"Living Type" is the third single released from Powderfinger's second album Double Allergic. The single was released on 11 November 1996. The song, written by Bernard Fanning, the band's lead singer, concerned the victims of Charles Manson. The song was well received by the public, who voted it onto the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996 . This was the first time Powderfinger had appeared on the chart.

"Living Type" was released with one b-side track, dubbed "Other Delicacies". The track consisted of six 90 second blocks of music, with instrumental backgrounds. Guitarist Darren Middleton explained that the single would only have two tracks listed, and when referring to "Other Delicacies", said that "all the songs are recorded in a block so you can't skip them, you have to listen to the whole [single]".

"Living Type" was first performed live by Powderfinger whilst opening for You Am I on their "Uptight Express Tour". The shows were considered highly successful; much more so than Powderfinger's live performances with US band Pantera, which were problematic to say the least.

Whilst there was some speculation that "Living Type" was "a cheesy, angsty love song", Powderfinger's lead singer; Bernard Fanning (who wrote the song) said it was actually about Charles Manson, and the people affected by his cult. Fanning said that he was unable to control what people thought about the song, and so didn't try, but that "cheesy love song" that it had been dubbed was "not the intention" of the song. In a subsequent interview, Fanning told Juice magazine that people had been asking him if "Living Type" was about menstruation, which he dismissed as being "so stupid". However, he also re-iterated his statement that he was unable to control interpretations of the song, saying that "people have a freedom to think what they like".

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