Think About Me (One for the Cool Girls)
 

AV Club By Katie Rife@futureschlock Feb 12, 2016 12:00 PM

http://www.avclub.com/article/christ...-about--231887

Christine McVie scored one for the “cool girls” with “Think About Me”


In Hear This, The A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week, because it’s “Love Week” here at The A.V. Club, we’re picking our favorite songs to put on a mixtape.

Most people make mixtapes to express that slightly nauseous, excited feeling—akin to being first in line for a really scary-looking rollercoaster—that is the early stages of a crush. But if you’re like me and process most of your feelings through song lyrics, you’ve also made “You’re great but I need some space” mixtapes, “I’m using my crush on you to distract from some issues in my life I just can’t face right now” mixtapes, “**** you, I never want to see you again” mixtapes, “I like you purely on a sexual level” mixtapes, and even “Where is this going?” mixtapes.



The last, appropriately, leads us to Fleetwood Mac. Once, after the painful and protracted breakup of a long-term relationship, I decided to put myself out there and landed face-first into one of those “casual, open things” everyone is so into these days. Sometimes this was great, and we had a good time together (and separately). And sometimes I couldn’t look at Facebook without melting into a viscous, yellow puddle of anxious insecurity. So, as people tormented by their feelings are prone to do, I was listening to Tusk one day when “Think About Me” came on. And the chorus struck me like a slap in the face:

“I don’t hold you down / Maybe that’s why you’re around / But if I’m the one you love / Think about me”


A pretty simple request, right? Basically, Christine McVie—who wrote and sings the song—was a “cool girl” when Gillian Flynn was still learning her ABCs. “Hey,” the song says. “No pressure. We’ve got a nice upbeat rock tempo and a catchy chorus. We’re just having fun here.” McVie’s voice blends sweetly with those of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, and she lets his fuzzed-out guitar share equal space with her electric piano. But scratch the surface of the lyrics, and a bitter sarcasm begins to well up: “I believe that you really want me / But it’s not easy, just to give in,” she says, like “cool girls” do when we insist no, really, I don’t need to be your “girlfriend.” Just, you know, maybe text me back?

And that’s how the No. 20 song on the Billboard Hot 100 for the weeks of April 26 and May 3, 1980—a minor hit by anything less than Fleetwood Mac standards—came to anchor a mixtape with some pretty wild ups and downs, just like the situation. I never sent it, because that would have been too “intense.” But trust me, the transitions were killer.

I am quite fascinated by the different feelings evoked in me by the final album cut and the rougher alternate version of this song.

I'm not a musician so its difficult to express what I mean...
the alternate version is obviously closer to how the song was originally intended. It seems to have a different emphasis on the title line- 'Think about me'. It's delivered in no uncertain terms- have more consideration for me, think about my feelings. This reflects the the rest of lyrics much more in a way.
Whereas by the time they'd reached the final version the emphasis of the title line seems to have softened and become more drawn out- rather than being 'confrontational' it's more; have me in your thoughts, whatever you're doing- keep me in mind. This what makes it interesting when you subsequently look deeply at the biting lyrics.

It's interesting how a slight change in the phrasing can have a big effect on the tone of a song.

I do think the Think About Me chorus is more of a pretty crooning in the final version. On the other hand, I think the way Lindsey yelps his interjections is rather demanding and a little mocking. You spend all day indulging yourself, think about ME every little once in a while. So, in the final version, I see both sides of it. A charming bi-polarity. And it's in keeping with the way Christine's songs call someone out, from Say You Love Me to Little Lies. The melody of the songs sound light, even happy and are not incriminating as the words actually are. SYLM sounds like a love song, but she's saying, I know I'm being played. I think Think About Me has some of that, final version and I agree with you that the alternate version is more strident, straightforward, less yielding.

Hey, if I'm the one you supposedly love, think about my feelings.

Michele

Agreed. That slight change in phrasing does make a difference. But so does the double-tracking of her voice, which makes her sound softer and poppier in the verses, whereas singing without studio effects in the original take, her tone is more immediate and suggestive of attitude.

Think About Me is one of those Christine songs that features her undeniable signature vibe. It's austere lyrically, yet still an appealing pop song. Their live version was much more rocking and robust.

Once I had a dream that I was at one of their outdoor shows in the late seventies. It was a Grateful Dead/hippy scene event. They modified their set list/songs to suite the audience demographic. They performed Think About Me, but instead of the short guitar solo in the middle of the song, it evolves into a 2 minute jam, then resumes to the ending.