I’ve long had Eels singer-songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, aka E, on my wish list of potential “Talking Animals” guests–well beyond the L.A. band sporting an animal name, animals (both real and metaphorical) are laced throughout the Eels’ oeuvre; E’s dog Bobby is a notorious canine; and I’m a huge, longtime fan of the band–and my interest only ratcheted up several notches in October.
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A few things happened in October, among them:
- PBS’s Nova aired “Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives,” the BBC-produced, award-winning documentary wherein E investigates the pioneering work of his late father, Hugh Everett III, a quantum physicist–at one point, an MIT scientist equates Everett senior with Einstein and Newton.
- His fantastic, highly-praised memoir, “Things The Grandchildren Should Know” was published in the U.S. It’s not for sissies. The book is brimming with death and dying, including the premature death of his Dad, the suicide of his sister Liz (his only sibling), not long after which cancer claimed his Mom. Yet, “Grandchildren” is also breezy, often funny, and informed by E’s remarkable, indomitable spirit.
- Word filtered out that “Yes Man,” the new film starring Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel would feature Eels songs old and new, and perhaps further E involvement.
- I’ve long thought the Eels were a cult band housing a truly major talent; I now think that more than ever.
So what better time, really, to speak with E, which I did on Nov. 10–not for “Talking Animals,” after all, but for the music show I host, the Wednesday Sonic Detour. To read a post I wrote about E and Eels for my friend Marty’s After Hours Music blog, please click here. To listen to the conversation with E, please click here. Thanks.
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