Home / Authors / Conor Oberst

Conor Oberst

Conor Oberst Quotes

Singer-songwriter

Conor Oberst, born on February 15, 1980, in Omaha, Nebraska, is a talented singer-songwriter known for his unique musical style and profound lyrics. He is a prominent figure in the independent music scene and has gained recognition for his contributions to the industry.

Filter quotes by topic

All Thinking People Ifs Song Ideas Knows Kind Feels World I Can

Famous Conor Oberst Quotes

“Hip-hop music has done a very good job of maintaining the political context, where they stand and not giving a sh-t what people think.”

People Thinking Giving Done Jobs Political Very Good Hip Hop Hips Hops Good Job Maintaining Hip Hop Music

Author:Conor Oberst

“My feeling is that I think writers in general tend to be self-conscious and it takes a bit of a leap of faith or just not giving a sh-t to write something you know people are going to criticize.”

People Thinking Knows Giving Writing Self Feelings Bits Conscious Criticize Leap Self Conscious Leap Of Faith

Author:Conor Oberst

“Desaparecidos try to be the opposite of apathetic. There are so many young people in America that are apathetic.”

People Trying America Young Opposites Apathetic

Author:Conor Oberst

“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.”

Ifs Stills Ideas Matter Enough Might Song Fun Attention Exciting Pay Attention Things That Matter Balancing Act

Author:Conor Oberst

“I think that hip-hop is more of an individual effort. That means you're an artist from the streets, they expect you to rap about the streets, because that's what happens there.”

Thinking Mean Happens Artist Individual Effort Streets Hip Hop Rap Hips Hops Individual Effort

Author:Conor Oberst

“Rock and roll seems to have had a mellowing in the business where it got harder to sell individual records and make money doing that.”

Seems Individual Records Rocks Harder Sells Making Money Rock And Roll

Author:Conor Oberst

“We [Desaparecidos] have to make the message and the music and the packaging as appealing as possible - as Taco Bell as possible: mediocre and no one can be offended by it and everyone can sort of enjoy it and we can play it on the radio.”

Play Enjoy Messages Radio Bells Mediocre Offended Tacos Packaging Taco Bell

Author:Conor Oberst

“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!"”

Thinking Self Seems Happens Song Fighting Radio Affirmation Listen To Me Popular Music Self Affirmation

Author:Conor Oberst

“Popular music is all about traveling at the speed of you and elevating the individual as the highest thing in the world.”

World Individual Highest Music Is Speed Popular Music Elevating

Author:Conor Oberst

“I think our music is more about seeing ourselves in each other and trying to find a more humanistic viewpoint for the world.”

Thinking World Trying Seeing Music Is Viewpoints Humanistic

Author:Conor Oberst

“Each Desaparecidos's song has a seed that it came from. We're trying to take that and broaden it out and make it resonate with people.”

People Trying Song Seeds

Author:Conor Oberst

“I try not to think about the idea of reaching more and more people, because once you get in that mindset, I think you lose the point of why you're doing it in the first place. Still, the best feeling I ever get is when I finish a song, and it exists, and it didn't exist before, and now it's there, and it makes me feel a certain way.”

People Thinking Way Feels Trying Firsts Stills Ideas Feelings Certain Song Loses Mindset Reaching Before And Now

Author:Conor Oberst

“I've been part of running a label since I was a kid, so I understand how it works. But the more and more I learn about it, the less and less interested I am in it.”

Running Kids Labels

Author:Conor Oberst

“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.”

People Thinking Way Mean Crossover Bad Music

Author:Conor Oberst

“I want to be enriched by the music I listen to. That's the reason it never really exists in the mainstream. Because that's not what most people are after.”

People Want Reason Mainstream

Author:Conor Oberst

“I've given up trying to understand what people think about me.”

People Thinking Trying Given Given Up

Author:Conor Oberst

“It's always the negative things that seep through into your consciousness. Most of the positive things just roll off real fast. I just try not to pay attention to it, because I've never read anything about my band that's accurate.”

Trying Real Pay Attention Consciousness Band Negative Pay Attention Accurate Positive Things

Author:Conor Oberst

“If there's ever a kid out there that can't afford to buy the music, I still want them to hear it, and hopefully they'll go to the show, or buy a T-shirt from the band. That's the idea.”

Ifs Want Stills Ideas Shows Kids Band Hopefully Shirts T Shirt

Author:Conor Oberst

“I believe that vinyl will outlast CDs. There's no reason for it, but it stays around because there are still people that want them.”

People Want Believe Stills Reason I Believe No Reason Cds Vinyl

Author:Conor Oberst

“I'm not the most technically savvy person in the world. Like, I'm not good at troubleshooting when stuff happens to my digital music.”

World Persons Happens Stuff Digital Savvy Stuff Happens Digital Music

Author:Conor Oberst

“I understand why people get desensitized and roll their eyes when they hear a protest song, or even a politician making some flowery speech. It doesn't really change anything.”

People Eye Song Politician Speech Protest Protest Songs

Author:Conor Oberst

“Our band is different in the sense that we all are involved with a lot of different projects. It's hard to say when we'll record again, but we're not calling it quits right away.”

Different Hard Records Involved Calling Band Projects Quitting

Author:Conor Oberst

“It's hard to get people to focus on one idea.”

People Ideas Hard Focus

Author:Conor Oberst

“I do think that music has a special ability to get behind enemy lines and win hearts and minds.”

Thinking Mind Heart Winning Lines Ability Behinds Enemy Special Heart And Mind

Author:Conor Oberst

“Rastafarianism and reggae music have always kind of resonated with me. Those ideas of redemption, liberation and overcoming oppression through music, weed and community. Fighting evil through love and music, I think it's just a really powerful idea.”

Thinking Kind Ideas Fighting Evil Community Powerful Overcoming Oppression Redemption Liberation Weed Reggae Really Powerful Reggae Music Music And Love Fighting Evil

Author:Conor Oberst

“Much of appreciating art or music is really the interpretation of the listener. To a certain extent it's projection - it's what people need or lack in themselves that they then put upon these people that they admire.”

People Needs Art Certain Music Is Appreciate Admire Interpretation Listeners Projection

Author:Conor Oberst

“I think different musical collaborators bring out different qualities in my songs and I like that.”

Thinking Different Song Quality Musical Collaborators Think Different

Author:Conor Oberst

“Music becomes very personal. When you marry a message you want to send out into the world with good music, all of a sudden you have a very potent way of delivering your message.”

World Way Want Messages Music Is Delivering

Author:Conor Oberst

“A kid that picks up a record, he doesn't need to know anything other than the music and have it in his or her headphones. They're getting ideas directly, it's like someone whispering in their ear. That's such a personal way to receive information.”

Knows Way Needs Ideas Kids Records Information Picks Ears Whispering Headphones

Author:Conor Oberst

“The idea of forever is kind of ridiculous, which is unfortunate because its kind of a nice thing to say, you know. I think it softens the blow of mortality and having to say goodbye to everything you know and everyone you love and all that kind of thing.”

Thinking Knows Kind Ideas Forever Nice Blow Ridiculous Goodbye Mortality Unfortunate Saying Goodbye Nice Things One You Love

Author:Conor Oberst

“There's a lot of optimism in changing scenery, in seeing what's down the road.”

Seeing Optimism Down The Road Scenery

Author:Conor Oberst

“I think in a lot of ways unconditional love is a myth. My mom's the only reason I know it's a real thing.”

Thinking Knows Way Real Reason Love Is Mom My Mom Myth Unconditional Love Unconditional Real Things

Author:Conor Oberst

“As long as I can buy records and books and maybe some clothes, I'm pretty stoked. I don't need a yacht or anything.”

Needs Long I Can Book Records Clothes Yacht

Author:Conor Oberst

“I need some meaning I can memorize. The kind I have always seems to slip my mind.”

Needs Mind Kind I Can Seems Slips Anti Love

Author:Conor Oberst

“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.”

Writing Play Song Stuff Taught Brother Dad Band Guitar My Dad Piano Grades Acoustics Older Brother

Author:Conor Oberst

“Some days I feel like I'm an atheist. Most days, I feel like an agnostic. On a very rare day, I feel like I'm a believer in something.”

Feels Atheist Believer Agnostic

Author:Conor Oberst

“I think that obviously the quest for purpose, or meaning, or understanding to existence is something that I always think about, always deal with. I guess everybody does - that existential crisis of human condition. It's nothing new. But I'd love to come across something that really made me believe in something.”

Thinking Believe Humans Doe Made Purpose Understanding Deals Existence Conditions Crisis Human Condition Quests Existential Nothing New Existential Crisis

Author:Conor Oberst

“I'm ripe for the picking for the Scientologists - one of those creeps. Someone's got to find me. Some little weird cult can just pluck me up, because I'm ripe for the picking.”

Littles Cult Find Me Creeps Ripe Pluck

Author:Conor Oberst

“I've never conceptualized much of what I write about. Maybe, once I'm onto something, I'll conceptualize a finished record. I want the songs to tie together and make sense together. I'm not like, "Oh, I want to explore this idea." That's just not how the creative process works for me. It's more like something strikes me, or finds me, and then I wrestle with it after that. I don't sit back in my armchair, like, "What kind of philosophy can I explore today?"”

Want Writing Kind Ideas Philosophy Today Together Song Process Creative Records Finished Strikes Make Sense Ties Creative Process Find Me Like Something Armchairs

Author:Conor Oberst

“I love story songs. It's just, for me, they're harder to write, and sometimes they sound too intended or something.”

Writing Sometimes Stories Song Sound Harder Love Story

Author:Conor Oberst

“I don't see any harm in letting whatever comes out come out of you, even if it's sort of weird, or dark, or painful, or too embarrassing, or whatever. I feel like you might as well get it down for yourself. It can't do anything but help you get to where you want to be by recognizing the thoughts that you're having.”

Ifs Want Feels Wells Helping Might Dark Like You Painful Harm Embarrassing Recognizing

Author:Conor Oberst

“All those experiences were a chance to learn more about music. Playing with the Valley band is like such a "live" band. I mean, really, in many ways Bright Eyes is really a studio project. We form bands to tour, but it really is - you know, we take the songs and we figure out how to decorate them and it's all in the studio, we build the songs that way. Whereas Mystic Valley Band was the exact opposite, where everybody knows what they are gonna be playing on the song and there's sort of a general stylistic approach, and then it's just plug in and play.”

Mean Eye Song Chance Mystic Bright Eyes

Author:Conor Oberst

“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.”

Thinking Together Culture Interesting Taken Preaching

Author:Conor Oberst

“A lot of the mythology that sprung up around Haile Selassie, it's not like something he asked for, having people deify him. That's pretty heavy. I don't know what you do in that situation.”

People Situation Mythology Sprung

Author:Conor Oberst

“I would say I'm a humanist. I like that. I mean, I don't claim to know anything, but I'm curious about it all. I'm always fascinated when people really fervently believe, because I have such a hard time believing anything.”

People Believe Mean Curious Hard Times Humanist

Author:Conor Oberst

“When people have real faith in something, it's fascinating to me. And the fact that so many people, in surveys, so many people say they do. It kind of blows my mind.”

People Mind Kind Real Blow

Author:Conor Oberst

“I definitely think religion is responsible for a lot of the evils of the world. I mean that's not really in debate. But at the same time, I think whatever gets you through the day, whatever helps you make sense of life I'm not gonna begrudge my grandmother with her rosary beads. It works for them. And at the end of the day, I don't claim to know the answer to anything.”

Thinking World Mean Helping Evil Responsible Debate Make Sense Grandmother My Grandmother

Author:Conor Oberst

“I don't hold anything against Barack Obama. I just think the system is so corrupt, it doesn't matter how well-intentioned someone is, as I believe he was and is. At the end of the day, I think it just comes down to money. This is all about class warfare. All of our political problems.”

Thinking Believe Problem Political I Believe Barack Class Warfare

Author:Conor Oberst

“I mean, you just go down the line, and with any of these issues, it's about rich people staying rich. And using poverty as a weapon against people. That's what we see every day. And I'm not an economist, so I can't speak to the nuances of it, but just common sense tells me the whole thing is corrupt.”

People Mean Speak Common Poverty Rich Common Sense Economist Rich People

Author:Conor Oberst

“I'm kind of like, "never say never."”

Kind Never Say Never

Author:Conor Oberst

About the Author

Born: February 15, 1980
Known for: Singer-songwriter
Quotes: 179

Related Topics

Thinking People Ifs Song Ideas Knows Kind Feels World I Can

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Similar Authors

Taylor SwiftBrowse related quotes
Dolly PartonBrowse related quotes
George SaundersBrowse related quotes
Bruce SpringsteenBrowse related quotes
Kristen StewartBrowse related quotes
Chuck KlostermanBrowse related quotes
Madonna CicconeBrowse related quotes
Zooey DeschanelBrowse related quotes
Ani DiFrancoBrowse related quotes
Nick CaveBrowse related quotes