Bright Eyes, 'Smoke Without Fire' (Sessions)

Not wanting to hear any boos is fitting for someone who, when asked about public criticism of his music (such as naysayers calling him a snot-nosed kid), says he just wants to "keep my nose clean." Like any artist who's willing to experiment with his sound and has the courage to make both his triumphs and near-misses public, Oberst does get more than his fair share of criticism. But instead of wasting his time dwelling on the negative, he prefers to shrug it off, joke about it and let his music do the talking.

After a quick search, Walcott determines that no, he doesn't have any monkey sounds on his keyboard. Oberst shrugs and then spins around and shouts, "This next song is for all the good people at Isabella's!" before launching into 'Cartoon Blues,' a country-rock song that would make any honky-tonk bar crowd go nuts. After a moment wondering what the heck Isabella's is, everybody in the studio realizes that it's the fake restaurant painted on the studio backdrop.