Bright Eyes "Fever and Mirrors" (lyrics, singer, country)

[sleepy jack]

I can't sleep so I decided to write this, I just finished up about ten minutes ago. This is the first bright eyes review I am going to do, i'm going to attempt to do the entire discography (I may skip noise floor, a collection of songs, seeing as they're just compilations). These are all my own interpretations of the songs, so yeah. Pardon the spelling/grammar mistakes also I did write this at one in the morning.


Bright Eye "Fevers and Mirrors"



Label: Saddle Creek Records
Release Date: May 29, 2000
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie
Tracklist:
1. A Spindle, A Darkness, A Fever, And a Necklace
2. A Scale, a Mirror, and These Indifferent Clocks
3. The Calendar Hung Itself
4. Something Vague
5. The Movement of a Hand
6. Arienette
7. When the Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass
8. Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh
9. The Center of the World
10. Sunrise, Sunset
11. An Attempt to Tip the Scales
12. A Song to Pass the Time

So the album opens up with "A Spindle, A Darkness, A Fever and A Necklace". that song starts with a little boy reading Mitchell is Moving by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (author of Nate The Great). The part thats being read talks about a boy going to his friend and and talking about running away, because the boy is tired of the same place, the boys friend wants him to stay but the boy is running away because hes just lived there for too long.

The acoustic guitar starts coming into the song towards the end of the talking. The song, like alot of the album is kind of hard to decipher and speaks in metaphors for the most part. It talks about Conors drug use and hints at some suicidal thoughts. "They were singing 'don't do what you've wanted to, yeah don't destroy yourself like those cowards do maybe the sun keeps coming up cause its gotten use to you and your constant need for proof'". Very pretty song, Conor has the perfect voice for it as he does for the whole album.

The second song is one of my favorites "A Scale, A Mirror and Those Indifferent Clocks". I believe the song talks about a few things.

First part is kind of puzzling, To me I think it means trying to grasp the concept of love and figure it out, as Conor put it "through logic or rationalization".

Second part, it talks about self-examination and confining yourself to your own mediocrity "I know a disease that these doctors can't treat, you contract it the day you accept all you see is a mirror and a mirror is all it can be"

The third part, talks about time how it never stops "these clocks keep unwinding and completely ignore everything that we hate or adore" and how the days just keep going "once the page of a calendar has turned its no more" and they're gone. The final line to finish that part off "Oh tell me what was it for?" is kind of hard to figure out, it made me think I can't really explain it properly.

The next track is "the Calendar Hung Itself", it has some of my favorite lyrics ever in it. In the first verse it sums up jealously perfectly "does he know that place below your neck is your favorite to be touched? and so on.

The next part talks about not being able to get rid of her "I drug your ghost across the country", and after that hints at suicide in a very non-cliche manner "and we plotted out my death".

The next part talks about a girl he kisses, it always reminds me of that girl from Forest Gump Jenny? - "a broken jaw her father gave to her" "a sun bruised field and there were rows of ripe tomatoes where a secret was concealed" - that part where Jenny and forest are hiding from her abusive father in the field.

The song finishes its quoting of you are my sunshine around the end also, Conor vocalizes it beautifully, it doesn't sound happy but more sad and angry. He then refers to his few friends dragging him from where he was laying in the grass - it doesn't specify why or what condition heres in though.

Now it goes to "Something Vague". It first talks about, well being lonely, going to your, and just your apartment and drinking. It then talks about a confused dream, perhaps Conors trying to say something with it, but I don't think so because he later asks if these dreams have any meaning, like hes searching for one himself but then finishes it with maybe its just something vague that weren't not seeing.

"The Movement Of A Hand" is rather simple, actually it can be summed in the final line. "You finally understand the movement of a hand, waving goodbye". It talks about a drive earlier in it, I think its talking about the relationship in a more metaphorical way.

Next it "Arienette" which is one of the saddest songs on the album. Its hard to explain and describe, it was all I listen to when my girlfriend dumped me and it made more sense to me in that state of mind. Just read the lyrics, listen to the song.

"When The Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass" is lovelyy. The first part talks about how he won't desert his brother no matter how much he wishes to die. Then writing a letter to "Ruba", I personally think the last line refers to himself, another side of him. This whole song is from that sides perspective, a more innocent side sort of wondering what the hell happened.

"Haligh Haligh A Lie Haligh" is probably the saddest song on the album. Its beautifully done, the lyrics are pretty straight forwarded, singing about a break up, and the girl hanging out with some other guy. The whole song is just like, wow.

"The Center Of The World" talks about death and starts of singing about how many people die, how small we really are. Only sand among the beach. And thats basically what its about, dying. "The alarm clock is going off but you aren't waking up, this isn't happening happening happening happening happening, it is"

"Sunrise, Sunset" is like, beautifully arranged. It basically talks about how much can happen in a day and how fast it is. It probably means alot to Conor, some of the lines sort of like, directly talk to people. It also ends with "where are you Arienette?" Which refer to the day ending and her not being there.

"An Attempt To Tip The Scales" is probably the most cheery sounding song on the whole album. It talks about something similar to A Scale etc.. trying to solve love and also about finding happiness.

Theres also a fake interview in there, which alot of people take way too seriously. It explains some of the symbolism. But alot of it is just obvious screwing around, i've read plenty of Conors interviews and none of them are anything like that, and in one of them he said something about it being fake also anyway.

"A Song To Pass The Time" is the final song, it talks about alot of things in it that are difficult to explain. Most of it is hardcore my own interpretations that like, mean something way personal to me in parts and it would be confusing to explain it all, once again just listen to the song.

Haha, and this wasn't really a review reading it, more of Crowquills summary/interpretation on the album..Oh well. This is one of my favorite alums ever, its amazing. Easily one of the best singer/songwriter albums, from one of the best singer/songwriters i've ever heard. Conor is an amazing lyricist and it shows on this album. The whole thing flows together beautifully. Its gotten me through alot of crap, so my rating will be especially biased.


Album Rating: 9/10
Download Link: hxxp://www.sendspace.com/file/cly6oe

[swim]

A really well written review. I like this album though I don't rate it as highly.

[_Spinning_]

Nicely done, Tool.

I wouldn't have given it 9.5, but maybe 8.

Looking forward to more.

[Trauma]

I thought you did the review very well.
The only problems I noticed were: the way you wrote some paragraphs was strange (the formatting), too many personal experiences were used to try and describe the songs, and you used "I don't know" to describe a couple songs as well.

Overall, the review was great.
I feel the same way about many of the songs on the album.

However, no matter how hypocritical this sounds, because Bright Eyes is No. 1 on my last.fm, I would have given the album a 9/10.

Good job dude, I think it's sweet you're gonna write reviews for most of his works.

[sleepy jack]

I wrote this in a slightly depressed-girl-troubled state of mind at like 1 in the morning cut me some slack

[Trauma]

Okay.

You know I love you.

[Imonlydancing]

That was a good review, and i really love bright eyes.
favourite tracks off that album:
something vague and haligh haligh a lie haligh (which is probably one of my fav bright eyes songs anyway)

[tdoc210]

I like track 7 best

[sleepy jack]

Okay, i'm going to start up on these again, be forgiving if I skip some tracks/albums entirely. I can't listen to 70% of bright eyes because it reminds me of my ex. I'm going to start on Lifted now, which with the exception of From A Balance Beam I should be able to do the whole album.