Tweedy vs. Oberst by, Alan Suback

Recently, Bright Eyes and Wilco appeared on the same broadcast of Austin City Limits, the excellent live music television program. Watching Jeff Tweedy and Conor Oberst back-to-back one could not help but be struck by the former's lyrical economy. Oberst, no doubt a talented singer-songwriter who appears refreshingly ego-less in his tireless ceding of the spotlight during his set, seems intent in cramming as many words as he can into each of his songs. He sang with passion and with a deft rhythmic touch on acoustic guitar, but his performance paled in comparison to the more seasoned, poetic Tweedy. This assessment is not reflected in sales, however, where the dreamy-if-androgynous Oberst has outstripped the grizzled Tweedy on the charts. Although Wilco recently earned their first U.S. gold record for 2002's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", Oberst has been a six-figure seller much earlier in his career and recently placed his simultaneously-released new albums in the upper reaches of Billboard's album chart. With the increased sales of these two acts, not to mention other real musicians like Jack White, Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Jill Scott and others, perhaps music created primarily by people who can sing well without histrionics, play instruments and write thoughtful lyrics is making a comeback.