In November 2005, Bright Eyes performed "True Blue" on the children's television show Pancake Mountain.
Bright Eyes has actively protested against the Clear Channel media company. Oberst has vocally advocated the boycotting of all Clear Channel events, venues, and radio stations, perhaps most publicly at the Shortlist Awards show at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on October 5, 2003.[13] On November 9, 2005, Bright Eyes canceled their November 12 show in St. Louis, Missouri upon discovering that the venue was associated with Clear Channel.[14]
Bright Eyes won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "When the President Talks to God" at the 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards[15] and a special recognition award for the video for "First Day of My Life" at the 17th GLAAD Media Awards.[16] Additionally, Time listed I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning as one of the top ten albums of 2005.[17] Later in the year, the live album Motion Sickness was released, documenting the I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning tour.
In a skit on the May 20, 2006 episode of George W. Bush.
After releasing three albums in 2005, Oberst stated that he did not plan to release an album in 2006.[18] On October 24, 2006, a compilation of rare tracks entitled Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005) was released.
On March 8, 2007, Oberst appeared on National Public Radio's All Songs Considered, playing a selection of tracks in his collection, as well as several from Four Winds.
Cassadaga (2007)
Bright Eyes released the Four Winds EP in March 2007, featuring the first single from their seventh studio album Cassadaga, released in April 2007. The track "Endless Entertainment" circulated over the internet from the new official site, ThisIsBrightEyes.com. In a 2007 issue, Rolling Stone labeled "Four Winds" as a top 100 song of the year.
In support of this album, Bright Eyes toured North America from February to May, and Europe and Japan from June to July.[19] The twelve musicians included two drummers, and they donned white uniforms in front of a video backdrop.[20]
During an encore on May 19, 2007 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, Oberst performed a new song with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings entitled "Man Named Truth". He said the song was finished in the dressing room that night. The song was officially released on Monsters of Folk's 2009 self-titled album, on which Oberst teams up with Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), M. Ward (of She & Him), and Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes).
During a 7-night stint at The Town Hall in New York City, Bright Eyes welcomed the following guests on stage for special performances: Lou Reed on May 25; Ben Kweller on May 26; Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice on May 28; Norah Jones, Little Willie and Derrick E on May 29; Nick Zinner, Maria Taylor and Ben Gibbard on May 30, Steve Earle on May 31, and finally Ron Sexsmith and Britt Daniel on June 1.[21]
On June 4, 2007, they performed "Hot Knives" on the Late Show with David Letterman.
A double-single for "Hot Knives" and "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" was released on July 9, 2007.
In August 2007, Bright Eyes postponed 3 UK shows due to illness. A U.S. tour was announced, and in September, the UK dates were canceled and not rescheduled.
On September 29, 2007, they performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the historic Hollywood Bowl.
Bright Eyes performed at a Barack Obama rally in Omaha, Nebraska on February 7, 2008.[22]
Zachary Nipper, the album's art director, was awarded the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.[23]
The People's Key (2008–2011)
During 2008 and 2009, Oberst recorded music and toured in support of his other music projects, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band and supergroup Monsters of Folk. In a June 2009 issue of Rolling Stone, Oberst announced that he wanted to "retire" the Bright Eyes moniker, and would be making one final album with the band: "It does feel like it needs to stop at some point. I'd like to clean it up, lock the door, say goodbye."[24]
Saddle Creek Records reissued their Neva Dinova split One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels on March 23, 2010 with four brand-new songs recorded in late 2009.[25]
On July 31, 2010, Bright Eyes teamed up with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska to put on a concert for equality in Omaha, Nebraska. The concert raised money for a federal lawsuit the ACLU filed against the city of Fremont, Nebraska for an ordinance the city passed on June 21, 2010 banning the hiring of or the rental of properties to illegal immigrants.[26][27] At this show, Bright Eyes debuted a new song entitled "Coyote Song" about two lovers separated by the Mexico–United States border.[28]
The band's new album titled The People's Key was released on February 15, 2011, Conor Oberst's birthday.[29]
Conor Oberst has stated that the sound of The People's Key moves away from the folk sound that the band had accomplished on previous records. "We're over the Americana, rootsy, whatever that sound is. People say country but I never thought we were very country at all. But whatever that element is or that aesthetic is, I guess it's worn a little thin for me these days. So we very much wanted it to be rocking and, for lack of a better term, contemporary, or modern."[30]
The video for the song "Shell Games" was released via Saddle Creek Records on both the band's YouTube channel[31] and that of Saddle Creek,[32] and features the band playing against various projections.
On February 24, the band performed "Jejune Stars" on the Late Show with David Letterman.[33] They performed "Beginner's Mind" on The Tonight Show on April 14, 2011.[34]
On June 10, Bright Eyes released the music video for "Jejune Stars". The video features the band playing in a desert with a firework rig behind them, spelling out selected lyrics as Oberst sings them.[35]
In June, July, and August 2011, the band performed shows on tour with The Mountain Goats.[36]
Members
The band's permanent members[21] are:
However, the three collaborate with other artists,[37] of which the following have been credited in the band's releases:
Discography
References
External links
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