Long Island based rockers, NGHBRS are an inventive pop band who made a huge splash with their viral music video for “Hold Up Girl”.  The track racked up thousands of views daily after write-ups on the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsday and more (check out the video here: http://youtu.be/Xumr76uS4SQ).
Ghettoblaster recently caught up with NGHBRS’ Ian Kenny to discuss another inventive record, one of his favorites, I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning by Bright Eyes.  This is what he said about it.
What is your favorite album? 
My favorite record is I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning by Bright Eyes
Do you remember when you received or purchased the album? 
I purchased this record in 2005 right after my 15th birthday, and would listen to it on the bus to and from school.
What is your favorite song on the album?  
My favorite song is “Poison Oak”, track nine.
What is it about the song that resonates with you? 
The lyrics to this song have always stuck with me, especially the last verse:
“The end of paralysis
I was a statuette
Now I’m drunk as hell on a piano bench
And when I press the keys
It all gets reversed
The sound of loneliness makes me happier.”
The way Conor Oberst can tell a story is inspiring and really can take you to a place and time.  He is hands down one of my favorite song writers.
Have you ever covered a song from the album?  
I definitely have a drunken cover of “Poison Oak”, “Landlocked Blues”, and “Lua” on my hard drive somewhere from many years ago.
What is it about the album that makes it stand out against the band’s other output?  
I think the honesty and simplicity of this record made it stand out, to me, against other Bright Eye’s records.  I love most of his other work, but I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning really has no flair or bells and whistles and that purity really sticks with me.  On the lead off track, the fact that it’s just a guy telling a story and drinking a cup of something (that’s never clarified, but I’d like to think it was a nice aged whiskey) really allowed me to get to know Conor as a songwriter, lyricist, and storyteller.
Have you ever given a copy of this record to anyone?  What were the circumstances? 
I definitely gave this record to a few of my friends after I had gotten it in high school. I know a few of them love it just as much as I do.
Which of the records that you’ve performed on is your favorite? 
My favorite record that I’ve performed on is Twenty One Rooms.
What is your favorite song on the album and why?  
My favorite song on our record is “Green River”, the last track.  It is simple, honest, and raw.  I love the explosiveness of the choruses and the way it resolves.
(Visit the band here: https://www.facebook.com/nghbrs.)