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A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR MR. E
Or the non-blinking lights of a galactic bunch of flowers
In my hands, I hold "Daisies Of The Galaxy", an album by the Eels released a few days after my 19th birthday (May 2000). Back then, I didn’t know this band yet, but I think the album would have brightened that day a bit more. My mother had organized a surprise party that evening, and of course, the last thing I needed was to be surrounded by the loud chatter of family, too noisy for me and for the Milanese May. If I had had this album with me, I think I would have quietly retreated to my swamp (as I confidentially call my room), opened the case and played this masterpiece on the stereo, just to use a reductive and banal word.
At the time, I didn’t know the Eels,
but now I do, so now I open the case, gently extract the CD and let myself
be enveloped by the non-blinking lights of Mr. E's music, aided by friends
Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Lisa Germano, and
Grant Lee Phillips (a little
less friendly Bush, who was
infuriated by the discordance between the cover and the contents).
Simplicity and redundancy shake hands in
"Grace Kelly Blues",
where acoustic moments alternate with orchestral winds: thanks to
this exceptional opening, the noise in the rest of the house starts to
fade away, and I’m almost fully isolated and entering the world
of the Eels. The road to this world is paved by the rhythmic pebbles of the organ in "Packing Blankets" and the acidity in
"Electro-Shock Blues" style
of "Sound Of Fear".
The carefree appearance of "I Like
Birds" leads to the melancholy of the title-track, in which the orchestra sounds like a
warm and luminous mist descending slowly from the sky, while the
beat of "Flyswatter" reminds me of a joyful dance of
cartoon ghosts.
This is fundamentally the world we walk in with
Mr. E: it is the
simplicity of a child's pastel drawings, it is a
bunch of daisies fallen from some galaxy on the night of
shooting stars. In the same touched (but not faded)
sweetness of "Daisies Of The
Galaxy" live the piano whispers of "It's A Motherfucker", the falsetto voices
of "Jeanny's Diary" (in
my opinion, one of the most beautiful songs ever written by the
band), and the digressions in
Neil Young style in "Selective Memory", while an exquisite
country-pop beat colors songs
like "Tiger In My Tank" and
"Mr E's Beautiful Blues".
With this ballad, Mr. E
bids farewell to the beautiful sadness of his past works and announces to everyone that "damn, it’s
a beautiful day!"
… and it would have been for
me too on that 19th birthday if my swamp had been
illuminated by Mr. E’s flowers…
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Packing Blankets (02:07)
Today is a lovely day to run
start up the car with the sun
Packing blankets and dirty sheets
a roomful of dust and a broom to sweep up
all the troubles you and I have seen
cross when the drawbridge light is green
don't look back to that messed-up scene
Packing blankets and dirty sheets
a roomful of dust and a broom to sweep up
all the troubles you and I have seen
and all our troubles will be gone
blowing out over that bidge
floating up into the sky
making the storm clouds cry
put out that smoke and breath some air
get a new name and cut your hair
03 The Sound of Fear (03:30)
Sun comes up on the old neighbourhood
Spray painted bricks and dead firewood
Well I don't know where I'm gonna be next
I don't care where I'm gonna be
next time if you think of it
you might remember me as
the one who let you down
but never made another sound of fear
Some people like to call me chuck
Its Charles and you are shit outta luck
If you think you know what happens next
you think you know what happens
next time if you think of it
you might remember me as
the one who let you down
but never made another sound of fear
Sun goes down on the old neighbourhood
dark damp has stopped where I once stood
I don't know where the bus stops next
and I don't care where the bus stops
next time if you think of it
you might remember me as
the one who let you down
but never made another sound of fear
The sound of fear
I can hear
The sound of fear
04 I Like Birds (02:32)
I can't look at the rocket launch
The trophy wives of the astronauts
And I won't listen to their words
'Cause I like
Birds
I don't care for walkin' down town
Crazy auto car gonna mow me down
Look at all the people like cows in a herd
Well I like
Birds
If you're small
And on a search
I've got a feeder for you to perch on
I can't stand in line at the store
The mean little people are such a bore
But it's all right if you act like a turd
'Cause I like
Birds
If you're small
And on a search
I've got a feeder for you to perch on
If you're small
And on a search
I've got a feeder for you to perch on
I've got a feeder for you to perch on
If you're small
And on a search
I've got a feeder for you to perch on
I've got a feeder for you to perch on
05 Daisies of the Galaxy (03:25)
Take heart, my little friend
And push back your seat
Soon we'll be far away
Far from the street
Where you learned how to be
Not what you are
Up on the shoulder
There is a town
With a little motel
And an old movie house
We'll go to a movie
Whatever it is
Watchin' the movie
The world's gonna end
And there ain't no place for
A boy and his friend
To go
I'll pick some daisies
From the flower bed
Of the Galaxy Theater
While you clear your head
I thought some daisies
Might cheer you up
Oooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooooo
06 Flyswatter (03:17)
Little field mice
Living under the house
Never eating much
Tough life for a mouse
And if you think you're gonna be spared you're wrong
Field mice, head lice
Spiders in the kitchen
Don't think twice about
Whatever keeps you itchin
Ice water, flyswatter
Gonna get you through
The day
Heat is rolling in like
Hell's red rug
Stinking like the breath of beelzebub
And if you think you won't walk on coals you will
Field mice, head lice
Spiders in the kitchen
Don't think twice about
Whatever keeps you itchin
Ice water, flyswatter
Gonna get you through
The day
07 It's a Motherfucker (02:12)
It's a motherfucker
Being here without you
Thinking 'bout the good times
Thinking 'bout the bad
And I won't ever be the same
It's a motherfucker
Getting through a Sunday
Talking to the walls
Just me again
But I won't ever be the same
I won't ever be the same
It's a motherfucker
How much I understand
The feeling that you need someone
To take you by the hand
And you won't ever be the same
You won't ever be the same
08 Estate Sale (01:36)
These are the sounds
Of days that are past
A miracle was about to happen
09 Tiger in My Tank (03:06)
i bought some rock star ashes,
from the back of rolling stone
i guess he wouldn't mind it,
they couldn't sell his soul
the tiger in my tank, is going to go extinct
and im not feelin so good myself,
i think im on the brink
of disaster
i had a dream last night
the tv and the phone
grew some legs and took a walk
and left me all alone
the tiger in my tank, is going to go extinct
and im not feelin so good myself,
i think im on the brink
of disaster
when i grow up ill be
an angry little whore,
ill give you all the finger
i'll sell you all what for
11 Jeannie's Diary (03:33)
How does her world spin
Without me in her nest
Could there really be
such happiness?
Oh, shes got a dark side too
ever murderous,
But I love that, Just like her.
I don't have a chance at writing the book,
I just want to be a page,
Of Jeannies Diary.
One single page....
of Jeannies diary....
Yes I am intense
maybe quite obsessed
Everything she does is
Curious.
Oh Shes going to let me in.
I just know its so,
But then again
Who do I care?
I don't have a prayer for writing the book
I just want to be a page
in Jeannies diary
One single page...
Of Jeannies diary
oooo ooooooo
She could have anything she wants
so why not me?
She could have anything she dreams
Oh to be
One single page
One single page
Of Jeannie's diary.
12 Wooden Nickels (02:52)
Went down by the old courthouse
Stumbling through the streets
Had to get out of the house
Had to use my feet
And you may not think much of me now but
I think so damn much
of you
Don't take any wooden nickels
when you sell your soul
A devil of a time awaits you
when the party is over
you're on your own
Trash truck coming up the road
Picking up the trash
Riding to a better place
Hoping we don't crash
Thinking of things after now
I never would have guessed it
this way
Don't take any wooden nickels
When you sell your soul
A devil of a time awaits you
When the party is over
you're on your own
And you may not think much of me now but
I think so damn much
of you
Don't take any wooden nickels
When you sell your soul
A devil of a time awaits you
Now the party is over
I'm on my own
La lalala lalalala
la lala la la
13 Something Is Sacred (02:49)
Taking a walk down to the mall
Smellin' piss and beer and gas
That could be me in a couple years
Suckin' fumes under the highway pass
On a rainy day
While I wear newspapers for pants
And a T-shirt that says, "Damn, I'm Good"
People look funny when they cry
'Cause they just can't let it hide
Tapping into your little box
Press the cry button, it unlocks
On a rainy day
No one has a thing to say
Easier to look the other way
Take a look in the killer's eyes
And you see there's nothing there
But something is sacred in your eyes
And somethin' to believe
On a rainy day
And as the world will blow to bits
I'll cradle you and hold you tight
14 Selective Memory (02:25)
If I lay my head down
I will see you in my dream
Wearing that polka dot dress
And sitting by the stream
Leaning in to hear you
You will whisper in my ear
And everyting I need to know
I finally hear
I wish I could remember
But my selective memory won't let me
When I was a baby
We would go out to the park
And sit out in the fountain
Splashing 'round until it's dark
The days go on forever
When you only know that much
And everything you need to know
Is answered with one touch
I wish could remember
But my selective memory won't let me
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Other reviews
By Rohan
They make simple music that goes straight to the heart, pure poetry.
Daisies Of The Galaxy stands out from the others for its carefree and cheerful nature.
By Ginger Drummer
This Eels album is truly wonderful, characterized by soft colors and dreamlike atmospheres capable of moving and making the listener dream.
An absolute must-have.
By theJOKES
"With a wide range of songs... you'd find yourself perfectly immersed in it."
"EELS... what are you smoking?"
