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My dad, who plays guitar and piano and was in cover bands, along with my older brother, Matt, taught me guitar and stuff. I started writing acoustic songs and playing by myself in 7th grade.

Conor Oberst

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Conor Oberst
Age: 44
Born: 1980
Born: February 15
Guitarist
Musician
Singer-Songwriter
Omaha
Nebraska
Conor Mullen Oberst
Writing
Brother
Cover
Along
Plays
Playing
Piano
Matt
Started
Dad
Acoustic
Taught
Older
Acoustics
Song
Guitar
Grade
Stuff
Songs
Bands
Play
Band
Grades

More quotes by Conor Oberst

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To me, a political song is also a personal song. Most political activism has been driven by empathy for other people and the desire for a world that's less divisive. Even if songs aren't overtly political, they can make a listener more empathetic.
Conor Oberst
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I do think that music has a special ability to get behind enemy lines and win hearts and minds.
Conor Oberst
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Pronouns really don't matter in a song - 'I' or 'he' or 'she' or even subscribing a lyric to an inanimate object.
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Everything that happens is supposed to be And it's all pre-determined, can't change your destiny Guess I'll just keep moving, someday maybe I'll get to where I'm going
Conor Oberst
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People resist change if they like something, then they want you to keep doing it over and over - but I think if you like what a particular band or artist does, then you should want to see what they're going to do next.
Conor Oberst
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Considering our history, I can think of nothing more American than an immigrant.
Conor Oberst
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One of my favorite modern American authors is Denis Johnson. I'm deeply inspired by all of his work - I rip him off constantly.
Conor Oberst
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We're going to sing about things that matter to us. The balancing act is to present these ideas but also make the music exciting and sort of fun enough that even if you're not paying attention to the lyrics, you might still like the songs anyway. That's the idea.
Conor Oberst
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There's a major underlying idea as you grow up that you need to just save your money and get that affordable housing at the edge of town where you're away from the city where all the crime happens or whatever.
Conor Oberst
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I think there's a weird self-affirmation thing that happens in popular music in general. It seems like every song I hear on the radio is like, Listen to me roar! or This is my fight song!
Conor Oberst
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For a song I was bought Now I lie when I talk With a careful eye on the cue card. Onto a stage I was pushed, With my sorrow well rehearsed. So give me all your pity and your money, now (all of it).
Conor Oberst
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It's not a movie, no private screening This method acting, well, I call that living
Conor Oberst
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It's hard to get people to focus on one idea.
Conor Oberst
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The one recurring theme in my writing, and in my life in general, is confusion. The fact that anytime you think you really know something, you're going to find out you're wrong - that is the rule. The moments where you think you have something figured out, those are the exceptions.
Conor Oberst
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In a way, to have whatever people talk about as crossover success, I think it means you start making bad music. I mean, when I'm flipping through the channels and see the VMAs or something, I don't really see any music there.
Conor Oberst
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Why are you scared to dream of god when it's salvation that you want?
Conor Oberst
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My head's a carousel of pictures and The spinning never stops.
Conor Oberst
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Little soldier, little insect You know war it has no heart It will kill you in the sunshine Or happily in the the dark Where kindness is a card game Or a bent up cigarette In the trenches, in the hard rain With a bullet and a bet.
Conor Oberst
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I liked the idea of having a record that's reggae-influenced but not musically, just lyrically. I think there's so much about Rasta culture that's interesting. Just the idea of preaching one-ness, that we're all in this together. Which I suppose is at the root of most any religion. You're gonna find it, if taken in the right context.
Conor Oberst
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I need some meaning I can memorize. The kind I have always seems to slip my mind.
Conor Oberst