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Cover of Beautiful Freak by The Eels
Cover: Beautiful Freak

Song · The Eels

“Novocaine for the Soul” by The Eels

From the album Beautiful Freak (1996)

“Novocaine for the Soul” by The Eels appears on 39 radio countdowns from 23 stations between 1996 and 2026. It was first released in 1996 on the album Beautiful Freak. Its best result is #16 on the Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #23 alternative song of 1996, #1,324 alternative song of all time and #269 of the '90s.

39countdowns
23stations
#16best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1996–2026years charted

Watch

Eels - Novocaine For The Soul (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (EelsVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Novocaine for the Soul" was the calling card for Eels in 1996, the lead single from their DreamWorks debut Beautiful Freak, and it sounds like a lullaby played in a hospital waiting room. E sings it, plays guitar and Wurlitzer and produced it with Adam Askew, while co-writer and co-producer Mark Goldenberg lays on guitars and keys, Tommy Walter holds the bass and Butch keeps a loping beat, the two of them adding backing vocals. Mike Simpson mixed it.

E said the song was about detachment, that he was numb while singing about numbness, and he blamed it on having too much feeling rather than too little. The NME made it single of the week, even while rolling its eyes at all the middle-class self-pity.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1996 44 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 107
1996 18 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996 91
1996 16 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1996 25
1996 25 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996 101
1996 26 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 99
1996 29 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996 104
1996 39 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996 100
1996 17 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996 96

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 417 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 499 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 703 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 896 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2001 341 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 1813 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2004 470 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2005 483 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 627 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 495 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 440 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 335 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 673 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 665 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 689 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 708 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 685 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 675 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 659 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 488 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2020 416 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 743 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 392 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 247 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 396 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 386 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 465 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 386 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2024 493 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 337 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2026 350 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Novacaine for the Soul; Novocaine For The Soul; Novacane For The Soul.

Charting alongside it in 1996

Best songs of 1996 →
  1. 1Down311
  2. 2PepperButthole Surfers
  3. 3Where It's AtBeck
  4. 4SpiderwebsNo Doubt
  5. 5What I GotSublime
  6. 6MachineheadBush

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