Bright Eyes, 'Crazy as a Loon' (Sessions)

As the band moves on to the simmering and poetic 'Four Winds' -- the first single off the band's new album, 'Cassadaga' -- Oberst looks so comfortable, and his vocals sound so mature, that it seems as if he has been performing for more like two decades. It's no surprise when Oberst says that Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen are two artists whom he looks to as role models for how he patterns his career. Clearly, Oberst -- who despite impressive critical and commercial success is still with his independent Saddle Creek label -- is someone who, like those two legends, is fiercely independent and in it for the long haul.