The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Casadaga - Bright Eyes

I'm really enjoying this album, which I bought on a hunch after hearing one song. I wasn't a fan before (hadn't heard much, but didn't like what I'd heard), but damn, this is a good album.

Also, the new Sondre Lerche album is really cool.

I've only listened to these albums once so far, but I'm psyched for repeated plays which is rare these days.

yeah, lerche's good stuff. Bright Eyes, though. Holy shit, Bright Eyes is awful.

I think there's two good Bright Eyes songs: Lover I Don't Have to Love and First Day of My Life. Dude is a bad singer, though. And I hate his stupid hair.

http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/conoroberst/

But that's what I'm saying. Have you heard this new album? It's nothing like his other stuff. I could never get past the voice either. You should check it out if you haven't heard it.

I heard a track of BE's new album on the UC Berkeley station, and that one track definitely didn't sound much like the "older" BE stuff I've listened to. It sounded like he'd toned down the whiny-ness and the "running off at the mouth" style lyrics. The song I'd heard was a pretty straight ahead good alt-country rocker. I don't remember the name of it, unfortunately.

hmm. all right, I'll give it a listen, frankie.

Sondre Lerche is beautiful. His swingy/jazzy album, Duper Sessions, is so awesome.

"Four Winds" (from the Bright Eyes disc) is on last month's Paste sampler, and I was thinking it was going to be the third BE song I like. I'm listening to Cassadega on Yahoo right now, and maybe there will be a few more.

I heard "Bowl of Oranges" once, and was like "oh if only all his stuff was like that" but it's not. It's mostly terrible. Hope he's turned a corner, 'cause Mr. Oberst is rather prolific. Be nice to like his stuff.

on track 5, and frankie is right so far. and five bright eyes songs i don't hate is practically a miracle.

Hmm, all right. My thoughts:

There's a lot of decent stuff on here. Most of the first half is pretty good (though Four Winds... the "Great Satan" stuff is really overwrought, just like everything in bright eyes's back catalog. Really, I don't think anyone can make any decent artistic point using that phrase. That's just me.) My favorite tracks are 1 (Clairaudients/Kill or Be Killed), 3 (If the Brakeman Turns My Way), and 12 (I Must Belong Somewhere), which are some of the most alt-countryish ones on the album. A lot of the second half is not great. Specifically tracks 8-13, excepting 12. I like that track 1 starts out weird and gets normal (though I could kind of do without the travel agent monologue thing).

I agree with Bjam, if you haven't heard Lerche's Duper Sessions you should check it out. I showed a friend and he really dug it. So much that he dedicated "I Call it Love" to his girlfriend on my college radio show.

Its so great to get to hear indie kids do classic love songs.

Jens Lenkman slays Lerche.

Jens Lekman is the greatest. He also mispronounces English words in his songs.

Phantom Punch is so great is pisses me off that it isn't more popular. Minor Details from Duper is a great song. Have to check out this Lenkman cat.

Don't include the "n" or you won't find him.

Oops!

lerche did the soundtrack for the upcoming film Dan in Real Life, which has some new songs on it. check it out.

MKilly wrote:

....... Bright Eyes, though. Holy shit, Bright Eyes is awful.

I think there's two good Bright Eyes songs: Lover I Don't Have to Love and First Day of My Life. Dude is a bad singer, though. And I hate his stupid hair.

How can you love Built to Spill and Not Bright Eyes? They're birds of a feather to me. I love everything Bright Eyes has ever done. "June on the West Coast" is quite possibly the best GnG of all time. (Someday I'm going to ask Thanks for Frisbee) to cover it.

glennny wrote:"June on the West Coast" is quite possibly the best GnG of all time. (Someday I'm going to ask Thanks for Frisbee) to cover it.

If it's already the best GnG of all time, why do you want someone else to cover it?

Yeah, especially if it's a G&G specialist. What's going on here?

I went on that RWB fellow's MySpace, and he had a cover of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark." As much as I like Death Cab and stuff and people covering it and whatnot, things don't get much worse than a guy and guitar cover of a guy and guitar song. It really doesn't matter how good the source material is, or the coverer, for that matter. It's just a snoozefest.

I guess i meant live and in person, you're right there's no need for another recording of it.