Another q. about "Tusk" ( The SONG this time )
 

OKAY guys here's a question about the song "Tusk" -

I understand - "Crystal" clear - that this is a VERY angry song, and I understand the reasons why. But -

Doesn't it seem that it has a certain "satirical" side to it? The tuba playing, for example, sounds like - frankly - farting... It seems like at the end of the song he's sorta saying, "Don't take this TOO seriously, it's just a brain fart."

Or is he just blowing smoke there???... :shrug: :shocked:

Angry? I've always thought it was horny. :shrug:

Long before La Nicks ever talked about the tribe and the mountain stuff, I always got the vibe that the music indicated some sort of tribal ceremony with the drum solo, etc. being when they made the sacrifice.

The lyrics, on the other hand, reminded me of a jealous lover wondering where their partner had been and had they been cheating on them "tell me what's going on . . . whose on the phone . . . don't say that you love me" - Then perhaps the chorus of Tusk means the vulgar of the male appendage used to insult a jerk of a male.

The tuba playing sounds like farting? You think that's deliberate?

"Tusk" isn't all that serious, one way or the other. It's a playful romp: wry, facetious, energetic, daft. It's essentially a sound blast. A guy named Art Bartner (music faculty at USC) wrote the score for the horns, basing it on the song kernel as supplied by Fleetwood Mac (a drum loop).

I don't see Lindsey as trying to be funny at this point. He was mad and self-indulgent; cutting all his hair off in the shower and recording songs on the bathroom floor. The outcome of this period was his Tusk songs, including Tusk itself. It sounds like he really had little to do with the score, and the respecting "farting" tuba.

lindsey would chuckle at all these responses.

there was nothing serious about this song - except for the excellent drumming/bass playing and guitar riff.

I 'm not really sure, but I tend to think that it is pretty serious. IMO it's a written by a man that not only takes himself very seriously, but hates everyone around him. I'm not implying he is like that (how would I know:shrug: ), but that's what I get from Tusk (as well from a couple of other LB songs) .
I just occured to me that this is very fitting with a statement Stevie made once, that when she went in, he would become the most unpleasant person in the room (or something of the sort)

Mick said in his book about this dream he had about a band marching in an european (medieval?) town, or something like that. He wanted the Mac to play something similar. Then it became the song TUSK.

Actually I don't know how related is the final song with Mick's initial idea.

I don't recall that it was a dream...moreso that there actually WAS a marching band that marched through the center of some European village playing early one morning. His idea was to have local marching bands join them on stage to play "Tusk" during the tour. (a logistical nightmare for the crew, so the idea was dropped)

If anyone has bootlegs of the latter shows of the Rumours tour, you can hear the seeds of "Tusk" germinating. Just listen to the little riff that Mick & Lindsey play behind the introduction of the band. That's "Tusk" in its fetal form.

I think it sounds very dark and ominous. It kind of creeps me out. Lindsey sounds like one of those obsessive phone stalkers who call and breathe heavily into the phone. :laugh:

Definitely. It's quite an intense song. It doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense but it's still very intense.

I'll never forget the first time I heard it. It was on the Dance -- and the way he sang "Don't say that you love me - Just tell me that you want me" - still gives me the shivers.

It's odd but I don't think it's satirical or to be taken as anything less than pretty serious.

[Though if I ever have to watch it on Live in Boston ever again I may be forced to reconsider. :confused: ]

I always thought a good way to creep anyone out would be to call them, and play the version from the Dance. "Whyy don't you telll me.... what's goin' ohhho-on..." I think the intensity shows up better on the live performance than it does on the album. Especially when he starts pointing and doin' the hand thing with that intense look. But I love that evil cackle he does on LIB.

Nah. It's just a light, trippy, jazzy hoot--not an ounce of seriousness in sight. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Just because we put on fangs & masks on Halloween & run around the neighborhood yelling BOO at the little kids doesn't mean we're being serious. See what I'm saying?

"Tusk" is Lindsey's "Scary Movie Part 5."

That's what I always thought, too. I never thought of it as "serious" or "angry", but rather "playful" and "rousing" and "fun for all!"

Hell yeah. To all of that. Sexy. Not quite as sexy as the hand thing during Come on Live in Boston. That was just .... ugh. Don't get me started!! :rolleyes:

PS, I think the interpretation on the Penguin archive is well worth reading.