Novocaine for the Soul

"Novocaine for the Soul"
Single by Eels
from the album Beautiful Freak
Released	1996 (U.S.)3 February 1997 (UK)
Format	CD / 7"
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	3:08
Label	DreamWorks
Eels singles chronology
"Novocaine for the Soul" (1997) "Susan's House" (1997)

"Novocaine for the Soul" is the first single released by American rock band Eels. The track comes from their 1996 debut album, Beautiful Freak. "Novocaine for the Soul" was the first song that gave Eels international success, most notably in the UK, where it hit number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1997.^[1] It also hit number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for two weeks in October 1996, and remained on the chart for 25 weeks.^[2]

The song samples Fats Domino's 1961 U.S. Top 20 single "Let the Four Winds Blow".

The song's popularity was also aided by its later use in the British television show Trigger Happy TV.^{[citation needed]}

Music video

The music video was directed by Mark Romanek and features E and the other band members suspended on wires, making them appear to be flying. Romanek states that he was inspired by Mary Poppins, a film he had seen as a child.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

1. "Novocaine for the Soul"
2. "Guest List"
3. "My Beloved Monster" (Live from Tennessee)
4. "Fucker"

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Alternative 30	1
UK Singles Chart	10
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1

See also

• Number one modern rock hits of 1996
• List of RPM Rock/Alternative number-one singles (Canada)

References

1. ^ "everyHit.com - UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts". everyHit.com. http://www.everyhit.com/. Retrieved 2010-01-11. "Position: 10 ... Artist: Eels ... Title: Novocaine For The Soul ... Date: Feb 1997"  It is necessary to search manually from the homepage. Set "Name of artist" as containing "Eels", and "Title of song" as containing "Novocaine".
2. ^ "Novocaine for the Soul - Eels". United States: Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/song/eels/novocaine-for-the-soul/512581. Retrieved 2010-01-11. "Chart History: 1, Alternative Songs, October 12, 1996 ... 25 Weeks on chart" 

External links

• "Novocaine for the Soul" at MusicBrainz
• "Novocaine for the Soul" Official music video on YouTube