Saddle Creek also released Letting Off the Happiness in November 1998, a ten-track record that boasted a much more focused and clear sound than the previous album. According to the Saddle Creek press release, it features members of Lullaby for the Working Class, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Of Montreal. It was predominantly recorded in the Oberst family basement in Omaha on an analog eight track reel to reel; with some work also done at keyboardist Andy Lemaster's Athens, GA studio. Although almost all of the tracks feature a full band, June on the West Coast is performed with only acoustic guitar and vocals. Padraic My Prince gives a dramatic fictional account of the death of Oberst's imagined baby brother.
In 2000 Bright Eyes released Fevers and Mirrors, a demonstration of the immense improvement in production quality and musical vision of the band. New instruments such as flute, piano, and accordion were introduced into the song arrangements. After An Attempt to Tip the Scales, a mock radio interview takes place. The mock radio interview features Todd Fink of The Faint doing an impression of Conor Oberst while reading a script that Oberst wrote. The man interviewing is Matt Silcock, a former member of Lullaby for the Working Class. In this interview, the fake Oberst intentionally presents a strange, contradictory explanation of his attitude towards his music. The interview acknowledges criticisms of his lyrics as overblown and insincere, which had begun to appear as the popularity of the band increased, but responds by stating that the lyrics are meant for personal interpretation. In a 'real' interview with KittyMagik.com, Oberst stated about the mock one: "It was a way to make fun of ourselves because the record is such a downer. I mean, that's one part of who I am, but I also like laughing and fucking around."
2002 saw the release of Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, and since then Oberst has released an almost constant stream of new material on collaborative EPs, split singles, tribute albums, and charity records. He ventured into the studio with Nebraska folk-pop outfit Tilly And The Wall, co-producing their debut album Wild Like Children and released it on his newly established record label, Team Love.
January 2005 saw the release of two albums: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, which is a country-tinged mélange of Conor’s finest acoustic songs, featuring guest vocal appearances from Emmylou Harris and Jim James of My Morning Jacket; and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, which is a more produced, electronic album featuring cameo appearances by Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
One single from each album, Take It Easy (Love Nothing) from Digital Ash and Lua from I'm Wide Awake took the top two slots on Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, the first time for any artist since 1997.
As had become expected of Bright Eyes recordings, the albums feature an array of talented comrades including members of Rilo Kiley, Tilly And The Wall, Cursive, Now Its Overhead, The Good Life, Azure Ray, The Faint, The Bruces, Neva Dinova, The Postal Service and Audrye Sessions.
In October 2006, Bright Eyes released a compilation of rare tracks called Noise Floor: Rarities 1998-2005.
Bright Eyes released their sixth studio album called Cassadaga on April 9, 2007, preceded by an EP entitled Four Winds on March 6, 2007.
A further 25-30 tracks have been recorded in Portland, Oregon and New York City, with another session planned in Omaha, Nebraska. Some of these tracks had already been performed at live shows.
On February 15, 2011, the band released their seventh studio album, The People's Key.
On June 22, 2020, they released Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was, their first album on Dead Oceans after a long history with Saddle Creek.
2. A Scale A Mirror And Those Indifferent Clocks
Bright Eyes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you will find, easily
More than sufficient doubt
That these colors you see
Were picked in advance
By some careful hand
With an absolute concept of beauty
Come in random order
To color the eyes of your former lovers
Hers were green like July
Except when she cried
They were red
Now I know a disease
That these doctors can't treat
You contract it the day
You accept all you see
Is a mirror and a mirror is all it can be
A reflection of something we're missing
And language just happened
It was never planned
And it's inadequate to describe where I am
In the room of my house
Where the light has never been
Waiting for this day to end
And these clocks keep unwinding
And completely ignore
Everything that we hate or adore
Once the page of a calendar is turned it's no more
So tell me, then, what was it for?
Oh, tell me, what was it for?
The song "A Scale A Mirror.." by Bright Eyes is a poetic meditation on the nature of perception and the inadequacy of language in describing subjective experience. The lyrics ruminate on the idea that the colors we perceive are not objective, but rather preconceived notions handed down to us by some "careful hand" with "an absolute concept of beauty." The song suggests that even our emotional attachments to certain colors--like the green of a former lover's eyes--are arbitrary and unreliable.
The song then takes a philosophical turn, suggesting that there is a disease that doctors can't treat, which one contracts the day they accept that all they see is a mirror, and that language is inadequate to describe the truth of one's experience. The idea of the mirror is extended throughout the song, as a metaphor for the limitations of our perception and language. The song ends with a sense of ennui, as the singer waits for the day to end, feeling that everything they love or hate will be forgotten once the page of a calendar is turned.
Overall, the song is a melancholic reflection on the nature of reality and human perception. It suggests that our experience of the world is inherently subjective and that even the language we use to describe it falls short. The song raises profound questions about the nature of truth, beauty, and reality, and the elusive quality of these things.
Line by Line Meaning
Here is a scale, weigh it out
I present to you a measuring scale to use in evaluating what you perceive.
And you will find, easily
Your conclusion will be arrived at without much difficulty.
More than sufficient doubt
The evidence presents several doubts, enough to make it uncertain.
That these colors you see
What you see as colors is uncertain and questionable.
Were picked in advance
They were intentionally chosen beforehand.
By some careful hand
The hand that chose it did so with precision and care.
With an absolute concept of beauty
The one who chose it was certain of what beauty is.
They are smeared and these blurs
The chosen colors are mixed, and the lines are not so distinct.
Come in random order
They are arranged in a disordered manner.
To color the eyes of your former lovers
These colors are what your former lovers' eyes were made of.
Hers were green like July
She had green eyes like the scenery of the month of July.
Except when she cried
Her eyes changed color when she teared up.
They were red
Her eyes turned red when she wept.
Now I know a disease
I am aware of this condition.
That these doctors can't treat
Doctors have no cure for this ailment.
You contract it the day
You get this disease when you realize.
You accept all you see
You believe wholly what you perceive.
Is a mirror and a mirror is all it can be
All you see is the reflection of a mirror and nothing else.
A reflection of something we're missing
What we're unable to see in ourselves is reflected upon the mirror.
And language just happened
The development of language was not a deliberate plan.
It was never planned
The formation of language was not intended.
And it's inadequate to describe where I am
Words are insufficient to portray where I exist.
In the room of my house
I am within the confines of my living abode.
Where the light has never been
The part of my house has never been illuminated.
Waiting for this day to end
I am anticipating the end of this day.
And these clocks keep unwinding
The watches keep ticking away the time.
And completely ignore
The ticking clocks are indifferent to everything that we cherish or loathe.
Everything that we hate or adore
The clocks do not respond to human emotions (preferences or dislikes).
Once the page of a calendar is turned it's no more
Once a page in the calendar is flipped over, it becomes useless.
So tell me, then, what was it for?
What purpose did it serve?
Oh, tell me, what was it for?
I implore you, what is the significance?
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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