Soundtrack of Your Life is an occasional feature in which we mark the songs of our relative youth as played over public muzak systems.
Wow, it's been more than 20 years since Bright Eyes released "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning," a brilliant album that was perhaps his most Dylanesque, Emmylou Harris and all.
On Saturday, after a quick round of door-knocking in the morning, it was off to the gym, but first to the Gap, coupon in hand, hoping to score a deal on some jeans. As I walked through an alley-way to the main part of the outdoor mall in Uptown, I could hear the loud music that plays from speakers all around the stores and parking lot.
I was greeted by Conor Oberst's "We Are Nowhere and It's Now," a sluggish waltz that captures the antsy ennui with which he greeted the millennium. (Why 2K?) Oberst, a wunderkind when he founded Bright Eyes, was as morose as they come then, with a facility for turning a phrase. Here is the centerpiece of "We Are Nowhere":
I got no plans and too much time
I feel too restless to unwind
I'm always lost in thought
As I walk a block to my favorite neon sign
Here is the song:
Oberst would struggle with alcohol addiction. It's not a surprise when an artist with a tortured soul and gloomy outlook succumbs to substance abuse. The song drops a big hint about that: "She says these bars are filled with things that kill / By now you probably should have learned." Harris is there to back him up and pat him on the back, not quite assuring Oberst, but at least keeping him company for a while.
I bought three pairs of jeans for $100 and had a bounce in my step the rest of the day.
Date: September 19, 2026, noon
Place: Winrock outdoor mall, Uptown Albuquerque, N.M.
Song: "We Are Nowhere and It's Now"
Artist: Bright Eyes
Irony Matrix: 4.75 out of 10
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