Mellem noget helt oprigtigt og alligevel fjernt

I begyndelsen var Smog. Så ville han hellere udgive under sit eget navn, Bill Callahan. Stemmen er den samme: tør, konstaterende, alligevel lidt lun. I 2026 står Callahan tilbage som en af de helt store nulevende amerikanske sangskrivere.

På My Days of 58 forholder Bill sig meget til døden, for han har nu begravet begge sine forældre og troede nyligt, at han selv var døende. I dag er han kræftfri.

Albummet er både stramt og (for hans standard) løssluppent. Hør, hvordan han i slutningen af ‘The Man I’m Supposed to Be’ synger “we take life seriously / laugh in the face of death” for så at slutte sangen på et skolegårdsvenligt “hihi”-grin. Eller nyd titlen ‘Pathol O.G.’.

Bill Callahan rammer næsten altid lige ned mellem noget helt oprigtigt og alligevel fjernt. Eller som Chris DeVille skriver på Stereogum:

“From his early lo-fi releases as Smog to the rootsier records under his own name, he’s struck a delicate balance between heartfelt conviction and emotional distance.”

Jeg forelskede mig i Bill Callahan, da jeg hørte ‘Jim Cain’ (2009). Jeg er ret sikker på, at den til dels handler om depression:

I started out in search of ordinary things

How much of a tree bends in the wind

I started telling the story without knowing the end

I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I got dark again

Something too big to be seen was passing over and over me

Well, it seemed like a routine case at first

With the death of the shadow came a lightness of verse

But the darkest of nights, in truth, still dazzles

And I work myself until I’m frazzled

I ended up in search of ordinary things

Like how can a wave possibly be?

I started running, and the concrete turned to sand

I started running, and things didn’t pan out as planned

In case things go poorly and I not return

Remember the good things I’ve done

In case things go poorly and I not return

Remember the good things I’ve done

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Done me in

 
/Martin