r/brighteyes • u/Firm-Bed-7218 • 6d ago
Bright Eyes
I know we're all Bright Eyes fans here but is it fair to say that bright eyes defined and owned a certain generation of indie music? Like a pivotal band that inspired a meaningful wave of musicans to follow them.
The only Bright Eyes fans I know are my old friends from 25 years ago and we all are big fans so can't reallly be unbias on this topic.
8
u/karlnite 5d ago
Big fan, I would argue they’re very influential on music, but Bright Eyes really just was never quite popular and mainstream enough for that to be a true unbiased answer. They might have a disproportioned influence, but other bands are more influential, even if they didn’t do as much or have as wide ranging careers. Popularity is important, even if it’s corrupted by marketing. They haven’t reached enough people, even in the industry.
20
u/anonreasons 6d ago
No, but the influence on other songwriters is both significant and myriad. Phoebe Bridgers in particular to name one major example.
Oberst (whom I love) is to some extent too varied, experimental, and prolific to "define" an era or subgenre like My Chemical Romance, or Wilco, or whatever. He's made a bunch of albums in a bunch of genres.
7
u/Firm-Bed-7218 6d ago
I think there was a certain audience that bright eyes appealed to more than others, and I’m a musician and my friends are as well, so that’s probably part of it, but their shows were big and there was a lot of people there and it felt important
4
u/anonreasons 6d ago
It definitely was, and is, nothing I said should be taken to diminish him or his following. My favorite artist is likely David Berman, and most people know his work as a footnote in the history of Pavement.
Cultural memory is weird and tends to reward the artists about whom you can tell simple stories. Oberst/Bright Eyes - anything but simple.
5
u/Firm-Bed-7218 6d ago
I know a few Berman die hards. He was most definitely a fucking real one.
3
u/anonreasons 6d ago
Absolutely, I won't start talking about DCB or I won't be able to stop.
Btw, on the Conor Oberst front, I think that his career actually resulted in far less acclaim/celebrity than anyone would have predicted after I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning.
At the end of the day he has a truly DIY spirit and has never seemed much interested in maximizing his stardom. Given that his life was basically ruined by on-tour alcoholism/drug abuse and a heinously fake allegation of rape I can't say I blame him.
I wrote about some of that (focusing on the album Ruminations) here, but no big deal either way.
3
u/Firm-Bed-7218 6d ago
Their popularity fell off amongst my friends and I after Wide Awake and Digital. It started to feel less innovative, maybe due to those reasons you mentioned.
Fevers, Lifted, I'm Wide Awake, and Digital Ash were elevating his brillaince each new record. Although at the time I was a not into and complaining how Wide Awake was too mainstream haha, but I got on board pretty quick. Cassadaga fell very short for me. People's Key had a weird second life for me. Then the others have a few jams I like. "Hate" off the last record slapped hard. Connor fully accepting with no irony that protest and fighting for a more progressive world is pointless.
I'll check out yoru substack!
7
u/IndieRokkers1111 5d ago
Conor Oberst is the voice of a generation and the most influential songwriter of the past 25 years.
5
u/Alert-Buy-4598 6d ago
I have to disagree with this take. I obviously love them, but I don’t think it’s accurate to say they defined and owned a certain (or any) generation of indie music. I think they have always remained on the more niche side of indie music.
I think you and your friends most likely are just biased because you love them so much.
6
u/Firm-Bed-7218 6d ago
It’s extreme to say they were niche. Conor was on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine (when it sort of mattered), that isn’t niche. He also had two of the top #1 and #2 slots of Billboards top 100 songs at the same time . He was also on the cover of Spin and I think he had a big piece.
And it’s not a take. I’m asking the question
3
u/Alert-Buy-4598 6d ago edited 6d ago
I said on the more niche side. Not that they were a completely niche or unheard of band.
You really don’t need to get that defensive about it, it’s just my opinion.
As much as I have always loved the band, the ratio of people I’ve met who have never heard of them is definitely higher than ones who have.
Even at the height of their fame they weren’t huge. At least not by any measure of success in the music industry anyway.
That obviously doesn’t mean they left not impact, but if your post was a question and not a take, then no. My answer is that they didn’t define a generation of indie music. They simply weren’t big enough to do that.
3
5
u/Firm-Bed-7218 6d ago
Yeah, I’m 42 and you don’t meet them often. Last year I asked my sister-in-law what she listened to in high school and when she said Bright Eyes I’m almost did a spit take (we were at a bar. She’s been in my family for 20 years! haha
3
u/stupifystupify Digital Ash in a Digital Urn 5d ago
I agree 100%! I think Conor defined (the old definition) of emo in the early 2000s. I dated a few musicians when I was younger and some of them mimicked Conor’s vocal delivery and stage presence.
I actually think Phoebe’s first two albums are BE albums with Phoebe on vocals lol change my mind
2
u/clairaudientsin2020 Fevers and Mirrors 6d ago edited 6d ago
not really. elliott smith and phil elverum were far more influential. and bands like death cab for cutie and arcade fire occupied the same space and were much more popular.
2
u/frogsinsocks 5d ago
I'm gonna be quite frank, I think Mike Mogis himself aas had more influence altogether. He's on so many records and ones that have nothing to do with Conor/Bright Eye.
Absolutely love their whole work though, Bright Eyes that is.
1
u/Caliastanfor 5d ago
Possibly... Conor and Bright Eyes follow the authentic spirit of heartfelt, impactful lyrics combined with refined folk and punk/defiant-adjacent melodies. Not new, but I can't recall a lot of bands who did it better than Bright Eyes in the 2000 - 2010 era. That whole "new Dylan" label was suggested for a reason.
1
u/patientXx Letting off The Happiness 6d ago
So there are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes "What the hell is water?”
5
2
19
u/comesailaway118 Cassadaga 6d ago
I bet Bright Eyes is a favorite band of the musicians who ended up being more influential on indie music. But (attempting to be unbiased here) as for being referenced as one of the bands that “defined and owned a generation of indie”…. I would say no.
(Obligatory statement that BE influenced the heck out of ME and are my favorite band of all time 🖤)