Just Skimmed Through STORMS

[nicole21290]

Re. Dennis Wilson, Lindsey's own memory apparently differs...

"I knew him pretty well. He even had an affair with my girlfriend! But he was a good guy. He was kind of lost, but I thought he had a big heart. I always liked him."

As for the book itself, I have issues with the veracity of some of the stories (and it's not always an issue of faulty memory but of deliberately altering or omitting things to create a certain picture, I honestly think) but my major issue has actually been with how she's responded to criticism.

Even though her own book says that conversations are constructed from memory she insists EVERY word is the truth. It's just a bit silly. Memories are fallible, even hers. And yes, she does go to the 'you're just jealous!' defense. At one point I commented on a thread with a collage of 6 pictures. She 'liked' it, and then the next day I was blocked and tagged/publicly called out like so. She doesn't mince her words.

I don’t know what trip you’re on, but that is a seriously obsessed collage that you just posted and I have also been told by multiple people that you “Just want to keep reading my crap” while on your freak blog you trash me and Ken Caillet. How in the hell would you know what is true or not in my book? I lived by Lindsey’s side for eight years - and Ken Caillat was also right there, right then - so when we write or share our stories on information with anyone through our books or on FB, you can take it to the bank that every word is true. My book is for victims of domestic violence - so you can keep you weird jealousy and fan worship all to yourself as I am now blocking you and will advise Ken to do the same. Go crawl back under your rock. I really think people who are that obsessed with ANYONE who is not in their own immediate family or circle of loved ones has serious mental issues…

For the most blatant example of selective story-telling to portray a certain dynamic, I think the AMA story is perfect.

Suddenly he leaped up like someone had lit a firecracker under his butt and took off after the rest of his fellow band members. Already a full minute in front of Lindsey, they were all gathered on the left side of the stage behind the podium, posing and smiling for the cameras as they waited for him to climb the flight of about fifteen stairs to join them.

And then it happened. Lindsey began to ascend the stairs. His legs looked like they were made of rubber as he started to climb: first one stair, then the next. With each step his legs were getting shakier and looser as though bones were dissolving in front of everyone’s eyes. A stunned silence fell over the auditorium as every living soul watched Lindsey’s progress in morbid fascination - for it was apparent to us all that the newly crowned guitarist of the American Music Awards’ Best Band of the Year was running a 90 percent chance of tumbling backward and landing on his ass in front of millions of TV viewers.

Too stunned to move, I started praying again. Praying that someone - anyone - from the band would go to his rescue. And, once again, my prayers went unanswered. Stevie and Christine, faces hanging slack in shock, stood in dead silence as they watched in horror his stumbling, bandy-legged ascent. Lindsey continued to climb, legs quivering… face beaded in sweat… looking like a character from a B-movie who’d been shot and was dragging out his last moments on earth as he mounted the steps to his pearly gates.

As if this spectacle wasn’t bad enough, Lindsey was not headed toward the podium on stage left. Instead, his superhuman effort was leading him to the opposite side of the stage. He was so cross-eyed, perhaps, that his line of destination was completely on the wrong side of the platform. Rising from my seat, I was on the verge of bolting to his rescue when, miraculously, he made it to the top of the stairs. Swaying and grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland, he made a little bow toward his captive audience and waved hello.

Throughout this nightmarish exhibition I tried to keep a smile on my face. Frozen as it might be, at least it masked the sick feeling of dread that was coursing through me like electricity. At least I hoped it did. Just as I felt as though I might scream at the band, “For God’s sake, go help him!” Mick and John raced across the stage and grabbed Lindsey by the arms, guiding him none too gently to the podium.

In this version of the story we have Lindsey and Carol as 'outsiders', and Fleetwood Mac as uncaring. It's a theme somewhat repeated in her account/s of the epilepsy, etc. However, the video from that night gives a totally different vibe, one where Lindsey isn't left to stumble up the steps alone as the band watches on without helping.

[michelej1]

I think it would be impossible to think that the Annie Leibovitz bedroom photo shoot took place in your home. If you write that it did, then I do believe you are lying for a particular reason.

Michele

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by nicole21290

In this version of the story we have Lindsey and Carol as 'outsiders', and Fleetwood Mac as uncaring. It's a theme somewhat repeated in her account/s of the epilepsy, etc.

True and it may be that the Macsters did totally ignore Lindsey's pain when they were offstage, leaving Carol as the only one who cared. But when they were exiting the stage following his spinal tap, Stevie had a hand on his back and Christine took his guitar away from him. They acknowledged his physical condition and Christine is also talking about it in the limo conversations, with Stevie making an unfinished remark of unease, acknowledging that a spinal tap sounded rather risky to her. It sounded like they were -- if not concerned -- not uncaring.

Michele

[Nicks Fan]

Originally Posted by FuzzyPlum

Um...I don't know. Why?

Really you have to ask??? LOL.

As far as I am concerned she seems like a bitter women who has an axe to grind with Lindsey and other members of the band so the best way to get even is to write a trashy tell all. I don't know what is worse the fact that she wrote this or the fact that she keeps saying she wrote it for abuse victims which is BS. Just look at her FB Page. From what I have seen it is is stuff related to Fm which shows how she clearly has not moved on.

[nicole21290]

Originally Posted by michelej1

True and it may be that the Macsters did totally ignore Lindsey's pain when they were offstage, leaving Carol as the only one who cared. But when they were exiting the stage following his spinal tap, Stevie had a hand on his back and Christine took his guitar away from him. They acknowledged his physical condition and Christine is also talking about it in the limo conversations, with Stevie making an unfinished remark of unease, acknowledging that a spinal tap sounded rather risky to her. It sounded like they were -- if not concerned -- not uncaring.

Michele

Even the part when he first has the seizure, Stevie’s part of the story amounts to being mocked by CAH and Linds because she tells a story about her dog. It clearly shows her to be well-meaning but ditzy and ultimately uncaring about the state Lindsey is in. As I’ve said before, the press conference shows her having a much better understanding and state of caring. I mean, I get why parts of the story are told like this - it lends itself to the feeling of isolation she felt, even within the ‘family’, and how Lindsey was different, and how he relied on her, and she cared for him, etc etc.

"Lindsey is one strong man."



Stevie makes sure people know the priority is Lindsey's health in their press conference about it as well. She basically says nothing for over eight minutes until she feels the need to point that out.

"May I say something? I think it is important that, um, all of us, women know that, you know, the spinal, sometimes if you're having a baby or something, how serious the spinal anything is. And so we have to be very careful of Lindsey because we want him to be fine and we don't want this to have any problems that should re-occur later. Because nothing is worth that. So we have to take care of that, and the most important thing for all of us is to make sure that Lindsey is okay. And we hope that you all feel that way too."

[nicole21290]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I think it would be impossible to think that the Annie Leibovitz bedroom photo shoot took place in your home. If you write that it did, then I do believe you are lying for a particular reason.

Michele

My problem is always that she INSISTS that every single word is true. And it just isn't.



THAT Rolling Stone story is just... If you'd merely read her book about it, you'd come away with a completely different perspective than the way Annie, Stevie and Lindsey talked about it.

CHAPTER FIVE

"I can’t pick you up today, angel. I forget to tell you, we’re shooting the cover of Rolling Stone with Annie Leibowitz here at my house. Come on over right after work, OK? The band’s driving me insane.

[she looks at herself in the mirror and reflects]

Sheesh, I look as though I’m twelve years old… with attitude. In Lindsey’s eyes, that might not be such a bad thing!

[she pulls up to Lindsey’s house]

Taking a deep breath - always wise before an encounter with Fleetwood Mac - I knocked softly. Lindsey threw the door open and yelled, “Thank God you’re here! They’re driving me crazy!” He stopped talking and looked me over slowly. “Hey, little girl, looks like you’re looking for your daddy. I like it, Carol. You should wear this stuff more often.”

I could tell by the gleam in his eye that he meant every word and I felt confidence flood through me as he pulled me into the house. Mick got up from the couch, leered, and began making a few suggestive ‘schoolgirl’ remarks of his own. John and Christine started laughing as Mick and Lindsey each took one of my arms and played a tug of war with me caught in the center. Stevie sat silently, apparently not thrilled by my arrival and the happy reception I was getting.

[she sits down and looks at the band’s clothing]

Leaning over, Lindsey whispered into my ear, “This cover is going to be totally cool. Annie has the five of us lying on my bed… very incestuous.” He looked at my raised eyebrows and laughed. “It’s Fleetwood Mac, Carol - are you surprised?”

[Annie calls them all in to Lindsey’s spare bedroom and CAH stays on the couch, flipping through magazines and listening to the laughter]

In less than an hour the shoot was finished, and forty five minutes after that the house was empty except for Lindsey and me. He pulled me up from the couch and led me into the bedroom. As he showed me the Polaroids that Annie’d left for him, I could see that the cover shot was amazing.

…

It was a classic shot which really did tell the story of the Rumours album. I knew the underlying big message as I looked at it: incest!

[Lindsey then asks her to go to Europe with him, and says how much he misses her and can’t bear to be apart from her]

[she fears that it might be a bit much considering they’ve only been together five months]

I knew how hard it could be on a relationship when you’re jet-lagged, eating bad food, and dealing with winter weather. And it wouldn’t just be Lindsey and me. We’d be with the entire entourage of band, roadies, and technicians. Not to mention Stevie Nicks.

Will my being there with him make the uneasy truce between them break down and become an all-out war? I thought nervously.

…

I knew that the working relationship between Lindsey and Stevie was very precarious, and thus the balance within the band itself. Of course, I told myself, with or without me on the road, that’s a storm waiting to break. One look at Lindsey’s pale, gaunt face and the wistful look in his eyes made me lock my fears away and cover his face in kisses as I said, “yes, yes, yes… I’ll come!”

-

These are Lindsey and Stevie's memories of the same day:

LINDSEY'S MEMORIES

Buckingham's memory of the session centers on something different: After Leibovitz finished, everyone got off the mattress except himself and Nicks. Wearing only their bedclothes, the two of them stayed where they were and just held onto each other. The wounds of their breakup were still raw. Says Buckingham, "After all that we'd been through, knowing that we loved each other - somehow, we just couldn't get up." For five minutes, maybe more, Buckingham and Nicks shared a silent embrace. Leibovitz and the rest of the band milled around until finally Mick Fleetwood returned to the mattress and whispered to the entangled pair: "Guys, you're freaking everyone out."

"The [Rolling Stone cover] shoot was over and everyone else got out of the bed, except for Stevie and I. We laid there for about an hour hugging, and it was freaking everybody out."

"For Stevie and me, the wounds and animosities were still very fresh,"� he says. "So the idea for the photo wasn't all that funny. We had to compartmentalize our feelings to keep the band functional, and at the end of the session, we had this moment of not being able to avoid all that had been lost. We embraced for about fifteen minutes, and Mick finally came over and said that people were starting to get uncomfortable. I don't know how healthy all this display of our personal life was, but that's showbiz."

STEVIE'S MEMORIES

"Afterwards, Lindsey and I got to talking about how amazing it was that not so long ago I was a waitress and he didn't have a job, and now we were on the cover of ROLLING STONE with this huge record. And we lay there for two hours talking and making out. Finally, Annie had to tell us to leave, because she had rented the room for only so long. But in one afternoon she put Lindsey and me back together and also planted the seed for Mick and me, which happened a year later. You want to know the power of Annie Leibovitz, there you go."

-

When questioned about the veracity of what she said re. the RS shoot, she said this:

"Okay - this is a ridiculous. If you want to reread pages 55 & 56 in Storms, you'll see that I write that I arrived at Lindsey's AFTER my workday at the studio which ended @ 6:00pm on the day of the Rolling Stone cover shoot which means I got there a little before 7:00pm. They'd been shooting all day - so whatever went on between Lindsey and Stevie during that day before I got there, I have no personal knowledge of - and as his new girlfriend at the time certainly wouldn't have been informed of it. When I walked in, everyone was in the living room as I described and then they all went back for another 45 minutes or so with Annie to shoot before the shoot was wrapped. I wrote of MY experiences and what I personally saw and lived through. To call me a liar over something that is so stupid is not only wrong but defamation."

Again, that doesn't gel because SnL (according to everyone else) embraced AFTER the shoot was wrapped, not during the day while CAH was apparently at work.

-

Eventually, I asked her about that quote she gave which says:

"The mood in the room would change from light to dark whenever they were together. The sheer tension between them was overwhelming; it literally stopped people in their tracks. They could say the most mean and hurtful things to each other. Not because they meant it, because I don't think they really did, but just because they wanted to cut the other one down. The big thing, though, was that Lindsey still loved Stevie. I know he did. Through all the time he was with me, he never stopped loving her. No matter how insane she made him, I don't think he was over the fact that they weren't a couple anymore. fie blamed himself for their break-up, and I think she blamed herself as well. They had that in common, although it was an unspoken bond between them."

A totally different impression than what the book gives but more accurate, I feel...

Anyway, her response?

"Hi Nicole, This quote was taken from a Joe Bosso phone interview and he misquoted me. He apologized to both myself and my Publisher - but I love Joe and he wrote a beautiful article about my book in a very important magazine and we became friends after I'd called him about the misquote in the article - and I think he's an amazing writer. I could go into more detail about it, but I find this entire "discussion board" exhausting."

[lovethemac1]

Originally Posted by michelej1

True and it may be that the Macsters did totally ignore Lindsey's pain when they were offstage, leaving Carol as the only one who cared. But when they were exiting the stage following his spinal tap, Stevie had a hand on his back and Christine took his guitar away from him.

Michele

And didn't Stevie say into the microphone on the way off the stage "That Lindsey is one tough guy." ?????

oops, I didn't see that this was mentioned already!!!

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by lovethemac1

And didn't Stevie say into the microphone on the way off the stage "That Lindsey is one tough guy." ?????

Yeah. Lindsey is one strong man.

Michele

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by nicole21290

My problem is always that she INSISTS that every single word is true. And it just isn't.

And I don't know what she's saying now, but when it came out she was saying that even the quotes were accurate, because they were transcribed from her audio journals. So, she'd have you believe she wasn't even paraphrasing.

Michele

[Danigirl]

I had forgotten about the Lindsey and Stevie embrace after the RS shoot. Funny how Stevie is always so dramatic... 2hours of making out and talking whereas Lindsey 15-30 minutes. I love the idea of them taking in that pivotal "we made it moment" together as a couple. It warms my heart!

As for CAH, um Ya she is digging herself a bigger whole with each rebuttal. I always felt that he didn't really love her, but I convicned myself that I was just a hopeless romantic Stevie Lindsey fan, I think she was well aware that she was the rebound that he needed and she was along for a once in a lifetime ride.

[michelej1]

I think Lindsey loved Carol and was very happy during their first years together. But I also think she's not just inaccurate, but deliberately untruthful in some parts of the book and also generally unhinged. But I've thought that since I saw that plastic surgery documentary.

Michele

[lovethemac1]

Originally Posted by nicole21290

My problem is always that she INSISTS that every single word is true. And it just isn't.



THAT Rolling Stone story is just... If you'd merely read her book about it, you'd come away with a completely different perspective than the way Annie, Stevie and Lindsey talked about it.

CHAPTER FIVE

"I can’t pick you up today, angel. I forget to tell you, we’re shooting the cover of Rolling Stone with Annie Leibowitz here at my house. Come on over right after work, OK? The band’s driving me insane.

[she looks at herself in the mirror and reflects]

Sheesh, I look as though I’m twelve years old… with attitude. In Lindsey’s eyes, that might not be such a bad thing!

[she pulls up to Lindsey’s house]

Taking a deep breath - always wise before an encounter with Fleetwood Mac - I knocked softly. Lindsey threw the door open and yelled, “Thank God you’re here! They’re driving me crazy!” He stopped talking and looked me over slowly. “Hey, little girl, looks like you’re looking for your daddy. I like it, Carol. You should wear this stuff more often.”

I could tell by the gleam in his eye that he meant every word and I felt confidence flood through me as he pulled me into the house. Mick got up from the couch, leered, and began making a few suggestive ‘schoolgirl’ remarks of his own. John and Christine started laughing as Mick and Lindsey each took one of my arms and played a tug of war with me caught in the center. Stevie sat silently, apparently not thrilled by my arrival and the happy reception I was getting.

[she sits down and looks at the band’s clothing]

Leaning over, Lindsey whispered into my ear, “This cover is going to be totally cool. Annie has the five of us lying on my bed… very incestuous.” He looked at my raised eyebrows and laughed. “It’s Fleetwood Mac, Carol - are you surprised?”

[Annie calls them all in to Lindsey’s spare bedroom and CAH stays on the couch, flipping through magazines and listening to the laughter]

In less than an hour the shoot was finished, and forty five minutes after that the house was empty except for Lindsey and me. He pulled me up from the couch and led me into the bedroom. As he showed me the Polaroids that Annie’d left for him, I could see that the cover shot was amazing.

…

It was a classic shot which really did tell the story of the Rumours album. I knew the underlying big message as I looked at it: incest!

[Lindsey then asks her to go to Europe with him, and says how much he misses her and can’t bear to be apart from her]

[she fears that it might be a bit much considering they’ve only been together five months]

I knew how hard it could be on a relationship when you’re jet-lagged, eating bad food, and dealing with winter weather. And it wouldn’t just be Lindsey and me. We’d be with the entire entourage of band, roadies, and technicians. Not to mention Stevie Nicks.

Will my being there with him make the uneasy truce between them break down and become an all-out war? I thought nervously.

…

I knew that the working relationship between Lindsey and Stevie was very precarious, and thus the balance within the band itself. Of course, I told myself, with or without me on the road, that’s a storm waiting to break. One look at Lindsey’s pale, gaunt face and the wistful look in his eyes made me lock my fears away and cover his face in kisses as I said, “yes, yes, yes… I’ll come!”

-

These are Lindsey and Stevie's memories of the same day:

LINDSEY'S MEMORIES

Buckingham's memory of the session centers on something different: After Leibovitz finished, everyone got off the mattress except himself and Nicks. Wearing only their bedclothes, the two of them stayed where they were and just held onto each other. The wounds of their breakup were still raw. Says Buckingham, "After all that we'd been through, knowing that we loved each other - somehow, we just couldn't get up." For five minutes, maybe more, Buckingham and Nicks shared a silent embrace. Leibovitz and the rest of the band milled around until finally Mick Fleetwood returned to the mattress and whispered to the entangled pair: "Guys, you're freaking everyone out."

"The [Rolling Stone cover] shoot was over and everyone else got out of the bed, except for Stevie and I. We laid there for about an hour hugging, and it was freaking everybody out."

"For Stevie and me, the wounds and animosities were still very fresh,"� he says. "So the idea for the photo wasn't all that funny. We had to compartmentalize our feelings to keep the band functional, and at the end of the session, we had this moment of not being able to avoid all that had been lost. We embraced for about fifteen minutes, and Mick finally came over and said that people were starting to get uncomfortable. I don't know how healthy all this display of our personal life was, but that's showbiz."

STEVIE'S MEMORIES

"Afterwards, Lindsey and I got to talking about how amazing it was that not so long ago I was a waitress and he didn't have a job, and now we were on the cover of ROLLING STONE with this huge record. And we lay there for two hours talking and making out. Finally, Annie had to tell us to leave, because she had rented the room for only so long. But in one afternoon she put Lindsey and me back together and also planted the seed for Mick and me, which happened a year later. You want to know the power of Annie Leibovitz, there you go."

-

When questioned about the veracity of what she said re. the RS shoot, she said this:

"Okay - this is a ridiculous. If you want to reread pages 55 & 56 in Storms, you'll see that I write that I arrived at Lindsey's AFTER my workday at the studio which ended @ 6:00pm on the day of the Rolling Stone cover shoot which means I got there a little before 7:00pm. They'd been shooting all day - so whatever went on between Lindsey and Stevie during that day before I got there, I have no personal knowledge of - and as his new girlfriend at the time certainly wouldn't have been informed of it. When I walked in, everyone was in the living room as I described and then they all went back for another 45 minutes or so with Annie to shoot before the shoot was wrapped. I wrote of MY experiences and what I personally saw and lived through. To call me a liar over something that is so stupid is not only wrong but defamation."

Again, that doesn't gel because SnL (according to everyone else) embraced AFTER the shoot was wrapped, not during the day while CAH was apparently at work.

-

Eventually, I asked her about that quote she gave which says:

"The mood in the room would change from light to dark whenever they were together. The sheer tension between them was overwhelming; it literally stopped people in their tracks. They could say the most mean and hurtful things to each other. Not because they meant it, because I don't think they really did, but just because they wanted to cut the other one down. The big thing, though, was that Lindsey still loved Stevie. I know he did. Through all the time he was with me, he never stopped loving her. No matter how insane she made him, I don't think he was over the fact that they weren't a couple anymore. fie blamed himself for their break-up, and I think she blamed herself as well. They had that in common, although it was an unspoken bond between them."

A totally different impression than what the book gives but more accurate, I feel...

Anyway, her response?

"Hi Nicole, This quote was taken from a Joe Bosso phone interview and he misquoted me. He apologized to both myself and my Publisher - but I love Joe and he wrote a beautiful article about my book in a very important magazine and we became friends after I'd called him about the misquote in the article - and I think he's an amazing writer. I could go into more detail about it, but I find this entire "discussion board" exhausting."

Nicole, I love your posts. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into them.

[lovethemac1]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I think Lindsey loved Carol and was very happy during their first years together. But I also think she's not just inaccurate, but deliberately untruthful in some parts of the book and also generally unhinged. But I've thought that since I saw that plastic surgery documentary.

Michele

Michelle, thank you for all your posts too, they are so insightful. And for some really strange reason, this is my favorite topic with FM. I just love reading all the posts and analysis of CAH and her relationship with LB, and where Stevie fits into this whole thing. Or should I put that the other way around? Stevie and Lindsey and where CAH fits in?

[nicole21290]

Originally Posted by michelej1

And I don't know what she's saying now, but when it came out she was saying that even the quotes were accurate, because they were transcribed from her audio journals. So, she'd have you believe she wasn't even paraphrasing.

Michele

Yeah, I remember reading that. I don't believe it. So many of those conversations read like terrible fanfiction, not going to lie. At the VERY beginning of her book it says:

Author's Note:

Everything in this book is true and documented. Some conversations have been re-created from memory. Certain names have been changed.

[nicole21290]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I think Lindsey loved Carol and was very happy during their first years together. But I also think she's not just inaccurate, but deliberately untruthful in some parts of the book and also generally unhinged. But I've thought that since I saw that plastic surgery documentary.

Michele

Honestly, that documentary made me feel more sorry for her than any line in her book did. She just seemed so desperate to recapture her looks and past.

People have said the first few years were good for them, that he was happy, but his songs on Tusk scream that he's not over Stevie, and his 'lack of closure' definitely impacted things.





"And STILL the shadow singer stands and lingers in places no one ever goes..."

The biggest WTF moment I had with Carol Ann was actually more recent:

http://buckingham-nicks.boards.net/post/399

She says TWICE that Stevie is her friend. Present tense.