Nice Guys Finish Last

Album: Hot Mess (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the opening track from American pop-punk band Cobra Starship's third album, Hot Mess.
  • In January 2009 the band rented a cabin in rural Pennsylvania to flesh out the songs without distractions. This was one of the fruits from those sessions.
  • Frontman Gabe Saporta told MTV News the story of this song: "I used to have this boss, I had one job when I was a kid, after high school, I was working for this guy who had a company that cleaned garbage chutes in buildings. And I don't know how he ended up doing that, because he was a rock-and-roll dude. He had Rod Stewart hair, and he was, like, 50. It was awesome. But he was such a chauvinist pig, and I was a straight-edge punk kid, very politically correct. Like, I would take offense if someone said something rude, which is the exact opposite of the way I am now. But I was that kid. And one time, he was like, 'Yeah, you treat girls like sh--, they'll stick to you like toilet paper.'

    And I was like, 'What?!?! That's f---ed up!' But I put that into the song, that he told me that. I mean, I don't treat girls like sh--, but the song's about that. Sometimes the bad boys end up getting the girls. We know a couple of guys who are 'too nice.' Like our sound guy, he'll just meet some girl and, like, give her flowers."

    Saporta added: "We wear our influences proudly. We don't take influences from one genre. We have Adam Ant influences in that song, like 'Goody Two Shoes'; there's a Britney influence in that song; there's a big-band, Brian Setzer influence in the song. It's like this big soup we put together, stir it up and puke out some Cobra s--t. A bunch of babes sing on it. One is the girl on the cover of the record. [Cobra keytarist] Victoria [Asher] sings on it. Cassadee Pope from Hey Monday, we added her to it on tour. Our engineer's girlfriend sings on there. A bunch of other friends of his too."
  • The woman on the album cover who also sings on this track is Bim Fernandez, a friend of the band.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes

Chris Robinson of The Black CrowesSongwriter Interviews

"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?