Music Doesn't Lie - Part 32 (It's a Motherf***er)

"Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world,
then it can only happen through music." – Jimi Hendrix

Whatever happened to Steve Perry, the former lead vocalist from Journey? It's been a question that has often passed through my mind. Perry hasn't performed with Journey since 1991, or performed solo concerts since 1995. The reason I ask this question is that I have the answer...sort of. Perry made a brief return to the stage this past Sunday night in St. Paul, MN - of all places. He performed with the indie rock band, The Eels. You can read all about it including a video of the appearance on Yahoo! Music. Seeing Perry on stage brought me back to my high school years, but more than that, I was intrigued by the band that he was appearing with - The Eels. Who? Yet again this is a band that has been around for eons with whom I am completely unfamiliar. That has rapidly changed.

Here's some backgroundy stuff: "Eels (often typeset as eels or EELS) is an American alternative rock band, formed in California in 1995 by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Oliver Everett, better known as 'E' (son of famous physicist Hugh Everett III). Band members have changed across the years, both in the studio and on stage, making Everett the only official member for the most of the band's work. Often filled with themes about family, death and lost love, Eels' music straddles a wide range of genres, which is evidenced by the distinct musical style of every album" (Wikipedia). Can we start first with the fact that a physicist's son formed a rock band?! Interesting. But also, he formed it in 1995! Where the hell have I been for nearly 20 years that I have missed this band?!?  <sigh> The band has released 11 studio albums in addition to appearing on several film soundtracks, including Scream 2, American Beauty, Knocked Up, and the first three Shrek movies.

Over the past couple of days, I have spent a goodly amount of time on their Official YouTube channel checking out their music. There is so much great music that they have released over the years that I'm still discovering. Therefore, I'm not sure where to start. Here are just some of the songs that I immediately thought were genius: "Mistakes of My Youth", "Novocaine for my Soul", "Spectacular Girl", "Kinda Fuzzy", and "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" from the film Road Trip. I could clearly go broke collecting all of their albums so I'll have to be very strategic on which ones I purchase. I've definitely earmarked two albums for purchasing: the first is their latest album, Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett and the second Daisies of the Galaxy which contains the song featured below.

Hands down, my favorite song is the one that Steve Perry covered at the concert in St. Paul: "It's a Motherf***er" (lyrics). Yet another song that I have added to my catharsis playlist. Below is a live version of E singing this heartwrenching ballad. If you'd like to hear the studio version, check out this video. The lyrics are simple, yet perfect for anyone who has experienced loss of a loved one! Fair warning: the song contains profanity (for anyone who didn't figure that out from the title).