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Hayes Peebles is a solo artist.
We admit that calling a young singer-songwriter the next Conor Oberst is about as cliche as calling Conor Oberst the next Bob Dylan, but we can't deny that we hear a lot of those qualities in Hayes. Songs about sitting on the steps of Union Square, lonely subway rides and not getting into shows because you're too young. These are real songs by a real New Yorker, and no matter what age you happen to be, Hayes' music paints a vivid picture of what the city looks and feels like to a 14 year old. It's incredible to hear effective songs from a perspective that is rarely represented by such a legitimate voice.
We were thrilled to have Hayes play a set at the Gothamist House at CMJ, and are looking forward to catching him again tonight at the Annex. Have a listen to a few of his songs on Myspace.
Are you in a local band that deserves this city's attention? Have you discovered a group that needs to be noticed? Email us at jeff@gothamist.com, we're always looking to hear something new.
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sure the strife and world weariness of a cuddled 14 yr new york cutesy teenager, sheesshh, may he suffer the ben kweller curse of not being taken seriously! hahaha
By comparing Conor Oberst to Bob Dylan don't you betray the fact that you know nothing about music?
I was referring to the countless "Connor is this generation's Dylan" comments in just about every level of press when his last two studio albums came out. Of course it's an absurd comparison, but it was one that made ad nauseum nonetheless.
Me knowing nothing about music is a completely different issue altogether.
a non-annoying photo!
however, you continue with the "kids are rockin'" fake trend.
haters!
Hey, I take most of his photos, including this one. And despite his age, he's incredibly talented...In fact, age is the foremost reason he is being held back. Why don't you actually look into people and who they are before you associate them with their personal primary identifiers?
What is your weird obsession with this kid? I could take snippets ffrom bright eyes songs and call them my own too. I just dont because I'm not retard. Seriously though stop it, he's not "talented"
I get your point about comparisons Jeff and thank you for focusing attention on Hayes, but how about not talking about Oberworst to begin with? He's fairly untalented figure, after an objective look, who banked on his youth to sell his image and then banked on the contributions of his collaborators to sell albums. He has sold his potential, but never shown any actual true ability. Remove his hype and his various associations with talented artists and he's just another moody kid whose very videos demonstrate his own belief of his Dylanhood even if his press statements seem to eschew the comparison. In the end, giving him a mention is a waste of space that could be devoted to many, many other deserving artists on the rise Lekman, VanGaalen, M. Ward - etc. Time will reveal Oberest to be the Courtney Love of his genre - a self-aggrandizing creation of hype and press interest who may or may not be completely responsible for the writing of his catalog.
I think, despite your personal feelings about Connor, the comparisons are still valid. Or, at the very least, worth mentioning. Particularly the New York connection. Bright Eyes released a very popular album with themes regarding his adjustment to living in and around New York. Hayes has written a bunch of songs that bring a different (younger) perspective on some similar issues. His youth is certainly a 600 lb gorilla which I only mention because that is where these songs are coming from and it gives them a proper reference point. Not because it in itself is necessarily noteworthy. His songs stand up on their own.
All in all, Connor could be the hack you make him out to be for all I care. But he exists nonetheless, and it would be irresponsible to ignore him, or replace him with a possibly more talented artist whose similarities simply do not match up as well.
he's young and terrible! he tootally fits into the "young band fake trend"
All of you are scumbags. Of course Lekman, of course M. Ward...These iconic figures are his idols. Take Hayes for what he is, a musician with a vison, with a voice. He's starting early and has connections, you'd play them up too if you were in his position. Start early, get experience, make him something great.
ooo i'm so cool, gonna talk shit yeahhhhhhh
call me crazy but i thought it was about music and not age
its one thing not to like someones music but it doesnt mean they should be thrown into some trend or accused of stealing someone elses sound be it oberst ( this kid and bright eyes have similarities but musically are pretty different in terms of mood, orchestration and even subject matter there is much more drama to bright eyes songs) or any other acoustic song writer
its ok to dislike his music, but a little unfair to throw someone into a "trend" just because of age which shouldnt be a factor in whether or not someone is real or not
like Aj said
Although his lyrics are somewhat simple his music is great and it has those basic but addictive phrases that get stuck in your head. Frankly i think your just a little jealous of his awesome position as an artist right now. And for the record anyone who likes Conor Oberst and makes music themselves is going to have a hard time getting away from stealing his tendencies because some people believe it or not enjoy Conor Oberst's music more than Bob Dylan. You don't have to have lyrics which sum up an entire generation in a verse to be talented and to connect with a listener. Everyone of his albums is completely different and i think he rocks a hell of alot harder than Dylan. And im a Dylan fan.
You sometimes must look at music from the artists position. If you're an artist, and you want to sit around all day staring at the clouds and playing guitar, how can you achieve this? You have to get yourself out, and perhaps sell your name a little. It's common for many artists to do so at the beginning of their careers, and you shouldn't write someone off immediately for doing so.
I know nothing about Connor Oberst's past, or present for that matter. I recently started listening to Bright Eyes. I heard some songs on the radio, so I bought Casadega. From what I can tell this far, his songs are fairly simple, but well constructed and lyric'd. Nothing I've seen so far shows any lack of skill as many of you have gone on about.
I simple like him because of the way he describes relationships in many of his songs. I recently heard one of his songs on the Radio, of which I don't know the name, but in the lyrics he says "Sister Socrates." I actually had to pull over the car and sit for a few moments, because I was smiling too widely, because all I could picture was this girl I recently met, and whom I love very much, for she is my sister socrates.
Not everyone can see things like this in the music of others, but remember - some can. If you don't like music, what good does it do to rail on it unintelligibly? A terribly small portion of the music I listen to consists of music written in the past 10 years. I'm more of a Kinks, Dylan, Blues kind of guy. And yet, I find Mr. Oborst to be interesting. Can you really rail on the guy simply because he likes Bob Dylan, and is compared to him? If I was a fairly famous musician, I would pretend to be Bob Dylan occaisionally. Hell, I do that now anyway. I was Bob Dylan for Halloween.
Life is a joke, every action someone takes need not be taken seriously. So he feels like acting like Dylan? So you don't like his music? So what?
I once made a joke about being the most superior human being in existance. My close friends understood, and found it funny. Everyone else thought me to be a callous prick. What does it matter? What is everyone overcompensating for in this world, that they have to insult someone to feel okay?
Not to bring Dylan back into this, but he turned the media into a circus. He made every interview into his own personal joke, and every press conference into his sideshow. He even strategically placed his close friends among the media to ask him silly questions. And some people fail to understand that, and simply think him a fool. Everything is not as you perceive.
Also, slightly on topic, but profound nonetheless, I believe it was the late Elliott Smith who made the comparison between music and a picture of New York. Someone can look at a picture of New York, and think of all the fun things that can be done there. And someone else might look at a picture of New York, and remember how dirty and dark it was. Just as different people can see songs in different ways. Just because you see someone's music in one way, and it means one thing to you, doesn't mean that's what others see in it.
There are no right or wrong answers in music, music simply is. If you can't understand that, keep the ignorance flowing like a fucking waterfall.