I think this has a Cracker-esque kind of sound to it.

 superfido wrote: 
Tom Petty's sound is very far from original or innovative.  It's pretty standard, roots-based stuff as is much of Oberst's work and that of countless other artists.

Take Tom Petty, Paul Simon, the Dead, add some twang and toss them in the BlendTec and savor the blend.

 Cynaera wrote: 
I don't know who I'm quoting, but:  "Call someplace paradise and you can kiss it goodbye."

 Businessgypsy wrote: 
I have to say that the Columbia River gorge is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  It's too bad the hoity-toity crowd had to ruin your experience. My brother and I have devised a way to keep the riff-raff out - we just live like bums, exercise our "squatter's rights," and drive the high-priced snoots out of the neighborhood. Sometimes, one must fight for one's paradise.

 Businessgypsy wrote: 
People need to learn to leave well enough alone.  Sad...

Manbird wrote: I lived on a houseboat moorage on the Columbia river in Portland for a couple of decades. It was easy - until it became trendy, and all the nurses/artists/musicians/river rats/outlaw chefs were replaced by lawyers and doctors. The first thing they did was proclaim "this place is great! Now here's a few new rules and fees". Needless to say, the fun-kai factor took a nosedive, expenses quadrupled and all the fun just floated away.

 Manbird wrote: 

Was the houseboat friend's name Simon..or Simon?

Despite a lot of comments down here, i'm liking this one!

7

I had a client who lived on a houseboat in Sausalito and a friend of mine was the mailman there for years. 

i hear paul simon. what's that song again from graceland, with the kind of roll-y drums? there's prolly a name for the rhythm. dunno. but it's not enough to carry this song, in sausalito or anywhere else i can think of.

 peter_james_bond wrote:Yeah. The music you hear all over the air waves.

Sic 'em Peter!

 HeartlandJon wrote: 
I was about to comment, "this sounds like the Bright Eyes singer," but now I know why!

 DaveInVA wrote: 
definite tom petty thang goin on...

I thought it sounded like Tom Petty trying to sound country-fied

RadioDoc wrote:
Most of the alt-country wannabes and mimics try to sound like that. Stave wrote:
They must have taken one of those mail-order "You Could Be The Next Jay Farrar" courses advertised in the back pages of Guitar World.
Tools.  You laugh at your own jokes even when you're alone don't you? 

If alt-country (or whatever you want to call it) isn't your bag, just don't comment.  RP is for everyone.  Connor Oberst is one of the best new voices in music so get used to him or find a genre-specific station to do your listening.

RadioDoc wrote: 
 Stave wrote: 
Because we all know the easiest path to musical fame and fortune is through alt-country.

 RadioDoc wrote: 
They must have taken one of those mail-order "You Could Be The Next Jay Farrar" courses advertised in the back pages of Guitar World.  It's the musical equivalent of those matchbook covers where you draw the cartoon turtle and send it in to that art instruction school to see if you've got what it takes to be a Real Artist.

Really good songwriter and he has a good band, but man that guy can't sing and not in a cool way!

 Lyndra_Ski wrote: 

Well actually Sid V wasn't even in the original Sex Pistols line-up, was he? He was thrown in later. I think it was Mclaren and Lydon that formed the original Pistols.

...i'm not sure conor oberst realises the obsolescence of his song's sentiment - sausalito's long-since overrun with wannabe-hippie sellouts, gentrification at its most grotesque...

...cue up the last resort...

Anybody else here T-Rex in this?  The guitar punctuation especially ...

 floydoftherocks wrote: 
wow, what a classic line . . . .

 Lyndra_Ski wrote: 

So wrong. The subversion began at least as far back the Velvet Underground, but punk really began to take shape with the Stooges, MC5, and the Ramones. All of which predate the Pistols. And there were numerous punk bands before the Pistols in England too.

that's cheap happysound. disguised a little.

OMG!!!  A HAMMOCK!!!!  Me likey....

FWIW—I can't find anything objectionable with his singing. Dylan once said that he was just as good a singer as Caruso. Oh, YEAH?! "I hit all the notes." Can't argue with that. So does Conor. Props for the guts to put his excellent songwriting out on his own terms. Chill, folks. It's just rock'n'roll.

I'm really enjoying his solo stuff!

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 

Probably the best reaction, I agree.