Here is a breakdown of the Eels album "Beautiful Freak". I take this opportunity to delve into the first 5 songs on the album. Here I try to make meaning of the lyrics, explain the musical chords behind the melodies, and give my input into what my opinion is of the songs.
1. "Novocain for the Soul" - With the oddball, horror movie score-like xylophone intro and the half-sung opening lyric, this song might catch you off guard. You might wonder if the lyric is a lame euphemism - if this is just another jokey 90s alternative group (i.e. Sublime), laudable for their musicianship but short on creativity. Hang on. You only have to wait about 30 seconds, anyway. Then, the song kicks it up a notch, exploding into a punchy, catchy chorus.
2. "Susan's House" - Double bass, a hip-hop (pre-recorded?) drumbeat, a distorted spoken word monologue that sounds like a voicemail recording. Then, with the incorporation of a simple, twinkly piano piece, it goes from cool to pretty. No, it doesn't really go anywhere other than those two places, but its lack of ambition reinforces its cool vibe. Although as one of their songs, it surely is, it sounds like a song that should never be performed live. For my own part, I think it's autumn-y - it reminds me of walking home from school in the fall. If you were to share it with anyone, they would probably be underwhelmed - but it's great as something to experience totally individually. The antithesis of a party song.
3. "Rags to Rags" - Again, this song gives the vibe from start to finish of something that should be experienced on one's own. Admittedly, this might be because of the elements it shares with "Susan's House" - the calm, gravelly vocal and double bass. But crowd noise runs throughout, which should defeat that sense of individual experience. Pay attention to the guitar here. It is incredibly simple, but is "just right" in its simplicity. The arpeggiation is perfectly creepy, laying the groundwork with the less distinctive power chords in the chorus.
4. "Beautiful Freak" - An incredibly strong title track. It's minor tones, almost like a lullaby, might be problematic for some listeners. Because it does not build, because it does not have a stadium rock/Baba O'Riley-kind of crescendo, because it even at times sounds lazy, it may strike some as dull. Again, I stress patience. The nuances are more slight, but in their way more meaningful
5. "Not Ready Yet" - This song defies the pre-established formula, beginning with a heavy (and I mean heavy), driving riff, and then moving into quieter, less energetic instrumentation, as opposed to the other way around. Where the lack of energy may fail people in other places with the vocals, these lyrics stand in concert with that lazy sound. "I'm not feeling ready yet" seems to reflect the fatigue of his voice all too perfectly, and brings to mind, for example, Thom Yorke's deliberately tired, emotive singing in Radiohead songs like "Fake Plastic Trees".
