Last Stop: This Town
| "Last Stop: This Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover by Seth | ||||
| Single by Eels | ||||
| from the album Electro-Shock Blues | ||||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 3:27 | |||
| Label | DreamWorks | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Eels singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Last Stop: This Town" is a song by American rock band Eels. It was released as a single from their 1998 album Electro-Shock Blues. It was co-produced and co-written by Eels frontman E with Michael Simpson of the Dust Brothers.
Content
[edit]The song is about E's sister Elizabeth, who committed suicide prior to the recording of Electro-Shock Blues.[1]
Music video
[edit]
The music video for "Last Stop: This Town," directed by Garth Jennings and produced by his company Hammer & Tongs, features E singing to the audience with various vegetables strewn around him. As the video progresses, a carrot is slowly turned into a clone of E. Interspersed throughout is a performance video of Eels performing the song on a multiple rotating platforms that move up and down. Near the end of the video, the carrot clone is strapped into a toy robot and walks away.
The music video was nominated for "Breakthrough Video" at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards.
Release
[edit]The song was released commercially in Australia and the United Kingdom and as a promo only in the United States. "Last Stop: This Town" reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1998[2] and spent four weeks at number 40 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks from November 14–December 26, 1998.[3]
The song and its music video appear on the CD/DVD Meet the Eels: Essential Eels, Vol. 1 (1996–2006). The B-sides would later be collected on B-Sides & Rarities 1996–2003 and Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996–2006. Live performances of the song are featured on Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Electro-Shock Blues Show, Sixteen Tons (Ten Songs), and Live and in Person! London 2006. In 2007, a performance for the Bridge School Benefit from October 18, 1998, was released on The Bridge School Collection, Vol. 3, released exclusively through the iTunes Store.
Track listing
[edit]- Australia and United Kingdom
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Stop: This Town" | 3:27 | |
| 2. | "Funeral Parlor" | E | 2:13 |
| 3. | "Novocaine for the Soul" (by The Moog Cookbook) |
| 3:07 |
United States
All tracks are written by E and Michael Simpson
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Stop: This Town" (radio edit) | 3:07 |
| 2. | "Last Stop: This Town" (radio edit) | 3:16 |
| 3. | "Last Stop: This Town" (album version) | 3:27 |
Personnel
[edit]- Eels
- E – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, organ, production
- Butch – drums, backing vocals on "Last Stop: This Town"
- The Moog Cookbook
- Brian Kehew – synthesizer
- Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – synthesizer
- Additional personnel
- Elton Jones – backing vocals on "Last Stop: This Town"
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Michael Simpson – production
References
[edit]- ^ Everett, Mark Oliver (2008). "11 – Happy Trails". Things the Grandchildren Should Know (Hardback) (First ed.). New York City, New York, United States: Thomas Dunne Books. pp. 125–160. ISBN 978-0-312-38513-2.
- ^ "Eels | Full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
- ^ "'Last Stop: This Town' at Billboard.com". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
