Last Stop: This Town
Encyclopedia
"Last Stop: This Town" is a 1998 single from the album Electro-Shock Blues
by Eels
. The song was released commercially in Australia and the United Kingdom and as a promo only in the United States. It was produced and co-written by Michael Simpson
of the Dust Brothers
and Eels frontman E
. The track is addressed to E's sister Elizabeth, who committed suicide
prior to the recording Electro-Shock Blues.
United States
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 Moog Cookbook
Additional musicians
Production
in September 1998 and spent four weeks at #40 on the Billboard
Hot Modern Rock Tracks from November 14–December 26, 1998.
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
.
Vinyl and cassette releases only contain the title track and "Funeral Parlor".
Electro-Shock Blues
Electro-Shock Blues is the second studio album by the band Eels, released on September 21, 1998 in the United Kingdom and October 20, 1998 in the United States.-Background and inspiration:...
by Eels
Eels (band)
Eels is an American indie rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E...
. The song was released commercially in Australia and the United Kingdom and as a promo only in the United States. It was produced and co-written by Michael Simpson
Michael Simpson (producer)
Michael Simpson, also known as "E.Z. Mike", is one-half of the Los Angeles-based producing duo the Dust Brothers, who co-wrote and produced many critically acclaimed records including the Beastie Boys' "Paul's Boutique" and Beck's "Odelay". He won a Grammy Award for his songwriting & production on...
of the Dust Brothers
Dust Brothers
The Dust Brothers are the Los Angeles, California based, Grammy Award winning producers, E.Z. Mike and King Gizmo , famous for their sample-based music in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work on the albums Paul's Boutique by the Beastie Boys, Odelay by Beck, and the soundtrack to...
and Eels frontman E
Mark Oliver Everett
Mark Oliver Everett is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist and sometime drummer of the independent rock band Eels...
. The track is addressed to E's sister Elizabeth, who committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
prior to the recording Electro-Shock Blues.
Track listing
Australia and United Kingdom- "Last Stop: This Town" (E and Michael Simpson) – 3:27
- "Funeral Parlor" (E) – 2:13
- "Novocaine for the SoulNovocaine for the Soul"Novocaine for the Soul" is the first single released by American rock band Eels. The track comes from their 1996 debut album, Beautiful Freak. "Novocaine for the Soul" was the first song that gave Eels international success, most notably in the UK, where it hit number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in...
" by The Moog CookbookThe Moog CookbookThe Moog Cookbook is the name of an electronica band made up of Brian Kehew and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. as a parody/tribute to the novelty "Moog records" of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The duo performs exclusively on analog synthesizers, especially Moog synthesizers...
(E and Mark Goldenberg) – 3:07
United States
- "Last Stop: This Town" (Radio edit) – 3:07
- "Last Stop: This Town" (Radio edit) – 3:16
- "Last Stop: This Town" (Album version) – 3:27
Music video
The music video for "Last Stop: This Town" features EMark Oliver Everett
Mark Oliver Everett is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist and sometime drummer of the independent rock band Eels...
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.
Personnel
Eels- Butch – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on "Last Stop: This Town" - EMark Oliver EverettMark Oliver Everett is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist and sometime drummer of the independent rock band Eels...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
The Moog Cookbook
- Brian KehewBrian KehewBrian Kehew is a Los Angeles-based musician and music producer. He is a member the The Moog Cookbook and co-author of the Recording The Beatles book, an in-depth look at the Beatles' studio approach...
– synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – synthesizer
Additional musicians
- Elton Jones – backing vocals on "Last Stop: This Town"
Production
- E – productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Stephen MarcussenStephen MarcussenStephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer of Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California. Marcussen is one of the most sought-after mastering engineers in the music industry and his expertise has been coveted by a wide range of artists over the years...
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Michael SimpsonMichael Simpson (producer)Michael Simpson, also known as "E.Z. Mike", is one-half of the Los Angeles-based producing duo the Dust Brothers, who co-wrote and produced many critically acclaimed records including the Beastie Boys' "Paul's Boutique" and Beck's "Odelay". He won a Grammy Award for his songwriting & production on...
– production
Sales chart performance
"Last Stop: This Town" reached #23 in the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in September 1998 and spent four weeks at #40 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Modern Rock Tracks from November 14–December 26, 1998.
Release history
The song and its music video appear on the CD/DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
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
Electro-Shock Blues Show
Electro-Shock Blues Show is a live album by Eels released on tour in 2002.-Recording:The fifteen tracks on this album were recorded at six different venues. According to the album's liner notes, the first ten tracks were recorded "somewhere in England" during December 1998 while the Eels were a...
, Sixteen Tons (Ten Songs)
Sixteen Tons (Ten Songs)
Sixteen Tons is a live album recorded by Eels. It was recorded live on Eels' 2003 Tour of Duty at a KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic session...
, and Live and in Person! London 2006
Live and in Person! London 2006
Live and In Person! London 2006 is a live album by Eels initially released on their 2008 An Evening with Eels tour as a CD and DVD. The album was later sold through Eels' online store...
. In 2007, a performance for the Bridge School Benefit
Bridge School Benefit
The Bridge School Benefit is an annual non-profit charity concert held in Mountain View, California, every October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The concerts are all organized by musician Neil Young and his wife, Pegi....
from October 18, 1998 was released on The Bridge School Collection, Vol. 3, released exclusively through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | DreamWorks DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down... /MCA |
Compact Disc Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
DRMCD-22346 | |
| United Kingdom | DreamWorks/MCA | Cassette tape | DRMC 22346 | |
| United Kingdom | DreamWorks/MCA | 7" single Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
DRMS-22346 | |
| Australia | DreamWorks | Compact Disc | DRMDM-22346 | |
| United Kingdom | DreamWorks/MCA | Compact Disc (one-track promo) | WDRMCD 22346 | |
| United States | DreamWorks | Compact Disc | PRO-CD-5112 |
Vinyl and cassette releases only contain the title track and "Funeral Parlor".