Garbage began writing for their second album at the start of March 1997 at a vacation house in Friday Harbor, Washington. There, the group demoed and made rough outlines for new songs over a three-week period. When they that felt they had made a good start, they relocated to their Madison, Wisconsin, base at Smart Studios and began fleshing out the ideas and rough sketches that were made over the rest of the year. The group recorded all of the material for the second album through a 48-track digital system direct to hard drives utilizing a 24-bit Pro Tools rig. Vocalist Shirley Manson wrote the majority of her lyrics while ensconced in a hotel near the studio. Garbage completed recording, producing and mixing of their second album in mid-February 1998, and the album was given the title "Version 2.0".