After the "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" concert tour ended in 2008, the Foo Fighters went to Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, California to record 14 songs. They wanted to release these quickly, without advertising or promoting them. They then changed their mind and took a break instead. Three of these songs were released: "Wheels", "Word Forward", and "Rope". The first two were released as part of the "Greatest Hits" album and "Rope" was released on "Wasting Light". "Wheels" and "Word Forward" were produced by Butch Vig, which is what made Dave Grohl decide to work with him to make a new album. Grohl had worked with Vig when he was in Nirvana to make the album "Nevermind".