Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes, Mystic Valley Band etc.

HighlySuspicious · Jan 25, 2011, 11:33 PM

Just got my tickets for First Avenue in April! Yay! (Only 3 months to go..... :-\) Now I just have to try to keep myself from listening to the leak....heh heh.

There was a small article on the new album in Rolling Stone a few weeks ago, complete with a lovely new Conor picture :) It talked about how reggae (?!) influenced The People's Key and how they're working to move away from the Cassadaga-y sound. Also, more spoken word!

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bright-eyes-crank-guitars-drop-rasta-knowledge-on-new-album-20110112

woodnymph · Jan 25, 2011, 11:49 PM

Quote from: HighlySuspicious on Jan 25, 2011, 11:33 PM
Just got my tickets for First Avenue in April! Yay! (Only 3 months to go..... :-\) Now I just have to try to keep myself from listening to the leak....heh heh.

There was a small article on the new album in Rolling Stone a few weeks ago, complete with a lovely new Conor picture :) It talked about how reggae (?!) influenced The People's Key and how they're working to move away from the Cassadaga-y sound. Also, more spoken word!

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bright-eyes-crank-guitars-drop-rasta-knowledge-on-new-album-20110112

Did I hear..... REGGAE! What's this about "drop rasta knowledge"...... Must investigate all of this! Thanks for sharing!!

woodnymph · Jan 25, 2011, 11:57 PM

Me likes this little ditty:

But the standout contributions came from El Paso musician Denny Brewer, a sixtysomething biker and New Age shaman Oberst met while recording in Texas — and who adds mind-bending spoken-word passages. Brewer would pop by the studio and spend hours expounding on his ideas about human nature, alchemy and the Federal Reserve, and Oberst found himself rapt. "A lot of people would write him off as a conspiracy-theory crazy person," he says. "But then he'd turn a corner and hit on a point that was completely truthful."

And that's a cool section about the reggae influence, too! Interesting they said it might not SOUND much like reggae, but that the LYRICS are namely inspired by the concepts in reggae songs..... and a track named after SELASSIE I! 8)

"In Rastafarianism, they're talking about fighting back against an imperial power with the best tools at their disposal, which are music and soul and weed and community," he says. "The symbolism in that music seemed very potent to me, and very appropriate."

Ghosts_on_TV · Jan 26, 2011, 02:34 PM

Quote from: woodnymph on Jan 25, 2011, 11:57 PM
Me likes this little ditty:

But the standout contributions came from El Paso musician Denny Brewer, a sixtysomething biker and New Age shaman Oberst met while recording in Texas — and who adds mind-bending spoken-word passages. Brewer would pop by the studio and spend hours expounding on his ideas about human nature, alchemy and the Federal Reserve, and Oberst found himself rapt. "A lot of people would write him off as a conspiracy-theory crazy person," he says. "But then he'd turn a corner and hit on a point that was completely truthful."

And that's a cool section about the reggae influence, too! Interesting they said it might not SOUND much like reggae, but that the LYRICS are namely inspired by the concepts in reggae songs..... and a track named after SELASSIE I! 8)

"In Rastafarianism, they're talking about fighting back against an imperial power with the best tools at their disposal, which are music and soul and weed and community," he says. "The symbolism in that music seemed very potent to me, and very appropriate."

You can download "Haile Selassie" at spinner.com. its really good. Doesn't sound reggae.

hacksaw · Jan 28, 2011, 06:38 PM

guys i cant stop listening to this record. it takes a while to get into, but thats good. i like slow, peel away albums.

hacksaw · Jan 29, 2011, 12:10 AM

"so i go umbrella under my arm, into the green of the radar, how'd it get so dark in the day? its just so bizzar if its true what we're made of. why do i hide from the rain?"

so paranoid. so gooooooooooooooood.

yall crazy for not wanting my high quality link. lol w/e

Ghosts_on_TV · Jan 31, 2011, 12:13 AM

It's streaming on npr.org

TheBigChicken · Jan 31, 2011, 06:00 AM

beat me to it Ghosts !

BH · Jan 31, 2011, 12:53 PM

Wow, big praise from Robin Hilton at NPR!

Quote

I won't mince words: This is the best record Bright Eyes has ever made. In fact, it's the best record the band's frontman, Conor Oberst, has ever been a part of. Publicists like to say as much any time an artist releases a new album, but in this case, it's actually true. The People's Key is a career-defining work of art.

Penny Lane · Jan 31, 2011, 03:27 PM

Quote from: BH on Jan 31, 2011, 12:53 PM
Wow, big praise from Robin Hilton at NPR!

Quote

I won't mince words: This is the best record Bright Eyes has ever made. In fact, it's the best record the band's frontman, Conor Oberst, has ever been a part of. Publicists like to say as much any time an artist releases a new album, but in this case, it's actually true. The People's Key is a career-defining work of art.

;) :) :D SWEEEEEET

e_wind · Jan 31, 2011, 03:57 PM

I consider MOF one o the best records ever... But excited to hear this now.

hacksaw · Jan 31, 2011, 07:59 PM

lol wow you guy fail so hard...this record is soo last week for me.

hacksaw · Jan 31, 2011, 08:01 PM

lol that npr stream is such bad quality compared to my version.

SC already sent me the 2 bonus tracks from the 7 inch...great tunes as well.

SaraBananaBear · Feb 01, 2011, 02:16 PM

Was supposed to get the pre-order download link today, but seems Saddle Creek has got some trouble with DDoS attacks... >:( and :'( at the same time. The YouTube stream of the album will do for now though :)

HighlySuspicious · Feb 02, 2011, 01:47 PM

I ran into the same problem when trying to download the album yesterday. >:( I spent the morning trying to do it over and over, but to no avail. However, when I got back that night, Saddle Creek sent me an email saying that the earlier problems were fixed, and within a few minutes, it was in my iTunes! YES. Listening to it right now and loving it more than I thought I would! :)

e_wind · Feb 02, 2011, 04:06 PM

Here's where I'm at with Conor. Love his work on MoF, love his solo record and MVB, was a fan of Desa back when I was in highschool, like Bright Eyes songs here and there, but LOVE his voice. Is this record good enough for me (a very broke man) to spend money on? I think (and hope) that it will be better than previous Bright Eyes records because of his other project's influence, but I need some insight before I buy it.

Ruckus · Feb 02, 2011, 04:14 PM

Quote from: e_wind on Feb 02, 2011, 04:06 PM
Here's where I'm at with Conor. Love his work on MoF, love his solo record and MVB, was a fan of Desa back when I was in highschool, like Bright Eyes songs here and there, but LOVE his voice. Is this record good enough for me (a very broke man) to spend money on? I think (and hope) that it will be better than previous Bright Eyes records because of his other project's influence, but I need some insight before I buy it.

I'm confused dude. Why don't you just check out the stream? Am I missing something?

SaraBananaBear · Feb 02, 2011, 06:24 PM

Quote from: Ruckus on Feb 02, 2011, 04:14 PM
Quote from: e_wind on Feb 02, 2011, 04:06 PM
Here's where I'm at with Conor. Love his work on MoF, love his solo record and MVB, was a fan of Desa back when I was in highschool, like Bright Eyes songs here and there, but LOVE his voice. Is this record good enough for me (a very broke man) to spend money on? I think (and hope) that it will be better than previous Bright Eyes records because of his other project's influence, but I need some insight before I buy it.
I'm confused dude. Why don't you just check out the stream? Am I missing something?

Yes have a look here:
Bright Eyes - The People's Key full album stream

I think you will love it, it's amazing! :D

e_wind · Feb 02, 2011, 11:11 PM

that makes sense... i just dont spend a lot of time sitting at a comp to listen to a full album

SaraBananaBear · Feb 03, 2011, 05:43 AM

Quote from: e_wind on Feb 02, 2011, 11:11 PM
that makes sense... i just dont spend a lot of time sitting at a comp to listen to a full album

Oh okay, well, then just for you, here comes my top 3 this morning (it changes every other hour or so, since all of the songs are BRILLIANT, but if forced to pick...) :)

Bright Eyes - Ladder Song (The People's Key)

This one, oh my God this one, I always thought there should be some more piano songs and this one was just instant for me, first few seconds just BAM right into my heart. It almost hurts to listen to.

08 Beginner's Mind - Bright Eyes (The People's Key)

Some reviewer said how this might be his mainstream breakthrough song or something like that and even though I think all Bright Eyes songs are beyond amazing, this one might just be a little easier to take to heart perhaps?

04 Approximate Sunlight - Bright Eyes (The People's Key)

The drums in this one kind of reminds me of the very last part of Cobra, but I dunno, maybe that's just me hallucinating... ??? either way, brilliant song, brilliant!

It was oh so hard to pick and the others are just as lovely, I like everything Bright Eyes so I'm probably not the right person to ask for advice if you don't like regular Bright Eyes stuff that much... but, truly, I think you'll like it! :D