Mark Oliver Everett’s father was a
famous quantum mechanic, the scientist
who first posited the theory of the multiverse,
of simultaneous alternative realities.
There’s a documentary called Parallel
Universe, Parallel Lives about E’s dad
from E’s perspective, including interviews
by an assortment of science luminaries
who say that this guy’s theories were
as significant if not more-so than Einstein’s.
As a 19 year old, Mark Oliver Everett
found his father’s body in the family home,
after a heart-attack at 51 years of age.
He writes about this and its impact on him
in his memoir, Things the Grandchildren
Should Know. Everett is a writer, as well,
and a good one–another affinity point
I have with this guy. This is all just to say,
before I conclude my Eels marathon,
that, while his musical catalog has not
been the most influential music of my life,
I have loved it immensely, coupled with
a deep interest in this complex and
fascinating human being who calls himself
E.
In 2018 Eels release The Deconstruction
and we are back in the business of uptempo
rock and pop, with a vintage lo-fi sheen,
and moments where E sings shoobedoo
and shalala. But there’s some chill numbers
here, too, and some of that signature sadness
along with some spiritual uplift in places.
I must not have listened to
this one a bunch of times, but I’m digging
its super cool, groovy vibes, its variety of
feels and textures, and you gotta love,
even if only for the novelty of it, a full
album spread out between two 10 inch
translucent yellow discs.
Earth to Dora is the pandemic Eels album,
even though lyrically it doesn’t seem to have
anything to do with that. I mean, I guess it’s
safe to say that anything that comes out in 2020
or thereabouts is kind of a pandemic era album.
This is a pretty happy sounding Eels. Even
the first ballad on the record, while it asks
the probing question, are you who you say
you are, implies a kind of hope there
that, yeah, she is. It just feels maybe a little
too good to be true. By contrast, the first
side of the album ends with a tune called
“Are You Fucking Your Ex?” Two sides of the
same coin. The cover of this album
is a painting of a clown wearing a top hat,
big smile, big rubber ball nose, floppy mop
of hair out either side of the hat. On the back
cover, same clown, different hat, and this time,
a big sad frown. In some ways, this is the
perfect image to represent the dichotomous
nature of Eels–it’s sad and it’s funny, it’s
hopeful and it’s dark, it’s beautiful and it’s
ugly, it’s aspirational and cynical. Those
opposites are always in the mix on any
given Eels record.
With only one ballad, one with a pretty
slamming drum groove, Extreme Witchcraft
is the Eels album you want if you like to boogie.
I don’t know exactly why I splurged for
the deluxe edition, but, like a kid, I did.
Like prizes in the cereal box, there are
all kinds of goodies inside, toys I’ll never
play with but nevertheless take some joy
in possessing. This Eels ouija board, for
example, these cool witch stickers, and
this lenticular mini-poster of the cover.
It also came with a CD copy of the album,
which is the way it should be, if you ask me,
all the time. I’ll have to say more on this
later, but as much as I love vinyl, as much
as I love that tactile, large-form
experience, there are times when I crave
the cleanliness and quiet, the reliability
of a compact disc, especially when unwanted
artifacts occur with the record, as it seems
they often do, way more than I would like.
About the music: this is a strong, hopping,
frolicking record; Eels at his most
rocking, at least in my collection.
In 2023, Mark Oliver Everett, having had
a family history of heart disease, and practicing
some vigilance around his susceptibility,
getting checked up on the regular, preempted
a burst aorta with a preventative open-heart
surgery. It appears he was writing the songs
for Eels Time! leading up to that surgery and
the record came out after it’s successful
completion. Lucky for him. Lucky for us.
This most recent album is contemplative,
reflective, quiet even in its uptempo tunes,
a cautiously optimistic record. “There’s no
time left to feel bereft and small. Let’s have
a ball. If I’m gonna go anywhere, I’m going
there.” And from the same tune: “Love. What
else is there but love?” These tunes feel
like an ars poetica for living, tackling the
biggest questions: What’s important?
What do we value? How do we want to
spend the limited time we have? E and I
are about the same age, asking the same
questions. I am exceedingly happy that
we are both still along for the ride.
Notes on the vinyl editions:
- The Deconstruction, E-works Records, 2018, double 10 inch on translucent yellow.
- Earth to Dora, E-works Records, 2020, black vinyl
- Extreme Witchcraft, E-works Records, 2022, deluxe boxed edition, double translucent yellow vinyl mastered at 45 rpm, includes lenticular cover portrait, witchcraft themed stickers, an Eels ouija board, and CD copy of the album.
- Eels Time! E-works Records, 2024, translucent pink vinyl.
In case you don’t already know: I’m listening to almost everything in my vinyl collection, A to Z, and writing at least one, sometimes two or three long skinny poem-like-things in response for each artist, and on a few occasions, writing a long skinny poem-like-thing in response to more than one artist. As a poet and a student of poetry, I understand that these things look like poems, but they don’t really sound much like poetry, hence, I call them “poem-like-things.” I’ll admit that they’re just long, skinny essays that veer every now and then into the poetic or lyric.
michael jarmer 