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Bill Callahan
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Austin, United States (2007 – present)
Bill Callahan (born 1966), also known as Smog and (Smog), is an american singer-songwriter born in Silver Spring, Maryland. Callahan began working in the lo-fi genre of underground rock, with home-made tape-albums recorded on four track tape recorders. Later he began releasing albums with the label Drag City, to which he remains signed today.
Callahan started out as a highly experimental artist, using substandard instruments and recording equipment. His early songs often nearly lacked melodic structure and were clumsily played on poorly tuned guitars (possibly influenced by Jandek, whom Callahan admired), resulting in the dissonant sounds on his self-released cassettes and debut album Sewn to the Sky. Much of his early output was instrumental, a stark contrast to the lyrical focus of his later work. Apparently, he used lo-fi techniques not primarily because of an aesthetic preference but because he didn’t have any other possibility to make music. Once he signed a contract with Drag City, he also started to use recording studios and a greater variety of instruments for his records.
From 1993 to 2000, Callahan’s recordings grew more and more “professional” sounding, with more instruments, and a higher sound quality. In this period he recorded two albums with the influential producer Jim O’Rourke and Tortoise’s John McEntire, and collaborated with Neil Hagerty. After 2000’s Dongs of Sevotion, Callahan began moving back to a slightly simpler instrumentation and recording style, while retaining the more consistent songwriting style he had developed over the years.
Callahan started out as a highly experimental artist, using substandard instruments and recording equipment. His early songs often nearly lacked melodic structure and were clumsily played on poorly tuned guitars (possibly influenced by Jandek, whom Callahan admired), resulting in the dissonant sounds on his self-released cassettes and debut album Sewn to the Sky. Much of his early output was instrumental, a stark contrast to the lyrical focus of his later work. Apparently, he used lo-fi techniques not primarily because of an aesthetic preference but because he didn’t have any other possibility to make music. Once he signed a contract with Drag City, he also started to use recording studios and a greater variety of instruments for his records.
From 1993 to 2000, Callahan’s recordings grew more and more “professional” sounding, with more instruments, and a higher sound quality. In this period he recorded two albums with the influential producer Jim O’Rourke and Tortoise’s John McEntire, and collaborated with Neil Hagerty. After 2000’s Dongs of Sevotion, Callahan began moving back to a slightly simpler instrumentation and recording style, while retaining the more consistent songwriting style he had developed over the years.
Top Albums
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Woke On A Whaleheart
Bill Callahan
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Diamond Dancer
Bill CallahanBuy- Download Album
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Shoutbox
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Wooooooooo wrote:
His voice sounds so like David Berman's.
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saltybalz wrote:
listening to "sometimes i wish we were an eagle" for the first time. 2 songs in and it is amazing
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Ainhache wrote:
de cabeza
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tekkie69 wrote:
in silent nights way.
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KOKOMOwebradio wrote:
'Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle' is #1 on KOKOMO WebRadio's best of 2009 ! more @ http://kokomo.fr
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Primus1 wrote:
mys mys
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YorkerMusic wrote:
Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle is #2 on The Yorker's Top 10 albums of '09: http://www.theyorker.co.uk/news/music/3624
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hullerombuller wrote:
"Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle" by Bill Callahan made it to number 5 on my top 60 of albums released in 2009.
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ifeltyourshape wrote:
I don't see a problem with him using the Bill Callahan name now, because his Smog material and his BC material are very different.
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theStarry wrote:
Amazing new album.. I agree he really needs to decide on 'Bill Callahan' or 'Smog' because it doesnt feel right for me to comment on how great a song 'cold blooded old times' is but i cant be arsed going to his Smog page.
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GodShowMeMagic wrote:
Yep he does. He played Bathysphere when I saw him recently, for example...
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davevegan wrote:
Does anyone know if he performs "Smog" material while performing as "Bill Callahan," or does he disregard the material he performed under the "Smog" moniker?
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KOKOMOwebradio wrote:
you should watch this video shot last summer in France : http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/Bill_Callahan_en_direct_de_la_Route_du_Rock/
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pennyeach wrote:
scratches that itch
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touchmyichi wrote:
Bill Callahan/Smog/(smog) needs to settle on one name, he's making my music collection damn confusing.
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hotterthanjuly wrote:
This needs to be merged with Smog.
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east_river wrote:
does anybody know whether there's any recording of any of those solo in-store performances. i mean the whole show, not just some youtube videos.........anyone please?
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eyegorVSighost wrote:
check out Eyegor, low-fi acoustic folk visions (inspired by mountain borderlands and Cormack Mccarthy). all songs available on free download, http://www.last.fm/music/eyegor hugs to you fellows.
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kristeng02 wrote:
Mmm...that voice.
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tomholcroft wrote:
you couldn't have a better name for this type of music
Videos
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Events
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Feb
10
Bill Callahan
Le Grand Mix, Tourcoing, Lille, France
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| 12 attendees
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Feb
12
Bill Callahan
Café de la Danse, Paris, France
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| 45 attendees
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Feb
13
Bill Callahan
Théâtre Garonne, Toulouse, France
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| 4 attendees
News
in-store performance at waterloo records
6 May 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/toomuchtolove
Friday, May 8th at 5:30 pmWaterloo600 N. LamarAustin, TX
78703
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1 Jan 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/toomuchtolove -
1 Jan 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/toomuchtolove -
14 Dec 2008 | from blog.myspace.com/toomuchtolove
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Recent Activity
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maxxkrumm added Bill Callahan to maxxkrumm’s library. 31 minutes ago
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winterfallen wrote about Bill Callahan in 2009 In Statistics. 6 hours ago
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labmaster2 added Bill Callahan to labmaster2’s library. 7 hours ago
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justplainzach wrote about Bill Callahan in My Top 10 of 2009 and the Decade!. 12 hours ago
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dubaguy added Bill Callahan to dubaguy’s library. yesterday evening
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Lautje91 wrote about Bill Callahan in Best of 2009. yesterday evening
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kevinmt tagged Bill Callahan with indie folk and singer-songwriter. yesterday afternoon
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quengelexemplar and makeyoubald added Bill Callahan to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
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jeanyvesb wrote about Bill Callahan in Top 20 records of 2009. yesterday morning
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reliktum tagged Bill Callahan with alt-country and singer-songwriter. yesterday morning
Related Journals
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2009 In Statistics
by winterfallen |
1 Jan 2010 | Add comment
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My Top 10 of 2009 and the Decade!
by justplainzach |
1 Jan 2010 | Add comment
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Best of 2009
by Lautje91 |
31 Dec 2009 | Add comment
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