LOVE HIM

I don't know where I'd be without Conor Oberst. Well, probably a lot happier.

Seriously, though. This is the guy who defined my high school experience: the sting of rejection, the angst of first love, the-well, really just stings and angst in general. No matter how bad it got, Bright Eyes always made it seem that much worse.

But this isn't about me. It's about Conor. (Given how many times he's bared his soul via my iPod, I think we're on a first-name basis.) OK, so he's not the only singer-songwriter to make people feel really shitty, but he's certainly one of the best. His lyrics are complex, evocative and generally more creative than he's given credit for. Frankly, I have a hard time believing anyone's that miserable, but Conor sells it well.

Yeah, they haven't always been so solid. Older classics like "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh" are, admittedly, kind of ridiculous. (Side note: Still worth cranking after a nasty break-up.) But Conor has matured, and each Bright Eyes album offers a notable progression from the last.

And then there's that unique sound, a point of contention for many. "I could have been a famous singer, if I had someone else's voice," he laments in "Road to Joy." Funny, it seems as though his own has worked out pretty well for him. Sometimes it comes across as strained and shaky-honestly, it can take some getting used to. But that's part of Conor's appeal, and his music wouldn't be the same without it.

I'll admit, I'm a bit turned-off by the solo album. I mean, isn't Bright Eyes already all about Conor? But then I listen to "Lenders in the Temple," my favorite on the album, and I'm instantly appeased. Not to mention depressed.

-Louis Peitzman

HATE HIM

I hate, hate, hate Conor Oberst. Hate. Why such a vehement hate, you ask? I have my reasons. I'll admit, part of why I hate him isn't completely his fault, this reason being many a critic a few years ago comparing him to the second coming of Bob Dylan. This has irked me to no end.

I have many friends who quite enjoy his band Bright Eyes, so a few years ago I acquired and listened to all of his albums-up through Digital Ash In A Digital Urn. After that I promptly deleted them all from my computer. I think I found maybe one song I liked.

So what specifically do I hate about his music? Let's start with his song titles. Now, I am a fan of a long song title, a la Sufjan Stevens, but there's something annoyingly trite about Oberst's. My least favorite, in fact, I used as the name of a Facebook group I created a few summers ago dedicated to my hate of Conor Oberst. Yes, I have a group dedicated to hating Conor Oberst on Facebook. My hate is that strong. "A Tragic Retelling of An Unfortunate Seduction, Or Why I Hate Conor Oberst." Check it out.

I have no objection to the subject matter that many of his songs cover. I mean, I'd put him in the same category as Pete Yorn or Dashboard Confessional. (Although Pete Yorn only has one good album. That, my friends, is a whole other story.) And I love both of them.

The problem is his voice. I don't care how insightful your lyrics are, I can't stand listening to you if you sound like a goat that often sings barely louder than a whisper.

I'm sure I could come up with many, many more reasons for hating Conor Oberst. Positive, actually, but I'll leave you with these three for now.

-Marya Gates

Tags: THUMB WARS