80: Smog’s Red Apple Falls (1997)

Bill Callahan’s moody, self-reflective and dark-but-lovely brand of singer/songwriter compositions haven’t ever been this beautiful, and might not ever be again. Moving past a simple lo-fi home recording album, Callahan included strings, horns, drum machines and lap steels to show off his talent (finally). You either love him or hate him, but when you love him, you’ve got to love this one the most. “To Be of Use” shows off his always brilliant lyrics (”Most of my fantasies are of making someone else come/ To be of use/ To be of some hard, simple, undeniable use / Like a spindle, like a candle, like a horseshoe, like a corkscrew”), and “Ex-Con” wraps his talent as a story-teller with his gift as a songwriter, marrying a trumpet with a drum machine in the most perfect way possible. Definitely my favorite Smog, but also definitely one of the strongest albums of the ’90s.

Smog “To Be Of Use” (mp3)