Great band and mix. Awsome job.

i know him through a friend's band -- the guy's a dick. that doesn't mean he doesn't have some fine songs, even if his entire discography isn't as consistent. this picks some of the better songs. good job.

"An artist that by all measures I should actively dislike" -- ? Why make this mix at all. I am struggling to comprehend your motivation. A "Single Artist" mix by "an artist that by all measures I should actively dislike" -- what's that all about? Yes, ok, your saying that this collection of songs are apparently worthwhile. I say again -- why make this mix at all?Here's a novel idea -- make a "Single Artist" mix by a an artist you like, thereby offering an opportunity for others to, posssibly, share your enthusiasm, rather than reinforcing your disappointment. I mean no disrespect; I'm just slightly baffled that you would take the time and trouble to do this.

alas, I cannot comment . . . as someone with far greater knowledge than I once said 'I'm way past the point of being able to figure out if
something is cool or egregiously ridiculous' . . . .

Nomates: 2 things going on here. First, I'm just noting that, if one simply buys into generalizations and hype, one can miss out on some decent music. I think there are some stereotypes about this guy, his music, and his fans that suggest it would be of limited appeal to me, yet I nonetheless find I like some of the songs -- so don't buy the hype.

Second, there are a lot of artists whom I find far from great, and whose albums I don't like start-to-finish, but can still find enough material for a decent single-artist mix. Indeed, those are some of my favorite single artist mixes. I don't think I'll ever make a perfect Who or Clash or Kinks or Pavement mix, as I'll invariably omit loads of songs I love. In contrast, if I pull the highlights from what I consider to be a weaker artist's catalog, it's much more satisfactory (and often renders the original cd's themselves superfluous). I imagine I'll listen to this a lot, as I rarely listen to his original albums; in contract, I don't often listen to my Clash mix, as I'm just as likely to want to hear the whole dang album.

Now that's an excellent explanation. Thank you.

Also there is nothing wrong with drinking cheap wine as long as its boones farm (only the best).

I'm with Pop Kulcher on the whole "ambivalent single-artist mix" sub-genre for precisely those same reasons. In the meantime, I've got a simliarly ambivalent mix of this very artist/band... granted, it's from a few years ago and, to be completely honest with you, I can barely stomach Herr Oberst's best moments at this point. And I completely wholeheartedly believe Anthony's earned-from-exposure opinion below.

I will put my neck on the line here Marc and say that this fella is a quite wonderful songwriter. Prodigiously talented but quite clearly, for all his posturing a pretty frail human being. Nothing Gets Crossed out is an absolutely staggering track in terms of melody, arrangement and yes, even the sentiment, Bowl of Oranges is hot on its heels for those very reasons.

You've nailed this pretty darn well though I would have had to include Lua and Poison Oak but I suppose they do fall into the downbeat, meandering end of the spectrum. Oh and the pedant in me needs to say that track 3 is actually titled 'We Are Nowhere, and It's Now' featuring a great vocal from Emmylou. Fine mix.

Typo corrected; thanks for picking that up.

I'm not much of a fan of Oberst's previous material, but I think I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning is an amazing and highly enjoyable album. One of 05's best.

Thanks for this, I have summarily dismissed his work for those very "hyped" sentiments I have been beaten over the head with. I will need to take a closer look.

Yet to catch on. I am looking forward to reading the Onion article- thanks for the link!

All interesting comments. I don't know all of his work, but I have been surprised by how affecting some of his songs have been.