Last Resort (song)
| "Last Resort" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Papa Roach | ||||
| from the album Infest | ||||
| Released | 2000 | |||
| Format | CD | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:20 | |||
| Label | DreamWorks | |||
| Writer(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Jay Baumgardner | |||
| Papa Roach singles chronology | ||||
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"Last Resort" is the first single from the rock band Papa Roach's second album, Infest. The song was hugely popular and a mainstream success, charting around the world and reaching number 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
Music, background and lyrics
The song is in E minor. The guitar riff that appears throughout the song is a replayed sample (interpolation) of the instrumental track "Genghis Khan" by Iron Maiden.[4] The band however have stated that they did not sample the song. Additionally, Kerrang! magazine has remarked on the similarities between the lead guitar lines of 'Last Resort' and Northern Irish trio Therapy?'s song 'Screamager'.[5]
The song "Last Resort" is about suicide. In an interview with Songfacts, Papa Roach member Tobin Esperance spoke about the song and its lyrics, saying:
"I think the lyrics had a lot to do with it. Because originally the song was about a friend of ours that we grew up with, and he was going through a rough time in his life. And there was that suicide element to it, just like growing up and the struggles of life and questioning whether or not you want to keep going on, and I think a lot of people connected with that. For the kids who had also gone through those kinds of feelings, those kinds of emotions, the lyrics really helped connect with that song."[6]
Papa Roach vocalist Jacoby Shaddix described the song as a "cry for help". He also said "That song was about one of my best friends, and then 12–13 years later, that song was about me. I found myself in that place, where I was like, "I can't go on this way. I can't do it anymore.""[7] Shaddix said that "Last Resort" is about a roommate he had who tried to commit suicide. Shaddix then said: "We caught him and took him to the hospital and he went into a mental facility and then he came out the other side better. He actually found God through the process, which was kind of crazy. So he's on a whole different path of his life now, which is cool. I'm really proud of him for the changes he's made in his life."[8]
On the MuchMusic version, the word "fuck" is completely removed with no replacement. On the MTV and Vevo version, the words "cut", "bleeding", "die", "life" (from the line "if I took my life tonight"), and "suicide" were also muted. After original airings of the video on television, some networks went so far as to additionally censor words such as "suffocation", and even the title of the song itself.
The song is influenced by hip hop music. Both The Fugees and Wu-Tang Clan influenced the song. Although the song doesn't feature piano, the song was composed with piano. Papa Roach member Tobin Esperance said: "I've written songs on piano – actually, "Last Resort" with that whole little riff/melody thing, that's done on the piano. And then I just transferred it to the guitar."[6] Speaking about the making of and inspiration behind the song, Esperance said:
"Well, of course at the time we were listening to a lot of Wu Tang Clan, a lot of hip-hop, and a lot of Fugees and a lot of East Coast hip-hop, and we were sampling classical music behind simple pocket grooves. I was playing something on piano and Jacoby came in and started scatting over it. And we just did our typical mixing of a funky kind of hip-hop groove with a punk rock chorus. And that song just came together like that. Jacoby said, "That's a cool riff, keep playing that noodle" – we called it a noodle. We did it over and over again, and Jacoby put his lyrics to it, and the song just morphed into what it is now. No one ever thought it was going to be a huge, huge hit, but I guess you never expect anything, really, when you're first starting out."[6]
Music video
The music video was directed by Marcos Siega.[9] In the music video, the band performs on a floor surrounded by fans. Throughout the video, the camera zooms in on a some fans near the stage and shows them in places that appear to be their rooms. In their rooms, they appear to be possibly depressed. Though it had apparently been claimed that this is meant to show how people might not look depressed but still are, the purpose was more so to show the people being taken from where they didn't want to be to where they did — from lonely despair to the rock show where they could have fun with their friends.[5] There are many posters for radio station 98 Rock. This is the rock station out of Sacramento, California that the band credits for jump starting their career. Inside the Infest album booklet are thanks to DJs of the radio station.[10] About five hundred people, including local fans, came to the shooting of the music video for "Last Resort".[9]
Track listing
| CD single | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Last Resort" (LP Version) | |
| 2. | "Legacy" (Clean Album Version) | |
| 3. | "Dead Cell" (Live) | |
| 4. | "Infest" (LP Version) | |
| UK CD single | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Last Resort" | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Broken Home" (Live Radio 1 Evening Session) | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Dead Cell" (Live Radio 1 Evening Session) | 3:08 |
| 4. | "Last Resort" (CD-ROM) | |
| Limited Edition UK single | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Last Resort" | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Last Resort" (Live Radio 1 Evening Session) | 3:22 |
| 3. | "Between Angels And Insects" (Live Radio 1 Evening Session) | 4:21 |
| Japanese Promo CD | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Last Resort" (Clean Version) | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Last Resort" (LP Version) | 3:19 |
Cover versions
The song was featured in "Weird Al" Yankovic's medley "Angry White Boy Polka" on his 2003 album Poodle Hat; the word "fuck" is replaced by a slide-whistle. Richard Cheese also covered the song on his record Lounge Against the Machine. Lostprophets also incorporated the chorus into their live lounge version of the Rihanna song "Rude Boy", at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend.
In popular culture
On a 2000 episode of Saturday Night Live the song was featured in a Culp Family Musical Performances skit with the word "fuck" replaced with "fork".
The song appeared in several movies, television shows, and video games, including the films The One, Training Day (2001) and Pay It Forward, an episode of Smallville, an episode of Cold Case and the video game, Rock Revolution.
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Cain Velasquez used this song as his entrance theme for his fight against Jesse Fujarczyk at the MMA event Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello.
"Last Resort" is a downloadable track for the Rock Band video game series although it is a different version than previously heard, it is rumored to be either a demo version to not feature their previous drummer for royalty distribution issues. It is also a featured track in iPhone/iPod Touch game Tap Tap Revenge 2, with a G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra theme.
"Last Resort" was parodied in the Metalocalypse episode "Dethsiduals". A song similar to Last Resort is played by the rap-rock band Get Thee Hence (voiced by Ace Frehley and members of Mastodon) in a parody of the rap-rock/nu metal scene of the late 1990s/early 2000s. The band is signed to MurderTooth Records (as the first act signed by William Murderface and Toki Wartooth) but are viciously attacked by Dethklok fans while opening for them at the end of the episode.
Chart performance
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[11] | 86 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] | 7 |
| Canada Rock (RPM)[13] | 15 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[14] | 4 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 13 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] | 32 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] | 25 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[17] | 3 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[18] | 57 |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks[18] | 4 |
| US Modern Rock Tracks[18] | 1 |
| Preceded by "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down "Californication" by Red Hot Chili Peppers |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single August 5, 2000 August 19, 2000 |
Succeeded by "Californication" by Red Hot Chili Peppers "Minority" by Green Day |
References
- ↑ "The Ultimate Nu Metal Mixtape". Kerrang!. (November 10th, 2014)
- ↑ Diver, Mike (September 6, 2009). "Top Ten - Nu-Metal Anthems". Clash. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
- ↑ Grierson, Tim. "Top 10 Essential Alt-Metal Songs". About.com. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Sample note on WhoSampled.com". Retrieved 2015-11-21.
- 1 2 "Loudwire: Papa Roach Play 'Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?'". Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- 1 2 3 "TOBIN ESPERANCE OF PAPA ROACH". Songfacts.
- ↑ "JACOBY SHADDIX OF PAPA ROACH". Songfacts.
- ↑ Friedman, David (February 22, 2007). "Papa Roach: Forever-evolving rockers". The News-Times.
- 1 2 "Papa Roach: Come To Papa". MTV. Archived from the original on August 28, 2001.
- ↑ Papa Roach - Infest (album booklet)
- ↑ Kent, David (2006). Australian Chart Book 1993-2005. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-45889-2.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Papa Roach – Last Resort" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 71, No. 19, September 11, 2000". RPM. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Papa Roach Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Papa Roach search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Papa Roach – Last Resort". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Chart Stats - Papa Roach - She Loves Me Not". Chartstats.com. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- 1 2 3 "Artist Chart History - Papa Roach". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
External links
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