Wasting Light

Wasting Light is the seventh studio album by Foo Fighters, released in April 2011 on RCA Records and produced by Butch Vig (the same producer who had produced Nirvana's Nevermind, making the pairing a self-conscious historical reference), recorded entirely on analog tape in Grohl's garage with no digital recording used at any stage of the process. Grohl wrote all material; the album's recording methodology was a deliberate statement about analog sound quality and the band's refusal to adopt the digital polish of contemporary rock production, and the resulting sound, warm, loud, and organically roomy, was praised by critics as the most sonically vital record the band had made. 'Walk,' 'Rope,' 'These Days,' and 'Bridge Burning' were the principal tracks; 'Walk' spent a record-tying nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Wasting Light debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 235,000 first-week sales and won the Grammy for Best Rock Album, the band's sixth consecutive win in the category; it has been certified double platinum in the United States. The album is widely regarded as the creative high point of the band's middle period and the record that most successfully translated their live energy into a studio recording.