LA Times / amNY article...
Staying real, finding truth by: Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles Times, 19.10.04
Music critics have been burned so many times by calling promising young songwriters the "next Bob Dylan" that newcomers have to be real standouts for anyone to risk evoking the Dylan name again.
Bright Eyes frontman Conor oberst and Jack White of The White Stripes do stand out. Both are visionary artists who not onlyhave the talent and drive to help set the creative agenda in pop today but also to influence musicians for years to come.
Oberst, an intropspective 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Omaha, has an innocence and intelligence that enable him to see the world with fresh and fearless eyes. He weaves his findings into intimate songs whose melodies are as timeless as a hymnal and whose images are hauntingly poetic.
White, a charismatic 29-year-old jack-of-all-trades from Detroit, is driven by the cotnry and blues forces that gave birth to rock. It's as if he was so turned off by most mainstream rock as a teenager that he went back to the music that inspired rock's pioneers. Those earthy strains now run through him like 50,000 watts of electricity. His music can be as sweet as a nursery rhyme or as explosive as a SWAT team.
At the heart of both men's art is exquisite songwriting. They are especially valuable in an age when songwriting isn't particularly prized by the pop establishment. Rather than invest in songwriters with vision, budget-conscious record companies feel safer putting their money on hot producers who can shape recordings that fit radio playlists.
In separate interviews, they give almost identical answers to the lingering question: How do you write a song after everything has been said?
"I think we're all writing the same song," says White. "It's the same song for 1,000 years, it's just how you tell it. I have my own style because I my experiences, my environment were different, and I'm proud of that."
Oberst says, "Sure, it's intimidating to think of all that just Bob Dylan and Paul Simon have written. But life is complex and there's no final answer. They told us how they see it, and there's room for others to see it differently."