The Foo Fighters song that includes the lyric “I’m a goddamn adolescent” is “Breakout.” It appears on the band’s third studio album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose, released in 1999.
“Breakout” was written by Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, and Taylor Hawkins and recorded between March and June 1999. It became the album’s second track and fourth single, receiving a UK and European release in September 2000. The song combines a compact pop-punk structure with the aggressive guitar sound associated with the Foo Fighters.
Its music video ties the song to the Jim Carrey comedy Me, Myself & Irene, where the band performs amid scenes inspired by the film’s multiple-personality premise. Dave Grohl’s mother, Ginny, also appears in the video, along with several actors from the movie.
Listeners sometimes confuse “Breakout” with “Monkey Wrench” or “Learn to Fly,” two other prominent Foo Fighters songs from the band’s early period. “Breakout,” however, is specifically the song built around the adolescent line and its sharply worded, restless refrain.