"Last Resort"
Single by Papa Roach
from the album Ready to Rumble soundtrack and Infest
ReleasedMarch 7, 2000 (2000-03-07)
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

"Last Resort" is the debut single by American 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 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,[1][2] rap metal,[3] alternative metal[4] and hard rock[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]

"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."[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]

Commercial performance

"Last Resort" achieved mainstream success, peaking at number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in August 2000[9] and number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2000.[10] 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.[11]

Music video

The music video was directed by Marcos Siega.[12] 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 did – from lonely despair to the rock show where they could have fun with their friends.[13] 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.[14] About five hundred people, including local fans, came to the shooting of the music video for "Last Resort".[12]

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.

Track listings

US CD single and European maxi-CD single[15]
No.TitleLength
1."Last Resort" (LP version) 
2."Legacy" (clean album version) 
3."Dead Cell" (live) 
4."Infest" (LP version) 
UK CD1[16]
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) 
UK CD2[17]
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
UK cassette single[18]
No.TitleLength
1."Last Resort" (clean version) 
2."Broken Home" (Live Radio 1 Evening Session) 
European and Japanese CD single[19][20]
No.TitleLength
1."Last Resort" (LP version) 
2."Legacy" (clean album version) 
Australian CD single[21][22]
No.TitleLength
1."Between Angels and Insects" (explicit) 
2."Last Resort" 
3."Dead Cell" (live) 
4."Legacy" 
5."Broken Home" (enhanced video) 
6."Last Resort" (enhanced video) 

Charts

Papa Roach version

Falling in Reverse version

Weekly chart performance for "Last Resort (Reimagined)"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Canada Digital Songs (Billboard)[46] 16
Germany Rock Airplay (Official German Charts)[47] 1
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[48] 33
UK Indie (OCC)[49] 40
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[50] 39
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[51] 13

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for "Last Resort"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[52] Platinum 90,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[53] 2× Platinum 1,000,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[54] Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡
United States
Digital 		— 2,211,249[56]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Last Resort"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States March 7, 2000
DreamWorks [57]
Europe September 18, 2000 Maxi-CD [24]
United Kingdom February 5, 2001
  • CD
  • cassette
 [58]
Japan April 18, 2001 CD Universal Music Japan [59]
Australia April 30, 2001 DreamWorks [22]

References

  1. ^ "The Ultimate Nu Metal Mixtape". Kerrang!. November 10, 2014. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Diver, Mike (September 6, 2009). "Top Ten - Nu-Metal Anthems". Clash. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  3. ^ Richardson, Sean. "Rage II". Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  4. ^ Grierson, Tim. "Top 10 Essential Alt-Metal Songs". About.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Loudwire Staff (October 2, 2020). "The 66 Best Hard Rock Songs of the 21st Century". Loudwire. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "TOBIN ESPERANCE OF PAPA ROACH". Songfacts. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  7. ^ "Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach". Songfacts. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b "Papa Roach Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Papa Roach Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "American album certifications – Papa Roach – Infest". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Papa Roach: Come To Papa". MTV. Archived from the original on August 28, 2001.
  13. ^ "Loudwire: Papa Roach Play 'Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?'". Loudwire.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  14. ^ Papa Roach - Infest (album booklet)
  15. ^ Last Resort (US CD & European maxi-CD single liner notes). Papa Roach. DreamWorks Records. 2000. 450 931-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Last Resort (UK CD1 liner notes). Papa Roach. DreamWorks Records. 2001. 450 921-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Last Resort (UK CD2 liner notes). Papa Roach. DreamWorks Records. 2001. 450 920-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Last Resort (UK cassette single sleeve). Papa Roach. DreamWorks Records. 2001. 450 920-4.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Last Resort (European CD single liner notes). Papa Roach. DreamWorks Records. 2000. 450 930-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Last Resort (Japanese CD single liner notes). Papa Roach. Universal Music Japan. 2001. UICW-5002.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ Between Angels and Insects / Last Resort (Australian CD single liner notes). Papa Roach. DreamWorks Records. 2001. 450 917-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ a b "The ARIA Report: ARIA New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 30th April 2001" (PDF). ARIA. April 30, 2001. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  23. ^ "Issue 586" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ a b "Papa Roach – Last Resort" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  25. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7280." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  26. ^ "Backstreet Boys acaparan listas de popularidad". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). November 1, 2000. p. 39. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  27. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18, no. 9. February 24, 2001. p. 15. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  28. ^ "Papa Roach – Last Resort" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  29. ^ "Íslenski Listinn (28.12. 2000)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). December 28, 2000. p. 10. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  30. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Last Resort". Irish Singles Chart.
  31. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 32, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  32. ^ "Papa Roach – Last Resort" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  33. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18, no. 23. June 2, 2001. p. 13. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  35. ^ "Papa Roach – Last Resort". Swiss Singles Chart.
  36. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  37. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  38. ^ "Papa Roach Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  39. ^ "Papa Roach Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  40. ^ "op 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  41. ^ "The Year in Music 2000: Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 53. December 30, 2000. pp. YE-87. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  42. ^ "The Year in Music 2000: Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 52. December 30, 2000. p. YE-88. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  43. ^ "Ireland – Top Singles for 2001". Allcharts. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  44. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  45. ^ "The Year in Music 2001: Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 52. December 29, 2001. p. YE-70.
  46. ^ "Falling in Reverse Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  47. ^ "Radio No9 Charts — Week 26/2023". Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  48. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  49. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  50. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. June 30, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  51. ^ "Falling in Reverse Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  52. ^ "Danish single certifications – Papa Roach – Last Resort". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  53. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Papa Roach; 'Last Resort')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  54. ^ "Italian single certifications – Papa Roach – Last Resort" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
  55. ^ "British single certifications – Papa Roach – Last Resort". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  56. ^ "Chart: Digital Songs" (PDF). Nielsen Soundscan. June 23, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  57. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1340. March 3, 2000. pp. 129, 134, 144. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  58. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting February 5, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. February 3, 2001. p. 27. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  59. ^ "新譜発売日一覧 4月分" [New Release Date List for April] (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Archived from the original on April 14, 2001. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
Categories