Bright eyes
Occasionally I come across a band I know I should like, but inexplicably don’t. And when that happens I desperately try and make it explicable.
Bright eyes are one such band.
I should like them because they play lo-fi folky American indie with rambling, cleverly rhyming lyrics, and sung by someone with a cracked, melodic though far from opera-standard voice. There are countless bands I love that share most or all of these qualities – Pavement
So why are Bright Eyes crap?
I only studied music until the age of 16 (though considered taking Music A-level, but was dissuaded by the reputation of the music teacher for being the musical equivalent of someone who’s read a lot but isn’t well-read, a reputation that was borne out the following Christmas when I listened to his choir deliver a stultifying performance of Gaudete Christus est natus to a load of pensioners who could probably have done without a further slowing of their heart-rates. (Incidentally, Youtube is full of godawful versions so maybe I was spoilt by the version my Dad had on tape when I was growing up. The version I linked to here may be a piss-take of monks with homoerotic overtones done by boys in hoodies, but the music they decided to have as the mime track is probably the best on youtube, and a damn site better than the bloody Mediaeval Baebes. Don’t people know it’s supposed to be an impassioned call and response?!))
But I digress. I only studied music briefly so can’t really analyse Bright Eyes in detail, and neither would I want to because, as I think I’ve already mentioned, they’re crap. But I think the main thing about them that annoys me is the lyrics. For instance:
So you nurse your love
Like a wounded dove
In the covered cage of night
Every star is crossed
By frenetic thoughts
That separate and then collide
And they twist like sheets
Till you fall asleep
And they finally unwind
It’s a black balloon
It’s a dream you’ll soon deny
“But what’s wrong with those?”, I hear you ask.
“Exactly!”, I respond, “Nothing!!!”. They’re flawless. The whole song is flawless. Every line throws a new, pertinent, and frequently unexpected image at you, and they all interconnect and build on each other perfectly. I wish I could still write lyrics as consistently good as that.
And that’s what’s wrong. It’s too consistent. It’s incessantly, blood-thiningly earnest. I feel like screaming at them “For God’s sake, please throw in a line that sounds deep but probably means nothing, so I can get away from this feeling of listening to overwhelmingly competent, sensible words. Or write something trashy and throwaway. But please, please stop trying to be taken so seriously!!!”
The music too has a similar feel. There’s very little risk taking. It’s lo-fi American indie by numbers. And it’s so good it’s crap.
As a footnote, their website also tells you what screen resolution it is best viewed at. Turgid.
My advice – have a listen to Pavement
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Tags: bright eyes, crap lyrics, crap music, gaudete christus latus, pavement