Souljacker

Content

Unlike some of Everett's other albums, most notably Electro-Shock Blues, 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"). German director Wim Wenders called "Woman Driving, Man Sleeping" his favorite Eels song and he used it in the segment he directed for Ten Minutes Older. Wenders directed the video for "Souljacker part I".

The strings used in the song "Fresh Feeling" were sampled from another Eels song, "Selective Memory" from Daisies of the Galaxy.

Release

Souljacker was released on September 19, 2001 in Japan, September 24, 2001 in the United Kingdom, September 2001 in Canada, and March 12, 2002 in the United States. The American release was delayed due to the lack of "radio-friendly singles" record companies wanted.

"Souljacker Part I" was released as a single and reached No. 30 in the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Souljacker received a generally favorable reception from critics, with several reviewers comparing the album's sound to that of Beck.

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."

Legacy

The second track on the album, "That's Not Really Funny", was used as the theme tune to all three series of the BBC's animated comedy Monkey Dust.

"Fresh Feeling" was featured in the season 1 episode "My Hero" of the NBC show Scrubs, as well as the season 1 episode "Chuck Versus the Truth" of the NBC show Chuck, and the movie "Failure To Launch".

Track listing

All songs written by E; additional writers in brackets.

1. "Dog Faced Boy" (John Parish) – 3:17
2. "That's Not Really Funny" (Parish) – 3:19
3. "Fresh Feeling" (Koool G Murder) – 3:37
4. "Woman Driving, Man Sleeping" (Parish) – 3:30
5. "Souljacker part I" (Butch, Adam Siegel) – 3:15
6. "Friendly Ghost"  – 3:22
7. "Teenage Witch" (Parish) – 4:44
8. "Bus Stop Boxer" (Parish) – 3:42
9. "Jungle Telegraph"  – 3:39
10. "World of Shit" (Parish) – 3:29
11. "Souljacker part II"  – 1:58
12. "What Is This Note?" (Parish) – 2:28

1. "I Write the B-Sides" – 3:55
2. "Hidden Track" – 4:25
3. "Jehovah's Witness" (Parish) – 3:39
4. "Mr. E's Beautiful Remix" (Butch 'n' Joey Remix) – 3:53

1. "I Write the B-Sides" – 3:55
2. "Hidden Track" – 4:25
3. "Jehovah's Witness" (Parish) – 3:39
4. "Rotten World Blues" – 2:44

Personnel