that sets it apart from the cookie-cutter, nasally singing style that quickly came to dominate mainstream rock after bands like Nirvana and Alice in Chains made it big. Grohl and company are still promoting badassery while coming off as ultra-cool. Doubters should watch the video below for the song 'White Limo,' starring none other than king of cool Lemmy Kilmister.

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