My name is Terry and this is my blog. 
01/10/2006: "Man oh Man"
Good Weather For Air Strikes has posted their 25 songs of 2005 and Derek wrote this nice little ditty about "Poison Oak" by Bright Eyes, which was number 10 on my top 30. I was very moved by his statement, so I decided to post it here. Support MP3 blogs!!!!
"Poison Oak" is one of the saddest songs of this, or any year. In fact, it is one of the most heartbreaking, emotionally touching, and moving songs of all time. There was a period of this year when I even thought that this may have been the best song I had ever heard. While that proved to be not quite true, "Poison Oak" is an amazing ballad no less, an ode to his brother whose confused childhood led to a troubled young adult life and ultimately his suicide. However, Conor's experience with his brother helped him to strengthen his own life, and his dead brother is representative of the "yellow bird" (when mining still existed on a large-scale basis, canaries were sent down to check for signs of danger, and if the canary returned it was safe) referenced in this as well as "We Are Nowhere, And It's Now" that showed him that the path is safe for Oberst to continue down. When the first "single cell on a serpent's tongue" chorus hits, the listener is overcome with sweeping emotion, one of the most powerful moments of any song this year, and Oberst manages to pull it off not once, but twice, repeating it on the second chorus to equal affect. Emmylou Harris' beautifully worn vocals are the perfect compliment to Oberst's emotion in the song, her final appearance on the album, and everything in this track comes together perfectly to form what might be the most beautiful and moving song of this, or any, year."