understood its inspiration, I wanted to ask you whether making music is a necessary thing for you to process emotions? Yeah, I think it definitely has been in the past, like sometimes the only way I’ve dealt with things I probably should have dealt with them in different ways and it still serves that purpose for me, but I’ve gotten better at dealing with things the way a proper person should, you know. In the earlier days, for instance, when I made Electro- Shock blues, my manager at the time didn’t think I should put it out. Tat was the moment I decided that I was the one that was gonna decide whether to put it out, so I had to get rid of the manager and put the album out.
It was an amazing feat to put out the trilogy of albums that you did between 2009-2010, but you were mindful not to tell anybody about the entire concept ‘til they were all released – were you worried about not fulfilling your goal? Yeah, I wasn’t worried about it, but I don’t like to tell people about anything before I’m sure it’s coming out, because I often do change my mind along the way and decide not to put it out and I don’t want to questioned forever more, like ‘whatever happened to that?!’ I could have made it a triple album, and I didn’t do that at least!
With the differing emotions of the three albums it would have been a hell of a rollercoaster all put together, wouldn’t it?! I suppose it could have worked, but I wanted them each to be something on their own, and also related to each other. I’m sticking with what I know so far because I’m just a big fan of the album as a form; it’s one I grew up with and I like it. I’m old enough to miss the break between Side 1 and Side 2. It’s less energetic though now… Tat’s true, you know when you play old vinyl albums you realise how quick the side is over!
Just to indulge slightly, although
DREAM FESTIVAL SO WHY NOT? LET’S GET SOME DEAD PEOPLE; JOHN
SHIT, LET’S GET NEIL YOUNG - THIS IS MY
LENNON, ELVIS PRESLEY, RAY CHARLES…
you say you don’t listen to much music when you are writing, but being heavily in festival season, if you were to curate your own, who would you have on your line-up? Well I’d have to have Tom Waits in there.
How about Peaches? I’ve heard you listen to her a lot – she’s even occasionally got the beard… Yeah, she could be in Eels! Who else would be good… PJ Harvey. You know, as long as Bob Dylan’s still alive, maybe we should get him in here. Shit, let’s get Neil Young - this is my dream festival so why not? Let’s get some dead people; John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles…
And E, what would you like from us, your Latitude Festival crowd
when you bring us a stunning performance? Well now that’s a very good question, because the number one thing some audiences don’t understand is how big a part of the experience they are. It was all so succinctly and wisely put at the end of a Beatles album; they said “and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”. And what that means to you, Latitude audience, is if you want this to be a kick ass show that you’re never gonna forget, then you have to give us as much as we’re gonna give back to you. If you sit there and don’t give us the love, you’re not gonna get the love back.
Emma Garwood
Eels are part of the Latitude Festival line-up and headline the Word arena on Sunday 17th July. For tickets to the festival, go to
www.latitudefestival.co.uk. Read the uncut version of this interview on
Outlineonline.co.uk
14 /July 2011/
outlineonline.co.uk
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