#41

Deffo. Had that on repeat when it came out

1 Like
#42

The split with Neva Dinova is really good too. Guy made a hell of a lot of good music between 2000 and 2005ish despite being a complete wreck

7 Likes
#43

A Perfect Sonnet is like the track for people to point to and say Bright Eyes is melodramatic teenage emo rubbish… and I fucking love it

8 Likes
#44

And the son ambulance split

3 Likes
#45

Is it too late to put no lies just love on the playlist actually

2 Likes
#46

5/5 better than the smashing pumpkins

16 Likes
#47

I know of them, but I’m afraid I’ve never knowingly heard anything by them. Abstain.

#48

You’ll probably have heard First Day of My Life or Lua in passing (the acoustic, radio-friendly hits).

#49

5/5

The lads a genius, bit of a prick at times but who isn’t.

Our Generations Dylan

8 Likes
#50

4 For me. Constantly on rotation for me especially circa 16 - 21years old but they never went on to become one of my favs

1 Like
#51

Really liked I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning that’s about it.

Abstain/5

#52

Very grateful that Wide Awake and Digital Ash were released when I was 14. So many teenage hours spent with his stuff on repeat. Would be lying if I said any other artist had influenced my tastes as much, remember blitzing through Soulseek for all the other Saddle Creek bands and collaborators, influences, etc.

Can take or leave the new singles, most of his solo stuff, People’s Key and Cassadega are both alright, but it’s now half my life ago that he released new music I really connected with. I’m fine with that tbh, his best stuff really holds up and there was so much of it with all the EPs and b-sides etc.

1 Like
#53

One of my biggest musical regrets is missing the boat on them a little despite every oppurtunity. Saw them supporting Arab Strap at the fleece and firkin in Bristol between fevers and mirrors and lifted, just thought they were a bit of a joke. They were messy, the vocals sounded silly without the meaning of the songs having sunk in (guess I was in a po-faced post rock phase too). Remember on the train back to cardiff some guy from the gig going on about how big a deal they were and thinking ‘nah’.

Awhile later my pal recommended me the desaparecidos album, which appealed to my dinosaur jr/pinkerton loving side, but was still reluctant to get into bright eyes for some reason. eventually did and soon became my favorite band, definitely led to a renewed interest in music as I had been into alt rock as a teen and then got into a bit of a rut after than, was mainly into post rock and it felt like a real lull like the best music was in the past and nothing exciting was going on, bright eyes made me think the best music was happening now.

Was a bit too late for the sheperds bush gig with the postal service, first time I saw them after properly getting into them was at sheperds bush with modest mouse, by that point it was 2004 and they were already gearing up for i’m wide awake, not that that is bad it is just I saw them a lot in that mode and would have been good to see them in prime lifted era.

He is definitely my favourite lyricist by a massive margin, I like how messy and sprawling his songs are, occassionally a few clunky lines but think without that ambition and scope there wouldn’t be so many good lines either, and those lines seem more real/insightful than any others I have heard. total sucker for a vivid metaphor or simile, love the reoccuring ideas and reference that happen between songs, relate to the gnawing sense of emptiness and uncertainty but think there is a lot of optimism and idealism in there too, a sense of community.

even though I was put off by the vocals on first encounter, now I love them, they are an essential part of the expression, to the point where if I see him live and his voice doesn’t crack in a particular way in a particular song it is as disappointing as other gigs when a band doesn’t play your favourites. other music suffers in comparison for not being intense enough

musically fevers and mirrors is my favourite, just has a really ornate sound to it (and i’m a sucker for harmonic minor), I am surprised he hasn’t revisited that since as it is more singular than the rest of his stuff, but like the maximal big band sound too. Production is always top notch, love all the little sound collages and how little production things comment on the songs.

all time best band, and feel lucky to have been around at the right time for them

13 Likes
#54

like this article

also this is the best live song on youtube

1 Like
#55

First Day of My Life is probably one of my least favourite BE songs.

And with these drinks I plan to collapse and forget this wasted year.

Probably my most listened to artist.

#56

Great comment.

I remember you were key to my Bright Eyes journey, at some point on here you kindly linked me to some live bootlegs of what would become his first self-titled album, I’ve never cared enough about any other artist to track down their bootlegs.

1 Like
#57

LIFTED blew me away when I heard it, but I don’t think I’ve ever really connected with any other of his stuff on the same level, though there’s stuff I like on the other albums. Cassadega left me cold.

A 3, I think

#58

So many spine tingling moments in one song

“This clumsy form that I despise”
“Into the end-less-ness of blue”
“The funeral. Had. Begun”
“Long after night has come to claim any light that still remains”
“Two pills just weren’t enough. The alarm clock’s going off. But you’re not waking up”.

2 Likes
#59

For everyone who picked Easy/Lucky/Free as their best song, I thing this might be even better than the original

6 Likes
#60

like a couple of tracks but don’t know anywhere near enough to cast a vote. abstain/5