The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now

Better Oblivion Community Center, a new project from Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, debuts on 'Colbert'

The new collaborative project from Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, titled Better Oblivion Community Center, made its debut on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019.
The new collaborative project from Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, titled Better Oblivion Community Center, made its debut on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Like this?

Log in to share your opinion with The Current and add it to your profile.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this song! We have added it to a personal playlist for you.

by Luke Taylor

January 24, 2019

Better Oblivion Community Center is the name of a mystery project that was rumored to be a collaboration between Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst. Late Wednesday night, the rumors were confirmed as the project made its debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS. "Tonight," Colbert announced, "my guests Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst star here to announce their new band, called Better Oblivion Community Center."

The duo, together with a backing band, performed a song entitled "Dylan Thomas." During the performance, titles appeared on screen flashing a telephone number with a Kansas area code. When phoned, a recorded voice obtusely suggests tour dates will be revealed next week. Thirty minutes prior to the television performance, a previously cryptic website titled Better Oblivion Community Center revealed the duo and announced their new album, available on the Dead Oceans label.

The new project may not come as a total surprise to those who've watched Bridgers' trajectory. She's already established herself as a big-time collaborator through the music of the acclaimed project boygenius, a supergroup consisting of Bridgers and fellow singer-songwriters Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker.

And Bridgers' work with Conor Oberst isn't a bolt from blue. Bridgers has been in the Bright Eyes orbit for some time, having worked in the past with Oberst as well as Mike Mogis. Bridgers even opened a secret show for Oberst in Los Angeles in 2016. When Bridgers visited The Current studio in April 2018, she called Oberst one of her heroes, saying, "I've been pretty lucky … I think [one should] meet your heroes if they're going to go above and beyond and just be your forever people. Conor's a forever person. … I think it's invigorating to meet your heroes when they're so human and cool."

Better Oblivion Community Center are scheduled to appear on CBS This Morning's Saturday Sessions on Jan. 26; that program typically features three songs by its guest artist.

Better Oblivion Community Center - official site

Gallery