“To me, Conor Oberst resembles Patti Smith a great deal,” R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe told me in an interview back in 2008. “As a performer, as a magnet. He’s just got that thing that she’s got.” The “thing” Stipe refers to has both captivated legions of followers of Oberst’s band Bright Eyes, and alienated nearly equal numbers of cynical detractors.