"Last Resort" is the debut single by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Papa Roach. The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film ''
Ready to Rumble
''Ready to Rumble'' is a 2000 American buddy comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Steven Brill, which is based on Turner Broadcasting's now defunct professional wrestling promotion, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The mo ...
'' and appeared on Papa Roach's second studio album, ''
Infest'', shortly after. "Last Resort" was released as the album's lead single on March 7, 2000, and reached number 57 on the US ''
Billboard''
Hot 100 in December 2000. It also topped the ''Billboard''
Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven weeks and became a top-10 hit in Austria, Germany, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
Music, background and lyrics
Described as
nu metal,
rap metal
Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.
History Origins and earl ...
,
alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
and
hard rock 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: Papa Roach vocalist
Jacoby Shaddix
Jacoby Dakota Shaddix (born July 28, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, TV presenter and actor. He is best known as the founding member and the continuous lead singer of the California-based rock band Papa Roach since the band's f ...
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.
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."
"Last Resort" is influenced by
hip hop music. Both
The Fugees
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
and
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...
influenced the song. Although the song does not feature
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
, the song was composed with piano. Bassist 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."
Speaking about the making of and inspiration behind the song, Esperance said:
Commercial performance
"Last Resort" achieved mainstream success, peaking at number one on the US ''
Billboard''
Modern Rock Tracks chart in August 2000
and number 57 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in December 2000.
The popularity of "Last Resort" helped Papa Roach's album ''Infest'' get certified 3× Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
in July 2001.
Music video
The music video was directed by
Marcos Siega
Marcos Siega (born June 8, 1969, in New York City) is a film, television, commercial and music video director. He has also worked as a producer, a musician and an artist.
In the late 1980s, he helped to form the New York-based punk band Bad Trip, ...
.
In the music video, the band performs on a floor surrounded by fans. Throughout the video, the camera zooms in on 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 did not want to be to where they didfrom lonely despair to the rock show where they could have fun with their friends.
There are many posters for radio station
98 Rock. This is the rock station out of
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, that the band credits for jump starting their career. Inside the ''Infest'' album booklet are thanks to DJs of the radio station.
[Papa Roach - ''Infest'' (album booklet)] About five hundred people, including local fans, came to the shooting of the music video for "Last Resort".
[
On the MuchMusic versionwhich utilizes the ]radio edit
In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may al ...
the word "fuck" is completely removed with no replacement. On the MTV and Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
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.
Track listings
Charts
Papa Roach version
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Falling in Reverse version
Certifications and sales
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Resort (Song)
2000 songs
2000 debut singles
Censorship of music
DreamWorks Records singles
Music videos directed by Marcos Siega
Papa Roach songs
Songs about suicide
Songs written by Jacoby Shaddix
Songs written by Tobin Esperance
Universal Music Japan singles