Daily Jam - Dog Faced Boy

I'm currently somewhere in south Texas.  Where are you?  Here's Eels with "Dog Faced Boy," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - I'm Going to Stop Pretending that I Didn't Break Your Heart

Eels make good music for the blues.  Not that i have the blues or anything right now.  I think i'm just really, really tired.  Listen to "I'm Going to Stop Pretending that I Didn't Break Your Heart" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - World of Shit

Alt-rock band Eels have always tapped into a particular kind of quirky melancholy unmatched by any other artist.  Here's a cut from their 2001 album "Souljacker."  Listen to "World of Shit" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Novocaine for the Soul

There is a big part of me that is beyond thankful that I came of age during the internet’s infancy. I was pretty shy when I was growing up (and still am to a degree) and was basically a nerd (comic books and good grades and whatnot). And in not having an online community of fellow and likeminded nerds to confide in and retreat to, I was forced to venture out into the real world and meet actual people…to make actual friends. Sure, we were still dorks and outcasts doing dork and outcast things, seeking out alcohol (usually unsuccessfully), smoking cigarettes in the park, watching cult films, pining away about sex and the lack thereof, or just telling jokes and hanging out, but we did it together with other human beings.

As a music obsessive, one of the things I would have my little group do on a Friday or Saturday night, was venture out to hunt for CD’s. Living in a smaller city in the 90’s (Midland, Texas had around 90,000 people residing there at the time), we weren’t really overflowing with options. By then, local record stores had all but been swallowed up by the larger chains who were then also on the outs, victims of the big box stores. Thus, visits to our local Best Buy became a weekly occurrence once my driver’s license had been procured.

The Best Buys of the 90’s were significantly different from the Best Buys currently occupying space in shopping centers around the country. At the time, the CD section of the store was very large, the sales thereof providing a relatively inexpensive source of revenue for the chain. Of course MP3’s and streaming killed all that, but as a teen in the 90’s with a modest disposable income to burn, and with the store able to offer the discs at a lower price than anybody else, I amassed quite a collection of 1990’s alt-rock (just the good stuff, I swear).

Does any of this have anything to do with “Novocaine for the Soul,” the 1996 hit from Eels’ debut album Beautiful Freak? No, not really. But I did buy the album at a Best Buy for like 7 dollars or something when I was in high school. So there’s that. Listen to the song and watch the Mark Romanek directed video below… …Before I sputter out.

Daily Jam - Guest List

All i want to do today is lay around.  So far so good.  Here's Eels with a track from their debut for your Sunday.  Listen to "Guest List" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Trouble with Dreams

I have a soft spot in my heart for Eels, ever since "Novocaine for the Soul."  Here's a track from their massive album "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations" for your Sunday.  Listen to "Trouble with Dreams" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Beautiful Freak

Feeling some old school Eels this morning.  Here's "Beautiful Freak," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Daisies of the Galaxy

For some reason this song by Eels has always stuck with me.  Listen to "Daisies of the Galaxy" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Climbing to the Moon

The music of Eels is nothing if not melancholy, and the band's sophomore release "Electro-Shock Blues" took that melancholy, turned it tragic and somber, added some extra quirkiness, and then included a small light of hope at the end.  What a record.  Here's "Climbing to the Moon," our Daily Jam.

Eels - Bone Dry

I haven't really paid much attention to long running alt-rock band Eels since 2005's sprawling "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations," though i still believe the group was responsible for two of the very best albums of the '90s and have made consistently good stuff ever since.  So i was a little surprised to find myself really digging on new song "Bone Dry" from the group's (or maybe just Mark "E" Everett's) new album "The Deconstruction."  The song grooves, and the accompanying animated video is fantastic.  Watch it below and get the album here.