Last Resort (song)

"Last Resort" is a song by rock band Papa Roach. The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Ready to Rumble and appeared on Papa Roach's second studio album, Infest, shortly after. "Last Resort" was released as the album's lead single and reached number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven weeks and became a top-ten hit in Austria, Germany, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

This article is about the song by Papa Roach. For other uses, see Last Resort.

"Last Resort"
Single by Papa Roach
from the album Infest
ReleasedSeptember 18, 2000[1]
Recorded2000
Genre
Length3:20
LabelDreamWorks
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jay Baumgardner
Papa Roach singles chronology
"Last Resort"
(2000)		 "Broken Home"
(2000)
Music video
"Last Resort" on YouTube

Music, background and lyrics

Described as nu metal[2][3] and rap metal,[4] 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."[5]

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.'"[6] 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."[7] "Last Resort" is influenced by hip hop music. Both The Fugees and Wu-Tang Clan influenced the song. Although the song does not feature piano, 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."[5] 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."[5]

Commercial performance

"Last Resort" achieved mainstream success, peaking at number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in August 2000[8] and number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2000.[9] The popularity of "Last Resort" helped Papa Roach's album Infest get certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 2001.[10]

Music video

The music video was directed by Marcos Siega.[11] 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 didn't want to be to where they did — from lonely despair to the rock show where they could have fun with their friends.[12] 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.[13] About five hundred people, including local fans, came to the shooting of the music video for "Last Resort".[11]

On the MuchMusic version - which utilizes the radio edit - 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.

In other media

The song is featured in the films Pay It Forward, Training Day, The One, and Filthy Gorgeous: The Trannyshack Story.

It was also included in the video game KickBeat and used in the Longmire episode "The Dark Road".

Track listings
CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Last Resort" (LP version) 
2."Legacy" (clean album version) 
3."Dead Cell" (live) 
4."Infest" (LP version) 
UK CD single
No.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
1."Last Resort" (clean version)3:19
2."Last Resort" (LP version)3:19

Charts and certifications

References
  1. "Austriancharts.at – Papa Roach – Last Resort" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  2. "The Ultimate Nu Metal Mixtape". Kerrang!. November 10, 2014. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  3. Diver, Mike (September 6, 2009). "Top Ten - Nu-Metal Anthems". Clash. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  4. Richardson, Sean. "Rage II". Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  5. "TOBIN ESPERANCE OF PAPA ROACH". Songfacts. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  6. "Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach". Songfacts. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  7. Friedman, David (February 22, 2007). "Papa Roach: Forever-evolving rockers". The News-Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  8. "Papa Roach Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  9. "Papa Roach Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  10. "American album certifications – Papa Roach – Infest". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 8, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  11. "Papa Roach: Come To Papa". MTV. Archived from the original on August 28, 2001.
  12. "Loudwire: Papa Roach Play 'Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?'". Loudwire.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  13. Papa Roach - Infest (album booklet)
  14. "Issue 586" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia.
  15. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7280." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 9. February 24, 2001. p. 15. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Papa Roach – Last Resort". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Last Resort". Irish Singles Chart.
  19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 32, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Papa Roach – Last Resort" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 23. June 2, 2001. p. 13. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  23. "Swisscharts.com – Papa Roach – Last Resort". Swiss Singles Chart.
  24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  25. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  26. "Papa Roach Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  27. "op 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  28. "Ireland – Top Singles for 2001". Allcharts. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  29. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  30. "Danish single certifications – Papa Roach – Last Resort". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved April 13, 2019. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2019 to obtain certification.
  31. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Papa Roach; 'Last Resort')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  32. "Italian single certifications – Papa Roach – Last Resort" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Last Resort" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  33. "British single certifications – Papa Roach – Last Resort". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
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