Bright Eyes: Worth a damn?

I'll give him credit for laughing at himself by the inclusion of that mock radio interview bit or whatever it was on some release. I then take back the credit because it was someone else making fun of him and not the man himself doing the job, dammit!

I also deeply suspect the whole 'best work ahead of him' logic with any artist. You won't know and decide until you hear it -- and you might think it's crap.

As for his lyrics -- what are those? ;-)

And hey, I *love* brood. So I'll listen to someone who does it right like Gira. ;-)

pah my copy — hardback, first time i was tricked by THAT trick — resides w. my mum and dad

"Bright Eyes" was a neat little song, actually.

*cries* Hey, they failed the RATM test with me, that test being, "Okay, I have heard nothing by this band, I will see this show they're at with an open mind...*listens and watches*...this isn't very good."

Whereas on record it is different, which I will come back to and rattle on and on about "If Winter Ends" and "A Perfect Sonnet," plus explain why if you agreed with me at all on the Pinefox's "Hey You" thread back before Christmas, you should enjoy both of those tracks.

Yeah, he looked a bit of a tortured chump live. "I am DEEP. LOVE ME!" Again, that's where I think Jandek very wisely has him beat.

So, personally I'd be wary of buying anything else by Bright Eyes, but I may very well pick up Read Music, Speak Spanish. In the meantime, I've snagged the Desaparecidos mp3 from insound and it's ok, maybe a bit too much guitar soloing. Not the best stuff I've heard from them.

I was praying it was about the Art Garfunkel song. The Manics do a cover of it. It worries me more than the film does. Why does he believe rabbits have eyes that burn so brightly? They don't, you know. They're stupid creatures. They've got the look of dull death on their face at all times.

"The untimely death of my cherished father. And bunny rabbits."

It sounds like a Belle & Sebastian interview, actually.

Aww. Conor is very anime.

Most Bright Eyes is dull and crap. That said, Connor's whole approach to things also allows for the occasional -- 1 or 2 per record, really -- really truly glorious track, and the sheer goodness of said tracks usually makes me forgive the crap that surrounds them: after all, the industry isn't properly organized for him to release one song a year and walk away looking brilliant. Those glorious songs tend to come from the moments when he drops his straight-up miserablist sulking and instead complicates it by sounding like he's either (a) angry at his own misery, (b) amused by his own misery, or (c) idealistic about his own misery.

My two favorite cases in point: "If Winter Ends" and "A Perfect Sonnet." The former should theoretically be much-loved by John Darnielle, actually, given his stated affection for NMH's "Two-Headed Boy" and his own work -- it follows that same J. Mangum pattern of vigorous/impassioned acoustic strumming and just gut-level bleating. What makes it sort of a miracle is the thing I was referring to about that Cure thread, in which I argued that the value of the Cure was their ability to tap into the weird crossover where misery gets either sort of giddy or amusingly pissy or what-have-you, this sort of laughing "oh, fuck it" emotion that's all over Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me.

How this works on "If Winter Ends" is that it has this speedy and really sort of glorious and triumphant melody, and Connor babbles lines that, typed out, might sound self-pitying, but are undercut by this sense that he knows they're self-pitying, and is both amused and pissed off about this, and is going to sing them anyway: "I'll give myself three days to feel better, or I swear I'm going to drive right off a fucking cliff" can't possibly be taken as precious angst, and the song communicates very clearly that he knows this as much as you do. Not to mention how much humor is wrapped up in it, or lines like "I drink to stay warm, and to kill selected memories." All of which, paradoxically, makes the actual precious-angst in there seem okay, or anyway way more honest. The solo-guitar bedroom quality helps as well -- and adds to the whole myth-of-Connor -- which is why I said I wouldn't want to see him live: the beauty of a song like this is that it very honestly sounds like a funny, pissy teenager in a bedroom somewhere with an acoustic guitar and a pretty kick-ass tune, playing it hard and sort of rolling his eyes at his own misery the whole time.

Post Already Too Long: Will resist urge to say anything about "A Perfect Sonnet" except that it's also one of Connor's glorious-melody moments and amazingly well-written in a way that reminds you why that whole style of lyric-writing became such an overbearing trend in the first place -- mainly because it makes him sound more naive and scared than self-pitying and sulky.

But moments like these, which I'm sure there are more of than I know, are bookended by some quite awful mope-fests where Connor can't seem to work up enough energy to do more than just sort of moan dolorously (see opening of "Padraic My Prince," which follows "If Winter Ends" on Letting Off the Happiness).

What I may actually be saying here is that he is good when he is manic and not very good when he is depressive. Checking theory against Fevers and Mirrors ... yup, worthwhile tracks are the manic "Calendar Hung Itself," manic "When the Curious Girl Realizes She is Under Glass," semi-manic semi-good "Sunrise, Sunset" ... exception to prove rule = "Song to Pass the Time."

"Method Acting"
"False Advertising"
"You Will You Will You Will..."
"Lover I Don't Have To Love"
"Bowl Of Oranges"
"Nothing Gets Crossed Out"
"Make War"
"From A Balance Beam"
"Let's Not Shit Ourselves (To Love And To Be Loved)"

"Bowl Of Oranges," "Crossed Out" and the final track can usually inspire me to tear up a bit.

did he write that about eminem's kid? hah! he can't even spell right!

http://www.bthere.tv/DBimages/storyPic/Bright_Eyes_-__storyPic.jpg

ihttp://www.luger.se/bilder/album/bright6.jpg

http://www.hol.org.uk/ewr/images/Bright%20Eyes.jpg

http://www.theonionavclub.com/images/archives/248/avc_feature_image128.jpg

give up and join the crazy emo sex party dude!

http://www.musicclub.it/fototeca/BRIGHT_E1.jpg
http://www.river-phoenix.org/melodies/bright-eyes/bright-eyes.jpg

maybe not all, but many

Perhaps, but referring to said song as an example, it is clear that you like stinky poo.

Conor's "New Romantic" period

http://www.fujitv.co.jp/FACTORY/photo/LOT0003kaji.jpg

So, I’m just the medicine
You take when you’re sick
You get well and that’s it
I’m put back on the shelf in your mirror
And it isn’t exceptional
The course of our fate
So, people love and they hate
And I guess it’s just our turn to hate
Yeah, you were just some song I wrote
A poem on a page
A sculpture I made out of clay
Desire was the flame
But now you’re more of a basketball
Boys just pass you around
They bounce you hard on the ground and dribble
And then we all get high fives
And you think I’m an asshole now
Well, you’re probably right
But at least I’m not blind to the facts
I’ve been wishing were lies
But still I hope you get everything
That you care to possess
And unbelievable sex with him
Or any one of my friends
But just don’t ask about my appetite
I didn’t lose it tonight
No, it’s been gone half my life
It’s just act, I’ve been eating for you

The answer to the thread question: NO, A THOUSAND TIMES NO.

https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2020/08/18/11/bright-eyes.jpg

Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was is the tenth studio album by Bright Eyes, the Nebraska band of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott.[1] The release marks the band's first project in nearly a decade, following The People's Key (2011). It was released by Dead Oceans on August 21, 2020, making it their first album not released by Saddle Creek Records. The album was recorded at ARC Studios in Omaha and Electro-Vox and Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. It features musical contributions from drummer Jon Theodore and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea who had previously recorded The Mars Volta's 2003 debut studio record De-loused in the Comatorium together.

1. "Pageturners Rag" 3:57
2. "Dance and Sing" 4:30
3. "Just Once in the World" 3:28
4. "Mariana Trench" 3:41
5. "One and Done" 4:53
6. "Pan and Broom" 2:52
7. "Stairwell Song" 3:40
8. "Persona Non Grata" 3:32
9. "Tilt-A-Whirl" 2:20
10. "Hot Car in the Sun" 2:27
11. "Forced Convalescence" 4:08
12. "To Death's Heart (In Three Parts)" 5:25
13. "Calais to Dover" 4:17
14. "Comet Song" 5:35
Total length: 54:45

i have only heard this so far and i do like it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXYA3-z_JH8