Review: Something The Grandchildren Should Know - Mark Everett

There's always been something about the band Eels and its eccentric frontman Mark Everett that I've loved.

I remember sitting in a car on the way to work when I first Whether it was the first time I heard the quirky hit Susan's House in 1996, and I realised I loved the mixed-up magic of their work.
But then I took them to my heart when I watched in delighted bafflement as they supported Pulp at Trentham Gardens dressed in karate gis.
And now I can map most of my time in the new millennium with songs and albums by the band, ranging from Last Stop: This Town, Mr E's Beautiful Blues or Jungle Telegraph. The biography Something The Grandchildren Should Know is simply a brilliant biography which sets out how his life has panned out with both honesty and humour.
It is a delight for any fan, but is also a great book for anyone interested in how to overcome live's adversity with a gentle dedication to sticking to what you believe in - writing songs, in the case of Eels.
Mark doesn't shy away from the dark details which anyone with a passing interesting interest in indie music over the past decade will have heard about.
His father, painted as a troubled genius, died from a heart attack, his mother succumbed to cancer and his sister committed suicide. Then on the day of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, his cousin Jennifer died while working as a flight attendant on the plane which struck the Pentago. It sounds black, and Everrett spares no detail of his life being shaken up by the trauma.
But for every bodyblow, there is a sparkling anecdote which lifts stops the book from drifting into darkness. There are passages about the loves of his life and the story behind many songs which are true underrated classics. But it is the balance of light and darkness which truly makes the book a joy. Like any number of Mark Everett's songs, Something The Grandchildren Should Know is understated, but true class.

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