Generator (Foo Fighters song)

This article is about the Foo Fighters song. For the Holloways song, see Generator (The Holloways song). For the Bad Religion song, see Generator (Bad Religion album).
"Generator"
Continental European variant of standard artwork
Single by Foo Fighters
from the album There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Released2000
Recorded1999
GenreAlternative rock
Length3:49
LabelRoswell, RCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Foo Fighters singles chronology
"Stacked Actors"
(2000) 		"Generator"
(2000) 		"Breakout"
(2000)

"Generator" is a song by American rock band Foo Fighters, released as a single in 2000 from their third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999). The single was only released in Australia, and it was also released as a limited-edition single in Europe.[1]

The song is unique among the band's work because of Dave Grohl's implementation of the talk box in parts of the song. The usage of the device was partly inspired by Grohl's admiration of Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh, both of whom helped popularize it in the 1970s.

Track listing

Australian CD

(The EP also contains an enhanced segment containing exclusive documentary footage and photos)

  1. "Generator"
  2. "Learn to Fly" (Live 24 January 2000 Sydney, Australia)
  3. "Stacked Actors" (Live 24 January 2000 Sydney, Australia)
  4. "Breakout" (Live 23 November 1999 Glasgow Barrowlands, Scotland)

European CD

(This version was available for only 1 week between March 6 and March 12, 2000, each CD was a limited, numbered edition and at the end of the week of release all remaining stock was deleted. As well as the music tracks it also included a multimedia 'enhanced' segment containing exclusive documentary footage and photos)

  1. "Generator"
  2. "Ain't It the Life" (Live Acoustic at 2 Meter Session 22 Nov 1999)
  3. "Floaty" (Live Acoustic at 2 Meter Session 22 Nov 1999)
  4. "Fraternity"
  5. "Breakout" (Live 23 November 1999 Glasgow Barrowlands, Scotland)

7-inch

  1. "Generator"
  2. "Fraternity"

Music video

No video was filmed for the single. Instead a live performance of the song recorded on February 1, 2000, at the Chapel Off Chapel in Melbourne, Australia was overdubbed with the studio version to promote the single and album. The performance was filmed and broadcast by Seven Network, with editor Scott C. Wilson making a new cut with the various different camera angles.

The music video for "Breakout" features the song "Generator" at the beginning on the video.

Chart positions

Chart (2000) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[2] 31
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[3] 12

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[4] Gold 35,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Foo Fighters - Generator at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  2. ^ "Foo Fighters – Generator". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  3. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  4. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 November 2023.