Welcome to the 37th podcast/download I’m co-hosting with Ryan Schleicher at 91.7 WMSE.

Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast :: Volume 37

Eels – “Apple Trees” / Conrad Plymouth – “Incommunicado” / Neil Young – “Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown” / Chris DeMay – “Drag” / Tallest Man On Earth – “King of Spain” / Joe Pug – “Not So Sure” / Heartless Bastards – “All This Time” / .357 String Band – “Oh, Adilene” / Grateful Dead – “Box Of Rain” / Josh Ritter – “Snow Is Gone” / Allen Toussaint – “Sweet Touch Of Love” / Vampire Weekend – “I Think UR A Contra” / Tom Waits – “I Wish I Was In New Orleans” (live)

Download: Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast :: Volume 37
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Subscribe: Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast

[photo by Haley Jane Samuelson]

Today Mark Everett, better known under the guise of his band Eels, releases a new album, End Times on Vagrant Records. Up until ten days ago that information would meant little compared to what it would have five years to a decade ago for me. You see, I got off the Eels train at the Hombre Lobo stop last year. It’s not that I didn’t like the album, (though it remains my least favorite amongst the Eels discography) it’s that I simply wasn’t so miserable that I connected with the music in the same way I once did. Life got good.

That’s not to say I’ve abandon my love for sad songs or albums heavy on heartbreak. Far from it. I guess the honest explanation is that I’m really not sure what made me so disinterested in news of a new Eels record in 2010. Something had just stopped clicking for me. I downloaded my digital promotional copy and got around to giving it a courtesy listen. I had to make sure that I was really not interested. Listening on headphones, I was quickly sucked in, playing the entire record once through early in the morning, completely putting off my day’s plans until it finished. No surprise, it’s filled with introspection and brutal, honest, gut-wrenching sadness. I’ve always loved E’s ability to bare his soul, after this album I’m not sure he’ll have anything left unexposed.

This record is too beautiful to overlook. It’s available on the cheap (link below), but if you need some audio to convince you of how exquisite this album is, please don’t hesitate to download/sample two of my favorite songs off the album below.

Giveaway: We have one copy of End Times on vinyl to give away to the Muzzle of Bees faithful. To enter, drop a comment with some 2010 releases you’re excited about. We’ll select a winner at random and notify them via e-mail next week.

Buy: Eels – End Times
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MP3: Eels – “Little Bird”
MP3: Eels – “A Line In The Dirt”
Video: Eels – “Little Bird”
Video: Eels – “In My Younger Days”