I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning 2004--his best.
An album the draws you in and keeps you there.
Listen to the whole album here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXu2IDaNgfs
During the 2004 election season, Bright Eyes toured with Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M. on the Vote for Change tour,[9] further pushing Bright Eyes into the public eye. Oberst sang numerous duets with the likes of Springsteen and Neil Young.
In November 2004, two Bright Eyes singles, "Lua" and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)", reached the two top spots on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales. This was the first time this had happened on the list in seven years.
January 25, 2005 saw the release of two distinctly different Bright Eyes albums: the folk-influenced I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and the electronic-pop inflected Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. An extensive world tour followed the release of those albums. Part one of the tour was in support of I'm Wide Awake and the second part was in support of Digital Ash. The first part was more similar to past tours with an intimate band setting. The decision to split the tour this way was practical as it would have been a "logistical nightmare" in terms of equipment and staff to perform songs from both albums simultaneously.[10] By the end of January 2005, I'm Wide Awake was No. 10 on the Billboard charts while Digital Ash was No. 15.
In early 2005, Bright Eyes supported R.E.M. in their tour of Australia, as well as headlined shows themselves.[10]
On May 2, 2005 Bright Eyes appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and performed the protest song "When the President Talks to God". A 7" vinyl single of the song was sold at concerts soon after.
In November 2005, Bright Eyes performed "True Blue" on the children's television show Pancake Mountain.
Bright Eyes has actively protested against the Clear Channel media company. Oberst has vocally advocated the boycotting of all Clear Channel events, venues, and radio stations, perhaps most publicly at the Shortlist Awards show at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on October 5, 2003.[11] On November 9, 2005, Bright Eyes canceled their November 12 show in St. Louis, Missouri upon discovering that the venue was associated with Clear Channel.[12]
Bright Eyes won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "When the President Talks to God" at the 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards,[13] and a special recognition award for the video for "First Day of My Life" at the 17th GLAAD Media Awards.[14] Additionally, Time listed I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning as one of the top ten albums of 2005.[15] Later in the year, the live album Motion Sickness was released, documenting the I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning tour.
In a skit on the May 20, 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live, Neil Young (played by Kevin Spacey) was joined by Dixie Chicks and "indie sensation Bright Eyes" (played by Andy Samberg), all of whom have been public in their criticism of George W. Bush.
After releasing three albums in 2005, Oberst stated that he did not plan to release an album in 2006.[16] On October 24, 2006, a compilation of rare tracks entitled Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005) was released.
On March 8, 2007, Oberst appeared on National Public Radio's All Songs Considered, playing a selection of tracks in his collection, as well as several from Four Winds.
