My Top 1000 Songs #297: Mr. E's Beautiful Blues

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Mark Everett (a.k.a. E) & his revolving cast of Eels have a vast catalog packed with everything from quirky, offbeat baroque pop to emotionally devastating post-punk balladry. But "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" stands out as a relatively straightforward, buoyant pop song, harmless smile-inducing fun. It first appeared tacked on to the end of 2000's Daisies Of The Galaxy, one of those record company "we need a single!" moments; and like the Clash's "Train In Vain," it's an unlisted pure-pop chaser to a fine album that didn't necessarily need it, but, hey, what an amazing bonus track!

The song rocks a familiar riff, a throwback to the Steve Miller Band's "Space Cowboy" and Wilco's "Hoodoo Voodoo," a vibe of joyful percolating electricity (co-written by Michael Simpson of Dust Brothers fame); but the giddy music is given further life by a drive-by of bittersweet neighborhood observations, brought home by the winning refrain, "Goddamn right, it's a beautiful day!" Sing along if you must (and, yes, you must).

Here's the video, from the soundtrack of a long-forgotten movie:

Live on TV 2000:

Performed in 2011 as a "Twist & Shout" Beatles-styled mash-up: