bill callahan (post-smog)

cannot find much or really any discussion of either 'woke on a whaleheart' or 'sometimes i wish i were an eagle.'

i get the distinct feeling that tastemakers have decided he is passé. his lyrics are definitely getting odder, insofar as they seem to alternate absolute limpidity (faith/void) and near-total inscrutability. not obscurantist inscrutability à la dylan, just... elliptical.

but i really like the last record, 'sometimes.' 'whaleheart' is spotty -- the neil hagerty production isn't my favorite.

Yeah, Whaleheart is definitely the Callahan album I listen to the least--you are OTM about the production making Callahan sound like something he's not, all muddled and distracted. I couldn't pick one song off there that I really dig.

Sometimes isn't bad at all. It sounds like a continuation from River. "All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast" is a great tune.

I really, really like both of these albums.

'day' 'diamond dancer' 'a man needs a woman or a man to be a man' are all GRATE - I don't get the whaleheart hate.

Oh yeah, forgot that Diamond Dancer was on Whaleheart. Still definitely better live than not, though.

Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle is top 3 for 2009 easy for me - I don't think "tastemakers" (who are they?) have decided he's passe so much as you sort of run out of things to say about somebody who reliably writes good, interesting songs. This is kind of a deeper critical problem in my opinion, not an easy one to solve: unless an artist reaches icon status (Dylan, Neil Young) & is thereby afforded automatic coverage by all when they release something, then critics (on the blogs or otherwise) are going to feel at a loss to say much; people don't really do much lyrical analysis, even less melodic/musical analysis since the gonzo sort of how-I-felt-while-listening/synaesthetic-response style of criticism is the overall rule. I am trying not to say anything qualitatively about whether that's good or bad, though yeah, my opinion is that writers like Callahan would be better served by a tendency in critics toward more formal analysis (which needn't be as dry as it sounds) and away from, you know, purple prose tbh

as guilty as the next guy on the Tyranny of Subjective Response obv but that's my opinion on why this guy doing some of the best work of his career can't seem to attract much att'n

I've gone back and forth on this album. I'm fond of "My Friend" and "All Thoughts..." Some of the other song-poems sound melodically uninteresting, and that's when his croak bothers me.

I actually think that formally as a singer he's like leagues ahead of pretty much his entire generation of singer-songwriters

Really like the last two and I Wish We Were An Eagle is prob the better of the two, but not by miles.

It's top 3 for me too. and my most fave cover of teh year too

http://www.jamrecords.co.uk/image/bill_callaghan_sometimes.jpg

ach a lot of "two" and "too" in there. still half asleep

J0hn OTM; I liked Whaleheart and love Eagle (have never really heard much by him before) but if I was still writing I'd not have a clue what to say about him.

"get the distinct feeling that tastemakers have decided he is passé. "

i don't know about the tastemakers but:
1.Eagle is one of 2009 best record (and there arent many great record in 09 so far imo)
2. i think it's his best record to date: the songwriting is a lot more interesting and complex than in the Smog era,his voice sounds better (and different!)than ever with the deep baritone sound, and the production is perfect.

the only problem i have with Eagle, is that sometimes Callahan's irony prevents some of the (potential) emotion impact of the songs.
thats also true for some Will Oldham's songs btw.

i don't think either of these albums are as good as "supper" or "a river...". i wish he hadn't changed his name, maybe the albums would be better.

xpost. i do think his voice continues to improve.

theres a discussion about Eagle here as well:

Classic or Dud: Smog

Sometimes... is definitely one of my albums of the year. Much darker and more cohesive than any of his previous records I feel. Some great moments. I love the slowly revealed sentence in Too Many Birds. I think he's getting better and better. Will Oldham is kind of becoming Woody Allen-esque in terms of quality and quantity!

I love the slowly revealed sentence in Too Many Birds

y'huh, that's converted people i know who never liked smog.

would also be worth doing a s/d on non-lp smog; there's probably only five more songs, but everything he's done outside of the albums is terrific; there's a b-side called taken which is as good as anything on whaleheart (which i like, too - honeymoon child and day, particularly); all the covers he's done in the past few months and the couple that are forthcoming.

my opinion is that writers like Callahan would be better served by a tendency in critics toward more formal analysis (which needn't be as dry as it sounds) and away from, you know, purple prose tbh

i agree entirely (but then, i'm predisposed to agree, having mounted similar arguments elsewhere). i don't think it would be all that hard to do a good, attentive analysis of bill's music, since it's not notably intricate.

i think your analysis of why critics don't have much to say about his new LPs is spot on, as well. there haven't really been any negative reviews of his recent work, just a general sense of, "oh hi here's a new excellent bill callahan record now didja hear about the wavvvvvvves guy throwing a hissy fit?!"

drag city figures may but this idea to rest, but i can see bill gradually gaining more and more of a following and his records selling a bit better (accouting for overall continued drop in record sales) despite relative lack of press. at least, his last show here was sold out.

i still think "supper" might be my favorite record, but the last one is excellent. i like "whaleheart," too, it simply doesn't stick in the mind as much or as long.

still liking A River Ain't Much Too Love best from his (sort of) recent work.

supper is the meisterwerk (oh no: smog discussion). the words are so playful.

If...
If you...
If you could...
If you could only...
If you could only stop...
If you could only stop your...
If you could only stop your heart...
If you could only stop your heart beat...
If you could only stop your heart beat for...
If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart...
If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart beat.

http://www.dragcity.com/system/album_products/images/1606/large.jpg?1263169047

a-comin' in march

live, btw

is it new material?

seems unlikely given that it's live and he just put out an album a few months ago

almost a year ago!

is old; there was an interview with him around the time eagle came out saying he was mixing the thing:

Our Anniversary 7:13
Diamond Dancer 4:00
Bowery 5:59
Held 5:00
Say Valley Maker 6:52
In The Pines 5:51
Cold-Blooded Old Times 5:38
Rock Bottom Riser 7:10
Let Me See The Colts 6:54
The Well 9:05
Bathysphere 5:59

I am a fan of that tracklist.

Also I like how several have two minutes appended to them--broken things with a front of composure stretched to further breaking.

i've seen this dude in concert a dozen times dating back to 1996. he is never less than good. sometimes the long atonal blooze or velvet underground-style raveups are real boring, sometimes they hit the spot.

only two older songs on that list. but happily some stuff from "supper" (my favorite of his LPs).

is this one solo acoustic? don't know how he's been touring recently ... anyway, tracklist looks pretty a+.

nuh uh, will be with band. i wish it was from a little later, since the line up from the last tour were sweet, drove previously kinda stark a river ain't too much to love songs into the ground. think the last line up had a violinist?, and thor drumming, not sure.

i could swap in the pines for river guard or something but yeah it looks good. cover lovely too.

bill is looking sort of beefy lately

http://www.dragcity.com/system/artists/photos/74/large.jpg?1250785302

a bit like aged david carradine no?

http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/david-carradine.jpg

or not so aged

best smog look recently was wilderness bill:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3485/3200528911_4dcc5e9ea3.jpg

recent setlists look rad- playing distance

oh god i LOVE distance.

"how can something be in any empty box?"

love this dude so much. hilarious.

If...
If you...
If you could...
If you could only...
If you could only stop...
If you could only stop your...
If you could only stop your heart...
If you could only stop your heart beat...
If you could only stop your heart beat for...
If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart...
If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart beat.

― jed_, Sunday, January 10, 2010 9:23 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

otm

otm

Gil Scott-Heron covers I'm New Here. i don't know what to make of it but it is... something.

http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/tu/tu100308gil_scott-heron_im_n?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:%20kcrw/tu%20%28Today%27s%20Top%20Tune%29&utm_term=Todays%20Top%20Tune

"how can something be in any empty box?"

love this dude so much. hilarious.

lyrics on supper are so sharp and tense and funny and kinda hot throughout

All this talk about Supper makes me want to check it out. It may be the only Smog record I don't own. Just haven't got around to it. My favorite Callahan/Smog record is the one I heard first - Knock Knock.

supper is my fave; i am not a big listmaker but it's one of my favourite things that existed in the last ten years.

knock knock is kinda uneven to me; some of the best songs are on there but the slow loren connors jam and the weird no dancing upbeat stuff make it kind of too broad i think.

yeah, the lyrics from supper are fantastic. probably my favorite album as well.

a friend of mine at the time (who was a big smog fan) felt that he was moving into a too-elliptical and -obscurantist direction, but i actually don't think this is the case w/ supper. my friend cited the song butterflies drowned in wine. but that's a really easy to understand and evocative and inventive mashup of two metaphors (butterflies in the stomach/drowning your troubles in alcohol). i think in the last two albums he can maybe be accused of being opaque but i still love him.

i know it's a cliche but i can't think of a better contemporary lyricist. the guy from drive-by truckers is pretty good though their music isn't particular to my tastes.

Robert Forster's better with tunes.

And he's a Callahan fan too.

you know, i haven't heard any of forster's recent (meaning past 15 years?) stuff. i'm not a huge go-betweens fan though i do like them. always found something a little too..emphatic around the edges about them for my taste. don't know if i could explain it better. both forster and mcclennan obviously wrote some deathless songs.

not sure how to express this, but although i actually think bill's more of a melodist than he often gets credit for being, i don't think the charm of music is principally about novel or tricky 'tunes'. i mean, the 'hooks' in his songs are often in his wry, often very very funny delivery. he tends to use variations on sort of stock, public-domain-type melodies; and typically his inventiveness comes in terms of the way he varies or suspends or elongates the phrasing. and sometimes in terms of his play with the larger form of the song.

btw thanks for that link! that's one of the best reviews of any of bill's albums i've read.

i love "supper" but my favourites of recent albums are this new one and "a river...". it's great that people claim any of the albums to be their favourites but still love another five so much that they can't really decide. i'd be surprised if someone told me "woke on a waleheart" or "rain on lens" were their faves but, unlike other artists, i'd listen again to try and work out why they liked them so much.. and i'd probably end up loving them too.

i agree that he's the best lyricist working now (that i'm aware of) and by some distance.

hm "distance", that's some track.

i liked this song more than anything i can remember from shepherd. i think i never listened to the whole thing which is kinda crazy given how much i like so many of his records.
should i know/ expect some context for the johnny cash thing at the beginning?

he really has a lot of ugly album covers.

Yeah what was he thinking with that Apocalypse cover

https://i.imgur.com/WQ5xFN8.jpg

Psyched about the new album, love the song Pigeons! Not loving Shepherd as much as I should, feel kinda weird and guilty about it. Hmm

I love the "Sometimes ..." artwork and the cat/power "Knock Knock" image makes me chuckle. But, yeah.

Welcome back Rizzx!

I like Pigeons a lot, it's very much in the same vein as Shepherd tbf. I'm surprised so many of you didn't get into Shepherd. It's long but bobs by so nicely.

Dream River + the dub versions (especially the dub verions) have been my lockdown jam.

Hey thanks Bateau!

Sadly, the new song is more of the same, and not in a good way. It's like he is writing the same song, with the same arrangements over and over again..

More attention to interesting melodies at least will be welcome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ3rR3JOVfQ

why can't the album cover art be one of these cool drawings in the videos ?

nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2_T4CMCmXs

wow this is one i really like !

love the drawing, too.

i don't want to wait until september

here's another song. not to be confused with 'Another Song'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOhdwYC678Q

i'm really just in the mood for these new songs sort of all the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc5mU2-sKcU

Love this one.

I hear you Budo, it's a balm.

I'm holding off on repeat listens to these cuz I want the album to work on me as a whole....but man every one of these on first listen is so good

b callahan's voice is like a strong, perfume-y (flavored) sort of maple syrup.. if it's agreeable, then great. if not, then it's a bit much. his expressive range always feels measured, even when the rest of the instrumentation is (going for) loose and ramschacke. it's not entirely unlike d sylvian's vocals on manafon, or blemish

The Mackenzies is beautiful.

Just like 5 loaded storylines falling into each other. No direct, sensible route through. And it’s perfectly OK.

"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash"

It's a gift to have you back with a new album, Bill <3

Uhhh, Mr. Cooder

on first listen i like it more than shepherd in a sheepskin vest but less than most of his other albums. maybe it'll grow on me.

"Pigeons" and "The Mackenzies" feel like top tier BC to me

Listening to this walking the dog tonight and could not stop laughing at Protest Song. That is a funny song. I am not sure how to articulate this but I love how Bill is not afraid to commit to song concept. He has so many subtle songs, many oblique, but most of his albums have one or two peppered in that, while they can be just as profound, also have this air of novelty to them.

step aside son you’re gonna get hoit

I guess as close as he’ll ever get to chooglin’

I can't follow any of these stories, they go in one ear and out the other and I'm left wondering what each song is about. I got The Mackenzies but didn't like it much, some good points though. I think I know what he's trying to do (maybe) but can't appreciate it at all.

Pigeons is a pretty straightforward story

the new one has this awkward feeling of the music being built around the structure of the lyrics, to the extent that the songs don't really flow or even feel like proper songs sometimes

I like this album and think "Breakfast" the keeper.

has this awkward feeling of the music being built around the structure of the lyrics, to the extent that the songs don't really flow or even feel like proper songs sometimes

― na (NA), Wednesday, September 9, 2020 1:15 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is otm and exactly how I feel about the last few albums

So, Bill & Will re-recorded "Our Anniversary" with Todd Rittman (US Maple/Dead Rider) plopping down some big beefy chunky riffs all over it, and then Jim White (played drums on the original, I just learned) joins John C. Reilly and Tim Heidecker to record their reactions. Not clear if John & Tim had heard it before, but the original is my favorite Smog song and so my reaction was a lot more similar to Jim's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBYxKpXIh1k

Yeah weird.

Seems not really like a cover but the just the lyrics grafted onto something entirely different? On the one hand I like the idea of these two really going for it and Will really reaching (!) on the vocal...on the other its missing that circularity that makes the orig.

...so amazing^

Maybe would dig more if I wasn’t trying to get the same feels

My sentimonies exactly, this is an entirely different song, lyrics do not a song make, but dang is Will ever belting em, whatever this is. And on second listen I would like to retract beefy and chunky and replace it with harmonically crunchy, that's really more Todd.

god love him but Tim and his guitar face :/

Rittman's feel for getting that Crazy Horse sound out of the band is awesome but the lyrics feel like an afterthought -- like nobody wanted to write new lyrics so they just sang "Our Anniversary," or noticed at some point that the phrases could fit into the jam and did that instead of finding what other story the music might want to tell. One of my favorite Smog tunes in the original, dig the jam they're doing here but as Hadrian says it doesn't really evoke the mood the (excellent) lyrics do

I'm just happy to see John C Reilly jamming out to one of the greatest American rock guitarists of all time

This may be one of Will's finest vocal performances, the most range I've ever heard him reach for.

god love him but Tim and his guitar face :/

― early-Woolf semantic prosody (Hadrian VIII), Tuesday, December 8, 2020 7:38 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Tim is a bit over earnest as a musician and music lover, which is an interesting stark contrast against his persona in regards to comedy. I think he's been a little wrapped up in feeling like a Real Indie Rockstar this past year especially, but I don't fault him! Glad he's having so much fun.

haha yeah heidecker is definitely "you guys looked like you were having fun up there"

During the verses Will adopts an almost Robert Plant ca. "Kashmir" tone.

didn't even realize he had a new one out today. i'll give it a shot but i haven't really connected with anything past "dream river" (maybe a me problem)

https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/62fa6349ecee23939248fbd4/master/w_1600,c_limit/Bill-Callahan.jpg

pretty awful album cover, though that's in character at this point

it's with jim white--big plus in my book

this is great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECckgYq1Qs4

sound in video is bad but... can't wait to see this show!

Went to see him in Bristol on Tuesday. Fantastic even though he only played three songs I recognised (don't have either of his latest two albums yet). Saxophonist was a great addition and Bill's between song banter has improved since I saw him last (in '94)!