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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Teenage Spaceship
Smog Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The houses at night
Flying alone
A teenage spaceship
I was a teenage spaceship
Landing at night
Loomed so large on the horizon
So large, people thought my windows were stars
So large on the horizon
People thought my windows were stars
A teenage spaceship, a teenage spaceship
And I swore I'd never lay like a log
Bark like a dog
I was a teenage smog
Sewn to the sky
The song "Teenage Spaceship" by Smog expresses the loneliness of adolescence and the longing for freedom. The singer describes flying alone over the houses at night, embodying a teenage spaceship, a symbol of the adolescent desire to be something special and unique. He describes the spaceship as beautiful, with all of its lights, and so large on the horizon that people thought its windows were stars. This imagery represents the feelings of grandiosity and importance that teenagers sometimes feel, despite the fact that they are still small and inexperienced.
The singer then makes a bold statement that he will never submit to authority like a "log" or "dog", acknowledging the rebellious nature of adolescence. Furthermore, he identifies himself as a "teenage smog", an entity that is "sewn to the sky", suggesting that he is connected to something larger than himself, yet still feels distant and unattached. This alludes to the idea that teenagers are on the brink of adulthood, trying to find their place and create their own identity, yet still struggling with the disconnect between childhood and adulthood.
Overall, the song explores the complexities of adolescence and the struggle to find a sense of self amidst the confusion and loneliness of growing up.
Line by Line Meaning
Flying around
Traveling through the air
The houses at night
Overlooking the residential areas in the darkness
Flying alone
Moving without having any company
A teenage spaceship
A young person with an abundance of energy ready to explore their universe
I was a teenage spaceship
Referring to oneself as a young and vibrant individual with aspirations to achieve their goals and ambitions
Landing at night
Touchdown after a journey during nighttime
I was beautiful with all my lights
Having a bright and radiant appearance while glowing with illumination
Loomed so large on the horizon
Appearing as a massive form in the distance
So large, people thought my windows were stars
Being so big that observers misidentified the ship's windows as celestial bodies
And I swore I'd never lay like a log
Making a promise to remain active and alert
Bark like a dog
Acting like an immature or thoughtless person
I was a teenage smog
A play on words referring to the pollution created by modern transportation and industrialization as a symbol of adolescent angst
Sewn to the sky
Attached to an unalterable fate, predetermined by one's environment or circumstances
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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