Souljacker

Unlike some of Mark Oliver Everett's other albums, most notably Electro-Shock Blues, Souljacker is mostly based on stories of others 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. == Critical reception ==

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

Bonus discs 22 Miles of Hard Road Rotten World Blues ==Personnel==

Eels • Butch – drums and percussion • E – vocals, guitar, baritone guitar, piano, clavinet, Mellotron, and Wurlitzer organ • Joe Gore – Guitar (Tracks 8 & 12) • Koool G Murder – synthesizer, bass guitar, guitar, clavinet • John Parish – guitar, percussion, drums, keyboards, melodica, and stylophone • Adam Siegel – bass guitar (Track 5) Production • Ryan Boesch – programming, engineering, and mixing • Greg Collins – tape transfer • DJ Killingspree – liner notes • E – production, art direction, and mixing • Wally Gagel – programming, engineering, and mixing • Brian Gardner – mastering • Chris Justice – engineering • Koool G Murder – engineering • Jim Lang – string arrangements • John Parish – programming, production, engineering, and mixing • Dan Pinder – technical assistance • Francesca Restrepo – art direction • Rocky Schenck – photography == Charts ==