Observations placeholder
Wenders, Wim - Directs the music Video for "Souljacker Pt 1" by the Eels, 2001
Identifier
028245
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Eels (often typeset as eels or EELS) is an American rock band, formed in California in 1995 by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Oliver Everett, known by the stage name E.
Band members have changed across the years, both in the studio and on stage, making Everett the only official member for most of the band's work. Eels' music is often filled with themes about family, death, and lost love. Since 1996, Eels has released twelve studio albums, seven of which charted in the Billboard 200.
Their music, it has to be said is not my cup of tea, but it is a good representative example of American culture and its music at the time. Be warned, it is very loud and entirely without any soulfulness at all. In 2001, Souljacker was released, an album with an even ‘ heavier feel and more rock-oriented sound’ than previous albums. And Wim Wenders in 2001 , directed the music Video for "Souljacker Pt 1" by the Eels.
And it is a masterpiece of interpretation.
Did the band understand the symbolism or did they not?
I now quote :
“Souljacker is mostly based on stories of outsiders rather than on Everett's own life. Characters were inspired from various sources, including circus freaks ("Dog Faced Boy") and a recording engineer with an abusive past ("Bus Stop Boxer").
PopMatters wrote, "Souljacker is as strong as any of Eels previous albums, but even crawling through the muck there is a lot more joy and life here than heard before."
NME wrote, "'Souljacker''s songs rock harder than most of E's nu metal enemies. But what's really terrifying is that E's just warming up. The next album will be a killer – and probably feature one on backing vocals."
Pitchfork was critical, writing, "Beyond the melodies that don't stick in my head and the beats that don't make me want to dance, the only real problem with Souljacker [...] is that it just seems like an underachievement.