Conor Oberst Voice < A Dog’s Bark … but I still Like It

So, I know there are a fair amount of Bright Eyes haters our there (ahem, CW). And let’s face it, Conor Oberst’s voice is terrible a little rough around the edges. But I’ll be the first to tell you, that man knows how to write a good tune every now and then.

So, I am pretty much digging his new self-titled solo album (I know, I thought Bright Eyes was a solo project too). It’s got that great alt-country/folk/blues grit that I’ve learned to appreciate over the past few years (see: Wilco, Rocky Votolato, Mojave 3, Sufjan, Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine, et cetera). If you haven’t checked it out yet, or were just thinking of writing it off as more of that “emo-folk-Bright-Eyes-crap,” well, check out the video below and then reconsider:

In other things I like right now, I just finished reading Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, which was hauntingly beautiful. Waugh is kind of like a British and Catholic version of F. Scott Fitzgerald, so that gets him pretty high marks on my list immediately.

He has a wonderful way of merging his Christian beliefs into writings without preaching, really blurring the line between sacred and secular. Which I think is not only beautiful, but very important as well. It’s kind of hard to explain why that appeals to me so much, but I think that the Christian artist shouldn’t see the world as off limits. Our spirituality is a really sticky thing, all wrapped up in this living that we do, and so art should reflect and express that. It’s like Coldplay’s new album. Even though it isn’t a “Christian” album, it certainly reflects important Christian beliefs and values. The last song has a beautiful line:

No I don’t want a battle from beginning to end
I don’t want a cycle of recycled revenge
I don’t want to follow death and all of his friends

In summary: Conor Oberst reminds me of a battered Fender Telecaste guitar, Evelyn Waugh is the man, and way to go Christ Martin for not boxing yourself in.