When the president talks to God
May 4, 2005 11:10 PM   Subscribe

When the president talks to God [8MB wmv, also mov] Are the conservations brief or long? Suprisingly blunt protest song (lyrics) performed by Bright Eyes last night on The Tonight Show. (The single is available as a free download from the iTunes Music Store.)
posted by kirkaracha (65 comments total)
 
kirkaracha posted "Are the conservations brief or long?"

Chances are, it doesn't involve any big words.
posted by clevershark at 11:11 PM on May 4, 2005


It's a stretch to call this a song. More like a diatribe set to music.

Is this at all effective?
posted by null terminated at 11:19 PM on May 4, 2005


Leno? Sucks.
Bush? Sucks.
Guy from Bright Eyes? Sucks.
posted by kickingtheground at 11:22 PM on May 4, 2005


Thanks kirkaracha.

null, the guy's singing to music. That's a song, no? "Effective"... huh? At what?
posted by dobbs at 11:29 PM on May 4, 2005


Well... I like it. Almost makes up for the concert I saw with him where I fell asleep (to be fair I went to it because I wanted to see Arab Strap who were his warm-up band. They were killer).

That being said, he seems to be buying into his "New Bob Dylan" hype. But really, it doesn't compare favorably with, say, Only a Pawn in Their Game.
posted by Kattullus at 11:32 PM on May 4, 2005


Conor got on a major TV show and played a song most bands wouldn't dare to. I applaud him having the balls to do so.
It's easy to snipe from the safety of your computer room. And while I'm not crazy about the whole "emo" thing, Oberst has been fairly consistant in his political view and has accomplished a lot more in music than a lot of guys twice his age.
Who cares if it was "effective"...I gained a lot of insight from political rock back in the 80's and hearing Bad Religion for the first time was a pivitol moment for me.
Music can inform...what is "Masters of War" but a diatribe set to music?
posted by black8 at 11:33 PM on May 4, 2005


dobbs:

If I say "I hate Bush, I hate Bush, I really hate bush" and play Mary Had a Little Lamb in the background, I wouldn't call that a song.

"Effective" as political commentary. You can agree with the sentiments, but it's a trite, poorly written song that won't change anyone's mind.
posted by null terminated at 11:36 PM on May 4, 2005


Actually I found it quite well written and generally aesthetically pleasing. And I think that kid's got brass balls, emo dork or no.

Good on him.
posted by stenseng at 11:44 PM on May 4, 2005


Thanks kirkaracha!

I know a bunch of people who will be happy with new mirrors (I emailed out the prefixmag one that subsequently died).

As for "diatribe?"/"effective?", it's interesting that you should pose such a question today...

Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drummin'.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio

-Crosby Stills Nash and Young

How effective are any of the protest songs that are still sung in remembrance today? I guess it's subjective...

All I know is that the song had an effect on me.
I'm going out to key a Hummer!
posted by numlok at 11:49 PM on May 4, 2005


If I say "I hate Bush, I hate Bush, I really hate bush" and play Mary Had a Little Lamb in the background, I wouldn't call that a song.

That's just a dumb comparison.

"Effective" as political commentary. You can agree with the sentiments, but it's a trite, poorly written song that won't change anyone's mind.

At this point, changing anyone's mind isn't a motivation to be "effective".
posted by bitpart at 11:54 PM on May 4, 2005


...also, as far as "changing anyone's mind", I don't think that's the only qualifier for seeing a song of this sort as "effective".

A good "kick-in-the-ass" rallying cry (for those already sided) can be effective in it's own right.
posted by numlok at 11:57 PM on May 4, 2005


Regardless of the quality of the song (which I happened to like, having a soft spot for folk music), I'm just amazed that this sort of political commentary was allowed on network television. I've become unused to that.
posted by cytherea at 12:12 AM on May 5, 2005


Man; I've been ambivalent about Bright Eyes (and I wouldn't call him Emo; it's more of a NMH pastiche, I think), and I've heard this song a couple of times, and liked it in general, since it appeals to my biases and it's a generally emotionally resonant sonic construction, nullterminated's opinion notwithstanding, but man, I never imagined that this kid, poised on the brink of big big record sales, would go on national TV and play it (though maybe that's the point, if I were to be cynical about the whole thing), thereby alienating and offending 51% (the most morally valuable 51%) of the record-buying public.... Brass balls is right.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:45 AM on May 5, 2005


Sounds like Conor's got a thing for Bob Dylan. Conor doesn't have the poetry, though.
I give him a lot of credit for doing that on such a major TV show.
I also give the Tonight Show a lot of credit for not pulling the plug on him.

On the other hand, we're really for want of protest music when Bright Eyes and Eminem have the two most exposed protest songs on the charts right now.

I miss Refused.
posted by Jon-o at 12:49 AM on May 5, 2005


I flipped the channel about 10 seconds into it. I liked it better when Conor was approximately eight years old and mostly only talked about how love sucked.
posted by BackwardsHatClub at 1:38 AM on May 5, 2005


Wow, the left finally has it's own Toby Keith. Maybe this guy will take his NBC money and hire a songwriter, or at least buy some Dylan CDs.
posted by acetonic at 2:57 AM on May 5, 2005


I also give the Tonight Show a lot of credit for not pulling the plug on him.

I was surprised, too -- only the liberal media (ie NBC, owned by the famously communistic General Electric corp.) could broadcast savage Christian-hating anti-American propaganda like that.
too bad that the song kinda sucks, but you can't have everything I guess
posted by matteo at 3:05 AM on May 5, 2005


I happened to flip through the beginning of the show when Leno mentioned it, and actually Tivoed it to see what he was talking about. I was really interested to hear some good new protest-type music.

That song? Interesting premise, but totally sophomoric. Not only did it not go anywhere melodically, but the lyrics were simple-minded and histrionic. (And this is from someone who really doesn't like Bush.)
posted by LairBob at 4:21 AM on May 5, 2005


Eh. I think the lyrics are great- not poetry, but rock lyrics never were poetry, and never will be. And I don't think it's sophomoric for Oberst to point out that Bush's value system and behavior contradict everything Jesus Christ stood for. And I mean, come on - protest poetry isn't always lyrical either.
posted by eustacescrubb at 4:47 AM on May 5, 2005


thereby alienating and offending 51% (the most morally valuable 51%)

well, isn't support for the war falling to 40%?

Isn't disapproval of the admin at an all-time high?

Aren't most of the record-buying public NOT old Birchers, likudniks, soccer moms, fundies, or libertarian asshats?
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 5:23 AM on May 5, 2005


Haha, eustacescrubb, did you just call Bright Eyes rock?
posted by thirteenkiller at 5:23 AM on May 5, 2005


No kidding, Jon-o. If folks had been listening to the Refused, then they'd know that capitalism is, indeed, organized crime.

Screw all the haters -- Bright Eyes is good. I wouldn't say I'm in love with everything he does, but Conor shows real ambition in the way he both writes and distributes his music, which is refreshing in this day and age.
posted by ph00dz at 5:53 AM on May 5, 2005


I'm surprised--Leno must have gotten over his Bush-lovin'.

The audience (more red state than Letterman and the Daily Show, i believe) could use something a little more pointed than Laura Bush or Arnold on the Tonight Show, no? Good for them.
posted by amberglow at 5:58 AM on May 5, 2005


I liked it.
And I feel sorry for any poor bastard that carries an acoustic guitar and attempts to project something other than commercial fluff because they're always compared to Dylan.
Dylan wrote some crap too remember.
posted by peacay at 6:13 AM on May 5, 2005


but rock lyrics never were poetry, and never will be.

In a similar vein disproving the non-poetic nature of rock poetry Devils and Dust from Springsteen


I got my finger on the trigger
But I don't know who to trust
When I look into your eyes
There's just devils and dust
We're a long, long way from home, Bobbie
Home's a long, long way from us
I feel a dirty wind blowing
Devils and dust

I got God on my side
I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a powerful thing
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
And fill it with devils and dust

Well I dreamed of you last night
In a field of blood and stone
The blood began to dry
The smell began to rise
Well I dreamed of you last night
In a field of mud and bone
Your blood began to dry
The smell began to rise

We've got God on our side
We're just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a powerful thing
It'll turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust

Now every woman and every man
They want to take a righteous stand
Find the love that God wills
And the faith that He commands
I've got my finger on the trigger
And tonight faith just ain't enough
When I look inside my heart
There's just devils and dust

Well I've got God on my side
And I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a dangerous thing
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust

It'll take your God filled soul

Fill it with devils and dust
posted by ElvisJesus at 6:21 AM on May 5, 2005


A good "kick-in-the-ass" rallying cry (for those already sided) can be effective in it's own right.
posted by numlok

right on! the time to wait on others to join in on this fight, is over. late comers are welcome but if you don't understand by now then i don't really care.

p.s. the song needs a little work (if not allot) bob dylan he is not.
posted by nola at 6:25 AM on May 5, 2005


I can't believe someone could actually make the comment that rock are never poetry. Is there some kind of freakin commission that owns the definition of poetry? If William Carlos Williams can write a monumental four line poem about a Red Wheelbarrow, than I posit most of Bono's early work is also poetry. Or at least it has the same impact on my soul - which is all that really matters.

not to derail or anything.
posted by spicynuts at 6:31 AM on May 5, 2005


for more reality: www.democracynow.org
posted by wheelieman at 6:33 AM on May 5, 2005


Nice black8,

MetaFilter: It's easy to snipe from the safety of your computer room
posted by AspectRatio at 6:50 AM on May 5, 2005



I'm surprised--Leno must have gotten over his Bush-lovin'.


Hey now, I don't think Leno is a huge bush lover. I do watch his show every once in a while and I think he made more fun of bush then Kerry.

Anyway, I certanly liked the song... Not everything has to "Change minds" you know, "histronics" feel good every once in a while.

As a bush hater, I enjoyed the song. Never cared for foulk music, though, so I'm not going to run out and buy the CD...
posted by delmoi at 7:19 AM on May 5, 2005


but rock lyrics never were poetry, and never will be

Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen would disagree with you I'm sure.... and that's just the first two off the top of my head - poetry and music compliment each other very well imho.

As for Conor - I think he's brill... seems to be a bit of an anti-war/Bush/Corporate thing going on in Rock Music. Good to see.
posted by twistedonion at 7:40 AM on May 5, 2005


In the same way that Matt Taibbi commented on the political ineffectiveness of mass protests (previously discussed on Metafilter but I can't find the thread in a search), the "protest song" is no longer the rallying cry that inflames the naive souls of the next generation into a "Hey, war is wrong!" passion and political action the way it did in the 1960's. Instead, protest songs have become stock genre pieces, a way for celebrities to glorify their own egos and proclaim their self-righteousness and political sentiments to the world. Nowadays it's about the singer, not the song. I personally attribute much of the problem to a combination of the hyper-glorification of celebrities in Western culture, the lack of actual political discourse in American media that leaves a vacuum that Bono and Bright Eyes and celebrity Prius drivers rush in to fill, and a sense of alienation and cynicism in media (which we should be cynical about!) consumers that inhibits real political action (witness the above Metafilter posts).

And that is sad to me, since I consider being moved to extremes of emotion by music that is spiritual, real, political, and from the heart and soul one of the highlights of my existence. But I don't look for that feeling from popular cultural offerings.
posted by Sidthecat at 7:42 AM on May 5, 2005


Good to see someone who goes out on a limb for something they believe in. Few people do.
posted by lorbus at 8:20 AM on May 5, 2005


...the "protest song" is no longer the rallying cry that inflames the naive souls of the next generation into a "Hey, war is wrong!" passion and political action the way it did in the 1960's.

You mean the TV & movie 60s, I assume. Because "protest song" wasn't exactly a rallying cry then, either. The songs played in so many soundtracks since may seem so iconic but they were not always such apparent zeitgeist epitomes when they were new to the ears of my peers and I. Others were recognized abominations from the start: Eve of Destruction ? C'mon.

Note that Dylan disavowed protest songs early on, and for more than one good reason--heard the latest Country Joe album ? Me neither.
posted by y2karl at 8:59 AM on May 5, 2005


Bright Eyes: genius
This song: awesome
Bob Dylan: old and irrelevant
This discussion: lame

Need I mention that this song isn't on any of his albums, only iTunes. It's a B-side, I don't think it's meant to represent his whole "ouevre" any more than Dylan's protest songs. But let's face it - this one hits home better than Public Enemy or Rage Against the Machine ever have.

Another great anti-folkie who writes occasional great protest songs? Kimya Dawson, ex of the Moldy Peaches. Check the MP3 section for anti-Bush goodness.
posted by fungible at 9:13 AM on May 5, 2005


Props to the guy for having the balls to go on national TV and do this song.

Unprops to the guy for writing such a trite and unbearably awful song.

So Conor breaks even.
posted by xmutex at 10:11 AM on May 5, 2005


and fungible: You should have all of your music listening rights permanently revoked for suggesting that Bright Fucking Eyes hits home more than Public Enemy ever has.
posted by xmutex at 10:12 AM on May 5, 2005


The song's just OK to me, but I thought it was really interesting that it was on Jay Leno's show, which is pretty mainstream, as amberglow mentioned.

When Walter Cronkite said after the Tet Offensive that he thought the Vietnam War was unwinnable, President Johnson reportedly said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America."

In their bitchy Turn Around, Bright Eyes, SF Weekly disparages the "emo-indie mewling " of "Omaha's finest indie love-muffin."
posted by kirkaracha at 10:24 AM on May 5, 2005


Good point y2karl. I guess I was hearkening back to my own naive days way back in the early 90's when I first heard 60s protest music and felt the "f*** the government" feeling run through my veins for the first time.

And I agree Kimya Dawson is a great singer/songwriter. I saw her open for the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players several years ago and she was my favorite part of the show.
posted by Sidthecat at 10:25 AM on May 5, 2005


Ha. From that SFGate article:

That whine of his makes it near impossible to listen to his lyrics, which occasionally are profound enough to be scrawled in high school yearbooks.
posted by xmutex at 10:33 AM on May 5, 2005


Now "Mary had a Little Lamb" - THAT was effective.
posted by iamck at 10:37 AM on May 5, 2005


Yes, rock lyrics are not poetry. They have similarities, and saying one is not the other in no wise demeans either.

And yes, Bright Eyes is "rock" music. I don't buy into all that "alternative-goth-industrial-metal-altcountry" business - it's all just rock and roll.
posted by eustacescrubb at 11:06 AM on May 5, 2005


xmutex: come and get it baby. Public Enemy was protest rap for white people. Conor inspires such hate, it's proof he's that good. Fuck SFGate.
posted by fungible at 11:07 AM on May 5, 2005


The song rocks, but then there are lots of people who don't like Bright Eyes as much as I do. In any case, thank god someone is on the fucking TV with the opinion that George is spouting bullshit. Must Jon Stewart do all the work?
posted by about_time at 11:15 AM on May 5, 2005


Oh wait now I RTFA - it's SF Weekly not SF Gate, first of all. And it's a positive review. So don't fuck them.

I'll admit Bright Eyes isn't for everyone, especially people who can't stand honesty or blunt emotion. It ain't party music. But he's a welcome relief, for me, in a world that prizes irony and detached apathy. Anyone who can listen to "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" and not be moved is a soulless jerk, AFAIC.
posted by fungible at 11:15 AM on May 5, 2005


Good for him. I'm not a huge fan of Bright Eyes' music (way too into metal) but I definitely respect him as an artist and musician, and I think it's awesome that he took such a blunt, polarizing song to such a public outlet.

In the spirit, and because Jon-o knows what he's talking about, I present...

We lack the motion to move to the new beat

It's here for us to admire if we can afford the beauty of it
Can afford the luxury of turning our heads
Adjust that thousand dollars smile and behold the creation of man
Great words won't cover ugly actions - good frames won't save bad paintings

We lack the motion to move to the new beat. Yeah!
We lack... motion
When the day is over - Hey! - the doors are locked on us
Money buys the access - and we can't pay the cost
And how can we expect anyone to listen if we are using the same old voice?
We need new noise - new art for the real people

We dance to all the wrong songs
We enjoy all the wrong moves
We dance to all the wrong songs
We're not leading

The new beat...

/Refused are fuckin' dead
posted by baphomet at 11:41 AM on May 5, 2005


This is a good song, I'm glad to have seen it and I'm glad it went on Leno.
But Bright Eyes, overall, is for pretentious twats with trembling lips, and It Takes a Nation of Millions kicks more ass than, say, Hold Your Ear to the Ground...
I don't have any problem with honesty or emotion. I do have a problem with jerkoffs and their precious feelings. Oh, and Moldy Peaches and Kimya Dawson both blow.
You can now return to your mincing and whining.
posted by klangklangston at 12:06 PM on May 5, 2005


Klangklangston = Zach de la Rocha

Kidding...but I guess where we differ in musical taste is that I don't consider a song good only if it "kicks ass." Volume does not equal sincerity.
posted by fungible at 12:18 PM on May 5, 2005


Wow, that was painful.

I think what made it so painful is manifold:

1. The awkward girlie hooting from the audience at the end of each verse.
2. The painfully pretentious ironic-Nashville ensemble ended up making him look more like Jack White than Johnny Cash.
3. He's not all that innovative a guitarist.
4. Or lyricist.

It's not all that amazing that it was on Leno either. For one thing, by the time Bright Eyes (oh, and that's also painful; that sad, emo-boi name) played his song it was after midnight. The Crue played Leno before midnight and said fuck on the air. As for the political bombast -- c'mon. Some kids it'll get their blood up, good. The folks Bright Eyes would really like to tweak are either in bed (per his own wife's admission at the press dinner the other night) or will just smile and nod at yet another young'uns angsty attempts at expression. I'm a bleeding liberal whinger myself and even I was like "shut up!"

On preview: "It Takes a Nation of Millions" woke me up politically and rocked my ass at the same time. And I'm a white girl from the suburbs. And years later "It Takes a Nation of Millions" still speaks to me and rocks my ass. Good protest music does both. This, not so much.
posted by macadamiaranch at 12:22 PM on May 5, 2005


Excellent. I like Bright Eyes too, and my lips are are firm as my ass.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:25 PM on May 5, 2005


Whatever. Bright Eyes is an acquired taste, yes, and when Oberst sucks, he really really sucks. But there's a fuckload of genius there.

So thank you friends for the time we shared
hope it stays with you like sunlight and air
i truly wish i could keep hanging around here
but my joy is covering me
soon i will disappear

posted by Tlogmer at 12:33 PM on May 5, 2005


Keep in mind, if you watch the clip, Leno doesn't exactly seem enthused about the performance... He barely acknowledges the kid at the show close... I wonder if they could've somehow pulled the wool on the lyrical content to get the song on the show... speculation, but Leno doesn't seem pleased in the clip.
posted by stenseng at 1:29 PM on May 5, 2005


On seeing the link, I thought, 'oh boy, this will be fun.' I imagined this thread would be nothing but a big pile of "omg he's so bad." I assumed the song would be very Bright Eyes, and totally out of reach from anyone who wasn't familiar with his stuff already.
But I think it was good. I was very impressed. Cool.

I don't buy into all that "alternative-goth-industrial-metal-altcountry" business - it's all just rock and roll.
What?? What do, I don't know, Starfuckers Inc. by Nine Inch Nails and this little thing by Conor Oberst have in common at all?
posted by blacklite at 1:30 PM on May 5, 2005


Fungible=Liberace. Because, obviously, if kicking ass has nothing to do with pop music, you must be a sequined piano act.
Kidding. But I think where you and I differ is that I don't take sincerity to equal quality. Someone can suck sincerely, which Oberest proves in spades.
posted by klangklangston at 3:13 PM on May 5, 2005


You people comparing him to Dylan (or a poor version of Dylan)... critics have been saying that about him for... oh, eight years now. *Yawn.* Can you not come up with a better way of dismissing him?

Also, songs like Perfect Sonnet, Waste of Paint, or Lua clearly show that he's a better songwriter than 90% of the songwriters of the last 30 years. He is head and shoulders above anyone else in his generation.

And not an innovative guitarist? Give me a fucking break. I think it was Woody Guthrie who said if you play more than 3 chords you're showing off. Dust off your Yngwie and cry in your beer.
posted by dobbs at 3:17 PM on May 5, 2005


blacklite: They are both goddamned tedious to endure?
posted by xmutex at 3:47 PM on May 5, 2005


the "protest song" is no longer the rallying cry that inflames the naive souls of the next generation into a "Hey, war is wrong!" passion and political action the way it did in the 1960's.

"The Folk Song Army"
Tom Lehrer, 1965

We are the Folk Song Army
Everyone of us cares
We all hate poverty, war and injustice
Unlike the rest of you squares

There are innocuous folk songs
Yeah, but we regard 'em with scorn
The folks who sing 'em have no social conscience
Why they don't even care if Jimmy crack corn

If you feel dissatisfaction
Strum your frustrations away
Some people may prefer action
But give me a folk song any old day

The tune doesn't have to be clever
And it don't matter if you put a couple extra syllables into a line
It sounds more ethnic if it ain't good English
And it don't even gotta rhyme - excuse me - rhyne

Remember the war against Franco
That's the kind where each of us belongs
Though he may have won all the battles
We had all the good songs

So join in the Folk Song Army
Guitars are the weapons we bring
To the fight against poverty, war, and injustice
Ready, aim, sing


I know I never cared if Jimmy cracked corn.
At least that was one less Tonight Show music segment given to an Ashlee Lipsync.
posted by wendell at 4:07 PM on May 5, 2005


Oh, and I just watched the clip. That hat! What an asshole.
posted by xmutex at 4:12 PM on May 5, 2005


Those of you who think Leno was less than pleased with the performance might be interested to read his pre-election interview with LA Weekly.

An excerpt:

Q: But surely “Jaywalking” [Leno’s man-in-the-street segment] shows you what morons Americans are.

A: You get the government you deserve.
posted by sellout at 5:03 PM on May 5, 2005


What?? What do, I don't know, Starfuckers Inc. by Nine Inch Nails and this little thing by Conor Oberst have in common at all?

Well, I don't have any NIN after The Downward Spiral, so I can't compare those two, but Bright Eyes and NIN in general are both influenced by punk, both tend to write songs in 4/4 time with emphasis on the back beat, both tend, most of the time, toward writing lyrics about dysnfunctional relationships, throwing the occasional political/social commentary in.

Oh, and someone above said old Bono lyrics were poetry. So this below is poetry:

I know a girl
a girl called Party
Party Girl
I know she wants more than a party
Party Girl
And she won't tell me her name
oh no, not me

do doo do do do doo
doo do do do
do doo do do do doo
doo do do do


Party Girl is a great rock song, but its lyrics make for lousy poetry.
posted by eustacescrubb at 5:31 PM on May 5, 2005


I think Leno's self image is that of being left of center. However, I also think he's made a quite successful career out of being in lockstep with his perception of mainstream acceptability. I think he's very much afraid to rock the boat, and I think you can see that discomfort on his face in the clip.

Now pass the doritos.
posted by stenseng at 6:28 PM on May 5, 2005


I can't believe some of you people.

That's one of the greatest songs of our day and a genuinely brave performance.

Bush is a lying SOB war criminal, and by extension, so is everyone who supports him.

"How Does It Feel?"
posted by rougy at 8:58 PM on May 5, 2005


The folks Bright Eyes would really like to tweak are either in bed (per his own wife's admission at the press dinner the other night) or will just smile and nod at yet another young'uns angsty attempts at expression.

Thanks to you and some of that old tyme Internet hysteria, this is now no longer the case.

I fucking hate TV and would have never heard of nor cared for Bright Eyes were it not for all the Internet "hype" -- or shall I say reading and viewing what people put on it. I did think the song sucked, but enjoyed it nonetheless. I am a partisan who believes that the phenomena of the cult of W is destroying everything. Anything in the effort of getting this knowledge out is beneficial in my book.
posted by crasspastor at 2:35 AM on May 7, 2005


eustacescrubb, okay. They are both in 4/4. They may both be influenced by punk. You think Bright Eyes focuses on the back beat, though? I don't know. Maybe.
And I can't say that I like any of Trent's dysfunctional-relationship songs. But, in any case, point taken, I suppose. I never really sat and listened to see what was really going on in something as electronic as Starfuckers, Inc. I suppose when you really break it down it is relatively conventional. Oh well.

Anyway, if anyone ever reads this again: at the end of his performance, Conor says something: "fil mishmish", which is Arabic, and means literally something like "when the apricots bloom", which is a colloquialism that generally means "when hell freezes over" or "don't hold your breath" or "not in your fucking lifetime". There is a website somewhere that suggests using it when a merchant is trying to fuck you over with a horrible deal because you're a foreigner. fil mishmish.

It's interesting how Arabic could be interpreted (and is occasionally treated) as a serious antiauthoritarian symbol these days.
posted by blacklite at 1:53 AM on May 8, 2005


blacklite- listen to Digital Ash In a Digital Urnand you'll find that Bright Eyes are ingfluenced a bit by NIN. Some of the carefully constructed beats remind me of old Trent a little.
posted by eustacescrubb at 8:56 PM on May 10, 2005


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