Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

"Blinking lights" redirects here. For the hacker jargon for the diagnostic lights on old mainframe computers, see Blinkenlights.

Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
Studio album by Eels
Released	April 19, 2005 (2005-04-19)
Recorded	1998–2004, OneHitsville, U.S.A. studio, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California; additional recording at Knobworld, Tracktown, O'Henry, and The Bomb Factory
Genre	Indie rock
Length	93:28
Language	English
Label	Vagrant
Producer	E
Eels chronology
Shootenanny! (2003) Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005) Hombre Lobo (2009)
Singles from Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
"Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)" Released: March 22, 2005 (2005-03-22)
Manchester 2005 cover
Cover to the live EP Manchester 2005, packaged with the deluxe edition of the album

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Drowned in Sound	link
The Guardian	link
Mojo	(May 2005, p. 95)
PlayLouder	link
PopMatters	link
Q Magazine	(May 2005, p. 109)
Rolling Stone	link
The Times	link
Uncut	link

Blinking Lights and Other Revelations is a 2005 double album by Eels. It was described by E on the official website as an album about "God and all the questions related to the subject of God. It's also about hanging on to my remaining shreds of sanity and the blue sky that comes the day after a terrible storm, and it's a love letter to life itself, in all its beautiful, horrible glory." Blinking Lights is a compilation of songs recorded with a variety of Eels lineups in E's home over a span of seven years. These include some intensely personal songs, instrumental pastiches, and straightforward pop. The sleeve and liner notes are composed of typewritten lyrics and family photos, implying the personal nature of the album.

Track listing

All songs written by E, except where indicated.

Disc one

1. "Theme from Blinking Lights" – 1:44
2. "From Which I Came/A Magic World" – 3:13
3. "Son of a Bitch" (E and Jim Lang) – 2:27
4. "Blinking Lights (For Me)" – 2:01
5. "Trouble with Dreams" – 4:33
6. "Marie Floating Over the Backyard" – 2:03
7. "Suicide Life" – 2:41
8. "In the Yard, Behind the Church" – 4:05
9. "Railroad Man" – 4:16
10. "The Other Shoe" – 2:32
11. "Last Time We Spoke" – 2:22
12. "Mother Mary" – 3:21
13. "Going Fetal" – 2:21
14. "Understanding Salesmen" – 2:43
15. "Theme for a Pretty Girl That Makes You Believe God Exists" – 2:06
16. "Checkout Blues" – 2:27
17. "Blinking Lights (For You)" – 2:00

Disc two

1. "Dust of Ages" (E and Jim Jacobsen) – 2:21
2. "Old Shit/New Shit" – 3:17
3. "Bride of Theme from Blinking Lights" – 1:52
4. "Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)" – 3:02
5. "I'm Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart" – 3:56
6. "To Lick Your Boots" (Peter Buck and E) – 3:30
7. "If You See Natalie" – 3:41
8. "Sweet Li'l Thing" – 3:27
9. "Dusk: A Peach in the Orchard" (E and John Sebastian) – 1:17
10. "Whatever Happened to Soy Bomb" – 2:26
11. "Ugly Love" – 2:58
12. "God's Silence" – 1:26
13. "Losing Streak" – 2:52
14. "Last Days of My Bitter Heart" – 1:35
15. "The Stars Shine in the Sky Tonight" (E and Lang) – 3:31
16. "Things the Grandchildren Should Know" – 5:22

Manchester 2005

This live album is only available on disc four of the deluxe edition of Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. The songs were recorded on October 13, 2005 in Manchester at the Manchester Apollo.

1. "Fresh Feeling"
2. "Packing Blankets"
3. "Bride of Theme from Blinking Lights"
4. "From Which I Came/A Magic World"
5. "Son of a Bitch"
6. "Ant Farm"
7. "Jeannie's Diary"
8. "My Beloved Monster"
9. "It's a Motherfucker"
10. "Taking a Bath in Rust"
11. "Trouble with Dreams"
12. "I'm Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart"
13. "Dead of Winter"
14. "Flyswatter"
15. "Novocaine for the Soul"
16. "Losing Streak"
17. "Climbing to the Moon"

Personnel

Eels

• Butch – Drums and percussion
• The Chet – Guitar
• E – Vocals, guitar, keyboards, and melodica
• Koool G. Murder – Bass guitar
• Puddin' – Drums

Additional musicians

• Wayne Bergeron – Trumpet
• Bobby, Jr. – Wails on "Last Time We Spoke"
• Peter Buck – Guitar on "To Lick Your Boots" and "If You See Natalie"
• Matt DeMerritt – Saxophone
• Wally Gagel – Keyboards
• Ludvig Girdland – Violin
• Joe Gore – Guitar
• Probyn Gregory – horns
• David Hlebo – Saxophone
• Jim Jacobsen – Keyboards
• Jim Lang – Strings
• Bill Liston – Woodwinds
• Andy Martin – Trombone
• Joe Meyer – Horn
• Dick Mitchell – Flute
• John Sebastian – Organ on "Dusk: A Peach in the Orchard"
• Todd Simon – Trumpet
• Gerri Sutyak – Cello
• Michael Valerio – Bass guitar
• Tom Waits – Vocals on "Going Fetal"

Production

• Michael Aarvold – Mixing
• Ryan Boesch – Mixing and programming
• Robert Carranza – Mixing
• Greg Collins – Mixing
• E – Production
• Wally Gagel – Mixing
• Koool G. Murder – Mixing and programming
• Jim Jacobsen – Horn and string arrangements and programming
• Jim Lang – Mixing
• Dan Pinder – Mixing
• Brendan Willard – Mixing

Release history

The album was initially released on April 19, 2005 through the iTunes Store and had physical releases on April 25 in the United Kingdom and the following date in the United States. On October 21, 2008, the band announced that 2,500 autographed copies of the album would be published on vinyl. The songs were split across three discs, with a fourth disc serving as the bonus album Manchester 2005. The band made four of those tracks available as a free download for a week within announcing the album.