Better Oblivion Community Center | |
|---|---|
 Conor Oberst (left) and Phoebe Bridgers (right), the two members of Better Oblivion Community Center | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. [1] |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2018–2020 |
| Labels | Dead Oceans |
| Past members | |
Better Oblivion Community Center was an American indie rock superduo consisting of musicians Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers. They released their self-titled debut album on January 24, 2019, through Dead Oceans. [2]
Oberst and Bridgers first met in July 2016, when she performed at a secret showcase he was hosting at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles. [1] A mutual friend of theirs was helping organize the event and told Oberst that he was Bridgers' favorite songwriter in LA at the time, so he invited her to play and was so impressed that he immediately asked her to send him the record she was working on. [3] She then opened for him on his European Ruminations tour in January 2017, [4] and they continued to collaborate consistently over the following two years. He brought her onstage to sing the Bright Eyes song "Lua" at WXPN's Xponential Music Festival that July, he sang on the duet "Would You Rather" from her debut Stranger in the Alps in September, they covered Sheryl Crow with Soccer Mommy at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in February 2018, and they worked together on a new version of his song "LAX" for Amazon Music in October, among numerous other joint appearances at each other's shows across the U.S. [5] [6] [7] [8]
The initial idea of forming the band apparently stemmed from Bridgers complimenting a cover Oberst had done of a Replacements song one night, and him replying that they should start a band and sound like the Replacements. [9] When they first started writing together, they hadn't planned on putting out a record, and they thought they might be writing for one of each other's solo efforts or for a third party. Bridgers has said that it's common for Oberst to dream up "fake bands", so she didn't know that he was being serious until they had written "like, five songs". [9] They mentioned that they wanted to create a separate project with its own name so that they could feel free to create a sound different than their individual solo acts. [3]
The duo released Better Oblivion Community Center on January 24, 2019, through Dead Oceans to generally positive reviews. [10] [11] [12] The album was teased with "cryptic brochures" and a phone hotline, but was released with only a day of official notice and featured no promotional singles beforehand, which Bridgers explains was an effort to avoid people "[making] assumptions about what the entire record sounds like", since the songs are each so different. [13] [14]
They performed "Dylan Thomas" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert the day before the album's release, and on January 26 appeared on CBS This Morning , where they performed "Dylan Thomas," "Didn't Know What I Was in For" and "My City." [15] [16] They also filmed a segment at the NPR Tiny Desk. [17]
On January 29, 2019, the band announced their expansive concert tour of the U.S. and Europe, along with releasing a music video for their single, "Dylan Thomas," directed by Michelle Zauner. [18]
Toward the end of their U.S. tour in April 2019, they released the single "Little Trouble," a song not featured on the album that had previously only been available as a 7-inch vinyl they had been selling at their shows. They also released a synth-pop version of their song "Sleepwalkin'" alongside it. [19] [20] The band played their final show to date on August 11, 2019, at The Independent in San Francisco, California. [21]
Both Bridgers and Oberst resumed their careers independent of one another in 2020, with the former releasing her second album Punisher and the latter reuniting with Bright Eyes to release their tenth album Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was . [22] [23] The pair briefly reunited during Bridgers' virtual concert in October 2020 for the Save Our Stages initiative, wherein they duetted on Bridgers' "Halloween" and sang "Dylan Thomas" together. [24] In August 2023, Bridgers performed a Better Oblivion song live for the first time since their 2019 tour when she sang "Chesapeake" with Christian Lee Hutson at a concert in Øya. [25]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Sales [26] | US Alt. [27] | US Folk [28] | US Heat [29] | US Indie [30] | US Rock [31] | BEL (FL) [32] | NLD [33] | UK [34] | UK Indie [35] | ||
| Better Oblivion Community Center |
| 23 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 41 | 20 | 117 | 76 | 4 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US AAA [36] | |||
| "Symposium Message" | 2019 | — | Non-album single |
| "Dylan Thomas" | 21 | Better Oblivion Community Center | |
| "Little Trouble" | — | Non-album single |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | AIM Awards | Best Independent Album | Better Oblivion Community Center | Nominated | [37] |
| 2020 | Libera Awards | Marketing Genius | Nominated | [38] |
Bright Eyes is an American indie rock band founded by singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst. It consists of Oberst, multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike Mogis, arranger, composer and trumpet and piano player Nate Walcott, and a rotating line-up of collaborators drawn primarily from Omaha's indie music scene. Between 1998 and 2011, the band's albums were released through Saddle Creek Records, a Nebraska-based label founded by Justin Oberst and Mogis. In January 2020, the band announced their return, having signed with Dead Oceans.
Conor Mullen Oberst is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, the Faint, Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Monsters of Folk, and Better Oblivion Community Center. Oberst was named the Best Songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine.
Maria Diane Taylor is an American singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a member of the duo Azure Ray with Orenda Fink. Taylor plays several instruments, including the guitar, drums, and piano and has collaborated or performed with such artists as Bright Eyes, Phoebe Bridgers, Moby, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Joshua Radin, and more.
Taylor Hollingsworth is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and artist from Birmingham, Alabama. Hollingsworth is also member of Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band and Dead Fingers, and has toured with Conor Oberst, Maria Taylor, The Dexateens, Monsieur Jeffrey Evans and his Southern Ace's and Verbena.
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning is the sixth studio album by American band Bright Eyes, released on January 25, 2005 by Saddle Creek Records.
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Christian Lee Hutson is an American singer, musician and songwriter. He began his career as a member of The Driftwood Singers, before signing to ANTI‐ as a solo artist in 2019. Hutson has since released two full-length albums: Beginners (2020) and Quitters (2022). Both records were co-produced by his friend and fellow musician, Phoebe Bridgers.
Julien Rose Baker is an American indie rock singer and guitarist. Her music is noted for its moody quality and confessional lyrical style, as well as frank explorations of topics including Christianity, addiction, mental illness, and human nature. She has received six Grammy Award nominations and three wins as a member of Boygenius.
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Better Oblivion Community Center is the only studio album by American indie rock duo Better Oblivion Community Center, composed of Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers. The album was released on January 24, 2019, through Dead Oceans.
Lillie Amadea West, known professionally as Lala Lala, is an indie rock musician and songwriter based in Chicago.
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