Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes has been my biggest influence on my music, and the singer Conor Oberst writes excellent lyrics that are steeped in philosophy and life experience. He has been often compared to Bob Dylan as a lyricist, and recently Conor's music even echoes the folk music that Dylan has been cranking out for over 40 years.

Here is an excellent song off of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. The accompanying video is very well done.

YouTube - Bright Eyes - At The Bottom Of Everything

Here is an song that has to do with religion--specifically the dangers of monotheistic religions and overcoming their dogmatic teachings.

YouTube - Bright Eyes - Four Winds

Here is an excellent performance of a very beautiful, although very sad song. I love to play this song, and I perform it from time to time at open mics.

YouTube - Bright Eyes - Lua (Coachella 2005)

Here is a performance of Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley band from Conan O'Brien. He has put Bright Eyes on hold for a while, and has pushed to more traditional folk rock with his solo band.
YouTube - Conor Oberst - Nicorette.avi

I love Conor's lyrics. Even when they are personal they are very universal. Not to mention, they tend to deal with philosophy, society, and existential crises. I am not a big fan of his earlier music though when he was a teenager. While they are good considering how young he was, I find them rather annoying and teen angsty.

As you can tell, if you listen to the songs I have posted on my blog on the forum, I am very influenced by Mr. Oberst's songwriting. I often emulate many of his song structures by not always repeating the same lyrics during choruses and refrains.

"I Believe in Symmetry" is one of my favorites. My favorite Bright Eyes song though is "Arc of Time." Here are the lyrics. Probably the most philosophical of all of Conor Oberst's lyrics.

Bright Eyes - Arc of Time

You can make a plan
Carve it into stone
Like a feather falling
It is still unknown
Until the clock speaks up
Says it's time to go
You could choose the high
Or the lower road
You might clench your fist
You might fork your tongue
As you curse or praise
All the things you've done
And the faders move
And the music dies
As we pass over
On the arc of time

So you nurse your love
Like a wounded dove
In the covered cage of night
Every star is crossed
By frenetic thoughts
That separate and then collide
And they twist like sheets
Till you fall asleep
And they finally unwind
It's a black balloon
It's a dream you'll soon deny

I hear if you make friends
With Jesus Christ
You will get right up
From that chalk outline
And then you'll get dolled up
And you'll dress in white
All to take your place
In his chorus line

And then in you'll come
With those marching drums
In a saintly compromise
No more whiskey slurs
No more blonde haired girls
For your whole eternal life
And you'll do the dance
That was choreographed
At the very dawn of time
Singing, I told you son
The day would come
You would die, die, die, die
You would die, die, die, die
You would die, die, die, die
You would die, die, die

To the deepest part
Of the human heart
The fear of death expands
Till we crack the code
We have always known
But could never understand
On a circuit board
We will soon be born
Again, again, again, again
And again, again, again, again
And again, again, again, again
And again, again, again