joyfulgirl

I've always been annoyed by his whiny voice, but I'm going out on a limb tonight and driving nearly 2 hours, past Taos, to see him at what I'm guessing will be a tiny K-Taos Solar Center, just because it's a very weird place for someone like him to play, and also a very cool place (I guess - I've never been there - but to say it's off the beaten path is an understatement.) KTAOS is the largest solar-operated radio station in the country so I'm guessing Oberst is making a statement by making the trek up there. I'm guessing there might be at least 50 people there? The only other time I've ever gone to Taos to see a show was Daniel Lanois about 5 years ago. They have a solar music festival in the summer but never anyone I'm interested in seeing. Otherwise, not a lot of interesting music up that way which makes this all the more bizarre and interesting.

So, I'm looking forward to it. Anybody heard the record?

impy13

It's just okay. The first track is the best of the bunch. Really doesn't measure up to the Bright Eyes stuff.

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Are you there Jah? It's me, Ras Trent.

joyfulgirl

I don't have any Bright Eyes records (though quite a few random songs) so it will all be new to me. I liked what I heard on the Mystic Valley Band website but I was just casually listening to it in the background.

joyfulgirl

Ok. I will never make fun of Conor Oberst again.

That show was awesome. And he is scarily Dylanesque in his awesomeness.

And also quite charming and likable and funny and totally cool.

u2popmofo

This dude releases so much stuff that it's almost hard to keep up. Bright Eyes-wise, I only have 'Lifted' and 'I'm Wide Awake'. Both are great, I absolutely love Lifted. I also have The Desaparecidos album, which is also fantastic (though I haven't listened to it in years). I don't think I even knew he had something new out! Glad it was enjoyable though.

As a side thought, I may buy the Bright Eyes Christmas album this year (I've told myself I should get it for the last 3 or 4 years...)

LemonMacPhisto

Cassadaga is worth checking out, too. That album was absolutely stellar live.

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u2popmofo

Cassadega Nights? Is that Spanish for a fighting chicken?

LemonMacPhisto

Shake n' bake!

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joyfulgirl

I looked for this today at two stores and couldn't find it. I have heard two killer songs from it - Make a Plan to Love Me which alone would be worth the price of the CD, and the also excellent Four Winds.

Oberst, by the way, said that the reason they ended up in Taos was because he took a river trip last summer and met some cool people from Taos and they said he should play there. It was a really great audience - certainly not your typical Conor Oberst audience. With the exception of the hardcore people right up against the stage, I think most of the people were like, "Hey, honey, let's go down to the Solar Center and have a beer - I think they have a band tonight" so there were couples two-stepping and stuff. It was a real bar-band kind of night with lots of stomping and shouting and background bar noise but it was great fun.

I achieved a long-held goal of perfectly timing my arrival 5 minutes before the headliner walked onstage, thereby missing the opening band, walking right up front and grabbing a chair on the side which I stood on. Unfortunately, I forgot my earplugs and was right in front of a speaker so I had to stick my fingers in my ears the whole show thereby mastering the fingers-in-the-ear-dancing-on-top-of-a-chair jig.

Here's a clip with not great audio but it's the only one up so far:

LemonMacPhisto

I'd chalk "Hot Knives" and "Cleanse Song" onto the keeper's list, too, but yeah, try and nab it if you can find it.

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impy13

You guys aren't even talking about "Lime Tree," clearly the best track on the record.

I listened to Conor Oberst again today. The songs just aren't there.

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Are you there Jah? It's me, Ras Trent.

joyfulgirl

That's because I haven't heard it.

The new songs sounded great live Friday night but may not in fact rate up there with his other stuff.

impy13

I meant YLB and the pomo. But I guess the latter hasn't heard it either.

So I guess that just means YLB is on the hook for not choosing the best songs on albums.

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Are you there Jah? It's me, Ras Trent.

LemonMacPhisto

To be fair, I haven't listened to Cassadaga all the way through in a while. The fact still remains, however, that I need to... change.

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If you shout...

You're being way too lenient, if you ask me. Dude's still never released a good record, after all these years. A few better-than-spectacular songs and a whole mess of mediocre-at-best albums is all we'll ever remember him by, if we remember him at all.