Bill Callahan, born in Silver Spring, Maryland. Callahan followed the lo-fi… Read Full Bio ↴Bill Callahan, born in Silver Spring, Maryland. Callahan followed the lo-fi genre of underground rock, with homemade tape-albums recorded on four track tape recorders. Later he signed a record contract with the label Drag City.
Callahan started out as a highly experimental artist, utilizing sub-standard instruments and recording equipment. His reason for using the lo-fi approach was not so much an aesthetic choice, rather it came from his lack of knowledge of recording studios, and fear of giving up control to professional engineers.
His later work saw him overcoming his fear of studios and producers, and in this period he recorded two albums with the influential producer Jim O'Rourke and musicians from the circles around Drag City, as well as collaborating with the similar-minded Neil Hagerty.
His songs are based on simple, repetitive structures, strikingly characterized by his baritone vocal. His lyrics are often centered around themes of spiritual searching and the complexity of emotions, with the use of subtlety and dark irony in the classic sense. There is also a broad swathe of joy throughout Callahan's work (and a singular obsession with horses that he shares with Will Oldham and Mark Linkous). He is a keen storyteller using simple words to project large and deeply echoing tales.
Callahan's love life has been documented with vigor in numerous hipster publications, including his romantic relationship with Chan Marshall (Cat Power), who allegedly penned "To Be a Good Woman" in tribute to Callahan while referencing his song "To Be Of Use." It has recently been rumored that Callahan is now involved with Drag City labelmate Joanna Newsom.
Callahan is widely seen as one of the important figures of American rock in the '90s. He currently resides in Austin, TX.
On his 2007 album "Woke on a Whaleheart" he dropped the name Smog and used his real name, Bill Callahan.

There are other artists with the same name:

2. Smog was a psychedelic rock band from Perù, wich in 1971 released the single Time for the Blues

3. Sludge/doom metal from Nuremberg, Germany

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4. Black metal from Kraków, Poland

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Floating
Smog Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Floating
Hear a name
From which planet
Do you beckon
I don't reckon
It could be too far from here
I'll bet you look like Marc Bolan's girlfriend
I've only heard a voice

I've only seen your song
It keeps me awake
It keeps me floating
Hear a name

From which planet
Do you beckon

Overall Meaning

The Smog song "Floating" is a poetic interpretation of the experience of being bewitched by someone seemingly otherworldly. The singer hears a name that seems to come from a far-off place and wonders where it is coming from. The lyrics suggest a feeling of being disoriented and fascinated by this unknown person or presence. The reference to Marc Bolan's girlfriend suggests a reference to a figure who is iconic and mysterious in the same way. The singer never sees this person but instead experiences them through their "song," which keeps him floating and awake.

The song as a whole embodies a dreamlike quality, with the lyrics drifting in and out of focus like the ebb and flow of unconscious thought. The sense of being "floating" is echoed in the melody and in the way the words seem to hang in the air, evoking a sense of open space and possibility. Although the meaning is elusive and shrouded in mystery, the song invites us to embrace the mystery and allow ourselves to be carried away by it.

Line by Line Meaning

Floating
I am in a state of weightlessness and freedom

Hear a name
Listening for a name, perhaps associated with a new person or place

From which planet
Wondering if this new name is from an unfamiliar world

Do you beckon
Are you calling out to me or inviting me to your world?

I don't reckon
I'm uncertain or skeptical about this potential new connection

It could be too far from here
Perhaps this connection is geographically distant or out of reach

I'll bet you look like Marc Bolan's girlfriend
Imagining what this person looks like or admiring their beauty

I've only heard a voice
So far, my connection with this person is mainly through communication

I've only seen your song
My impression of this person is based mainly on their artistic expression

It keeps me awake
This person's influence or impact on me is strong and affecting my sleep

It keeps me floating
This person's influence or impact on me is making me feel free and without weight