The first time I listened to Eels Daisies of the Galaxy I tweeted a statement along the lines of “I think my favorite Eels album is ‘whatever one I’m listening to at that moment.’ It’s not far from true, I could easily have included their entire discography (except for their debut Beautiful Freak which I have lukewarm feelings for). Daisies of the Galaxy is the band’s follow-up to their critical adored sophomore record Electro-Shock Blues.
Daisies of the Galaxy follows the same path the band started on with Electro-Shock Blues. If nothing else the album gets a little softer. E and Butch crafted out there bizarre Indie folk sounds with songs like “I Like Birds” and “Smell of Fear”. However it’s the acoustic songs like “Packing Blankets” and “It’s a Motherfucker” that make the record so perfect in my eyes. The latter being the stand-out track.
I think that song more than any other exemplifies why I love the emotion in this record. Without getting too deep into the history of Electro-Shock Blues (because spoiler alert its on my list also), Electro-Shock Blues is an album that was birthed out of E finding out his mother and sister had both died while he was on tour. “It’s A Motherfucker” on first listen sounds like something that should belong on Electro-Shock Blues more than Daisies of the Galaxy. But soon you realize how incorrect that is.
If Electro-Shock Blues is a record about getting over loss than Daisies of the Galaxy is about moving on. “It’s A Motherfucker” is the most important song on the entire record. While songs like “Packing Blankets”, “Mr E’s Beautiful Blues” and “I LIke Birds” have an upbeat sound and good vibe but “It’s a Motherfucker” is the reminder that moving on isn’t easy.
If you’ve ever lost anyone you loved deeply, you know how this feels. You can move on and you’ll be doing great. And then suddenly you remember that someone you love is gone and you won’t ever see them again (or for a very very long time if you believe in a Heaven). “It’s a Motherfucker” perfectly captures all of these emotions as well as the way death changes a person.
You’ll have to believe me when I say that the rest of this record is incredible but this is one of the rare articles where I just want to praise a single piece of songwriting to represent the album as a whole.
<-------- a="a" href="http://saintmort.blogspot.com/2012/11/100-albums-that-make-me-love-music-61.html"> 61 The Postal Service: Give Up
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