“Last Resort” (Reimagined)
I don’t often provide trigger warnings. I don’t often write about things that I feel legitimately need them. And I don’t say this to make light of those who provide them much more freely — I do get that to many that can be a valuable service. I call this out to illustrate the strength with which I offer this warning.
If the title reflecting Papa Roach’s 2000 hit “Last Resort” didn’t already let you know, the music track I want to share and talk about deals with issues of suicide and the contemplation of such.
If you’re still with me, I think the best place is to start with the original track.
The lyrics have always been heavy. And while I wouldn’t want to assume that no one connected or felt them through the delivery, my own experience — both personal and in my friend group over the years — had the privilege of perhaps not needing to. I knew the lyrics–well… first verse, chorus, and smatterings across the rest at least. Enough to belt them out when the environment and energy was right!
But despite just how heavy the content is, there was no connection to that level. I treated it more like a ‘banger‘ and while I assume nothing about the depth of reach this song may have had, I think it would be safe to say I was not alone in that.
Unlike Bhagpuss, I don’t tend to follow a lot of (read: any) music and music industry news. So I had no clue of what the story behind the song might’ve been or why Jacoby Shaddix1 wrote it. The short version: It wasn’t about himself or his own experience, not at the time he wrote it at least, it was for a friend he was living with. That friend pulled through though, and has gone on to have a good life and a family.
A (slightly) longer version can be found here.
What struck me most is that the main riff of the song was initially written and performed on piano. I expect this is actually quite common, but…
Well, perhaps time to jump to the Reimagined version by Falling in Reverse. YouTube Music put it into my ‘Supermix’ a month or so ago, which looking at it now must’ve been pretty shortly after it was released.
But today is the first time I’ve seen that there was a music video to go along with it.
The visuals are an interesting addition, particularly in that they convey a more positive ending to the song than the lyrics alone would otherwise convey.
Because let me tell you — these lyrics haven’t changed. They’re the same words we’ve been hearing for 23 years. But this rendition makes me feel like I’ve never heard them before in my life.
At the top of this post, I thought I might give more of a run down on why I think that is. Why it is that this version cuts so much closer to the marrow than the original… But now I’m thinking it really should be experienced first, without someone else’s views potentially colouring things. (Well, any more than I may have already.)
If after hearing it, you are keen for more of a breakdown and reaction style take, may I recommend you go over here? Elizabeth Zharoff of The Charismatic Voice is my general go-to when a song piques my interest enough to want this level of detail.
Let me know what you think. I’m beyond curious!
