Bright Eyes
Napoleons Hat
Score: 3.9/5
For the most part, album reviews are a daunting task; I have to sit here in my darkened pulpit, listening to a record over and over and over. So I switched it up and reviewed an EP, but it turned out to be only 150 words shorter than a full album review! Shit! So I decided to start doing single track reviews, but only for tracks that I feel really strongly about or tracks that I think you, the public, should be exposed to.
“Napoleon's Hat” was done for Lagniappe: A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina Relief. It starts off with a really low key opening, the strum of an acoustic guitar that fans of Bright Eyes have no doubt gotten used to, the sharpening of a knife (or something) and a really flat drum beat. And it works to the songs benefit, considering that what really makes this track standout among all other great Bright Eyes tracks is the emotion in the lyrics. Mozart’s parents put cigarettes out in his ears/when he got old enough to stutter he said/I don’t listen but I-I-I can hear. Truly one of the greater lyricists of our time, Oberst weaves through the song with ease, his voice quivering rarely, while he describes the death of Dr. Oppenheimer and the style of Napoleon Bonaparte and how we can’t forget all the people that were killed/left homeless in Hurricane Katrina just because our lives are still okay.
The lyrics exude emotion, and they draw the emotion out of us, but Oberst doesn’t appear to have any emotional link to this song, his signature quiver is gone, which is (arguably) a good thing. But still, come on, it’s the fucking quiver! He sounds like he has more of an emotional connection to “A Lover I Don’t Have To Love” which is about a one night stand.
This track is super rare (I think) that’s probably because it was off a charity album, I don’t think anyone buys charity albums because they are chock full of horrible duets by popular pop stars. But I would say that this is one of the exceptions. I didn’t buy it though. So every time I listen to it, I feel a little bit guiltier than I would like to.
All in all, it feels like this is Oberst saying “George Bush doesn’t care about poor people.” And he’s probably right. But without Mike Meyers beside you, looking like he just got hit in the special place, your message is less potent.
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