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 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
And 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 on 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 lyrics to Bright Eye's song "A Scale a Mirror and Those Indifferent Clocks" are rich in symbolism and allegory. At the heart of the song is the idea that our perception of beauty, and indeed our understanding of the world around us, is shaped by external forces beyond our control. The first stanza speaks to this idea by suggesting that the colors we see are not random or natural, but rather have been chosen for us by an unseen hand with an absolute concept of beauty. This idea is reinforced by the use of the word "smeared" to describe the blurred and distorted images that color our perceptions. The second stanza continues this theme by suggesting that our understanding of language is similarly constructed and arbitrary, never quite enough to convey the complexity of our experience.
Throughout the song, the singer struggles with a sense of isolation and detachment from the world around him. He describes being trapped in a room with no light, waiting for time to pass, while indifferent clocks tick away without concern for what he loves or hates. The repetition of the phrase "tell me, then, what was it for?" underscores the singer's sense of frustration and confusion, as he struggles to find meaning in a world that seems fundamentally unknowable.
Overall, "A Scale a Mirror and Those Indifferent Clocks" is a deeply introspective and thought-provoking meditation on the nature of beauty, perception, and meaning in our lives. The song invites the listener to question their own perceptions and consider the ways in which our understanding of the world is shaped by forces beyond our control.
Line by Line Meaning
Here is a scale, weigh it out
Here is a tool to weigh your doubts and uncertainties
And you will find, easily
And you will realize effortlessly
More than sufficient doubt
That you have more than enough reasons to be uncertain
That these colors you see
That the beauty you see is preconceived
Were picked in advance
And selected beforehand by a creator who had an absolute concept of beauty
By some careful hand
By a precise and meticulous creator
With an absolute concept of beauty
Who had a definite understanding of what beauty is
They are smeared and these blurs
They are smudged and unclear
Come in random order
Appear in no apparent sequence
And color the eyes of your former lovers
And taint the beauty that you once saw in your past relationships
Hers were green like July
Your former lover's eyes were green like summer
Except when she cried
Apart from when she was upset
They were red
Her eyes turned red from crying
Now I know a disease
Now I understand a sickness
That these doctors can't treat
That cannot be remedied by medical professionals
You contract on the day
You catch it once you accept your reality
You accept all you see
You acknowledge that everything you see is real
Is a mirror and a mirror is all it can be
Is a reflection of what you're missing and will never be anything else
A reflection of something we're missing
A copy of something that we don't have
And language just happened
And words came to be without much intention
It was never planned
They weren't designed or invented
And it's inadequate to describe where I am
And they are insufficient to explain where I'm at
In the room of my house
Within a room of my home
Where the light has never been
Where the light has never shone
Waiting for this day to end
Wait for the day to come to a close
And these clocks keep unwinding
And time keeps moving forward
And completely ignore
Unconcerned about
Everything that we hate or adore
All the things we dislike or admire
Once the page of a calendar is turned it's no more
The calendar's days are fleeting and impermanent
So tell me, then, what was it for?
So what was the point of it all?
Oh, tell me, what was it for?
Oh, please tell me what was the point of it all?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Conor Oberst
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@johnnyfelcher8156
"And language just happened, it was never planned" my favorite lyrics of all-time.
@brent9504
And it's inadequate to describe where I am...
@SteveC100482
This was the first song I ever heard from Bright Eyes and that had to be almost 14 or fifteen years ago at the height of the worst of my teenage years.
@autumn-gw2bh
i wish this song was longer it's just so beautiful
@jamesfleming1155
I've thought the same thing. You don't want it to end
@multijerryz
thats what make it beatiful (perdón por mi inglés)
@bfe7499
Ballin
@leniboda
it's almost too painful to listen to this album
@CoolStoryBroize
The best version of this song is on motion sickness. The emotion he puts into it is amazing.
@soft.nd.golden
When I was 12 about 16 years ago I was anorexic and depressed and a mess my prelude to my drug addiction ... which I have been good for 5 years now on methadone.. but Conor oberst is still absolutely perfect all these years later.. he's an utter genius. Eliot Smith too