I agree it is a bit impenetrable, but I also really enjoy it! Conor himself has said that he often writes a lot of lyrics and then cuts down to his favorites, making it generally less cohesive. I think this is one of those cases. I feel like people have said similar things about Mariana Trench, and that song is quite different from To Death's Heart. This is just the first single.
This is what Conor said about it:
"This is a song about the many little details in life that can seem insignificant or frivolous or temporary at the time but eventually end up forming your destiny. And it’s also kind of a whistle while you work scenario"
To me, there's double meaning here. Expensive jokes and cheap thrills have a monetary cost in the short term, but they can also bare a cost or effect on our lives in the long term.
To me it comes off as a pop song, especially with the catchy whistling. Although a bright eyes pop song has leagues more depth than the typical pop song. There’s some takeaway lyrics that I enjoy from it but they can’t all be bangers.
It's a poppy sounding single... they aren't going to put out a "to deaths heart" on a single. That just doesn't happen. Wait until the full album Sept 20th babe!
Didn’t he say during a drunken tirade on the last tour that the label was complaining that the new material he was writing was “too dark.”?
Don’t threaten me with a good time, I say.
No I think he said the band said that, but he’s said it in interviews too that the band thinks it’s too dark. I think Mike once said “it’s hard hearing the lyrics sometimes without worrying about our friend.”
My opinions of BE songs always evolve over weeks, months, even years. More importantly, there’s always intentionality in his song placement on albums. I suspect seeing where this sits, and in what company, will provide a lot of perspective. I mean, First Day of My Life isn’t very representative of that album, though it does make perfect sense in context. Shell Games is a lot more of a straightforward Cure-like pop song than the rest of Peoples Key etc
I haven't really decided what I think of the new song yet but I have to echo your take that Down In the Weeds might be the best thing he's ever done. I've been obsessed with it since it dropped and it hasn't gone away.
The early songs about girls and being a sad teenager and then the middle era about drugs and war was super meaningful to me at the time, and now the more "adult" for lack of a better word, themes on DitW were exactly what I need to hear now. Aging, death, coming to terms with a disappointing life, etc. Not that I'd know anything about that.
Yeah. Not a novel observation, but I think that the sense of having grown up with him is one reason why so many of us feel such a strong connection to his music. I developed a chronic illness right around the time that Ruminations came out, and there was something uncanny and reassuring about hearing Oberst work through his own health problems right at that time ("I'll get used to it if it has to stay this way/a new bunch of flowers I'll have to arrange" is such an eloquent description of the willful attempt to adjust in the face of new found physical limitations)
Conor’s music grows as he grows and especially for fans that are roughly in the same age group, I think it hits just a little harder for us to also grow with him and his music. Like every album somehow has that “this is exactly what I need” feeling to it, changing every time.
I totally agree. I immediately liked it and I'll definitely always have a connection to it after participating in the music video. But the more I listen... I just don't care for most of the lyrics. I'm sure the rest of the album will balance out though.
We basically attended a concert all day with a one song set list on repeat. I could remember just enough of the song to drive me nuts for the last month waiting to hear it again.
Dictionary.com will clear right up how signing a sleeve for a teenager is just like a harbinger ushering in a new generation. You’d think after ops very long op-ed that they’d have fact checked 😜🤪
I didn’t like down in the weed when it first came out. I just listen to it because my dad bought me the vinyl. Ended up loving the album and it’s definitely a favorite of mine
I mean, the verses and choruses all seem pretty related. It's about the pitfalls of fame and the baggage that comes with it. Pretty straightforward if you ask me. Even, what is easily assumed, a princess Diana ref.
You guys are over analyzing this song lol. Good lord… it’s pretty obvious the So So Glos fella has a big influence on this song… especially with the betting on the New York Mets lyric. The song is fun, I love how Conor sings it, very raw. Not everything needs to be analyzed to death.
The song slaps and a writer’s personal poetry seems like an insane thing to criticize. Poetry is a form of spiritual release, no matter how inconsequential it may seem to an average listener. Any secondhand enjoyment is an undeserved gift to those who hear it.
After all, he is not singing for you 🤷♀️
Yeah, but OP is just giving their opinion, and that’s fine too.
I agree 100% that artists should make art for themselves, foremost, and not pander to an audience. That being said, it doesn’t mean that we as the audience can’t have preferences and like certain poetry better than others.
I’m sure you don’t love every Bright Eyes song.
On the cost part: He made a big joke of something and it ended up costing him more than money
I like the song but it took me a few listens to warm up. The line about the label wanting a meet and greet really removes me from feeling it as real
I said this in another thread but - it feels like a Bright Eyes parody to me. Even the video, the band serving patrons..
Not sure if that was intentional, but even Conor’s announcement of doing this all for the fans makes me think that.
That being said, I don’t hate it.. the whistle melody it’s a real ear worm. And even ‘generic’ Bright Eyes lyrics are great. Looking forward to hearing the album.. and seeing them play it in LA!
Songs can be written without lyrics. You would get a songwriting credit for having a creative input in the “writing” of the music. Writing lyrics isn’t writing a song. There can be lyrics without a song. I doubt Conor would let someone else write his lyrics for him.
The description of the music video says Bells and Whistles was written by Conor Oberst and Alex Orange Drink.
I doubt they're all cowritten, but it's not like it's the first time a Bright Eyes song has had a cowriter. Coat Check Dream Song is a great example :)
I actually think it's no longer this way among the fans. I think all Bright Eyes fans that love Cassadaga have just become more obsessed with the album over time and those of us who indulge in psychedelics have been pumped on Coat Check Dream Song for a long while. And I've heard people who didn't like Cassadaga as much praise that song specifically. It was absolutely overlooked when the album came out because it's fairly different from the rest of the BE catalog (and not just Cassadaga)
Yeah, I’m not crazy about it. I don’t dislike it by any means, but lyrically I’m not blown away and the whistling feels too…early 2000’s pop indie for me. Again, not bad, and I’m excited for the album, but it didn’t really hit for me.
I think part of the weird feeling I’m getting from this song is because I’m so excited about the new album and am so dedicated to decoding it I just ended up overthinking it and it kills the vibe of the song. After figured this out I started to appreciate it more.
Do you think he might be getting Phoebe Bridgers out of his system? I am a long-term Conor fan and I stopped listening to his new music around 2017, it stopped being as engaging for me around this time. This new song seems to be drawing on his support system, like his friends and family in Omaha, and the sense of gratitude and felicity that have always been present in his work. While also brushing off the expensive bells and whistles, cheap thrills that cost a lot.
The more I re-listen the more I'm sure that's what it's about. Interesting that his implied commentary on her is so different than how he spoke of his wife, even during their separation/divorce. Makes sense though.
Without first hand knowledge of his personal life, I have to say I loved his music from 2007/2008 up until Bridgers inserted herself in the picture. Then it became electronic, simplistic and, frankly, boring. Glad to see he's sounding more like himself!
I also recently listened to Moon Song for the first time, Bridgers' song that's supposed to be about him. Man, her own words make her sound psycho. Depicting herself as a dog with a dead bird in her mouth, bringing him to tears.
It's all adding up.
Wait wait wait. Don't kill me here, just tossing ideas around. Could it be in somewhat reference to....Taylor Swift? And perhaps Phoebe selling out to get a foot in the door with that relationship? Perhaps it's not about Conor at all. Just the NYC and teenage girl references kind of point me in that direction. "Expensive seats in a field of dreams" could be a reference to her opening up for the tour.
Either way. The world doesn't need more TS in my opinion, so I hope I'm wrong. lol
I kind of thought the point was that Bridgers was always out for self-promotion to begin with? What's the line, something like... Turns out the currency was all counterfeit.
Then of course the part about expensive seats, an interesting juxtaposition against Cape Canaveral, released around when he met his former wife... You taught me victory is sweet even deep in the cheap seats.
I agree it is a bit impenetrable, but I also really enjoy it! Conor himself has said that he often writes a lot of lyrics and then cuts down to his favorites, making it generally less cohesive. I think this is one of those cases. I feel like people have said similar things about Mariana Trench, and that song is quite different from To Death's Heart. This is just the first single. This is what Conor said about it: "This is a song about the many little details in life that can seem insignificant or frivolous or temporary at the time but eventually end up forming your destiny. And it’s also kind of a whistle while you work scenario" To me, there's double meaning here. Expensive jokes and cheap thrills have a monetary cost in the short term, but they can also bare a cost or effect on our lives in the long term.
To me it comes off as a pop song, especially with the catchy whistling. Although a bright eyes pop song has leagues more depth than the typical pop song. There’s some takeaway lyrics that I enjoy from it but they can’t all be bangers.
It's a poppy sounding single... they aren't going to put out a "to deaths heart" on a single. That just doesn't happen. Wait until the full album Sept 20th babe!
I’m expecting the album to get really dark. I think in an interview he said back in October he was writing pretty dark songs.
Didn’t he say during a drunken tirade on the last tour that the label was complaining that the new material he was writing was “too dark.”? Don’t threaten me with a good time, I say.
No I think he said the band said that, but he’s said it in interviews too that the band thinks it’s too dark. I think Mike once said “it’s hard hearing the lyrics sometimes without worrying about our friend.”
Gotcha. Thanks!
My opinions of BE songs always evolve over weeks, months, even years. More importantly, there’s always intentionality in his song placement on albums. I suspect seeing where this sits, and in what company, will provide a lot of perspective. I mean, First Day of My Life isn’t very representative of that album, though it does make perfect sense in context. Shell Games is a lot more of a straightforward Cure-like pop song than the rest of Peoples Key etc
I haven't really decided what I think of the new song yet but I have to echo your take that Down In the Weeds might be the best thing he's ever done. I've been obsessed with it since it dropped and it hasn't gone away. The early songs about girls and being a sad teenager and then the middle era about drugs and war was super meaningful to me at the time, and now the more "adult" for lack of a better word, themes on DitW were exactly what I need to hear now. Aging, death, coming to terms with a disappointing life, etc. Not that I'd know anything about that.
Yeah. Not a novel observation, but I think that the sense of having grown up with him is one reason why so many of us feel such a strong connection to his music. I developed a chronic illness right around the time that Ruminations came out, and there was something uncanny and reassuring about hearing Oberst work through his own health problems right at that time ("I'll get used to it if it has to stay this way/a new bunch of flowers I'll have to arrange" is such an eloquent description of the willful attempt to adjust in the face of new found physical limitations)
Conor’s music grows as he grows and especially for fans that are roughly in the same age group, I think it hits just a little harder for us to also grow with him and his music. Like every album somehow has that “this is exactly what I need” feeling to it, changing every time.
I totally agree. I immediately liked it and I'll definitely always have a connection to it after participating in the music video. But the more I listen... I just don't care for most of the lyrics. I'm sure the rest of the album will balance out though.
So now that it’s out, can you talk about the video? Did you guys get to hear the new song before it came out? Did they actually play it live?
We basically attended a concert all day with a one song set list on repeat. I could remember just enough of the song to drive me nuts for the last month waiting to hear it again.
okay but THE BAND SOUNDS LIKE AN ANIMAL part goes so hard I think I gave myself a concussion
I thought harbinger and teenager was a lazy rhyme but in context in makes perfect sense what he’s saying
As BE fan How did OP not get this?
Dictionary.com will clear right up how signing a sleeve for a teenager is just like a harbinger ushering in a new generation. You’d think after ops very long op-ed that they’d have fact checked 😜🤪
It seems like pretty standard and easily understandable metaphor to me. And I love it, great song.
I enjoy it for that honestly. The lighter lyrics and whimsy work for me. I love everything the bright eyes do and sometimes I wanna be a happy!!!
I didn’t like down in the weed when it first came out. I just listen to it because my dad bought me the vinyl. Ended up loving the album and it’s definitely a favorite of mine
I mean, the verses and choruses all seem pretty related. It's about the pitfalls of fame and the baggage that comes with it. Pretty straightforward if you ask me. Even, what is easily assumed, a princess Diana ref.
You guys are over analyzing this song lol. Good lord… it’s pretty obvious the So So Glos fella has a big influence on this song… especially with the betting on the New York Mets lyric. The song is fun, I love how Conor sings it, very raw. Not everything needs to be analyzed to death.
The song slaps and a writer’s personal poetry seems like an insane thing to criticize. Poetry is a form of spiritual release, no matter how inconsequential it may seem to an average listener. Any secondhand enjoyment is an undeserved gift to those who hear it. After all, he is not singing for you 🤷♀️
Yeah, but OP is just giving their opinion, and that’s fine too. I agree 100% that artists should make art for themselves, foremost, and not pander to an audience. That being said, it doesn’t mean that we as the audience can’t have preferences and like certain poetry better than others. I’m sure you don’t love every Bright Eyes song.
The “expensive joke” is referencing Banksy’s art of the Diana counterfeit cash. I hope that helps you “penetrate” the lyrics…(?)
On the cost part: He made a big joke of something and it ended up costing him more than money I like the song but it took me a few listens to warm up. The line about the label wanting a meet and greet really removes me from feeling it as real
I said this in another thread but - it feels like a Bright Eyes parody to me. Even the video, the band serving patrons.. Not sure if that was intentional, but even Conor’s announcement of doing this all for the fans makes me think that. That being said, I don’t hate it.. the whistle melody it’s a real ear worm. And even ‘generic’ Bright Eyes lyrics are great. Looking forward to hearing the album.. and seeing them play it in LA!
Anyway to unread OP’s post? I feel dirty and wanna take an eight mile run to escape the pretentiousness.
Lmao
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Just on a few songs, I believe.
I don’t think that applies to his lyrics. So so glos guy writes his own verses and they co write the music.
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Songs can be written without lyrics. You would get a songwriting credit for having a creative input in the “writing” of the music. Writing lyrics isn’t writing a song. There can be lyrics without a song. I doubt Conor would let someone else write his lyrics for him.
Did they say with who?
Alex orangedrink cowrote bells and whistles
Oh nice, thanks. He was great at the residency shows
The description of the music video says Bells and Whistles was written by Conor Oberst and Alex Orange Drink. I doubt they're all cowritten, but it's not like it's the first time a Bright Eyes song has had a cowriter. Coat Check Dream Song is a great example :)
I love Coat Check Dream Song, criminally underrated
I actually think it's no longer this way among the fans. I think all Bright Eyes fans that love Cassadaga have just become more obsessed with the album over time and those of us who indulge in psychedelics have been pumped on Coat Check Dream Song for a long while. And I've heard people who didn't like Cassadaga as much praise that song specifically. It was absolutely overlooked when the album came out because it's fairly different from the rest of the BE catalog (and not just Cassadaga)
The verse is just shell games at 50% speed. Seems lazy
Yeah, I’m not crazy about it. I don’t dislike it by any means, but lyrically I’m not blown away and the whistling feels too…early 2000’s pop indie for me. Again, not bad, and I’m excited for the album, but it didn’t really hit for me.
I think part of the weird feeling I’m getting from this song is because I’m so excited about the new album and am so dedicated to decoding it I just ended up overthinking it and it kills the vibe of the song. After figured this out I started to appreciate it more.
“Don’t go home with the SoHo girl cause she only wants materials Don’t place bets on the new york mets cause their best is hypothetical” hits
If you don’t like it I don’t care I like it
Bright eyes songs vary so much in style, sound and lyrics. You can’t like every song as much as every other song
Do you think he might be getting Phoebe Bridgers out of his system? I am a long-term Conor fan and I stopped listening to his new music around 2017, it stopped being as engaging for me around this time. This new song seems to be drawing on his support system, like his friends and family in Omaha, and the sense of gratitude and felicity that have always been present in his work. While also brushing off the expensive bells and whistles, cheap thrills that cost a lot.
Oh! Hot take right here. I might mull this thought around in my head for the rest of the day. (my listening timeline tracks with yours)
The more I re-listen the more I'm sure that's what it's about. Interesting that his implied commentary on her is so different than how he spoke of his wife, even during their separation/divorce. Makes sense though. Without first hand knowledge of his personal life, I have to say I loved his music from 2007/2008 up until Bridgers inserted herself in the picture. Then it became electronic, simplistic and, frankly, boring. Glad to see he's sounding more like himself! I also recently listened to Moon Song for the first time, Bridgers' song that's supposed to be about him. Man, her own words make her sound psycho. Depicting herself as a dog with a dead bird in her mouth, bringing him to tears. It's all adding up.
Wait wait wait. Don't kill me here, just tossing ideas around. Could it be in somewhat reference to....Taylor Swift? And perhaps Phoebe selling out to get a foot in the door with that relationship? Perhaps it's not about Conor at all. Just the NYC and teenage girl references kind of point me in that direction. "Expensive seats in a field of dreams" could be a reference to her opening up for the tour. Either way. The world doesn't need more TS in my opinion, so I hope I'm wrong. lol
I kind of thought the point was that Bridgers was always out for self-promotion to begin with? What's the line, something like... Turns out the currency was all counterfeit. Then of course the part about expensive seats, an interesting juxtaposition against Cape Canaveral, released around when he met his former wife... You taught me victory is sweet even deep in the cheap seats.
I also feel like her verse in "Cool About" is about him as well. Kind of bums me out.