Eels have released their seventh studio album "Hombre Lobo - 12 songs of desire"
Although Mark Everett is not exploring new territory, as he so often does when releasing a studio album, I like this 12 songs about longing, loneliness, frustrated desire and desamor.
The title I chose is out of the last song Ordinary Man. Its desolate beauty is so typical for what I like when I think of Eels. And there is still some hope despite all the despair. The line is followed by and you seem like someone who could appreciate the fact that I'm no ordinary man.
Ups, summer holiday season is almost over (which happen without me) and I still haven't written about my non-fictional spring holiday reads... Sorry for the delay.
Things The Grandchildren Should Know, the subtle, touching and humble autobiography by Mark Oliver Everett. In combination with a well-stocked iPod, one can always listen to the tunes of the time E is talking about. Not only the grandchildren should know this book - like E's music.
Shah of Shahs, a meditation on the nature of revolution by Ryszard Kapuściński. I devoured this book.
It had been eight times on BBC four but I missed it completely:
Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives: Documentary which follows Mark Oliver Everett, the lead singer of US rock band Eels, as he travels across America to learn about the father he never knew – quantum physicist Hugh Everett III. Hugh died of a heart attack in his home in 1982, where his body was found by 19-year-old Mark. Even though they had lived in the same house, the two of them were alienated. Only by entering the paradoxical world of quantum mechanics can Mark hope to understand why he was such a stranger to his own father.
This weekend was devoted to oregano and Eels*. Oregano made it in every main course (without having anything Italian), Eels occupied the rest.
Having a red-eye back from Canada was not the most pleasant experience. The film selection did anything but deserve the term selection, the book I took with me was boring**, and The New Yorker was also not up to its usual standard. With Swiss still jamming business class on middle haul flights with substandard seats, there was not much sleep in sight***. All I had was my iPod and destiny made me select Eels. I have to quote myself: It's like standing in a rain of diamonds - painful yet wonderful. This saved my trip home.
Coming home, I was surprised with with two new records****:
Meet The Eels. Essential Eels Vol.1 1996-2006.
Eels Useless Trinkets. B-sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased. 1996-2006.
They went straight to hot rotation. I reckon, I have to calm down my attraction to E or will get into trouble with Toño. However, I hope, after missing Eels twice due to business trips, to meet them on March 6, when they will receive Switzerland in audience.
* not the ones people catch with horse heads since they read or saw the The Tin Drum. ** I devoured The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, enjoyed his How To Be Alone, but have to warn anyone attempting to read The Discomfort Zone. It's a heap of horse shit. *** Though the service was flawless - at least for me. The bitchin' lady next to me got what she deserved. **** US release 1/15, Europe 1/21 - I have no idea why I received them earlier.
Last week I was in northern Germany, this week I will travel in the opposite direction. To Cádiz actually, the coastal city in southwestern Spain, which was founded by Heracles after killing Geryon.
Unfortunately, neither La Playa de la Caleta nor de la Victoria nor de Santa María del Mar will be among the places I going to spend some quality time. Never mind, I don't like sand anyway. What really bothers me is the fact that I'm going to miss Eels, Massive Attack and Franz Ferdinand, which are performing on Friday evening here in Switzerland.
Just coincidentally, a revolt that started 1820 in Cádiz lead to the imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. Of course, this is nothing compared to the things that started after Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. Not that anything of this has anything to do with me going southwest.
There is the perfect summer all over Zürich and coincidentally I'm spending some days in this town that Philipp Tingler describes in his new book Juwelen des Schicksals (Destiny's Jewels) as a kind of mixture of La Prairie and Nero's Rome. Nevertheless, I'm despairingly, despondently, forlornly, hopelessly, desperately lost. My problem is that I haven't yet found the tune that perfectly matches with this summer.
My favorite tunes right know are on Blinking Lights And Other Revelations by the breathtaking Eels. Unfortunetely, it's not quite the music that I associate with stoling in a rustic bliss through Arcadia or watching perfect bums passing my towel at the local pool. I've tried many things, but nothing really fits. My hopes will gone to blazes quite soon. Please help!
If you haven't got children, you should start breeding right now. But before that you have to buy Blinking Lights And Other Revelations by Eels.
Why do I command this? It all started with a blog by Stoipi, where he recommended this new record. Stoipi is an nice bloke with an excellent music collection. Nonetheless I did not rush to the shop at once, however I did put this record on the watch list. Some days later, a journalist called Philippe Amrein wrote in WOZ MUSIC: "Blinking Lights is a reason to set children into the world in order to one day tell them and the grandchildren what a great band Eels were." I was still not quite convinced, but I bought it anyway.
Today, to recover from a shopping stampede, I listened to the entire double record for the first time and I'm flabbergasted. It's like standing in a rain of diamonds - painful yet wonderful.
Even though you shoud consider it, I don't insist that you start propagating. But if there is one thing one has to do this year, it's buying Eels' Blinking Lights And Other Revelations.
