Nicks McNuggets

[vivfox]

Thursday, April 29, 2010
LDS (Latter Day Stevie): The Other Side Of The Mirror

I'm fond of saying that being a fan of Stevie Nicks' solo work would be so easy if her solo output had stopped after three albums. If any set of albums really represents a trifecta, it's her first 3 solo albums: Bella Donna, The Wild Heart, and Rock A Little. While this is not strictly true - 2001's Trouble In Shangri-La came closer to the brilliance of those first three album than anything in the interim - there is something about that set of albums that just really hits the mark. There was a natural trajectory from the acoustic folk of Bella Donna to the synth-laden Rock A Little, with The Wild Heart being an amalgam of the two, almost as if it were the offspring of those two very different albums.

The trouble comes with the albums between Rock A Little and Trouble In Shangri-La. The Other Side of the Mirror (1989) and Street Angel (1994) are really hard to love. As a fan, I feel like I end up making more apologies for them than anything else. They have only a handful of good songs between them, but as albums they really miss the mark to the same extent that the first three hit the mark.

The Other Side of the Mirror is the first of Stevie's albums that I experienced in real time. I remember hearing about it while eating breakfast over MTV on January morning in 1989, with Kurt Loder reporting that it would be released "sometime this year." In podunk Iowa, our primary music retailers were K-Mart, Pamida and the local department store chain (now defunct) Sernett and none of them were ones that you could count on for accurate information on new releases. This was pre-internet and the information was not simply at your fingertips! It was eventually released in May of that year after great anticipation on my part.

Maybe it was the anticipation, but I have always been less than crazy about this album. It's WORK to like The Other Side of the Mirror. In a word, the album is overbaked, a victim of the worst of cliched 80s production. Whereas Rock A Little has aged well despite its completely 80s production, Mirror barely sounds like a Stevie Nicks record. She is spaced out and not really engaged in the songs at all. The lead single, "Rooms On Fire" is uninspired, buried underneath layer after layer of turgid production. Sub-par songwriting doesn't help her case either. And what in the world is Kenny G doing on a Stevie Nicks album? For me, TOSOTM is to Stevie Nicks as Hard Candy is to Madonna in that it's an album I really tried to talk myself into liking. Both albums have some strong songs but do not hold together as albums very well.

It's not all bad though. "Long Way To Go" rocks pretty well and despite the fact that it's relatively tuneless, I do still like the song "Juliet" which found a home on this album after being rejected from Fleetwood Mac's Tango In The Night. I think it's the reference to the blue lamp that pushes it over the edge for me. And I have a soft spot for "Fire Burning" even though it sounds like she's barely present.

Years later, we'd find out why she was barely present. Instead of being strung out on cocaine or some other illegal substance, Stevie was growing more and more dependent on the prescription drug Klonopin. She's on record as saying that she really has no memory of the Mirror tour due Klonopin use. As she herself said "The fabulous Stevie that everyone knew just disappeared."

But if you thought Klonopin colored The Other Side of the Mirror, just wait till you listen to Street Angel. You ain't seen nothing yet. But that's the next post.

(part one of a three part series)
Posted by Dan at 4/29/2010 10:15:00 AM

http://dancsblog.blogspot.com/2010/0...r-side-of.html

[tilthefirefades]

Yeah, I do too. I love TOSOTM, especially after listening to it over and over. Alice, Ooh My Love, and hell even Two Kinds of Love are great to me. idk what they are talking about but RAL does not sound any better...imo.

[vivfox]

Stevie Nicks
I’ve had a borderline unhealthy obsession with Stevie Nicks for the better part of a decade now. Do I feel like a 40 year old woman with 20 cats for worshipping Stevie Nicks? Maybe. But hear me out. As a female songwriter, Stevie Nicks is at the top of any short list. It doesn’t get much better than “Landslide”. Or “Dreams”. Or “Gypsy”. Or countless others. While there’s a lot of “love it or hate it” with her vocals , you have to admit that she has one of the most unique and recognizable voices out there. Popularity? Stevie did a tour with a little band called Fleetwood Mac, and has been responsible for selling nearly 120 million albums. In the romance department, Stevie’s little black book is a who’s who of classic rock. Don Henley. Lindsey Buckingham. Tom Petty. Joe Walsh. And who can blame them… she was a looker back in the day. In short, Stevie Nicks is the total package. I’d say that just about every female singer-songwriter of the last 20 years cites Stevie Nicks as a significant influence. And she’s still going strong to this day.

http://austintownhall.com/2010/04/30...-classic-rock/

[vivfox]

Dining@Large: 'Top Chef' and the Silver Spring Whole Foods - The ...
By Laura Vozzella
Stevie Nicks saw a beltway sign for Silver Spring on a concert tour (I'm guessing Largo) and wrote the song because she liked the name so much. A bit of Sunday R&R trivia. And, just for the food related tie-in, I'm wondering if anyone ...
Dining@Large - http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/ente.../reviews/blog/

[vivfox]

RetroWonderland : Stevie Nicks--Stand Back (Disconet Mix)
By Rene
Stevie Nicks--Stand Back (Disconet Mix) · Siouxsie & The Banshees--Fear Of The Unknown (Hous... Tears For Fears--Mad World (Extended Version) · Howard Jones--New Song (Extended Version) · Robin Gibb--Boys Do Fall In Love (Extended ...
RetroWonderland - http://retrowonderland.blogspot.com/

[vivfox]

http://vodpod.com/watch/3484406-stev...-retrospective

Stevie Nicks Career Retrospective Video
(VIDEO) STEVIE NICKS - CAREER RETROSPECTIVE: Who said you can't have two successful careers at a time? Solo and in a band? Stevie Nicks shows us how.

[vivfox]

If you think that you are obsessed with Stevie Nicks and LB then read this blog. You might have a run for your money.


Chris Milam: Fan of the Month!
By Chris Milam
I needed someone who's so obsessive about Fleetwood Mac that her favorite place on earth is Stevie Nicks' guest house. Which she's never visited. I needed someone who calls me out for mixing up the names of her favorite artists. ...
Chris Milam - http://chrismilam.blogspot.com/

[vivfox]

Straight Line Stitch | Arts & Entertainment Connexions
By The Hit Man
As a singer, Stevie Nicks, I would bleed Stevie Nicks. I guess I'd also say Bad Company, for sure. Pat: Tom Morello from Rage Against the machine was one. 311, they were a huge influence on me as well. They were one of the first major ...
Arts & Entertainment Connexions - http://mafiaconnections.net/

[vivfox]

DJ STYTE - (SHR BOOT- 003) FLEETWOOD MAC - LANDSLIDE (STYTE'S ...
"(SHR BOOT- 003) FLEETWOOD MAC - LANDSLIDE (STYTE'S DUBSTEP REMIX) (D/L link inside)" by DJ STYTE. Hard hitting banger,and filthy sub sections.... wait for ...
soundcloud.com/.../fleetwood-mac-landslide-stytes-dubstep-re...
http://soundcloud.com/dj-styte/fleet...-dubstep-remix

[vivfox]

Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Looking Up at Skies on Fire

Ever hear a song that you haven't heard in awhile, a song that has a lot of sentiment & meaning attached to it, and it brings back a memory that you had pushed way to the back of your mind? Well, I just heard Planets of the Universe by Stevie Nicks...the sped up, house music version of the song, and it took me back to 2003 (2004?).

The details of this memory are still so clear and vivid in my mind. I was out on a date and we ended up at Circus Disco in Hollywood. They were spinning some serious ass-shaking music and I was dying to do my thang on the dance floor. My date wasn't too big on dancing so I spent almost the entire time up against the rail, bopping along to the music. I was hoping that a couple of drinks in my date (I can't recall his name) would loosen his ass up and get him on the floor. I was wrong, it only made him sleepy; hence, we left the club early. I dropped him off at his Hollywood apartment. He asked (through a yawn) if I wanted to come in, but I was pissed, so I declined. It was still way too early to go home, so I decided to check out this club called Spike that stayed open until dawn or later.

When I entered Spike, I could almost taste the sex. Guys were making out with each other on the dance floor, while others were grinding on each other like nobody's business. Naturally, my insecurities took over and I gravitated toward the nearest corner. It seemed like everyone there already had a partner and I was the solo single guy. After being deprived of dancing earlier (and a tummy still full of tequila), I tossed that insecurity nonsense aside, and walked right into the center of the throbbing mass on the floor....and that's where I saw him.

Also dancing by himself, was a tall white guy, who looked like a cross between Abercrombie and G.I. Joe. I "accidentally" kept bumping into him and brushing my hand against his. Whenever I could, I'd shoot him a glance to see if he was even interested. From what I could tell, he wasn't....but I was wrong. The Stevie Nicks song came on and I got down. The guy got behind me and started to dance really close to me. I coyly began to back up a little...slowly...didn't want to look (too) desperate. He moved even closer and before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my hands, raised my arms up and pushed his body up against my backside. I almost had an orgasm.

I couldn't believe that I was dancing with such a hottie. We danced for a couple more songs before we even spoke to each other. Turns out that his name was Rod...I dubbed him "Hot Rod". He told me that he was in the Navy and it was his last night in the states. He was flying out to Virginia the following afternoon, to be sent to the Middle East. He had no gay friends, but he wanted to spend his last night at home, dancing the night away somewhere he felt comfortable.

We danced & kissed (and touched) until 5:00 am...the club was still going pretty strong when we left (I think they closed at 8 am). My t-shirt was completely soaked. Before we left the club, Rod took my shirt off in the restroom and wrung it out. I'd never danced that long before. On the sidewalk of Santa Monica Blvd, just outside of Spike, he thanked me for making his last night at home "special & memorable". We hugged & kissed outside for a little while longer. I gave him my phone # and told him to call me whenever he got back.

On the drive home, I smiled throughout the entire drive. I also wondered if he'd ever call me. More importantly, I wondered if he'd make it back home, unharmed. I'm still wondering.

http://cleverlyfoolish.blogspot.com/...s-on-fire.html

[vivfox]

Stevie Nicks wrote an essay for Taylor Swift, saying, "the female rock-n'-roll-country-pop songwriter is back, and her name is Taylor Swift."

"It made me feel so special and she's been my hero for so long," said Swift of Nicks essay. "To have your hero write things about you like that, it's just a wonderful day when I read that."

http://mpelembe.blogware.com/blog/_a...5/4521706.html

[vivfox]

As for Taylor, she actually talked about the subject at hand -- being featured in Time's annual list of influential minds:

"It was amazing to read the article that was written about me. Stevie Nicks is absolutely my hero, so for her to have written such wonderful, glowing things, honestly I got kind of emotional reading it."

http://www.examiner.com/x-11363-TV-E...a-photos-video

[vivfox]

Courtney Love Covers Obscure Leonard Cohen Song - Los Angeles ...
By Gustavo Turner
​We have it on pretty good authority that when she was a young lass Courtney Love hated traditional rock'n'roll (including the Stones) and was obsessed with two things: Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks and ... Leonard Cohen. ...
West Coast Sound - http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/

[vivfox]

New Stevie Nicks Album In The Works | PerezHiltoncom
It´sa mystery! Eurythmics´ Dave Stewart has been Tweeting various deets about a new album he´s working on - and rumor has it that he´s helping Stevie Nicks ...
http://perezhilton.com/2010-05-06-ne...m-in-the-works

[michelej1]

A dating tip from an advice column:

http://www3.whig.com/whig/blogs/ihav...ry/stevie-love

2. Clip that nose hair: The first time you breathe out those nostrils and it looks like one of those flowing black outfits Stevie Nicks used to wear with Fleetwood Mac, you are in big trouble.