The Holy Grail: Bill Callahan’s "Smog" Dec. 10, 2001 Peel Session Bill Callahan

December 2001, Maida Vale: Bill Callahan’s “Smog” perform with demonstrative zeal for their British witness at the BBC, shimmering and hissing with a Lynchian vibe of U.S. darkness in the invariable shadows of the fallen towers. Callahan & band (Jessica Billey, Mike Saenz and Jim White) cover Stevie Nicks, Lou Reed and Smog with grey, ashen resolve and tour-torn flexibility, amassing a bruised, plaintive essence of humanity with their efforts.

“This one to me is a time capsule more than most any of my recordings. All music is a time trapped in time that preaches timelessness -– preaching either convincingly or not. But with a radio session such as this, there is a different aspect. It’s all live, all first take, no overdubs. Also I think having the BBC engineers at the controls, with their own aesthetic, not one I am bringing to the studio, that makes it more encapsulated -- “remember that day we did that?” The circumstances and the memory of the smell of the studio makes it stand out. So it’s more of a performance maybe than a usual recording, because the audience (engineer and producer) were foreign to us. British, milk in tea. So we gave them something to show them who WE were -– Dale Coopers with our black coffees.

Somebody said this EP is very Twin Peaksy. Not in a Badalamenti, torch-song way –- a deeper connection. I can see that.

“Beautiful Child” has been turned into a minor key song because, well, it really should have been one in the first place! “Cold Discovery” was a live staple then and some nights it could really catch fire. We got a pretty good one for BBC. “Dirty Pants” here is probably better than the LP version. And then there’s “Jesus”. Sweet, sweet “Jesus”. Here sounding like a deathbed plea shot through with visitations from the angel of mercy.”
- Bill, 2024