Better Oblivion Community Center

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For the album of the same name, see Better Oblivion Community Center (album).
Better Oblivion Community Center
Conor Oberst (left) and Phoebe Bridgers (right), the two members of Better Oblivion Community Center
Conor Oberst (left) and Phoebe Bridgers (right), the two members of Better Oblivion Community Center
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
GenresIndie rock, indie folk, alternative
Years active2018 (2018)–2020 (2020)
LabelsDead Oceans
Past members

Better Oblivion Community Center was an American indie rock superduo consisting of musicians Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers. They released their self-titled debut album on January 24, 2019, through Dead Oceans.[2]

Background[edit]

Oberst and Bridgers first met in July 2016, when she performed at a secret showcase he was hosting at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles.[1] A mutual friend of theirs was helping organize the event and told Oberst that he was Bridgers' favorite songwriter in LA at the time, so he invited her to play and was so impressed that he immediately asked her to send him the record she was working on.[3] She then opened for him on his European Ruminations tour in January 2017,[4] and they continued to collaborate consistently over the following two years. He brought her onstage to sing the Bright Eyes song "Lua" at WXPN's Xponential Music Festival that July, he sang on the duet "Would You Rather" from her debut Stranger in the Alps in September, they covered Sheryl Crow with Soccer Mommy at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in February 2018, and they worked together on a new version of his song "LAX" for Amazon Music in October, among numerous other joint appearances at each other's shows across the U.S.[5][6][7][8]

The initial idea of forming the band apparently stemmed from Bridgers complimenting a cover Oberst had done of a Replacements song one night, and him replying that they should start a band and sound like the Replacements.[9] When they first started writing together, they hadn't planned on putting out a record, and they thought they might be writing for one of each other's solo efforts or for a third party. Bridgers has said that it's common for Oberst to dream up "fake bands", so she didn't know that he was being serious until they had written "like, five songs".[9] They mentioned that they wanted to create a separate project with its own name so that they could feel free to create a sound different than their individual solo acts.[3]

Career[edit]

Better Oblivion Community Center at the Showbox Theater in Seattle in 2019

The duo released Better Oblivion Community Center on January 24, 2019, through Dead Oceans to generally positive reviews.[10][11][12] The album was teased with "cryptic brochures" and a phone hotline, but was released with only a day of official notice and featured no promotional singles beforehand, which Bridgers explains was an effort to avoid people "[making] assumptions about what the entire record sounds like", since the songs are each so different.[13][14]

They performed "Dylan Thomas" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert the day before the album's release, and on January 26 appeared on CBS This Morning, where they performed "Dylan Thomas," "Didn't Know What I Was in For" and "My City."[15][16] They also filmed a segment at the NPR Tiny Desk.[17]

On January 29, 2019, the band announced their expansive concert tour of the U.S. and Europe, along with releasing a music video for their single, "Dylan Thomas," directed by Michelle Zauner.[18]

Toward the end of their U.S. tour in April 2019, they released the single "Little Trouble," a song not featured on the album that had previously only been available as a 7-inch vinyl they had been selling at their shows. They also released a synth-pop version of their song "Sleepwalkin'" alongside it. [19][20] The band played their final show to date on August 11, 2019, at The Independent in San Francisco, California.[21]

Both Bridgers and Oberst resumed their careers independent of one another in 2020, with the former releasing her second album Punisher and the latter reuniting with Bright Eyes to release their tenth album Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was.[22][23] The pair briefly reunited during Bridgers' virtual concert in October 2020 for the Save Our Stages initiative, wherein they duetted on Bridgers' "Halloween" and sang "Dylan Thomas" together.[24] In August 2023, Bridgers performed a Better Oblivion song live for the first time since their 2019 tour when she sang "Chesapeake" with Christian Lee Hutson at a concert in Øya.[25]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
Sales
[26] 		US
Alt.
[27] 		US
Folk
[28] 		US
Heat
[29] 		US
Indie
[30] 		US
Rock
[31] 		BEL
(FL)
[32] 		NLD
[33] 		UK
[34] 		UK
Indie
[35]
Better Oblivion Community Center 23 18 7 2 4 41 20 117 76 4

Singles[edit]

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
AAA
[36]
"Symposium Message" 2019 — Non-album single
"Dylan Thomas" 21 Better Oblivion Community Center
"Little Trouble" — Non-album single

Accolades[edit]

Year Association Category Nominated Work Result Ref
2019 AIM Awards Best Independent Album Better Oblivion Community Center Nominated [37]
2020 Libera Awards Marketing Genius Nominated [38]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Reilly, Phoebe (January 24, 2019). "Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers On Their Surprise Joint Album 'Better Oblivion Community Center'". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  2. ^ DeVille, Chris (January 24, 2019). "Conor Oberst & Phoebe Bridgers Release Surprise Album As Better Oblivion Community Center". Stereogum. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Better Oblivion Community Center: About". Dead Oceans.
  4. ^ Sacher, Andrew (9 January 2017). "Phoebe Bridgers releasing a new single, touring with Conor Oberst". Brooklyn Vegan.
  5. ^ Moser, John J. (30 July 2017). "REVIEW: At XPoNential Fest, Wilco sounds good but exposes faults; Conor Oberst eviscerates Trump in great set". The Morning Call.
  6. ^ Brown, August (January 24, 2019). "Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst clandestinely make an L.A.-inspired album". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  7. ^ Halabian, Layla (24 February 2018). "Phoebe Bridgers, Conor Oberst, And Soccer Mommy Covered Sheryl Crow In A Moment Of Indie Rock Triumph". Uproxx.
  8. ^ Gilke, Chloe (31 October 2018). "Conor Oberst And Phoebe Bridgers Collaborate Again On A New Version Of His Song 'LAX'". Uproxx.
  9. ^ a b Gayomali, Chris (31 January 2019). "Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers Imagine a Better Oblivion". GQ. Conde Nast.
  10. ^ Walker-Smart, Sam (January 24, 2019). "Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center". Clash. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  11. ^ Murphy, Sarah (January 24, 2019). "Better Oblivion Community Center Better Oblivion Community Center". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  12. ^ Hermes, Will (January 24, 2019). "Review: Better Oblivion Community Center Make Soft Rock For Hard Times". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  13. ^ Sodomsky, Sam. "Better Oblivion Community center". Pitchfork. Conde Nast.
  14. ^ Richards, Will (24 January 2019). "Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst Welcome You to the Better Oblivion Community Center". DIYMag.
  15. ^ Serota, Maggie (January 24, 2019). "Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers Perform as Better Oblivion Community Center on Colbert". Spin. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  16. ^ Arcand, Rob (January 26, 2019). "Watch Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers Play Three Better Oblivion Community Center Songs on CBS This Morning". Spin. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  17. ^ Boilen, Bob. "Video: Watch Better Oblivion Community Center Perform at the Tiny Desk : NPR". NPR.org. NPR.
  18. ^ Trendell, Andrew (January 29, 2019). "Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst share 'Dylan Thomas' video and announce Better Oblivion Community Center UK and world tour". NME. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  19. ^ Daly, Rhian (24 April 2019). "Listen to Better Oblivion Community Center's infectious new song 'Little Trouble'". NME.
  20. ^ Rettig, James (24 April 2019). "Better Oblivion Community Center – "Little Trouble"". Stereogum.
  21. ^ Chow, Greg. "BETTER OBLIVION COMMUNITY CENTER @ THE INDEPENDENT". Impose. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Phoebe Bridgers On Her New Album 'Punisher,' Surprise Released A Day Early". NPR. June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  23. ^ "Bright Eyes announce new album 'Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was'". Nme.com. June 22, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  24. ^ Frankenberg, Eric. "The Year in Livestreams 2020: YouTube's Bocelli at the Duomo, Miley at the Whisky & Beyond". Billboard. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  25. ^ Daly, Rhian (11 August 2023). "Watch Phoebe Bridgers make surprise appearance with Christian Lee Hutson at Øya spin-off show". NME. BandLab Technologies. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center Chart History: Top Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  27. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center Chart History: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  28. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center Chart History: Americana/Folk Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  29. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  30. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  31. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center Chart History: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  32. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center – Better Oblivion Community Center". Hung Medien (in Dutch). Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  33. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center – Better Oblivion Community Center". Hung Medien (in Dutch). Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  34. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100 - 1 March 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  35. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50 - 1 March 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  36. ^ "Better Oblivion Community Center Chart History: Triple A songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  37. ^ "AIM Independent Music Awards 2019 – The Nominees". Proper Music Group. 25 July 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  38. ^ Brandle, Lars (April 2, 2020). "Chance the Rapper, FKA Twigs, Courtney Barnett & More Shortlisted For 2020 A2IM Libera Awards". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
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