They recorded two albums, Do You Feel at Home? on Saddle Creek and The Uneventful Vacation, on Grass Records, which became Wind-up Records, that ultimately licensed the CD to Thick Records.
History
Shortly after his two solo recordings, Conor Oberst (guitar, vocals) began playing with Tim Kasher (bass) and Matt Bowen (drums) to form Commander Venus the summer before Oberst's freshman year at Creighton Prep. "I didn't know how to play with a band at all," he says. "I couldn't keep in time with the drums." Robb Nansel, who runs Saddle Creek Records, also joined the band on guitar.
In 1995, they released Do You Feel at Home? on their own label, Saddle Creek. They were later signed to Grass Records for whom they recorded The Uneventful Vacation in July 1997. The story of how the second album was recorded, and the band's dealings with Wind-up Records management, is one of carefree excess. The Uneventful Vacation cost $15,000 to record, a staggering sum for an indie album.
"They bought us a van and sent us on these tours. They had all this money and didn't know how to run a record label. The new management all came from a major label and knew nothing about underground music. It was a zoo, they didn't know what was going on and didn't have the know-how to make something happen."
Despite the money thrown at the project, Oberst considers The Uneventful Vacation — a loud, sometimes brash alt-rock album that still manages to encompass Oberst's awkward but powerful personal music style — to be "somewhat of a failure musically. We wanted to do stuff we weren't prepared to do because I'm not a very good guitar player. That's always been my biggest problem."
The project also was rushed, having to be recorded during summer vacation. Furthermore, the band wasn't happy with their producer. Despite all that, the record received college airplay, as well as positive critical nods, including a Scratch magazine review that said, "If Commander Venus is any indication of what's to come from the second generation of indie rock, then the future looks bright indeed." The hot rumor was that Commander Venus could be "the next big thing" out of Omaha. The rumor was wrong.
"First, Matt quit. He was frustrated; he didn't want to play drums. Then Tim had to make a decision, because Cursive was really picking up at the time and he was their main guy. We knew it would come to this point where we'd both be touring at the same time, so he bowed out."
The band continued for another nine months with Todd Baechle on bass and Ben Armstrong on drums. They toured the East Coast, but Oberst began to feel penned in by the band. "It lost its luster and I got fed up with the big 'emo music' craze. We got tagged as an emo band right off the bat. A lot of cool bands were playing that style of music, then a huge number of bands started tagging along, and suddenly everyone was getting thrown in the emo category. These days, I think of emo as a negative term."
The Walk
Commander Venus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause there's only one design
There's some time allowed to me
But Saturday came, and went, and I
And I still want, and I still need
Just don't remind me, just don't remind me
Cause I still feel, and I still need
The hungry ones survive
The rest just fall behind
The rest just wait to die
I could have learned to deal with
Kneeling down and living out my life
Like I'm supposed to
But it's too late now for that
These eyes were circumcised from the design
Wait, have I been ruined?
Well, such blinding faith could ruin us
And from now on I will not hide this fear
(Ruin us)
This evolving heart, from stage to stage
Til nothing's left to learn
Cheated and lied, the weakest ones subside
They'll just get left behind
They just can't wait to die, and neither can I
The lyrics of Commander Venus’s song “The Walk” speak to a sense of restlessness and frustration with having to conform to societal expectations. The opening lines, “It’s the same plan inscribed on me/Cause there’s only one design,” suggest a feeling of being trapped, as though the singer has been predetermined to follow a certain path. Despite recognizing that they have “some time allowed,” the singer feels as though time is slipping away, and they haven’t accomplished what they truly want to.
The lines “The hungry ones survive/The rest just fall behind/The rest just wait to die” speak to a sense of Darwinian survival, that those who are actively pursuing their dreams and desires are the ones who will thrive. The singer acknowledges their own hunger and desire to keep moving forward, but also admits that they “could have learned to deal with/Kneeling down and living out [their] life/Like [they’re] supposed to,” which suggests they may be feeling societal pressure to conform.
The lines “These eyes were circumcised from the design/Wait, have I been ruined?/Well, such blinding faith could ruin us” allude to a sense of disillusionment and questioning about societal structures and expectations. The singer’s eyes have been circumcised, or figuratively cut away from the predetermined path they were meant to follow, but they wonder if this newfound freedom will end up being their downfall. Ultimately, the singer resolves to continue moving forward and evolving, recognizing that “Neither can [they]” wait to die.
Line by Line Meaning
It's the same plan inscribed on me
I feel like there's only one predetermined path for me
Cause there's only one design
I believe there's only one way for my life to turn out
There's some time allowed to me
I know that I have some time to make my life what I want it to be
But Saturday came, and went, and I
But time is passing quickly and I feel like I'm not making any progress
And I still want, and I still need
I still have desires and needs that aren't being fulfilled
Just don't remind me, just don't remind me
Please don't bring up the fact that I'm not where I want to be
Cause I still feel, and I still need
I'm still emotional and have things I need to achieve
To feel like I have learned, adapted, and tried
I want to feel like I've experienced and grown from my struggles
The hungry ones survive
The people who strive for what they want will succeed
The rest just fall behind
People who don't try will be left behind
The rest just wait to die
Those who don't strive for more just give up on life
I could have learned to deal with
I could have tried to accept and adapt to my situation
Kneeling down and living out my life
I could have given up and accepted mediocrity
Like I'm supposed to
Like some people expect me to
But it's too late now for that
But it feels like it's too late to make a change now
These eyes were circumcised from the design
I feel like my perspective has been limited or cut off from the norm
Wait, have I been ruined?
Am I too far gone to achieve what I want?
Well, such blinding faith could ruin us
Being overly optimistic could lead to disappointment and failure
And from now on I will not hide this fear
I'm going to face my fears and not keep them hidden anymore
(Ruin us)
The fear could be detrimental to my success
This evolving heart, from stage to stage
My heart and emotions are constantly changing and developing
Til nothing's left to learn
Until I feel like I've experienced everything I need to
Cheated and lied, the weakest ones subside
Those who are dishonest or let others take advantage of them will fail
They'll just get left behind
People who don't try will be left behind
They just can't wait to die, and neither can I
People who give up on life will waste their chance, and I refuse to let that happen
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: BOWEN, KASHER, NANSEL, OBERST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Old song. Old souls return. One last play...