"Generator" is a Foo Fighters song, released as a single in 2000 from their third album There Is Nothing Left to Lose

There Is Nothing Left to Lose

Reviews for There Is Nothing Left to Lose have generally been positive. Rolling Stones Greg Kot rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars. He started by explaining that "the first thirty seconds [...] are a bridge to singer Dave Grohl's past"...

. The single was only released in Australia and also released as a limited edition single in Europe.

The song is particularly unique among the band's work because of Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl

David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...

's implementation of the talk box

Talk box

A talk box is an effects unit that allows a musician to modify the sound of a musical instrument. The musician controls the modification by lip syncing, or by changing the shape of the mouth...

 in parts of the song. The usage of the device was partly inspired by Grohl's admiration of Peter Frampton

Peter Frampton

Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...

 and Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh

Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...

, both of whom helped popularize it in the 1970s. Dave Grohl has said that the song reminds him of his arrest on the Gold Coast, Australia.

No video was filmed for the single. Instead a live performance of the song in Australia was overdubbed with the studio version to promote the single and album. The performance was edited by Scott C. Wilson. The music video for "Breakout" features the song "Generator" at the beginning on the video.

Australian CD

(The EP also contains an enhanced CD portion.)

1. "Generator"
2. "Learn to Fly
   Learn to Fly
   For other results, see Learning to fly."Learn to Fly" is the first single from the Foo Fighters' third album There Is Nothing Left to Lose. It was released on two different singles in the UK in 1999...
   
   " (Live 24 January 2000 Sydney, Australia)
3. "Stacked Actors
   Stacked Actors
   "Stacked Actors" is a Foo Fighters song which was released as a single from their third album There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 2000. It was only released as a limited edition commercial single in Australia exclusively, however radio promotional singles were released in other countries for radio...
   
   " (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 version)
3. "Floaty" (Live acoustic version)
4. "Fraternity"
5. "Breakout" (Live)

• Tracks #2 and #3 were recorded at the Wisseloord Studios
  Wisseloord Studios
  The Wisseloord Studio is a recording studio in Hilversum, Netherlands. It was officially opened on 19 January 1978 by Prince Claus.The studios were founded by electronics company Philips, to enable their PolyGram artists to record in a professional environment. Initially there were three studios,...
  
   in Hilversum
  Hilversum
  is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
  
  , Netherlands
  Netherlands
  The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
  
   on November 22, 1999 as part of the Two Meter Sessions. They were originally broadcast on RTL5 Television and Kink FM
  Kink FM
  Kink FM described itself as the only commercial radio station in the Netherlands dedicated entirely to alternative music.In 1992 Dutch radio station RTL Radio started broadcasting. After this station failed to be a success, its format and name was first changed to RTL Rockradio, then to Happy RTL...
  
  .
• Track #4 was recorded at Dave Grohl's home studio just prior to Christmas 1999.
• Track #5 was Recorded live at Barrowlands, Glasgow
  Glasgow
  Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
  
  , November 23, 1999 for the BBC Radio 1
  BBC Radio 1
  BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
  
   Rock Show (it is the same track that appears as track #4 on the Australian release).

Music video

The music video for Generator is a performance at The Chapel

The Chapel

The Chapel may refer to:*One of these non-denominational churches:**The one located in Akron and Green, Ohio.**The Chapel located in Chicago.**The Chapel located in Fort Wayne, Indiana.*A recording studio in Lincolnshire, England....

 with the studio track dubbed over it.

Chart positions

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	31