Review Summary: And I have no faith but it's all I want
To be loved, and believe
In my soul, in my soul
On Thursday nights episode of "Louie", Louis C.K. started off his stand up routine with a rant about young people. Louie ranted about how young people seem so disinterested in their ***ty jobs because they thought that they deserved better. Louie screamed about how these young folks blame all of their problems on someone or something else because their minds are incapable of comprehending anything ever being their fault. Louie ranted about how young people think that the world revolved around them when really according to Louie experiences it was just the opposite.
After Louie ended this interesting set he found out that he would have to take care of his sisters teenage daughter for a couple of days. When Louie's niece was locking herself into rooms for four hours, not wanting to eat, and wanting to go to discreet indie rock clubs Louie just assumed that she was like the young people in his act. Louie assumed that her silence and suffering was out of selfish rebellion and she was essentially being apathetic for the sake of being apathetic. But then after a trip to the bathroom Louie hears his niece discussing with another comedian all of her problems at home (caused by Louie's sister and the young girls mom) and you can see Louie mentally changing his routine about young people right as this conversation is going on. You can see that Louie is changing his routine from "young people are apathetic selfish jerks" to "their is no way to possibly understand these young people!" right as this conversation is happening. You can see that in Louie's next routine that he is going to wish that their was a guide, a movie, a book, or even an album on how to understand miserable adolescent behavior or how to understand the selfishness and the apathy that accompanies this adolescence. Well thankfully for Louie their is an album that describes just about every part of why kids are kids and why they are so damn hard to understand. This album is called "Lifted" and it was released by Bright Eyes in the year of 2002.
On "Lifted" Oberst is so consumed with his selfishness, so concerned with his standing in his own manufactured world, and so distraught by a world that he thinks is out to get him that it basically guarantees that "Lifted" is going to be a classic album or is at least going to have something important to say. "Lifted" is Oberst's best album lyrically as he seamlessly blends together the angst from "Fevers and Mirrors", the politics from "I'm Wide Awake" and the storytelling from "Cassadaga" in just about every song in this album. Oberst is able to realize all of these diverse influences while still writing the definite album for anyone trying to understand the silent misery of youth or anyone who is still experiencing this silent misery and needs to know they are not alone. Oberst hits on just about every topic that made him miserable on this album and does it not only in a way were the teenagers can sing along but in a way that the people like Louie can finally understand why they have been silent for so long. Oberst writes the perfect songs about love and heartbreak ("You Will", "Lover I Don't Have To Love, and "Laura Laurent"), he writes the perfect songs about his uncertain future ("Let's Not *** Ourselves, "Nothing Gets Crossed Out", and "False Advertising"), he writes the perfect songs questioning his culture and beliefs ("Don't Know When But A Day Is Gonna Come" and "Waste of Paint"), and he even writes the perfect songs questioning how the hell he is going to deal with all of this ("From a Balanced Beam" and "Big Picture.") Through writing such personal and honest lyrics, Oberst creates an album that explains the origins, the causes, and the subjects of youthful adolescent behavior in a way that is easy for everyone to relate to.
It is not only the songwriting that makes this the perfect album to define the misery of youth but it is also the sound of the album and the quality of songs on this album. As important as it was for "Lifted" to touch on just about every subject that explained the misery of youth it was just as important that every song on this album did not sound exactly the same. This is of crucial importance because if we only hear one sound over the thirteen songs this means that Oberst would have only effectively defined one of the causes of his angst and misery. Thankfully though just about every song on this album has a unique sound and this helps the album define "the silent youth" in a very effective way. For example Oberst needed to make sure that the songs about love and heartbreak sounded entirely different from the songs about his uncertain future so he could properly define and describe both subjects. This album at times has a hard rock feel, a country feel, an acoustic feel, a piano feel, and a folk feel. When Oberst combines all of these different styles of music with his brilliant lyricism it not only makes for a good album but an album that in a way defines our generation and maybe even any generation that has been apathetic and miserable.
It is also important to mention that every song on "Lifted" is excellent in its own way and this album features some of the best songs that Oberst has ever done. "Make War" is probably the catchiest song Oberst has ever done, "Lover I Don't Have To Love" is one of the fun yet heartbreaking songs in the Bright Eyes catalog, "Nothing Gets Crossed Out" is a great soft song and one of the best songs on the album, "I Don't Know When But A Day Is Gonna Come" is so emotional that it is almost breathtaking, and "Let's Not *** Ourselves" is the best political song that Bright Eyes has ever done. "Lifted" not only has stellar songwriting and a variety of sounds but also has excellent songs that help it define the struggle that is growing up.
As long as we exist their will be the existence of misery. Misery often comes in different forms for people of different ages and cultures though. Youthful misery remains the most unique and passionate form of misery and because of this it is often the most misunderstood. Like Louis C.K. many people wonder if it is even possible to understand the "silent youth" or if they should just give up on trying. Hell, for as long as their has been misery their has been youthful misery that was too complicated yet too simple. But with "Lifted", Bright Eyes has made a record that is timeless. A record that is timeless in a way that it answers and defines a question and a generation that have both puzzled and plagued people for at least decades. Timeless in the way that even though it is defining the misery of "The Silent Youth" it does it in a way that anyone from just about anytime can understand it. Timeless in its lyricism that deals with subject manner that many different ages have struggled with, timeless in its in sound as it hits on just about every genre outside of metal and hip-hop, and timeless in the fact that just about every song is damn good. "Lifted" is not only a classic record, a generation defining album, but a timeless album that helps "lift" and explain many of the questions of human behavior that have plagued mankind for many years. Now back to "Louie"
