conor's back ... i think

Bright Eyes has a new CD coming out soon, and the new song "Four Winds" is the beautiful, poetic, alt-country anthem you hoped it would be. The video, which you can watch on ifilm.com, is unlike anything they've done before. It's a black-and-white performance video, and the whole band's in it, including Maria Taylor on drums.

But you may not notice any of that, because if you are like me, you're going to be dumbfounded by Conor's appearance and pre-occupied with trying to figure out who he's reminding you of. His long straggly hair is longer than ever, and when he first appeared on my little screen, I thought it was the lead singer of the Arcade Fire. He looks like a completely different person.

The fact that I am even mentioning his hair -- much less focusing on it -- is not something I am proud of. But at least you're not spending these few moments hearing about Anna Nicole Smith.

The new album Cassadaga, by the way, will be out on April 10. The lyrics in one song refers to communing with the dead in Cassadaga. Could it be? My favorite little psychic community??? There's a cool town just north of Orlando that's known for shaking its cosmic thing. I wonder if they traveled through after a show and stopped for a palm reading??? And what's with all these question marks???

I just purchased the Four Winds EP, which includes the first single from Cassadaga and five songs billed as "exclusive B-sides." There are all kinds of amazing guests on the album, including Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney, Rachael Yamagata, Ben Kweller, M Ward and a few Saddle Creek folks, as you'd expect. I can't wait to hear the full album.

Oh, look, I found more photos of Conor on Pitchfork, and here's what they said ... "Conor's sporting some terrible hair these days, long and greasy like a bass player in a grunge band circa 1992."

Yikes, tell us how you really feel.

Remember when Michael Hutchence cut his hair so that people would "focus" on his music and not his sexy looks? I think that might be the same rationale Matt Lauer used when he went nearly bald. Doesn't Conor know that his lyrics are just as much of a turn-on as his sad eyes? Whatever. As the new music proves, he's still amazing, and as the pictures below show, he's still hot, and I still want to run my fingers through his hair and French braid it.