Conor Oberst: Boy Wonder

        Currently, there is no such thing as the singer-songwriter Conor Oberst, but there is a Conor Oberst in several bands. Bright Eyes has been recognized as Conor Oberst’s pseudonym, and Conor Oberst has been identified as the ring leader of Desaparecidos. The first statement is inaccurate, there was a singer-songwriter Conor Oberst, but today he only appears as a guest on splits and other band albums.
        Once upon a time, there was a thirteen year-old Nebraskan who was in his basement making music, while other kids were still trying to figure out how to fit in middle school. He wrote, sang, and played music as a catharsis for growing up. He is the singer-songwriter Conor Oberst who wrote lyrics from a perspective of a perceptive mature adult. By age fourteen he joined the now defunct Commander Venus, being respectively the youngest member in the band (Robb Nansel, the guitarist, would go on to start his own record company called Saddle Creek which includes Oberst’s bands Bright Eyes and Desaparecidos). In between playing in the Pixie influenced band, he joined another band called Park Avenue with Clark Baechle, Jamie Williams, Neely Jenkins and Jenn Bernard. Park Avenue wrote poppy happy songs about love and other innocent things.
        Behind all these bands, Oberst was constructing a groundbreaking band called Bright Eyes. After Jamie left for London as the only full-length album suggests, Park Avenue headed their separate ways only finding each other again. Clark Baechle is now part of the synth-pop keyboard driven band, The Faint, with his brother Todd Baechle. Jamie returned from London and formed Magic Kiss with Jenn Bernard. Magic Kiss disbanded, and from the ashes Tilly and the Wall rose, but instead of Jenn Bernard in the band it was Neely Jenkins. The Tilly and the Wall 6-song EP, Woo! , was recorded in Oberst’s basement with help from Baechle. After band complications in Commander Venus, the band disbanded as well. Band members would go onto be in Cursive, The Faint, and ofcourse Bright Eyes.
        Oberst continued his musical career with Bright Eyes, first releasing his collection of songs from 1994-1997. The songs are not perfect, and it’s difficult to listen to sometimes, but that probably makes the songs so endearing. No matter how strange or bizarre some songs are, one could easily hear a growing musical genius testing out his skills. “February 15th” demonstrates the beauty produced by the contrast of Oberst’s shaking voice, and Neely Jenkins’s beautiful voice. Someone even interrupts the song with, “that’s pretty” (probably Mrs. Oberst) and Neely gasps with modesty after the truthful statement. In the last track, the listener realizes that musicianship is achieved partly through genetics, because Oberst’s father guests on guitar on “Feel Good Revolution” playing skillful and melodic flamenco-like guitar.
        The official first full-length album of Bright Eyes, Letting off the Happiness was released in 1998 along with a plethora of both praise and criticism. Bright Eyes was either seen as a genius or a madman in which most bright people are categorized. “Padraic my Prince” is a funky little ditty that makes infanticide strangely alluring and mystical. He has another splendid duet with Neely Jenkins in “Contrast and Compare.” “The Difference in Shades” has the ultimate procrastinator’s mantra, “…nothing is as pressing as the one who is pressing would like you to believe.” “Pull my Hair” is a peculiar song, but it is also strangely seductive with a chorus of, “it will be more like a song and less like it’s math if you pull my hair and bite me like that.” “Math” and “bite me” do not belong in the same sentence or even the same page, but it works perfectly in the song. Conor went on a brief stint at college, but decided he could not sit in the constricting classrooms, and continued to pursue his musical career.
        Two years after Letting off the Happiness, Oberst released the gloomiest Bright Eyes album to ever be produced, Fevers and Mirrors. A child sets the tone with the retelling of a parting between friends. From this, Oberst dives into a sad song about being delirious with grief. There’s plenty of grief to go around, but don’t label it “emo” please; just don’t label anything “emo,” because it’s the most abused word ever. Besides, it’s just some hungry corporate monger’s marketing scheme that seems to be working. Anyways, there is repeated imagery of fevers and mirrors, which “Oberst” tries to explain in the interview after “An Attempt to Tip the Scales.” The song is just an attempt to write a happy song, but it’s a deceiving misanthropic song followed by a pseudo interview playing with the public image of “Conor” being a bipolar freak show. “You are my Sunshine” will never be the same again after listening to “The Calendar Hung Itself.” The popular song has a desperate maniacal yet unique sound to it, probably making it difficult to cover by most musicians. Another favorite “Something Vague” deviates from the previous fast-paced track, but Oberst’s gloomy tone is consistent. “When the Curious Girl Realizes She is Under Glass” is not a particularly good song, but props to Mike Mogis for his realistic atmosphere effects; the listener is transported to Oberst’s neighbor’s house where Oberst is pounding the keys on his piano and singing his heart out next door, while someone is flipping through channels in another room. “Haligh, Hailigh, a Lie, Haligh” instead of having Neely guest on vocals, he used Joe Knapp of Son, Ambulance to back him up on the depressing break up song. It is a personal favorite, because as Oberst builds up the intensity of his emotions as the song progresses, it seems that he will burst, but at the end he backs off, leaving him as troubles as he started. “A Song to Pass the Time” formulates Oberst as a philanthropist instead of misanthrope in which most his songs display him as. This album is not for the faint in heart, because it is so intense that it will leave a deep impression in the heart and mind.
        Oberst took a break from talking about himself and his relationships, and assumed himself as a skeptical critic of America. Together with Denver Dalley, Matt Baum, Ian McElroy, and Casey Scott, they write fist pumping songs about corrupt business and politics. Read Music and Speak Spanish can make anyone a political activist, either siding with them or against them. A loud, intense, and raw sound gets the point across that they are not happy with the state of America. Even, if some don’t care about politics, it’s still a fun and crazy record.
        It was hard to believe Oberst could create another great masterpiece like Fevers and Mirrors. In order to do that he increased the sound, complexity, and the number of band members and instruments. Generally, every person on Saddle Creek is on Lifted… playing any instrument they can, and singing anytime they can. To prevent the record from ending between Blake and Jenny driving in the car listening to “The Big Picture”, and the quirky sounds after “To Love and To be Loved” there are long and interesting transitions. “False Advertising” is a waltz-like song describing the compensation of his life for his art, that it not really his art anymore. “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” contrasts the innocent with the decadent and basically describing the rock and roll lifestyle of drug, sex, and rock and roll. Maria Taylor of Azure Ray joins Oberst on vocals on “Nothing Gets Crossed” creating a stunning vocal duet. “Bowl of Oranges” can enlighten anyone to become a philanthropist. “To Loved and To be Loved” comments about everything in a brutally honest way, that gets most people nodding a long. Filled with effects, lush orchestras, and live and loud marching drums, it’s difficult to top the record.
        As the spotlight was finding its way to Oberst, he was pushed into a whirlwind of unwanted media coverage, linking him to various actresses, and having various outbursts. He also has rich record label executives knocking at his door. Still, Oberst remains respectively grounded; using the press coverage as a tactic, he gets his radical thoughts to the public (i.e., the small rant at the Shortlist awards). He supports and is still in Saddle Creek records, and is trying to sever ties with Clear Channel Communications. He was bright from the start, and has accomplished so much for being only twenty-three years old.