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Bright Eyes
Bright Eyes is the main project of American singer-songwriter/guitarist Conor Oberst. Bright Eyes also features multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, keyboard player Nate Walcott and a rotating lineup of collaborators drawn primarily from Omaha, Nebraska's indie music scene. Conor Oberst has been recording music since the age of 13. He released his first two albums at the age of 14 with a band called Commander Venus. After the break-up of this band in 1997, Conor's main focus became Bright Eyes, and in 1998 he released the first Bright Eyes album, A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997(a collection of 20 stockpiled songs) on the independent label saddle creek Records, which he had co-formed earlier in collaboration with fellow local Omaha musicians. Saddle Creek also put forth Letting Off the Happiness in November 1998, a ten track piece that boasted a much more focused and clear sound than the previous album. According to the Saddle Creek press release, it features members of Lullaby for the Working Class, Neutral Milk Hotel, and of Montreal. 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, GA 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 a dramatic fictional account of the death of Oberst's baby brother, used as an analogy for being dumped. In 2000 Bright Eyes released Fevers and Mirrors, a demonstration of the immense improvement in production quality and musical vision of the band. New instruments such as flute, piano, and accordion were introduced into the song arrangements. After An Attempt to Tip the Scales, a mock radio interview takes place. The mock radio interview features Todd Fink of The Faint doing an impression of Conor Oberst while reading a script that Oberst wrote. The man interviewing is Matt Silcock, a former member of Lullaby for the Working Class. In this interview, the fake Oberst intentionally presents a strange, contradictory explanation of his attitude towards his music. The interview acknowledges criticisms of his lyrics as overblown and insincere, which had begun to appear as the popularity of the band increased, but responds by stating that the lyrics are meant for personal interpretation. In a 'real' interview with KittyMagik.com, Oberst stated about the mock one: "It was a way to make fun of ourselves because the record is such a downer.
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Conor Oberst Once-Bright Eyes, Wide Open to a New Vista

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Michael Ricci
WHAT happened to Bright Eyes?
For the last decade the songwriter Conor Oberst has released the vast majority of his songs as Bright Eyes, working under that name with groups small and large. Dipping into syles from folk-rock to punk to country to electronica, Bright Eyes relied on Mr. Oberst's open-hearted, sometimes painfully candid songs about romance, songwriting, politics and the porous interaction between art and life, constantly questioning his own honesty as he blurted things out. He could sound ...
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