(10/6/03, 5 a.m. ET) -- While giving a stellar performance last night (Sunday, October 5) at the third annual Shortlist Awards show at Los Angeles's Wiltern Theatre, Bright Eyes frontman/mastermind Conor Oberst used his between-song stage time to verbally attack Clear Channel Entertainment, the massive media company that promotes the Wiltern's concerts.

During the ceremony, held to recognize the most creative and adventurous album of 2003, Nebraskan singer-songwriter Oberst--who was nominated for his release Lifted… and performed with a complete 12-piece orchestra--raved about his fellow nominees and expressed gratitude for the chance to perform at the awards show. But he then added, "The only bummer about tonight is that we're helping to earn money for Clear Channel," complaining that the mega-media conglomerate--the world's largest promoter and marketer of live entertainment--makes it difficult for indie bands to tour. "If there's anyone who cares about music as an art form, now's the time to make a change," he declared. "There will be no more real music anymore if we keep letting people shove it down our f--king throats."