Bright Eyes // The Observer

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Scene

Scene’s Best Albums of 2020

Claire Rafford, Mariah Rush, Jake Winningham, Dessi Gomez, Ryan Israel, Aidan O'Malley, Colleen Fischer, Matthew Kellenberg, Maeve Filbin and Charlie Kenney | Monday, December 14, 2020

Scene writers made their lists; they checked them twice. The albums from January were reexamined; the soundtrack to the summer was played in December. Everyone’s votes were tallied and the final ticket of 20 records — those which we most cherished, fell deepest into and held closest to our hearts and ears in 2020 —

Scene

Phoebe Bridgers does not care if you like ‘Punisher’

Charlie Kenney | Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Sprawled on white towel against rough California fescue grass, naked except for a pair of frilled underwear with the red-orange logo of 7-Eleven in its center. Smiling through squinted eyes and blocking the sun’s glare with an upraised hand, Phoebe Bridgers stares back at the camera completely, voluntarily, exposed. The photoshoot and adjoining interview, which

Scene

‘Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was’ review

Charlie Kenney | Friday, August 28, 2020

I first really heard Bright Eyes in 2012, my freshman year of high school at Connor Oberst’s alma mater. I had recently begun driving my brother’s 1997 navy blue Honda CRV, and a thin slot for compact discs offered itself as my only alternative to muffled classic rock on the radio. A friend, aware of

Scene

Scene’s Selections: New Singles

Charlie Kenney, Willoughby Thom, Mike Donovan and Ryan Israel | Monday, September 16, 2019

A few artists released new singles. Scene listened. Run it back. “Moment” — Pinegrove By Mike Donovan, Scene Editor Momentary pleasures — the type initiated, felt and lost at a pinprick on the timeline — feed on the luxury of not knowing. Neither future nor past have any bearing on the instantaneous. What’s now is

Scene

Bridgers, Oberst gel on ‘Better Oblivion Community Center’

Matthew Kellenberg | Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Things are looking up for Phoebe Bridgers. In 2017, she released her debut album, “Strangers in the Alps,” to critical acclaim. A year later, her collaboration with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, “boygenius,” received album-of-the-year buzz. Also in this time, Bridgers joined indie darling and former Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst on his “Salutations” European

Scene

Scene’s Selections: Songs about fall

Mike Donovan, Adam Ramos, Adrian Mark Lore, Matthew Munhall and Charlie Kenney | Tuesday, October 10, 2017

It’s that time of year again — the ethereal season when both the leaves and your grades descend gracefully from their respective perches down to earth. Our writers supply dulcet tones to cushion the fall. “Falling” by Julee Cruise — Matthew Munhall “Falling” — written by filmmaker David Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti — is best

Scene

‘Salutations’ – Not a Goodbye

Charlie Kenney | Friday, March 31, 2017

When Conor Oberst left Bright Eyes in 2011, angsty teens, Saddle Creek junkies and indie folk addicts everywhere cried. Throughout his career, Oberst’s bands revolved around him. Bright Eyes, Commander Venus, The Magnetas, Park Avenue, The Mystic Valley Band and Desaparecidos would not have functioned without Oberst. He was the vocals, the lyrics, the guitar