Bright Eyes : NPR

Better Oblivion Community Center, A Project Built On Mutual Fandom

Better Oblivion Community Center Nick Freitas/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Better Oblivion Community Center, A Project Built On Mutual Fandom

XPN

May 2, 2019 • What could be better than a new project built on the friendship of two World Cafe favorites, Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst?

Better Oblivion Community Center On World Cafe

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Conor Oberst Announces A New Album — Yes, Another One

Conor Oberst's new album, Salutations, comes out March 17. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Conor Oberst Announces A New Album — Yes, Another One

January 18, 2017 • That didn't take long. Five months after Ruminations, the Bright Eyes singer will return with a companion piece called Salutations: a full-band version of the album, plus seven extra songs.

New-Folk Poets Bright Eyes

January 29, 2005 • Hear Bright Eyes perform live from Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club with special guests Tilly and the Wall and CocoRosie.

Hear Bright Eyes In Concert

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Clockwise from upper left: Bright Eyes, Ed Sheeran, Louis Armstrong, Etta James, Peter Gabriel Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Love Songs You Love To Love

February 10, 2015 • In honor of Valentine's Day, we asked for your ideal romantic songs. On this week's All Songs Considered, we count down the 10 most popular tunes that make you swoon.

Love Songs You Love To Love

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All Songs At 15: The Near Disaster Of Our First Live Concert Webcast

Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes in January, 2005. Cara Bloch/The Hell Gate/Corbis hide caption

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All Songs At 15: The Near Disaster Of Our First Live Concert Webcast

February 5, 2015 • On this week's throwback Thursday, we look back to the year 2005 and the first time we ever tried to webcast a live concert. The band was Bright Eyes; things did not go exactly as planned.

All Songs At 15: The Near Disaster Of Our First Live Concert Webcast

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Bright Eyes: The Mellowing of a Protest Singer

April 10, 2007 • Conor Oberst, lead singer of Bright Eyes, captured public attention as a protest singer with artistic ambitions. At 27, he seems to have mellowed. "Make a Plan to Love Me" is a gentle throwback to the '60s.

Bright Eyes: The Mellowing of a Protest Singer

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Bright Eyes' Low-Key Conversation

April 6, 2007 • Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst has never been afraid to emote. But on "Smoke Without Fire," featuring M. Ward, the pair crafts a duet that brings to mind a casual discussion between two world-weary singers who've been through a long journey in both of their short adult lives.

Listeners Pick Love Songs for Valentine's Day

February 6, 2007 • When words alone fail to illuminate the confounding mysteries of the heart, music lends a hand. Whether it's unrequited love, a fleeting affair or love that lasts a lifetime, there's a song for it. NPR listeners share "their" songs — along with the stories of bliss, bitterness and bygone times that make the music meaningful.

Review

Tom Moon's Top 10 CDs of 2005

December 16, 2005 • NPR reviewer Tom Moon shares his picks for the year's best CDs, from the lo-fi, indie folk of Iron and Wine to a newly discovered live recording by Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane.

The Best Music of 2005 Countdown

December 16, 2005 • All Songs Considered counts down the years best music. Host Bob Boilen talks with reviewers and listeners about their picks for the best CDs and songs of 2005. The show was originally webcast live on NPR.org

The Best Music of 2005 Countdown

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A Chat with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes

January 14, 2005 • NPR's Melissa Block talks to Conor Oberst about his two new CDs with Bright Eyes. Oberst is from Omaha, Neb., where he has built a reputation as a great songwriter and poet and carved an odd success story. Bright Eyes refuses to record for major labels, shuns corporate radio and won't play venues owned by Clear Channel Communications. The two new CDs, out Jan. 25, are titled I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn.

A Chat with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes

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Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band In Concert

November 10, 2008 • Best known as the prolific and gifted frontman for the country-rock band Bright Eyes, Oberst ventured out on his own this summer. He released his first solo album in more than a decade: an eponymous sketchbook of introspective folk and rock, steeped in Americana. The new collection of songs are the centerpiece of a full concert by Oberst and his backing group, The Mystic Valley Band, recorded live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

Conor Oberst In Concert

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Bob Boilen's Favorite Live Shows of 2011

Sufjan Stevens performing at the bandshell at Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park on August 3, 2011. Ryan Muir/Ryan Muir hide caption

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Bob Boilen's Favorite Live Shows of 2011

December 27, 2011 • Bob Boilen salutes his 15 favorite live concerts. What were your most memorable shows this year?

NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums Of 2011

50 Favorites Of 2011: B-E

December 5, 2011 • This year was about changing perspectives. American string quartet Brooklyn Rider revealed a warmer Philip Glass and France's Ebène Quartet found a common thread from Mozart to Bruce Springsteen. Demdike Stare proved that dark techno can be breathtakingly beautiful and Conor Oberst reinvented himself as a rock star. The list of our 50 favorite records of 2011 continues with Bright Eyes, Brooklyn Rider and more artists from B to E.

NPR Music's 25 Favorite Albums Of 2011 (So Far)

25 Favorites: From Bon Iver To Diego Garcia

June 14, 2011 • If you're looking for the best of 2011's first half in virtually every major musical genre, here's a good starting point. The list of our 25 favorite albums of the year (so far) continues with Bon Iver and more artists from B to D.

Bright Eyes recently performed on World Cafe. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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XPN

May 23, 2011 • Over the past couple of years Conor Oberst has made plenty of music — just not under the moniker of Bright Eyes. On The People's Key, his most beloved moniker is back and at its most adventurous. Hear Oberst discuss the album's origins and perform live in the WXPN studio.

Bright Eyes On World Cafe

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Conor Oberst, a rock 'n' roll lifer at the age of 31, played a two-hour set with his band Bright Eyes at Auditorium Shores in Austin, Tex. Shantel Mitchell for NPR hide caption

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Shantel Mitchell for NPR

Bright Eyes, Live In Concert: SXSW 2011

April 2, 2011 • On the new People's Key, Conor Oberst is no longer a prodigiously gifted kid; he's become an adventurous, fully formed folk-rock icon. Listen to Bright Eyes cap SXSW 2011 with a two-hour concert.

Bright Eyes in Concert at SXSW 2011

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Bright Eyes, Raphael Saadiq, The Antlers Headline NPR Music's SXSW Coverage

The Antlers will debut the group's new album, live on NPR Music, from The Parish in Austin, TX on Mar. 17. The band is just one of more than a dozen featured on this year's coverage of the festival. Ben Ritter/Courtesy of the Artist hide caption

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All Songs Considered

Bright Eyes, Raphael Saadiq, The Antlers Headline NPR Music's SXSW Coverage

March 1, 2011 • The South by Southwest music festival and conference is rapidly approaching (Mar. 16-20), and NPR Music will be there again this year, webcasting a bunch of full concerts, live online. Check out our lineup of the bands we'll be featuring.

First Listen: Bright Eyes, 'The People's Key'

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First Listen

First Listen: Bright Eyes, 'The People's Key'

January 30, 2011 • After devoting a few years to more conventional folk- and country-flavored songs, Bright Eyes returns with an adventurous, career-defining work in The People's Key. Hear the album in its entirety before its Feb. 15 release date.

Conor Oberst Leads Immigration Law Protest In Song

Conor Oberst staged a 14-band benefit concert last summer on a street in his hometown of Omaha, Neb., to raise awareness about immigration laws. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Music News

Conor Oberst Leads Immigration Law Protest In Song

January 31, 2011 • Oberst has had a busy 10 years. He's released five albums with Bright Eyes and two solo roots-rock records, and has worked on a number of side projects. But he says taking a political stand is new to him.

Conor Oberst Leads Immigration Law Protest In Song

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All Songs Considered

New Music From Bright Eyes, G-Side And More

January 4, 2011 • On this week's show, hear new music from Bright Eyes, hip-hop duo G-Side, Colin Stetson, psychedelic rock from Zambia and new music from the veteran English post-punk band Wire.

New Mix: Bright Eyes, G-Side, Wire And More

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Because It's Monday: New Soundstrike Music By Bright Eyes, Los Cenzontles

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Alt.Latino

Because It's Monday: New Soundstrike Music By Bright Eyes, Los Cenzontles

October 11, 2010 • Watch the premiere of Los Cenzontles' video for "State of Shame," a song that protests Arizona's immigration law.