Today's featured shit

I did the last record for KSCU, so I might as well do this one. The cat likes it. She’s sitting next to me, and her ears are moving. Maybe when she hears “I’m a Hummingbird,” she is waiting for the actual hummingbird to show up. Her downstairs neighbor picked one out of the air, impressive for a cat, so she probably just wants to fit in. The song itself is a bit trippy, more Flaming Lips than Eels, but it works.
“Baby Loves Me” gets out the synthesizer. Also slightly trippy, it’s fun to see Eels fuck around a bit. Even the lyrics make for a good story. They should do a whole album of just this. “Spectacular Girl” is just as good and is representative of Eels at their best.
The album really gets good on “This Is Where It Gets Good.” I wish these guys made maps, because they would put “Denny’s” on the map where a Denny’s was. Think of how helpful that would be.
“The Man” is in the Cake vein. This would be the single if this album had one. “I Like the Way This Is Going” is a sweet story and has a bit of jangle. I can’t help but think they wrote this 15 years ago and finally got around to recording it today, because it’s so innocent. The last track, “Mystery of Life,” is my favorite because it has female backing vocals. I knew they had it in them.
I expected this to be one-dimensional, but it’s pretty good.

Is this Eels’ last album? It would make a lot of sense. If this record were a physical act, it would be breakup sex.
Sometimes you get glimmers of better times for Mr. Eels himself. (That’s Mark Oliver Everett to you, buddy.) “Mansions of Los Feliz” showcases his great storytelling ability. There was something special in his coffee that morning, and it wasn’t Novocaine.
“A Line in the Dirt” is a tired number — not tired meaning “overdone” but tired meaning “exasperated.” If you can handle something so depressing, it’s a great track. Plus there’s a line about pissing in the yard. There was no greater highlight in college for me than the first time I did that.
“Apple Trees” is an interlude spoken word. I love it when artists do this, because it’s a window into their world — their soul if you’re lucky. And one day when someone decides to do a mashup with it and The Orb’s “Little Fluffy Clouds,” you’ll get both references.
Unhinged is one of the more upbeat tracks. I really like this one a lot. The Doors-like organ really fills in the cracks, leaving the tambourine to simply be some other metaphor.
“I Need a Mother” is soul-baring. Some people broadcast their entire lives on Facebook. Everett is old school and does it through song.