History
E solo records
In 1991, Everett signed a contract with Polydor and released A Man Called E under the name E a year later. The single "Hello Cruel World" was a minor success. Touring to support the album, E opened for Tori Amos. A Man Called E was followed by Broken Toy Shop in 1993. This year also marked the beginning of E's collaboration with drummer Jonathan "Butch" Norton. After Broken Toy Shop, E was released from his record deal with Polydor. E has performed two of the songs from Broken Toy Shop ("The Only Thing I Care About" and "Manchester Girl") for his own live shows with the Eels.
Beautiful Freak
Eels were officially founded when Butch and E met Tommy Walter. The name "Eels" was chosen so that the band's records would be close to E's solo records in an alphabetical ordering, although it was too late once they realized that numerous Eagles and Earth, Wind & Fire releases were in between. Eels became one of the first groups to sign a record deal with DreamWorks Records, followed by Elliott Smith.
In 1996, the band released their debut album Beautiful Freak. The singles "Novocaine for the Soul", "Susan's House" and "Your Lucky Day in Hell" achieved modest national and international success, with the band winning the Best International Breakthrough Act award at the 1998 BRIT Awards. In 1996 and 1997, Eels toured extensively to support the album, building their name as a live act in the United States and Europe. In September 1997, Walter quit the band.
Released in May 2001, the motion picture soundtrack for the movie Shrek included the song "My Beloved Monster".
Electro-Shock Blues
Following the success of Beautiful Freak, E experienced a difficult time in his personal life. His sister committed suicide, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. These events inspired Eels' second album, 1998's Electro-Shock Blues. The album deals with many difficult subjects, including cancer, mental illness, suicide and death. The tragedy of Everett's father's death became prominent once more in the context of his mother's impending death and his sister's suicide, and as a result the song "Baby Genius" is written for his father Hugh Everett III. Contributions to the album were made by Jon Brion, Lisa Germano, Jim Jacobsen, Grant-Lee Phillips, Dust Brother Michael Simpson, and T-Bone Burnett.
The single "Last Stop: This Town" saw minor success, while "Cancer for the Cure", the second single from the album, appeared on the soundtrack for American Beauty (1999).
Still a three-piece band on stage, Tommy Walter was replaced by Adam Siegel. Part of the American leg of the tour was cancelled after the death of E's mother. They returned to tour Europe later in the year, to open for Pulp.
Daisies of the Galaxy
In 2000, Eels released Daisies of the Galaxy. The album, which was recorded almost entirely in E's basement, is lighter and more upbeat than its predecessor. Everett noted, "if Electro-Shock Blues was the phone call in the middle of the night that the world doesn't want to answer, then Daisies of the Galaxy is the hotel wake-up call that says your lovely breakfast is ready". He was joined in the studio by Michael Simpson (Dust Brothers), Grant-Lee Phillips (Grant Lee Buffalo), and Peter Buck (R.E.M.).
The first single, "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues", was co-written by Simpson. The song was not intended to be on the album, but the record company insisted on its inclusion. Therefore, it was not featured on the track listing but was instead listed on the cover sticker as a bonus track, separated from the rest of the album by 20 seconds of silence.
To promote Daisies of the Galaxy, another tour took place across the United States and Europe, with the band also playing their first concerts in Australia. For these performances, Eels were transformed into a 6-piece orchestra, including Lisa Germano and Probyn Gregory. E also played some solo shows, opening for Fiona Apple.
Souljacker and Shootenanny!
In 2001, Souljacker was released, an album with a heavier feel and more rock-oriented sound than Daisies of the Galaxy. John Parish, previously of PJ Harvey's band, co-wrote most of the songs and played guitar on the album and first part of the tour. After Parish became a father, he was replaced with Joe Gore for the American leg of the Bus Driving, Band Rocking Tour. Koool G Murder played bass and keyboards and joined Eels on tour.
2003 marked the release of the album Shootenanny!. E now refers to the album as a break from recording the following Blinking Lights album. It was recorded live in the studio in only ten days. "Saturday Morning" was released as a single.
Butch was replaced on drums by Puddin'. In 2003, Eels embarked upon another big tour, called the Tour of Duty. The live band consisted of E, Goldenboy (guitar), Koool G Murder (bass) and Puddin' (drums). Later that year, E composed the score for the film Levity.
Blinking Lights and Other Revelations and Eels with Strings
Eels' next album, Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, was released on April 26, 2005, and was the band's first release for new label Vagrant Records. It is a 33-track double album. Contributions were made by Tom Waits, Peter Buck, John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful), Jim Jacobsen, and Butch.
The first tour in support of the Blinking Lights album, billed as Eels with Strings, featured primarily performances by E on acoustic guitar, organ or piano, backed by Allen "Big Al" Hunter on piano and upright bass, Jeffrey Lyster (also known as Chet Atkins III or "The Chet") on guitar, mandolin, pedal steel, musical saw and drums, and a string quartet consisting of violinists Paloma Udovic and Julie Carpenter, violist Heather Lockie and cellist Ana Lenchantin. The tour resulted in a live album, Eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall, recorded in New York City. The performance includes tracks from all of their albums, and was released on CD and DVD on February 21, 2006.
Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. I and Useless Trinkets
In early 2008, Eels released their first "greatest hits" compilation as well as a compilation of B-sides, rarities, soundtrack singles and unreleased tracks. Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. I spans the first decade of the Eels, including singles from all their albums, as well as a DVD featuring music videos and one live performance video. Useless Trinkets contains 50 B-sides and rarities and a DVD of their Lollapalooza 2006 performances. To promote the releases, the band went on a world tour, An Evening With Eels. This time, only the Chet joined E on stage, both playing a broad cross-section from the Eels repertoire on a variety of instruments. The concerts also featured the Chet reading excerpts from E's 2008 autobiography, Things the Grandchildren Should Know. On this tour, the band released a live CD/DVD package of Eels' 2006 performance at the London Astoria, Live and in Person!, documenting a show from the second tour in support of Blinking Lights and Other Revelations.
The soundtrack of the 2008 comedy film Yes Man features nine songs by Eels, including "Man Up", a brand new song.
Concept album trilogy: Hombre Lobo, End Times, and Tomorrow Morning
Hombre Lobo, the seventh Eels studio album, was released on June 2, 2009. The album comprises twelve new songs. "Hombre Lobo" is Spanish for "wolf man" or "werewolf" and references E's unusually long beard, which he originally grew when writing the song "Dog Faced Boy". On March 31, 2009, the band made the track "Fresh Blood" available on Spinner, explaining that the song would be the lead single for the album. A Jesse Dylan-directed music video was released on April 29, 2009 as well. The album was released as a single-disc CD and a deluxe edition with a DVD. In September 2009, Eels released a music video for "That Look You Give That Guy", featuring Bobby Jr., E and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi.
While promoting this album, Eels released the live EP The Myspace Transmissions Session 2009 on October 14, 2009. That same day, the band's website announced that a new Eels album entitled End Times would be released on January 19, 2010. It was largely recorded on a four-track recorder and is based on the themes of broken love. Three album tracks—"Little Bird", "In My Younger Days", and "A Line in the Dirt"—were made available as music videos or promotional downloads prior to the release of the album. Once again, Butch contributed drums to "A Line in the Dirt". On January 19, 2010, End Times was released. E made no comment on touring and there was no tour scheduled to begin.
A second album was announced on May 20, 2010: Tomorrow Morning was described as the "final installment of a trilogy that began with Hombre Lobo and End Times." The three albums respectively explore themes of desire, loss, and redemption. A world tour, the first since 2007's An Evening With Eels tour, was announced at the same time. This tour once again featured the Chet on various instruments, alongside Koool G Murder on bass, trilogy drummer Knuckles on drums and a new member, P-Boo, on guitar.
Wonderful, Glorious and The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett
On February 5, 2013, the 10th Eels studio album was released, entitled Wonderful, Glorious. The first single from the album, "Peach Blossom", premiered on SoundCloud on November 6, 2012. A month later, on December 4, 2012, the official video was released on Stereogum. The second single, "New Alphabet", was streamed pre-release on December 12, 2012 on Spinner
On March 25, 2013, the band released a parody music video called "Cold Dead Hand" through Funny or Die, with Jim Carrey replacing E on vocals. The song and video, set as a musical act during the variety program Hee Haw, lampoons American gun culture, and specifically former NRA spokesperson Charlton Heston.
Eels' eleventh studio album, The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett, was released on April 21, 2014 on E Works Records. In April 2015, the band released the DVD and double live album Live at the Royal Albert Hall.
In 2015, Eels created their own version of Melanie De Biasio's track "I Feel You" for the album Gilles Peterson Presents - No Deal Remixed. The track was later used to promote the 2017 film Alien: Covenant, directed by Ridley Scott, and appears during the entire in-universe short movie Meet Walter starring Michael Fassbender.
The Deconstruction and Earth to Dora
On January 17, 2018, Eels announced their 12th studio album, The Deconstruction, to be released on April 6, 2018, their first in nearly four years. They also announced a supporting tour throughout the United States and Europe, beginning in Pomona, California on May 28, 2018. The album travels through many styles sonically, but its lyrics primarily deal with rebuilding one's life and looking back on what went wrong. Singles include (in release order) the title track, "Today Is the Day", "Premonition", and "Bone Dry". Styles present on the album include orchestral pop, power pop, psychedelic pop/rock, indie/alternative rock and post-modern pop.
The band's next release was the single "Baby Let's Make It Real"/"Who You Say You Are", announced on September 1, 2020. These songs were featured on the subsequent studio album, Earth to Dora (2020).
Extreme Witchcraft
On September 21, 2021, it was announced that the 14th Eels album would be called Extreme Witchcraft and would be released on January 28, 2022. The album was produced by E and John Parish in their first collaboration since 2001's Souljacker.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eels_(band)
Studio albums
As E
A Man Called E (1992)
Broken Toy Shop (1993)
As Eels
Beautiful Freak (1996)
Electro-Shock Blues (1998)
Daisies of the Galaxy (2000)
Souljacker (2001)
Shootenanny! (2003)
Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005)
Hombre Lobo (2009)
End Times (2010)
Tomorrow Morning (2010)
Wonderful, Glorious (2013)
The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett (2014)
The Deconstruction (2018)
Earth to Dora (2020)
Extreme Witchcraft (2022)
Nowadays
Eels Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody else can look some other way
Things I say seem to get me into trouble
That I've been through for too many days
And trouble is a friend of mine
I'd like to leave behind
I like my friends more refined
Things I lose
Weighing on my heart
Every time I start to think
Maybe it's through
A little lie
Goes a long way when you can't say
Quite for sure what's the truth
The truth is something no one really
Wants to hear you say
Just how you doin' and have a nice day
Nowadays you go for a walk
Better not stop and wave or say hello
Just this song
People will spit, give you shit
Just for looking at them
And walking too slow
Slowly and methodically
I'll lock the world away
Haunted by my better days
The lyrics of Eels's song Nowadays signify a certain withdrawal from the world and the consequence of speaking one's mind freely. The singer reveals that over the years, the things that he says seem to get him into trouble and that he decided to keep to himself to avoid any more conflicts. He acknowledges his friendship with trouble and admits that he wants to leave it behind. The singer further implies that he prefers refined friends, suggesting that those he associated with earlier might not have been the best influence.
The lyrics speak of the things that weigh on his heart and indicate that it becomes too much for him to bear sometimes. Though he tries to convince himself that it is through, he is unable to shake off the feeling that things are not entirely right. He further highlights the significance of a little lie in such instances when one cannot say for sure what is the truth. The singer reveals that the truth is often difficult for people to hear and that most prefer small talk over honesty.
The lyrics describe how little interactions with people have changed nowadays. It's as if people are afraid of some form of intimacy or interaction that might potentially result in conflict. In this context, the singer chooses to avoid interaction and stick to himself. He mentions that people will spit and give you shit for looking at them and walking too slow, indicating that there is an overall change in attitude towards one another. In the end, the singer admits that he has locked the world away and is haunted by his better days, indicating that he might long for the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Nowadays I keep to myself
These days, I tend to keep to myself and avoid interacting with others.
Everybody else can look some other way
I don't care what other people think or do, they can mind their own business.
Things I say seem to get me into trouble
Whenever I speak my mind, it usually leads to some form of negative consequences or conflict.
That I've been through too many days
I've been dealing with these issues for such a long time now.
And trouble is a friend of mine
I tend to be drawn to unpleasant situations and turmoil in my life.
I'd like to leave behind
I wish that I could move on from these negative experiences.
I like my friends more refined
I prefer the company of people who are more sophisticated and well-mannered.
Things I lose
The things that I've lost over the years.
Weighing on my heart
These losses continue to have an emotional impact on me.
Every time I start to think
Whenever I reflect on my past experiences.
Maybe it's through
Perhaps it's time to move on and put these experiences behind me for good.
A little lie
Telling a small untruth.
Goes a long way when you can't say
In situations where the truth could cause issues or harm, sometimes telling a lie is necessary for self-preservation.
Quite for sure what's the truth
When you're unsure about what the truth is.
The truth is something no one really
Many people are not receptive to hearing the truth about themselves or their situations.
Wants to hear you say
They would rather avoid hearing something they don't want to hear.
Just how you doin' and have a nice day
People only want to hear polite, surface-level pleasantries and are not interested in deeper conversations or honesty.
Nowadays you go for a walk
When you go out for a stroll in public these days.
Better not stop and wave or say hello
You should avoid making eye contact or greeting strangers while out in public.
Just this song
The only thing that seems to bring me any solace or comfort these days is this song I am singing.
People will spit, give you shit
Other people will insult, belittle, or attack you for seemingly no reason at all.
Just for looking at them
Even making the slightest contact with them can invite hostility and aggression.
And walking too slow
Even if you're simply minding your own business, people will be quick to judge and harass you for any perceived weaknesses or vulnerabilities.
Slowly and methodically
Taking time and care to do things deliberately and with intention.
I'll lock the world away
I'll shut out the rest of the world and retreat into my own life and thoughts.
Haunted by my better days
I'm tormented by memories of happier times in my life that I'll never be able to get back.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARK O. EVERETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sensaye25
I love the simplicity of their lyrics. It's soothing to the soul.
RX TV
Man E always says something that gets your heart
PLkurwa
its 11:30 PM. I got atm ups and downs in my life. I just went outside to get something to drink and the bright moonlight surprised me.. it just gave me this feeling of "everythings gonna be alright".. and then i came home, turned on the radio and this song came.. thanks god
Blackcrow
GREAT SONG ---- UP THE EELS
Starkus Meiner
Love you Mr. E, this is beautilful!
The Shardlows
This is my life , thank you xxx
Ivan Bozic
although "eels" are not the most popular rock band today, i still believe that E is the ONLY artist of my generation (i'm now 18 years old) whose music has the artistic potential to survive some generations after his death; just as Elvis' and Lennon's music did! yeah, i know, some fans in grief might say now that also Winehouse's will!
Gabriel Sanmartín
Can someone say me the harmonica chords?
Joseph Coughlin
im hooked
curtis miller
voice at the beginning sounds like owen wilson