"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.

"Last Stop: This Town"
Cover by Seth
Single by Eels
from the album Electro-Shock Blues
Released1998
Recorded1998
GenreAlternative rock
Length3:27
LabelDreamWorks
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • E
  • Michael Simpson
Eels singles chronology
"Your Lucky Day in Hell"
(1997)
"Last Stop: This Town"
(1998)
"Cancer for the Cure"
(1998)

Content

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The song is about E's sister Elizabeth, who committed suicide prior to the recording of Electro-Shock Blues.[1]

Music video

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E sings along with a carrot clone of himself in the music video for "Last Stop: This Town".

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

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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

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Australia and United Kingdom
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Last Stop: This Town"3:27
2."Funeral Parlor"E2:13
3."Novocaine for the Soul" (by The Moog Cookbook)
  • E
  • Mark Goldenberg
3:07

United States

All tracks are written by E and Michael Simpson

No.TitleLength
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

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Eels
The Moog Cookbook
Additional personnel

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Eels | Full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  3. ^ "'Last Stop: This Town' at Billboard.com". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
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