Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Armpit Collection XXXVII: Put God Away



Why did you choose to end the album with “It’s time to put God away”?

Because it really is! And it's a culmination song. It's a time-suspending song. You have to put it at the end. Can I just say this is a great record?

This record struck me very clearly with how good it sounded. There's a calm nature to not only the sound, but the opening line. "I started out in search of ordinary things." Sometimes we revel in the abstract because of a disconnect or inability to express realistically. Those journeys may begin with a pining for normalcy, clarity, a direct path to understanding. The relativity of ordinary offers similar comforts among us.

There's a very humble way about Callahan's approach that I find comforting, and that I feel sets this record apart from most singer/songwriter efforts. It doesn't feel forced. He can relish in the weird or intrigue without being contrived. Lyrically speaking, there is great literalism.

Armpit-technically, this album should be an addition to the 21st C. Singer/Songwriter Dilemna. Looking back, it makes more sense for Eagle to be included, than Wicked Grin.

This post was spurred by the release of Callahan's newest, Apocalypse.

3 comments:

NathanaelMcDaniel said...

any thoughts on the new one?

JlikeBoB said...

Listened to the first side, didn't grab me like this one.

I don't think it was the same producer, which is evident in the sound. Some interesting lyrical ideas in it.

JlikeBoB said...

There's a very marked difference between the first and second side of Apocalypse. The second side is very rich.