you only want me when i get over you

[elle]

interesting blog - talks about monday morning, hold me, the ledge, it was i, and promises more LB tomorrow:

http://www.fluxblog.org/

April 19th, 2011 1:00am

You Only Want Me When I Get Over You

Fleetwood Mac “Monday Morning”

Lindsey Buckingham is a hopeless romantic, and writes almost exclusively about love and relationships. His lyrics are conversational, but usually aren’t the things you actually say to someone. In “Monday Morning,” his first track on a Fleetwood Mac album, he really lays it on the line with some very frank words about a relationship that has run its course without ever really starting. He comes off as more bitter in later songs but here he’s very warm and sweet, expressing his frustrations while quick to remind the woman being addressed that he has nothing but love for her. I love that this song is so kind despite being about someone leading him on and toying with his heart. The sound is so sunny too — it gallops along, a bit chunky in its tones but still light and breezy. Mick Fleetwood’s drumming is key to pulling this off; his fills keep the piece snappy and brisk, particularly when the song seems to plunge into that excellent “I don’t miiiind” bridge into the chorus.


Fleetwood Mac “Hold Me”

“Hold Me” is a Christine McVie song, but Buckingham is the dominant figure on the recording. Technically the song is a duet between Christine and Lindsey, but her cool voice recedes into the mix as his more passionate phrasing takes the lead. He brings all the fire to this song — after he finishes singing, his guitar solo carries much of the emotion in the piece. This is a breathtaking composition; harmonically sophisticated and atypical in structure without calling much attention to its form. There are so many dazzling bits of melody here — McVie’s piano figures, the lead vocal part, the cascading harmony in the chorus, the subtle chug of John McVie’s bass line. I love the way this plinking percussive part is the earthy counterpoint to the ethereal quality of the chorus. This is a truly an ensemble performance, but I credit Buckingham with getting it all to fit together so perfectly. This is what happens when a brilliant piece of songwriting is realized by a thoughtful producer and a group of musicians who play to their strengths but not necessarily their usual habits.

Stay tuned, there will be more Lindsey Buckingham tomorrow.
2 Comments


April 18th, 2011 1:00am

What It’s Really All About

Fleetwood Mac “The Ledge”

A huge amount of time and effort went into crafting and recording Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk, and yet its sequencing seems totally random. For example, I can’t think of many first tracks less suited to opening an album than “Over and Over,” a country rock ballad by Christine McVie that is so minor and low key that she may as well sing “bury this on side four” in the second verse. This song, one of the most square soft pop tracks in the entire Fleetwood Mac catalog, is immediately followed by “The Ledge,” a Lindsey Buckingham tune that is probably their all-time weirdest recording. The only reason you would front load these two tracks would be to deliberately confuse and alienate the band’s audience, which at this point in time was something in the neighborhood of 16 million people in the United States alone. So yeah, it’s not too surprising that about 15 million of those people took a pass on Tusk.

“The Ledge” isn’t very representative of Lindsey’s material on Tusk — and has virtually no aesthetic connection whatsoever with McVie and Stevie Nicks’ contributions — but it sets a tone for the record and establishes him as something of an eccentric. “The Ledge” is a like a caricature of Buckingham’s persona, exaggerating his trebly tone and high-strung character to the point that it becomes funny and a little grotesque. It’s also a radical deviation from his band’s established aesthetic, casting aside the polished perfection of Rumours for this perverse, intentionally sloppy and manic sound. It’s not as if Lindsey invented weird, arty pop, but there’s something about his weirdness that strikes me as particularly human and distinct. Even when he lets it all hang out, he sounds uptight and wired. That overcharged quality carries through the rest of his Tusk material, even the really pretty ballads. I’m sure you can chalk some of this up to the amount of cocaine he was snorting at the time, but if you look at his entire body of work, it’s obvious that this odd energy is essential to his personality. It’s just dialed all the way up for “The Ledge,” that’s all.


Lindsey Buckingham “It Was I”

This Gary Paxton cover from Buckingham’s first solo album Law and Order is another good example of his willful perversity. It’s a really sweet and straightforward pop song, but Lindsey pitches everything up a bit for a peculiar effect. It seems a bit more child-like, but also really cheap and plastic. (It’s almost Christmas-y.) The sound is just slightly off, but it makes a huge difference. It’s so much more colorful and evocative than if it had been played entirely straight. You really feel the youthful romance here. You know how in movies flashbacks are often shot with a different film stock or filter or something to signal to the audience that they’re in a different time and place? The treble-heavy tonality of this track does a similar trick.


Stay tuned. There will be more Lindsey Buckingham tomorrow.

[elle]

April 20th, 2011 1:00am

Every Little Bit Of You And Me

The choice of singles from Tusk is totally mystifying to me. I mean, I get that leading with “Tusk” is a show of hubris and that “Sara” is Stevie Nicks’ personal favorite, but there just seems to be a lot of missed opportunities for radio hits. Of the Nicks songs, I would’ve gone with “Angel.” As for Christine McVie, she didn’t really come up with anything too compelling for the record, which is strange since she is otherwise the group’s most reliable hit maker. Lindsey Buckingham’s songs from this period have a reputation for being quite odd, but the truth is, he wrote the best candidates for singles on the record. It’s a shame no one had the sense to give them a push.


Fleetwood Mac “What Makes You Think You’re the One”

In a catalog full of high quality break-up songs, “What Makes You Think You’re the One” is almost certainly Lindsey’s finest kiss-off. It’s brutal and self-righteous and blind to its own hypocrisies. It’s an upbeat, pleasant tune, but the rhythm is as agitated as it is peppy, and his voice takes on a strained, peevish tone. This song is essentially an expression of petty annoyance, and its perkiness comes out of the smug satisfaction of feeling like you’ve got the upper hand in an emotional conflict.


Fleetwood Mac “Walk A Thin Line”

The soft rock hit that never was! “Walk A Thin Line” may be my favorite Buckingham composition. The most striking thing about the song is that it conveys this very powerful sense of isolation, but also this sort of clear-eyed confidence. It’s the sound of a guy who totally believes that he’s making the right decisions, no matter how precarious his position may be. He feels persecuted and judged by his peers, but he’s too proud to back down. Instead he attains a gentle grace and embraces a patient outlook. The music approaches that laid back tranquility, but the high treble notes in his guitar betray a nagging doubt.

More Lindsey Buckingham tomorrow!

[Spoinny]

Originally Posted by elle

April 20th, 2011 1:00am

Every Little Bit Of You And Me

The choice of singles from Tusk is totally mystifying to me. I mean, I get that leading with “Tusk” is a show of hubris and that “Sara” is Stevie Nicks’ personal favorite, but there just seems to be a lot of missed opportunities for radio hits. Of the Nicks songs, I would’ve gone with “Angel.” As for Christine McVie, she didn’t really come up with anything too compelling for the record, which is strange since she is otherwise the group’s most reliable hit maker. Lindsey Buckingham’s songs from this period have a reputation for being quite odd, but the truth is, he wrote the best candidates for singles on the record. It’s a shame no one had the sense to give them a push.
Fleetwood Mac “What Makes You Think You’re the One”

In a catalog full of high quality break-up songs, “What Makes You Think You’re the One” is almost certainly Lindsey’s finest kiss-off. It’s brutal and self-righteous and blind to its own hypocrisies. It’s an upbeat, pleasant tune, but the rhythm is as agitated as it is peppy, and his voice takes on a strained, peevish tone. This song is essentially an expression of petty annoyance, and its perkiness comes out of the smug satisfaction of feeling like you’ve got the upper hand in an emotional conflict.


More Lindsey Buckingham tomorrow!

I never could stand "WMYT". I always thought the rhythm was way too disjointed and jarring (or something like that). Wasn't "Think About Me" a minor Christine hit? If it wasn't it should have been, one of my favs by the band.

[elle]

Originally Posted by Spoinny

I never could stand "WMYT". I always thought the rhythm was way too disjointed and jarring (or something like that). Wasn't "Think About Me" a minor Christine hit? If it wasn't it should have been, one of my favs by the band.

i think it was - it's a nice little rocker, imo.

i LOVE WMYTYTO - reading this review - and some of the comments below if you go to that link in the first message above - this is exactly how i'd describe it. sooooo angry and pettily but unapologetically self-righteous... and like he can't even spit the words out how angry he is!

interesting comment from somebody that they've never heard it before, and that they'd think it's arcade fire if it wasn't linked from LB-related blog.

and WATL - just such beautiful ballad, although i dislike the arrangement, should've been more stripped down.

[BTFLCHLD]

Originally Posted by Spoinny

I never could stand "WMYT".

I wish he would add this song to an upcoming set; fun THAT would be.

elle - thanks for this.

[elle]

Originally Posted by BTFLCHLD

I wish he would add this song to an upcoming set; fun THAT would be.

elle - thanks for this.

oh, my pleasure!

i wish that too - both WMYTYTO and WATL. it would be interesting to hear his version of WMYT now when he's not that angry anymore...

[elle]

http://www.fluxblog.org/2011/04/let-me-do-my-stuff

April 22nd, 2011 1:00am

Let Me Do My Stuff

Fleetwood Mac “Second Hand News”

I’ve heard a lot of pretty graphic and frank songs about sex in my life. When I was 14, I was way into pop songs with lyrics such as “I want to **** you like an animal” and “I want to be your blowjob queen.” So why is it that as an adult I find that a line like “won’t you lay me down in the tall grass and let me do my stuff” strikes me as sooooo much more dirty? I figure it must be the sweetness of the sentiment along with the tension between the specificity of the location and the vagueness of the action.

Rumours is rather famously the product of some very dark times for the members of the band, but it never sounds dreary or depressive. “Second Hand News” sets the tone with its springy rhythm and bright notes — it’s optimistic, it’s confident, it’s sexy. When Stevie Nicks comes in on harmony, she joins Lindsey Buckingham in singing “when times go bad, when times go rough,” and I think that is meaningful. He’s more passive-aggressive and spiteful on “Go Your Own Way,” but in this song there’s at least a chance of reconciliation, even if there’s no hope for a reunion. (”I’ve been tossed around enough.”) This certainly qualifies as a kiss-off song, but it’s worth noting that its climax is self-deprecating: “I’m just second hand news, I’m your second hand news.”


Lindsey Buckingham “Time Precious Time”

Buckingham’s guitar playing on this song is astonishing, total virtuoso stuff. It’s a gorgeous cascade of finger-picked notes, with each plucked note coming fast but sounding like a slow-moving spiral. When the chorus comes in, it’s physically jarring and stunningly beautiful — his voice seems to move against the guitar notes and a subtle harmony of treated vocals. He sounds like he’s defying time itself, trying to impose his will on something he has no ability to control. At the same time, the piece feels meditative and patient. It’s a swirl of mixed emotions about aging, but at the center there’s some wisdom and clarity.