The entire story behind Foo Fighters coming together feels like an impossible feat. After Dave Grohl was left to pick up the pieces of his life amid the end of Nirvana, his decision to carry on recording original material by himself made for one of the most incredible second acts in rock history, transforming from the mild-mannered drummer behind Kurt Cobain to one of the greatest frontmen in the world. Although Grohl may call the shots when it comes to most of the songwriting in the band, one of the ultimate Foo Fighters songs for him didn’t come until years after they formed.
Then again, Grohl wasn’t looking to make his band when cutting the first Foo Fighters album. Looking to create something new to get out of his funk following Cobain’s death, much of the first album spawned from a cassette that Grohl made when working at a studio a few hours away from his house. Once he had enough songs to put an album together, though, Grohl thought it would be fun to put it out under another name, quickly drafting in members of Sunny Day Real Estate and former Germs guitarist Pat Smear to round out the lineup.
Since they were still a baby band, most of their development took place under the public microscope, leading to massive growing pains in making their next album, The Colour and the Shape. While the album would result in massive hits like ‘My Hero’ and ‘Everlong’, the touring cycle would involve a revolving door of musicians, leading to the next album being recorded as a trio with Taylor Hawkins on drums and Nate Mendel on bass.
After making a California rock record on their sophomore release, Grohl wanted to get as far away from Hollywood as possible, recording There is Nothing Left to Lose at a studio in his house in Virginia. While most of the record has a certain homespun feel to it, Grohl had a particular love for the song ‘Generator’.
Outside of the massive hits like ‘Learn to Fly’ and ‘Next Year’, ‘Generator’ marked a bit of a departure for the band, being one of the first times they used a talkbox on record. While they may have been taking chances, Grohl thought the track summed every piece of their songwriting power.
When talking about the song, Grohl considered the track to be the ultimate example of what they are capable of, saying, “That song is everything I like about our band. It kinda has that melancholy, pop-punk, Buzzcocks kinda thing to it. But it also has some weird classic rock in it.” Although the song may have a modern twist in terms of production, it’s easy to see where Grohl is coming from as well.
From the song’s first few notes, the track feels like a long-lost artefact from the golden age of rock and roll. Then again, the roar of the guitars and Grohl’s vocal delivery are also reminiscent of his punk roots, constantly hammering at the strings of the guitar as if it’s the last thing he will ever get to play.
The classic rock worship wasn’t by accident, either, with Grohl listening to many AM rock bands like 10CC while making the album. While ‘Generator’ may not be the most celebrated song in their catalogue, its combination of melody and fury is what Grohl thinks they are capable of on their best day.
