Artist · chart history
Smog
Solo artist Silver Spring United States US singer-songwriter Bill Callahan
Smog is an artist from Silver Spring. Smog has 3 chart appearances on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations on RockLists, spanning 1999–2016. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Cold Blooded Old Times”, which appears on 2 lists with a best position of #35. The station that charted Smog most often is John Peel (BBC Radio 1), with 2 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1999.
Smog is the name Bill Callahan recorded and performed under. Born William Rahr Callahan on June 3, 1966, he started out as a lo-fi loner, cutting home-made tape albums on four-track recorders, full of wobbly guitar, murmured vocals and a black sense of humor that took a while to notice. In time he moved up to proper releases on Drag City, the label he has stuck with ever since.
By Knock Knock, from 1999, the hiss had cleared and the songs had grown some spine. "Cold Blooded Old Times" rides a relentless, galloping strum, with Callahan's deep, deadpan baritone sounding like a man who's seen it all and isn't about to make a fuss about it. Dongs of Sevotion followed in 2000, with "Dress Sexy at My Funeral" as its wry, funereal highlight. It's alternative country in the loosest sense: spare, dusty, and a lot funnier than it first lets on.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Smog on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cold Blooded Old Times | 2 | #35 | – | 1999 | |
| 2 | Dress Sexy At My Funeral | 1 | #40 | – | 2000 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 329 | Cold Blooded Old Times | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 |
| 2000 | 40 | Dress Sexy At My Funeral | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 2000 |
| 1999 | 35 | Cold Blooded Old Times | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1999 |
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