Watch Bill Callahan Perform Four Songs in a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
Gold Record Out Now via Drag City
Sep 09, 2020
Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan released a new album, Gold Record, last week via Drag City. Now he has done a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert for NPR Music, performing four songs remotely from outside his home. Joined by trumpet player Derek Phelps and guitarist Matt Kinsey, Callahan performed “Pigeons,” “Released,” “Another Song,” and “The Mackenzies.” Watch it below.
As Callahan had little to say between songs, NPR followed up with him and got this statement about the current state of the world: “There are a lot of voices these days. So many that, I think, even positive sentiments become detrimental in their deafening number,. Quiet reflection can be the clearest and most informative and soothing voice you’ll ever hear. There are many unknowns at this time in history. It’s more than a junction in our old world. It’s the possibility of a whole new world. A large part of me believes this. Listen to music, read books, talk to friends and family. Don’t listen to the voices, not even mine!”
Callahan previously shared a bunch of Gold Record tracks, including “Ry Cooder,” “Cowboy,” and “Breakfast,” which Callahan actually released a specialty coffee brand along with it. Prior to those he shared “Let’s Move to the Country,” a cover of a song by his old band Smog, and before that came “The Mackenzies,” “Protest Song,” “35,” and “Pigeons,” which humorously opened with Callahan declaring “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” “Pigeons” was one of our Songs of the Week. Callahan also shared “Another Song,” a lovely melody about afternoon delight, meaning playing hooky from work to make love to your partner.
Gold Record is the follow-up to 2019’s Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, released last June via Drag City. That was his first album in six years, since 2013’s Dream River, so Gold River represents a quick turnaround time for Callahan. Following Dream River Callahan got married and had a kid and after those big and happy life changes he had trouble tapping into his usual songwriting well. It seems like the songwriting is flowing more freely now.
While prepping to go on a long tour for Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest and contemplating being away from his family for a long time, he pulled out some sketches from his notebooks and finished some of them. These are the images you see in each music video for Gold Record. The basics of Gold Record were recorded live with Matt Kinsey on guitar and Jaime Zurverza on bass.
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