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96-716: Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes . He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos , the Faint (previously named Norman Bailer ), Commander Venus , Park Ave. , Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band , Monsters of Folk , and Better Oblivion Community Center . Oberst was named the Best Songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine. Conor Mullen Oberst

192-487: A Barack Obama rally in Omaha, Nebraska on February 7, 2008. Zachary Nipper, the album's art director, was awarded the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package . Bright Eyes went on an unofficial hiatus after the release of Cassadaga in 2007. During 2008 and 2009, Oberst recorded music and toured in support of his other music projects, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band and supergroup Monsters of Folk . In

288-462: A 2020 return. On March 24 they released "Persona Non Grata", their first new song in 9 years. NME ' s Luke Morgan Britton wrote of the track: "[A] dual sense of societal dystopia and inner turmoil collide and intertwine on the quietly poignant 'Persona Non Grata'... [It] sees the band maintain the sage-like, cryptic feel of their latter-day records. Yet it also returns to the intimacy and immediacy of their early material." Bright Eyes released

384-613: A Digital Urn . Time listed I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning as one of the top ten albums of 2005. The Four Winds EP was released in March 2007, followed by their seventh album, Cassadaga in April. The song "Four Winds" was named a top 100 song of 2007 by Rolling Stone . Oberst spent the next two years focusing on other music projects, and in June 2009 told Rolling Stone he wanted to make one final album with Bright Eyes before retiring

480-451: A Digital Urn . An extensive world tour followed the release of those albums. Part one of the tour was in support of I'm Wide Awake and the second part was in support of Digital Ash . The first part was more similar to past tours with an intimate band setting. The decision to split the tour this way was practical as it would have been a "logistical nightmare" in terms of equipment and staff to perform songs from both albums simultaneously. By

576-527: A June 2009 issue of Rolling Stone , Oberst announced that he wanted to "retire" the Bright Eyes moniker, and would be making one final album with the band: "It does feel like it needs to stop at some point. I'd like to clean it up, lock the door, say goodbye." Saddle Creek Records reissued their Neva Dinova split One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels on March 23, 2010 with four brand-new songs recorded in late 2009. On July 31, 2010, Bright Eyes teamed up with

672-465: A bar, with Philip Schaffart in 2012. Pageturners Lounge is located in the Dundee neighborhood in Omaha . The business name is a holdover from the bookstore that formerly occupied the space. Oberst was drawn to music at a very early age, due in part to his brother Matt's penchant for bands like The Smiths , R.E.M. , Fugazi , and The Cure . He has cited The Cure's first singles collection, Staring at

768-530: A box set titled The Studio Albums 2000–2011 . Fevers and Mirrors , Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground , I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning , Digital Ash in a Digital Urn , and Cassadaga were remastered by Bob Ludwig. The box set was released on September 16, 2016. Individual releases were also issued later in the year. In January 2020, Bright Eyes launched an Instagram page and teased

864-579: A brief tour in the spring of 2014 to support the reissue. Cursive launched their own record label in early 2017, 15 Passenger. The debut release for the label was a new solo album from Kasher, No Resolution . The band reissued their first two albums through 15 Passenger in the fall of 2017, with plans to continue reissuing all of their releases through the label as well as new material. In addition to Cursive's and Kasher's work, 15 Passenger releases material from other artists as well. In August 2018, Cursive announced their eighth studio album Vitriola . It

960-489: A cassette only released on Sing Eunuchs!. Kill the Monster Before It Eats Baby , a split 7-inch vinyl with Bill Hoover, was also released around this time. In 1994, following a Slowdown Virginia show, Oberst, along with Joel Petersen and brothers Todd Fink and Clark Baechle , formed a band called Norman Bailer , later known as The Faint . A few days later, Oberst told the other members of

1056-460: A door and discovering that it's a window." Oberst also references the song in "Cartoon Blues" on the Four Winds EP. In November 1999, Bright Eyes released the five-song Every Day and Every Night EP, which included "Neely O'Hara" and "A Perfect Sonnet." In 2000, Bright Eyes released Fevers and Mirrors , with new instruments such as the flute, piano, and accordion introduced into

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1152-484: A dramatic fictional account of the death of his baby brother, a story with a multitude of symbolic meanings. Oberst has referenced the song "Padraic My Prince" more than once in his music. The song "An Attempt To Tip the Scales" on the album Fevers and Mirrors has a faux-interview near the end of the track. (Oberst is voiced by Todd Fink , who was a label-mate and had played in other bands with Oberst.) The interviewer

1248-401: A handful of recordings (several of them with Mike Mogis as producer). The group disbanded in 1998 when Williams, the singer and primary songwriter, moved to London, England. In 1999, Urinine Records released their only album, When Jamie Went to London ... We Broke Up , which has also now been re-released under Team Love . Oberst founded Bright Eyes as a solo project in 1995, and after

1344-629: A higher concept from the artwork, of the theatrical layout." The addition of Cohn's cello to the music was noted by Adam Finley of Pop Matters as helping to give songs a "sense of epic scale" and "threatening edge", and that the songs overall sounded as though "all roads led through a haunted house of grotesque situations and twisted characters, each a reflection through a broken carnival mirror of Kasher converting pounds of flesh into something saleable." After extensive touring to support The Ugly Organ in 2003 and early 2004, Kasher surprised fans and critics by announcing an indefinite hiatus for Cursive in

1440-411: A month prior. The three members decided that they were not ready to give up making music, and wanted to give music a serious try, with Kasher saying, "[we] decided with Cursive we would write the best we could, believe in it, and if everyone ended up hating it – well, we would deal with it." Clint Schnase , who played with Pedersen in a band called Smashmouth , joined as the drummer. Kasher has said that

1536-501: A new solo record, titled Upside Down Mountain , on May 19, 2014. He has been working with producer Jonathan Wilson (Dawes, Father John Misty) and Swedish duo First Aid Kit . On October 14, 2016, Oberst released his seventh studio solo record, titled Ruminations , on Nonesuch Records. On January 18, 2017, Oberst announced a companion album to Ruminations , called Salutations . Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers revealed their oft rumored new band, Better Oblivion Community Center , on

1632-828: A new song with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings entitled "Man Named Truth". The song was officially released on Monsters of Folk 's 2009 self-titled album, on which Oberst teams up with Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), M. Ward (of She & Him), and Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes). During a 7-night stint at The Town Hall in New York City, Bright Eyes welcomed the following guests on stage for special performances: Lou Reed on May 25; Ben Kweller on May 26; Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice on May 28; Norah Jones , Little Willie and Derrick E on May 29; Nick Zinner , Maria Taylor and Ben Gibbard on May 30, Steve Earle on May 31, and finally Ron Sexsmith and Britt Daniel on June 1. On June 4, 2007, they performed "Hot Knives" on

1728-615: A prolific and well-known musician in the folk genre, he has sometimes been defined as "a new Bob Dylan ." He covered Neil Young's " Out on the Weekend ", collaborating with Mike Mogis , Jim James and M. Ward in concert. He performed the Townes Van Zandt song "Rex's Blues" live with fellow musician Steve Earle . He has also performed two of John Prine's songs live, "Crazy as a Loon" and "Wedding Day in Funerville". Oberst

1824-406: A selection of tracks in his collection, as well as several from Four Winds . Bright Eyes released the Four Winds EP in March 2007, featuring the first single from their seventh studio album Cassadaga , released in April 2007. The track "Endless Entertainment" circulated over the internet from the new official site, ThisIsBrightEyes.com. In a 2007 issue, Rolling Stone labeled "Four Winds" as

1920-650: A top 100 song of the year. Cassadaga reached number four in the United States, making it the band's biggest commercial success. In support of this album, Bright Eyes toured North America from February to May, and Europe and Japan from June to July. The twelve musicians included two drummers, and they donned white uniforms in front of a video backdrop. During an encore on May 19, 2007 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee , Oberst performed

2016-506: A video message in which he thanked fans for their messages of support and reported "feeling a lot better". Bright Eyes (band) Bright Eyes is an American indie rock band founded by singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst . It consists of Oberst, multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike Mogis , arranger, composer and trumpet and piano player Nate Walcott , and a rotating line-up of collaborators drawn primarily from Omaha's indie music scene . Between 1998 and 2011,

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2112-672: Is Matt Silcock , another labelmate on Saddle Creek Records . The interview was meant to be somewhat sarcastic and most of what the Oberst impersonator said was not true. At one point the interviewer asks the question: "So some of these references like babies in bathtubs are not biographical?" The Oberst impersonator replies: "Well I did have a brother who died in a bathtub... he drowned. Well actually I had five brothers that drowned." "No, I'm serious. My mother drowned one every year for five consecutive years. They were all named Padraic, and that's why they only got one song. It's kind of like walking out

2208-551: Is a lyrically meta -concept song about the process of recording the EP itself and the effect it has on the music and the listener. Cursive toured extensively throughout 2001 and 2002, to the point of exhaustion and Kasher suffering a collapsed lung . The band had to cancel the rest of the tour and returned to writing new material. Cursive released The Ugly Organ , their fourth album, in 2003 on Saddle Creek Records to critical and commercial success. Music magazine Rolling Stone gave

2304-428: Is or that aesthetic is, I guess it's worn a little thin for me these days. So we very much wanted it to be rocking and, for lack of a better term, contemporary, or modern." The video for the song "Shell Games" was released via Saddle Creek Records on both the band's YouTube channel and that of Saddle Creek, and features the band playing against various projections. On February 24, the band performed "Jejune Stars" on

2400-580: Is the second of a two-album deal that the band signed with Dead Oceans back in 2018. Regarding the album's dice-themed framing device , Oberst stated: "Life is a game of chance and a metaphorical street brawl, so that is what we are putting out there." The day before the album's release, the band cancelled its supporting tour dates stating: "We’re heartbroken to announce that our upcoming record release shows have been cancelled. The warm-up shows we played earlier this week resulted in Conor losing his voice and, on

2496-745: The Late Show with David Letterman . A double-single for "Hot Knives" and "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" was released on July 9, 2007. In August 2007, Bright Eyes postponed 3 UK shows due to illness. A U.S. tour was announced, and in September, the UK dates were canceled and not rescheduled. On September 29, 2007, they performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the historic Hollywood Bowl . Bright Eyes performed at

2592-521: The Sucker and Dry EP on Zero Hour Records and their debut album, Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes , on Crank! Records . A follow-up EP, The Icebreaker , was released in early 1998. The Katz brothers of Sputnik Music summarize Such Blinding Stars and Cursive's sound at the time as "11 distortion soaked, emotion ridden songs, comes off as a younger, worse, version of the band's breakthrough Domestica " while AllMusic 's Peter D'Angelo said

2688-476: The 2004 election season , Bright Eyes toured with Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M. on the Vote for Change tour, further pushing Bright Eyes into the public eye. Oberst sang numerous duets with the likes of Springsteen and Neil Young . January 25, 2005 saw the release of two distinctly different Bright Eyes albums: the folk-influenced I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and the electronic-pop inflected Digital Ash in

2784-537: The A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995–1997 , Letting Off the Happiness , and Fevers and Mirrors companion EPs, respectively. A cover of Elliott Smith 's "St. Ides Heaven" with vocals from Bridgers was released as the second single from Letting Off the Happiness: A Companion on March 22, 2022. On September 20, 2024, the band released its eleventh studio album, Five Dice, All Threes . The album

2880-576: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska to put on a concert for equality in Omaha, Nebraska . The concert raised money for a federal lawsuit the ACLU filed against the city of Fremont, Nebraska for an ordinance the city passed on June 21, 2010 banning the hiring of or the rental of properties to illegal immigrants . At this show, Bright Eyes debuted a new song entitled "Coyote Song" about two lovers separated by

2976-707: The End of the Road Festival at the Larmer Tree Gardens in Wiltshire, held over the weekend of September 12–14, 2008. Conor Oberst released the self-titled album Conor Oberst , which was recorded in Tepoztlán , Morelos , Mexico, with Taylor Hollingsworth on guitar and Macey Taylor on bass, on August 5, 2008, on Merge Records. In about mid-October, the band sold a new EP, Gentleman's Pact . It

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3072-534: The Late Show with David Letterman . They performed "Beginner's Mind" on The Tonight Show on April 14, 2011. On June 10, Bright Eyes released the music video for "Jejune Stars". The video features the band playing in a desert with a firework rig behind them, spelling out selected lyrics as Oberst sings them. In June, July, and August 2011, the band performed shows on tour with The Mountain Goats . The band finished

3168-536: The Mexico–United States border . The People's Key was released on February 15, 2011, Conor Oberst's birthday. Conor Oberst has stated that the sound of The People's Key moves away from the folk sound that the band had accomplished on previous records. "We're over the Americana , rootsy, whatever that sound is. People say country but I never thought we were very country at all. But whatever that element

3264-513: The Team Love record label (along with Nate Krenkel, longtime manager of Bright Eyes) to "do different things, or smaller things, that we couldn't get everyone to be into at the same time" at Saddle Creek. such as Tilly and the Wall , Willy Mason , The Felice Brothers , David Dondero , Taylor Hollingsworth and Jenny Lewis ' solo album with The Watson Twins . Oberst opened Pageturners Lounge,

3360-469: The 2000s, Oberst was in a relationship with singer-songwriter Maria Taylor for seven years. In 2010, Oberst married Corina Figueroa Escamilla, whom he met in 2008 while recording music in Mexico . They separated amicably in 2017. In December 2013, Oberst was accused of sexual assault by a female fan, leading to widespread media coverage. However, by July 2014, she had retracted the accusation, stating that

3456-559: The Ground in 2002, Bright Eyes became one of the year's most celebrated "new" artists, despite having been recording under that moniker for a few years. They received national attention, including in several notable pieces in The New York Times , the Los Angeles Times , Time magazine, Rolling Stone , Blender , and Spin , many of which proclaimed Conor Oberst to be a significant new artist. The album

3552-789: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on January 23, 2019, and released their eponymous debut album at midnight on January 24, 2019 (out via Dead Oceans). Band members include guitarist Nick Zinner from Yeah Yeah Yeahs and drummer Carla Azar from Autolux . Oberst is one of the founding members of the independent record label Saddle Creek Records , an integral part of Omaha's indie rock scene , which hosts bands such as Cursive , Desaparecidos , The Faint (which left to start its own label Blank.wav), Rilo Kiley (which left to start its own label Brute-Beaute Records), Bright Eyes , Two Gallants , Son, Ambulance , Azure Ray , The Good Life , and Sorry About Dresden , among others. Oberst co-founded

3648-496: The Peter Pan Syndrome of adults who want to 'live life duty free' or fuck away their fears." Mama, I'm Swollen failed to garner the critical success of the past few Cursive albums, with a " weighted average " score of 65 on Metacritic , indicating "generally favorable reviews". The follow-up to Mama, I'm Swollen , called I Am Gemini , was released on February 21, 2012 on Saddle Creek Records. Cornbread Compton

3744-505: The Sea , as the first record he ever bought, as well as being one of his favorites. "It must have been third grade ... I bought the cassette at a local record store chain called Homer's in Omaha. I just loved the sound of Robert Smith's voice. It just sounded good." Some of his biggest influences and favorite songwriters are local musicians David Dondero and Simon Joyner . Joyner wrote

3840-777: The Shortlist Awards show at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on October 5, 2003. On November 9, 2005, Bright Eyes canceled their November 12 show in St. Louis, Missouri upon discovering that the venue was associated with Clear Channel . Bright Eyes won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "When the President Talks to God" at the 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards and a special recognition award for

3936-484: The Working Class ) joined the band on guitar and vocals. Within a year Cursive recorded and released their third full-length album, Domestica , in 2000. A concept album about the dissolution of a marriage, Domestica gained Cursive critical success for the first time. While not a straightforward autobiographical account of his marriage, Kasher has acknowledged that it heavily influenced the album, though some of

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4032-533: The Working Class , Neutral Milk Hotel , and of Montreal . Park Ave. bandmate Neely Jenkins also contributed vocals. It was predominantly recorded in the Oberst family basement in Omaha on an analog eight track reel to reel ; with some work also done at keyboardist Andy Lemaster 's Athens, Georgia studio. Although almost all of the tracks feature a full band, "June on the West Coast" is performed with only acoustic guitar and vocals. "Padraic My Prince" gives

4128-761: The accusations were "100% false" and that "my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims, and for that I also apologize". Of the period in his life, Oberst said "I'm not violent towards anyone ... And for a second, to have the whole world think that [the allegations were] true about me just did a number on my psyche." He also went on to emphasize that he did not want to minimize how frequently women are sexually assaulted and said that "as painful and surreal and fucked up as my situation was, I don't ever want to use this as an example to justify anything." Oberst's brother Matthew died suddenly on November 27, 2016, in Cary, North Carolina , where he

4224-592: The advice of doctors, we’ve made the difficult but sensible decision to prioritise rest and recuperation for the remainder of the month." Current touring musicians Former touring musicians Cursive (band) Cursive's influences include such bands as Fugazi , Shudder to Think , Superchunk , Archers of Loaf and Brainiac . Cursive formed in the spring of 1995, shortly after Slowdown Virginia broke up. Slowdown Virginia members Tim Kasher (lead vocals, guitar), Matt Maginn (bass), and Steve Pedersen (guitar) had parted ways, along with their drummer,

4320-510: The album "lays down the framework for the Cursive method: delicate guitars that erupt into frenzied explosions, a rhythm section that consistently keeps each track barreling forward, and the harrowing vocal contributions of Tim Kasher." In late spring of 1998, after a couple years of touring, Cursive announced that they were breaking up. The primary cause was Kasher's marriage and move with his wife to Portland, Oregon , though guitarist Pedersen

4416-420: The album a 4-star rating, while alternative music magazine Alternative Press rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5. At the time of The Ugly Organ 's tenth anniversary reissue in 2014, the album had sold over 170,000 records. The Ugly Organ is a loose concept album about the ideas of what art and music are, how the song, singer, and audience all relate and influence each other, and the emotional effects of

4512-423: The album was financed by his brother Justin on what they called Lumberjack Records , the indie label that would become Saddle Creek Records , making them founders and present day executives of the label. Shortly after his two solo recordings, Oberst began playing with four friends; they formed Commander Venus in mid-1995. Here's to Special Treatment was followed by 1996's The Soundtrack to My Movie ,

4608-454: The band from Conor's solo album to their most recent album One of My Kind . Conor Oberst is one of the four members of the band Monsters of Folk . Other band members include Jim James of My Morning Jacket , M. Ward and fellow Bright Eyes member Mike Mogis . The band members swap instruments and share vocal duties. The quartet released their self-titled debut album on September 22, 2009. Oberst released his first solo album, Water, in

4704-564: The band permanently, relocating to New York City. Saddle Creek Records put out a Cursive compilation album , The Difference Between Houses and Homes , on August 9, 2005. These songs were collected from The Disruption , Sucker and Dry and The Icebreaker EPs, as well as some b-sides and unreleased material recorded between 1995 and 2001. Cursive's hiatus ceased in 2006 when Saddle Creek announced that Kasher had temporarily stopped his work on his side project, The Good Life , to start recording Cursive's fifth studio album. Happy Hollow

4800-459: The band that they had a show in two weeks at Kilgore's. Despite having never performed together, they produced nine songs to perform. An album, Sine Sierra , was released (on cassette only) in 1995. Oberst formed the rock band Commander Venus in 1994 with Tim Kasher , Ben Armstrong, and Robb Nansel . They recorded two albums: Do You Feel at Home? (1995) and The Uneventful Vacation (1997). Kasher later went on to form Cursive and Nansel

4896-499: The band's albums were released through Saddle Creek Records , a Nebraska-based label founded by Justin Oberst (Conor's brother) and Mogis. In January 2020, the band announced their return, having signed with Dead Oceans . Their most recent album, Five Dice, All Threes , was released in September 2024. After being a founding member of Commander Venus – which disbanded in 1997 – guitarist/vocalist Conor Oberst turned to focus on his new project, Bright Eyes. In 1998, he released 20 of

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4992-622: The band's name was inspired by a passage in a book by V. S. Naipaul , in which the British were forcing subjugated Indians to learn how to write English in cursive penmanship , symbolic of a pointless exercise with no value, and Kasher compares this to the band forcing music as a discipline, taking it seriously. With an initial sound characterized by one reviewer as similar to At the Drive-In , in 1996 Cursive recorded and released The Disruption EP on Lumberjack Records , followed in 1997 by

5088-542: The disbanding of Commander Venus, released A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995–1997 in January 1998. This was followed quickly by Letting Off the Happiness , released in November of the same year. It featured members of numerous bands and was recorded in the Oberst family basement. One year later, Bright Eyes released its first EP, Every Day and Every Night . Bright Eyes' third album, Fevers and Mirrors

5184-508: The end of January 2005, I'm Wide Awake was No. 10 on the Billboard charts while Digital Ash was No. 15. In early 2005, Bright Eyes supported R.E.M. in their tour of Australia and New Zealand, as well as headlined shows themselves. On May 2, 2005 Bright Eyes appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and performed the protest song " When the President Talks to God " directed at President George W. Bush. A 7" vinyl single of

5280-507: The exploration of off-kilter changes, funny time signatures and near-metal breakdowns can make Gemini a hard first listen." I Am Gemini received a similar critical evaluation as Mama, I'm Swollen , scoring a measure of 63 on "weighted average" from Metacritic, or generally favorable reviews. The Ugly Organ was reissued by Cursive and Saddle Creek in 2014, featuring four additional tracks originally released on 8 Teeth to Eat You and four songs from singles and compilations. Cursive went on

5376-567: The fall of 2004 once they finished their tour with The Cure . Lead singer and songwriter Tim Kasher took time to focus on his other band, The Good Life , which he had formed in 2000 and whose third release, 2004's Album of the Year , was enjoying critical success. Ted Stevens worked on his other band, Mayday , along with bassist Matt Maginn, releasing their third album, Bushido Karaoke , in 2005. Drummer Clint Schnase along with bassist Matt Maginn toured with Bright Eyes , including 2004's Vote for Change Cellist Gretta Cohn decided to depart

5472-481: The first half of the album being themed "Man vs. Nature" and the second half "Man vs. Self". The album was noted for its intricate guitar work, deeply thoughtful lyrics, and the beginnings of a math-rock /pop song structure, all of which would develop more on further Cursive albums. A little over a year later, in the summer of 1999, the band re-formed when Kasher got divorced and returned to Omaha. With Pedersen gone to law school, Ted Stevens (formerly of Lullaby for

5568-477: The form of a cassette tape when he was just 13. However, this album is difficult to find and is no longer sold. His second solo album was 2008's self-titled Conor Oberst . Throughout the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, Oberst embarked on a solo tour of North America and Europe performing with Ben Brodin on guitar and vibraphone. On the tour, he played songs from Bright Eyes, Mystic Valley Band, and Monsters of Folk as well as playing new songs. Oberst released

5664-675: The group. The band subsequently released The People's Key on Conor's 31st birthday, February 15, 2011. In January 2020 the band announced their return to both touring and recording after a nine-year hiatus, and released their tenth album Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was on August 21, 2020. Oberst is a guitarist and singer for Desaparecidos . The music and lyrics of Desaparecidos differ greatly from Bright Eyes, having more in common with punk rock than Oberst's usual folk rock . The lyrics are generally social commentary on

5760-483: The horns used on Happy Hollow, Mama, I'm Swollen has a more straightforward rock sound mixed with shifts in keys and time signatures to break up the potential for monotony. Thematically, Mama, I'm Swollen returns to much of the "romantic narcissism" found in Domestica and loses most of the political focus of Happy Hollow , instead concentrating on the futility of adult life and the "worthlessness of humanity, and

5856-459: The meaning behind the music". Cursive added Gretta Cohn as a cellist in 2001, as Kasher felt the addition would help the band evolve its sound. They recorded and released 2001's Burst and Bloom EP on Saddle Creek Records, and split an album with Japanese band Eastern Youth in 2002 called 8 Teeth to Eat You on Better Looking Records . Burst and Bloom 's lead-off track, "Sink to the Beat",

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5952-434: The phone" and thought that it was sad that "through his music, [Smith] had the ability to answer feelings in others that he was unable to answer in himself". A live cover of Smith's "The Biggest Lie" is featured on Motion Sickness . Oberst also has described the late singer-songwriter Vic Chestnutt as “one of the greatest ever,” and Bright Eyes released a cover of Chestnutt’s song “Flirted with You All My Life” in 2021. In

6048-420: The popularity of the band increased, but responds by stating that the lyrics are meant for personal interpretation. Oberst later commented that "It was a way to make fun of ourselves because the record is such a downer. I mean, that's one part of who I am but I also like laughing." The album placed 170 on Pitchfork Media's best 200 albums of the decade. With Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to

6144-439: The record a 4 star rating, and Rolling Stone gave the album a 3.5-star rating, while alternative music magazine Alternative Press rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5, saying "Cursive haven't just redefined their sound—they've transcended it." Happy Hollow features a five-piece horn section, adding new texture and redefining the band's sound in place of Cohn's departed cello. Cursive's sixth album, Mama, I'm Swollen

6240-523: The relationship dynamics – such as infidelity – were not autobiographical. Reviewing Domestica , Pitchfork 's Taylor Clark gave the album an 8.0/10.0, calling Tim Kasher's style as "the perfect inflection and expression from the far-from-perfect vocal chords, the brains evident behind the guitar brawn" and that the band's sound had evolved since The Storms of Early Summer , saying that Cursive "retained their razor edge, creating pulsing, rapidly evolving guitar-based music, yet they're now fueled and guided by

6336-574: The remainder of the month". On September 27, Bright Eyes cancelled all of their 2024 tour dates following medical tests which determined Oberst "developed a condition that is exacerbated by excessive singing, requiring both treatment and recuperation". The band's second show, in Cleveland, sparked concern from fans after Oberst appeared to be heavily intoxicated and, while slurring his words, expressed frustration with his strained voice and subsequently joked about killing himself. On October 23, Oberst posted

6432-408: The single "Forced Convalescence" on April 21, 2020. The song features Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass along with a gospel choir. On May 27, 2020, the single "One & Done" was released along with a lyric video. The band announced their tenth album, Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was , on June 22, 2020. On the same day, they released a new single, "Mariana Trench". The album

6528-456: The song "Burn Rubber", which Bright Eyes covered on the " Take It Easy (Love Nothing) " single. The two used to do mini-tours together, usually on weekends due to Joyner having a family. Oberst has also been heavily influenced by the 1960s folk revival , mentioning Neil Young , Leonard Cohen , and country singers Emmylou Harris , John Prine and Townes Van Zandt . Harris sang on a few tracks on Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning . As

6624-421: The song arrangements. After "An Attempt to Tip the Scales", there is a mock radio interview that features Todd Fink of The Faint doing an impression of Oberst while reading a script that Oberst wrote. In this interview, the fake Oberst presents a strange, contradictory explanation of his attitude towards his music. It acknowledges criticisms of his lyrics as overblown and insincere, which had begun to appear as

6720-467: The song was sold at concerts soon after and was also released as a free track on iTunes. In November 2005, Bright Eyes performed "True Blue" on the children's television show Pancake Mountain . Bright Eyes has actively protested against the Clear Channel media company. Oberst has vocally advocated the boycotting of all Clear Channel events, venues, and radio stations, perhaps most publicly at

6816-482: The songs he had been stockpiling as the first official Bright Eyes album, A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995–1997 . The album saw Conor Oberst beginning to experiment with drum machines , keyboards and other instruments. The sound of the album ranges from bleating vocals to acoustic guitar songs and techno -style synthesizer instrumentals. Critical reaction was negative, with AllMusic saying that many of "the songs disintegrate as his vocals are reduced to

6912-428: The songwriting process on the writer. Kasher stated in an interview with Alternative Press in 2014 that the songs he wrote were not written to be tight conceptually, and credits guitarist and sometimes-vocalist Ted Stevens with finding the theme to the album, saying, "Really, Ted [Stevens, guitar] had a large role in laying the songs out and considering what they all meant and how they related to each other and creating

7008-495: The state of affairs in America and the pitfalls of the suburban lifestyle, as opposed to the more introspective lyrics of Bright Eyes. Desaparecidos was active as a band between 2001–2002, they re-grouped for several one off shows in the Omaha area during the early 2010's before reuniting fully between 2012–2015. Their debut album Read Music / Speak Spanish , was released on February 12, 2002. A second full length album Payola ,

7104-469: The unintelligible babbling of a child. Any balance the music maintained up to that point, however fragile, is lost and so, more than likely, is the listener." On November 2, 1998, Saddle Creek released Letting Off the Happiness , a ten-track album that displayed a more focused and clearer sound than the previous album. According to the Saddle Creek press release, it features members of Lullaby for

7200-506: The video for " First Day of My Life " at the 17th GLAAD Media Awards . Additionally, Time listed I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning as one of the top ten albums of 2005. Later in the year, the live album Motion Sickness was released, documenting the I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning tour. In a skit on the May 20, 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live , Neil Young (played by Kevin Spacey )

7296-539: The year with a tour of Australia, performing at Harvest Festival as well as select headlining shows. Bright Eyes performed a final show in Honolulu , Hawaii on November 21, 2011. Bright Eyes went on an unofficial hiatus as members Oberst, Mogis, and Walcott each pursued different projects. In July 2016, it was announced that the band's six last studio albums (excluding the Christmas release) were to be reissued in

7392-476: Was a commercial success and has sold over 250,000 copies, a breakthrough for the label and for all of the band's peers at that time. Oberst stated that, before making this record, both he and Mike Mogis had an idea for a "sort of grandiose sound" that neither could really put into words. This was also the first album made after Oberst's break to play with Desaparecidos . On December 1, 2002, Bright Eyes released their fifth studio album, A Christmas Album . During

7488-629: Was a schoolteacher. He was 42. On October 28, 2015, in the midst of Desaparecidos' tour for their second studio album Payola , it was announced that Oberst had been hospitalized due to " laryngitis , anxiety, and exhaustion," according to a press release. The entirety of Desaparecidos' remaining tour dates were cancelled and Oberst returned to his hometown of Omaha to recuperate. In September 2024, Oberst lost his voice after Bright Eyes completed three warm-up shows in preparation for their tour in support of Five Dice, All Threes . The band cancelled its next three shows "to prioritise rest and recuperation for

7584-406: Was also announced that Clint Schnase would be returning to the band in order for previous drummer Symington to focus on recording and touring with Sparta . The album also features contributions from cellist Megan Siebe, who had previously toured alongside Kasher in an acoustic duo mode. This marks the first Cursive album to feature cello since The Ugly Organ . The album's lead single, "Life Savings",

7680-405: Was also in the indie band Sorry About Dresden , which Conor played in from time to time. Conor has been writing and releasing music from a very young age, releasing his first solo album when he was 13. Oberst was educated at St. Pius X/St. Leo School in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was in the school choir and other musical groups, and Creighton Preparatory School , also in Omaha, Nebraska. He briefly

7776-903: Was announced that Conor Oberst would play at the 2008 Reading and Leeds Festivals. He also performed at the Electric Picnic , in County Laois , Ireland, on August 31, 2008, the Cains Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Austin City Limits in late September 2008, shows across Australia in early October 2008, and the Warfield Theater in San Francisco October 24. Oberst also headlined the Friday night slot of

7872-469: Was born on February 15, 1980, the youngest of three boys, and raised in Omaha , Nebraska , to Matthew Ryan Oberst Sr., an information manager for Mutual of Omaha , and Nancy Oberst, an elementary education director for Omaha Public Schools . Oberst had two older brothers, Matthew Ryan Oberst Jr. and Justin H. Oberst. Matthew was a teacher and part-time musician until his death in 2016, and helped finance one of Oberst's self-released independent albums. Matt

7968-728: Was enrolled at the University of Nebraska and dropped out after three semesters to tour. One night in 1992, Ted Stevens (of Mayday and Cursive ) invited Oberst onstage to play. Bill Hoover, who was in attendance, invited Oberst to come back to play with him a couple of weeks later. In that short amount of time, Oberst wrote enough songs to fill out the set, establishing himself as an artist. Shortly thereafter, Oberst began committing his new repertoire to tape in his parents' basement with his father's four track cassette recorder and an acoustic guitar. In mid-1993, Oberst self-released his debut album Water on cassette tape . The release of

8064-501: Was greatly influenced by Daniel Johnston , whose "Devil Town" was covered and featured on Noise Floor , and profoundly influenced by Elliott Smith , stating in an October 22, 2003 All Things Considered interview that, "sometimes when you're not feeling good, you have to listen to really sad music like Elliott Smith's" and that [Smith] "wrote the sweetest, saddest, most gentle songs". Oberst also said he liked to "listen to Elliott Smith's songs when he [couldn't] find anyone to talk to on

8160-476: Was joined by Dixie Chicks and "indie sensation Bright Eyes" (played by Andy Samberg ), all of whom have been public in their criticism of George W. Bush . After releasing three albums in 2005, Oberst stated that he did not plan to release an album in 2006. On October 24, 2006, a compilation of rare tracks entitled Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998–2005) was released. On March 8, 2007, Oberst appeared on National Public Radio 's All Songs Considered , playing

8256-418: Was limited to 1000 copies and was only available on tour. The band placed limitations on how many were sold at shows. It has four unreleased tracks. Three of them are pre-album songs while "Corina, Corina" is a cover of a traditional folk song. Oberst and the band released their second album, Outer South , on May 5, 2009, on Merge Records . They have also released a documentary, One of My Kind , following

8352-480: Was planning on also leaving the band and Omaha to attend law school in North Carolina . Cursive recorded The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song as a swan song in the spring of '98 before disbanding, and released the album post-breakup in the fall of that year on Saddle Creek Records . The Storms of Early Summer was Kasher and Cursive's first foray into writing and recording a concept album, with

8448-473: Was released in May 2000; it was ranked 170 on Pitchfork 's list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s. With the release of 2002's Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground , Bright Eyes received national attention and Oberst was proclaimed a breakthrough artist by several notable magazines. On January 25, 2005, Bright Eyes simultaneously released two new albums: the folk I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and more electronic-pop Digital Ash in

8544-665: Was released on August 21, 2020. Bright Eyes released the song "Miracle of Life" featuring Phoebe Bridgers on October 28, 2020. The song was made to benefit Planned Parenthood. On February 1, 2022 the band announced plans to reissue their first nine studio albums under Dead Oceans . Each reissue will be accompanied by a six-track companion EP featuring re-recorded songs from the album and covers. The first three companion EPs will release on May 27, 2022. The same day "Falling Out of Love at This Volume", "Contrast and Compare" (featuring Waxahatchee ), and "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh (featuring Phoebe Bridgers )" were released as singles from

8640-620: Was released on August 22, 2006. Its first single was " Dorothy at Forty ", released on July 11, 2006. Named for the Dundee-Happy Hollow Historic District in Omaha, Nebraska, where Warren Buffett lives, with this album Kasher turned his focus away from self-reflective lyrics to concentrate on what he thought were corrupt politics, bland and empty suburban lives, and Christian hypocrisy. The album received generally favorable reviews. Music magazines Spin , URB , Time Out New York , and Blender gave

8736-527: Was released on Ghostmeat Records Parts compilation album. Two other confirmed recordings exist: "Clatter" and "Science Fiction in Schools". In January 1996, Oberst began playing drums in a group named Park Ave. , alongside Clark Baechle, Jenn Bernard, Neely Jenkins (now in the band Tilly and the Wall ), and Jamie Williams (also in Tilly and the Wall ). The group only played between 10 and 15 shows and made

8832-617: Was released on June 23, 2015. In November 2007, it was reported that Oberst would work on a solo record with Jake Bellows , and that he and M. Ward would start a band and perform two late December shows in Minneapolis, Minnesota . Contrary to what was believed, the shows were not played with M. Ward, but rather with Nik Freitas and Jason Boesel . They also played a show in February in Mexico City , Mexico. On March 31, 2008, it

8928-469: Was released on March 10, 2009 on Saddle Creek Records. Three days later, the band made their network television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman , playing "From The Hips " . The album was the first recorded without drummer Clint Schnase, who departed the band in October of 2007. Schnase was replaced on drums with Matt "Cornbread" Compton, who had previously been touring with the band. Retaining

9024-411: Was released on the same day. Get Fixed , the band's ninth studio album, was announced alongside the release of the song "Stranded Satellite" on October 1, 2019. Get Fixed was released digitally on October 11, 2019. Vinyl and compact disc versions were released on January 17, 2020. Songs from the album were primarily written and recorded during the sessions for Vitriola with the intent of releasing

9120-616: Was replaced by Cully Symington prior to recording the album. With a lyric sheet described by Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media as a "full-blown libretto ", I Am Gemini is presented as a play, telling the story of "twin brothers separated at birth, one good and one evil, their unexpected reunion in a house that is not a home ignites a classic struggle for the soul." The album has been characterized as difficult to access musically, with Paste Magazine 's Tyler Kain saying "[Cursive's] signature parts are still there with those gnarled, winding guitar parts and Matt Maginn's melodic, grounded bass lines. But

9216-470: Was the co-founder of Saddle Creek Records. Kasher left the group to focus on Cursive as they were about to go into the studio to record their second album, and was replaced by Todd Baechle. Commander Venus disbanded in 1998. The Magnetas were only active for a very brief period of time in 1996 in Omaha. Along with Oberst, band members included Todd Fink ( the Faint ) and Chris Hughes ( Beep Beep ). They recorded three songs, only one of which ("Annex Anex")

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