I love a break up album. Beck, Seachange; Elliot Smith, XO; John Lennon, Mind Games (kinda); and of course, most famously Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks. Nothing spawns inspiration like a broken heart. Happiness is boring. Give me ravaged, tortured souls destroyed by wayward lovers any day. Bill Callahan's second solo album, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, could be a break up album. Rumour has it he broke up with Joanna Newsom not long before recording this album, and that's gotta hurt.
We all know his voice - it's deep, it's very deep. It jumps out at you as if he is there in the room. It is the perfect conduit for his dark and brooding style of storytelling. He slowly meanders through a childlike fascination with animals and nature, stopping occasionally to reflect on love and loss. The music is there, the instrumentals are beautiful, but it's hard to concentrate and anything but that voice, that sad and broken voice.
Perhaps that's why his first solo album Woke on a Whaleheart didn't work for me. I think he was in love. With Joanna.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
News Holland Music - Bill Callahan
I love a break up album. Beck, Seachange; Elliot Smith, XO; John Lennon, Mind Games (kinda); and of course, most famously Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks. Nothing spawns inspiration like a broken heart. Happiness is boring. Give me ravaged, tortured souls destroyed by wayward lovers any day. Bill Callahan's second solo album, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, could be a break up album. Rumour has it he broke up with Joanna Newsom not long before recording this album, and that's gotta hurt.
We all know his voice - it's deep, it's very deep. It jumps out at you as if he is there in the room. It is the perfect conduit for his dark and brooding style of storytelling. He slowly meanders through a childlike fascination with animals and nature, stopping occasionally to reflect on love and loss. The music is there, the instrumentals are beautiful, but it's hard to concentrate and anything but that voice, that sad and broken voice.
Perhaps that's why his first solo album Woke on a Whaleheart didn't work for me. I think he was in love. With Joanna.
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I concur for the most part. Bill was always punching above his weight with Joanna - I think deep down he knew this and probably planned all along to use the pending heartache as inspiration. Oh and Whaleheart did work for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Trent, I appreciate the effort you've gone to with this comment. Bill loves an ingenue, i think we both know that. He just can't resist a pretty girl with a fringe and an instrument.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll find you'll concur with most my posts. Keep reading.