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.
A Machine Spiritual
Bright Eyes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ringing through arena seats
The black machine
Played it all from memory
A fever dream
Well, I'll come back eventually
To wade into the water
Another and another
We go
Form some kind of code
The bodies float
And form some kind of code
The bodies float
Someone's out to know
Papa hobo
Don't hide your eyes
Mother mountain
Don't kill your unborn child
His day is coming
His day is coming
A question burns
Beneath the centuries of dirt
That voice you've heard
Well, every head's a different world
Well, mine's concerned
I boarded up the windows
A catatonic plateau
A backwards black-faced minstrel show
So just let me go
The prisoner moans
Oh, just let me go
The prisoner moans
No one has to know
Eva Braun went to dye her hair
Little Hitler sighs in his giant's chair
And dreamed of nowhere
And dreamed of nowhere
And dreamed
The people's key
Ringing filling everything
The theme repeats
Thinner than the galaxy
Impart to me
Your wisdom and eventually
I'll float into the ether
Another from another
We grow
Form some kind of code
Of flesh and bone
We form some kind of code
Of flesh and bone
No, you're not alone
History bows and it steps aside
In the jungle there's columns of purple light
We're starting over
We're starting over
We're starting
We're starting
The first verse of the song 'A Machine Spiritual' by Bright Eyes provides an insight into the transcendental and otherworldly nature of the song. The black machine is playing music that the people's key ringing through the arena seats. It is played from memory like a fever dream. There is a sense of coming back eventually to return to the water, to wash away the weariness of existence. The second verse frames the bodies floating and forming some kind of code. There is this idea that someone is trying to crack this code or decipher it. The lyrics then personify nature with 'Mother mountain, don't kill your unborn child.' This idea of nature and its imminent threat ties in with the question that it's been burning beneath the centuries of dirt.
The third verse takes on a more personal nature, and the singer's mind is the concern. Boarding up the windows and the catatonic plateau sound claustrophobic, and perhaps there is a sense of being stuck in the thoughts and unable to move. The lyric, a backwards black-faced minstrel show, is a troubling line and refers to the racist stereotype where white performers would paint their faces black for entertainment purposes. The chorus repeats, and the imagery of Eva Braun dyeing her hair and Hitler sighing show the sense of troubled thoughts and premonitions of war. There is a sense of starting over and dreaming of nowhere to go.
Line by Line Meaning
The people's key
The answer to all human problems
Ringing through arena seats
Heard and accepted by people in power
The black machine
A powerful force that influences everything
Played it all from memory
Recalling from the past to inform the present
A fever dream
A chaotic world of confusion
Well, I'll come back eventually
There is still hope
To wade into the water
To seek new beginnings
Another and another
A cycle that repeats
We go
Progressing forward
Form some kind of code
Finding meaning in life
The bodies float
The human experience is ephemeral
And form some kind of code
Humans work together to navigate life
Someone's out to know
People seek answers to life's mysteries
Papa hobo
The marginalized and forgotten
Don't hide your eyes
Confront the issues at hand
Mother mountain
The source of life and mother figure
Don't kill your unborn child
Don't destroy what has not yet come to fruition
His day is coming
A reckoning is inevitable
A question burns
Deep existential pondering
Beneath the centuries of dirt
Hidden knowledge buried under history
That voice you've heard
Each person's perspective is unique
Well, every head's a different world
Everyone experiences life in their own way
Well, mine's concerned
I am grappling with my own questions
I boarded up the windows
Withdrawal from the outside world
A catatonic plateau
A state of stagnation
A backwards black-faced minstrel show
A twisted performance
So just let me go
I need to move on
The prisoner moans
A plea for liberation
Oh, just let me go
Release from the torment of life
No one has to know
This struggle is internal and private
Eva Braun went to dye her hair
A callous and frivolous act in the midst of human tragedy
Little Hitler sighs in his giant's chair
A reminder of the evil that exists in the world
And dreamed of nowhere
An empty and hopeless vision
The theme repeats
The persistent struggles of humanity
Thinner than the galaxy
The issues we face are small in the grand scheme of things
Impart to me
Share your wisdom
Your wisdom and eventually
Learn from others and overcome challenges
I'll float into the ether
I will transcend the earthly struggles
We grow
We evolve over time
Of flesh and bone
Our physical bodies limit us
No, you're not alone
Others share your struggles
History bows and it steps aside
Recognition of the power of time and change
In the jungle there's columns of purple light
The beauty and majesty of nature
We're starting over
A hopeful new beginning
We're starting
Moving forward
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CONOR M OBERST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind