Thursday, October 15, 2009

Eels


No one has the right until they've fought my fight
To understand just where I'm coming from
-"Ordinary Man" by Eels



I accidentally stumbled upon a memoir entitled Things The Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett and I absolutely had to have it as Everett is one of my favorite individuals in the world of music.

Everett is the lead singer of the band Eels which has been around since 1995. My first introduction to the Eels was through a video I saw on MTV for their song "Novocaine For The Soul" off their debut album Beautiful Freak. The Eels have released six albums since then including the recently released Hombre Lobo which is one of my favorite albums of this year. Having a career this long in the music business is tough enough, but having a long career and maintaining the artistic integrity that Everett does is especially rare.

If you're looking for a joyous read, Things The Grandchildren Should Know is not the book for you. Everett has lived through his share of tragedies and even though it's not a book of pity, it's still a sad tale. And yet Everett somehow manages to maintain a sense of humor throughout the bleakness of it all. I highly recommend it.

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