Like or Dislike: Rock a Little

[skcin]

I'm sure we will get many different opinions on this tune.

Initially, I couldn't stand this song. I usually skipped it. I didn't like the music at all, I thought it was weird & halting & didn't flow well. After the title tracks of Bella Donna & Wild Heart, it was a real disappointment to me when I first heard it. I assumed it should be a great, powerful, epic song like those two were for me & it just wasn't. I hated all the "hit it"s.

Now, a few years after I first listened, it's grown on me. Still not a big favorite, but I don't skip it & I actually really like singing along to it. Now I think the lyrics are great, with the exception of this drivel:

"He knows his daughter, says
Where does she live?
He says, Oh, up there somewhere"

I really don't like that line, it doesn't seem to fit, IMO.

Her vocal - not powerful at all, but so raspy & sexy. Hawt.

[DrummerDeanna]

I really like this song. The sound is just - well Ican't explain it - there's just something about that opening and her airy lyrics....man - it's a dated song - but I really like it :nod:

[KarmaContestant]

This is one of my favorites lately - but not always. It strikes a particular mood in me...Rock A Little....some wine....candles....a rainy night. They all go together well. I like the alternate that was released in the UK better than the one on the record, but they both strike a similar chord with me.

[golden braid]

I like almost all of Stevie's songs but this is not one of them. This song does not rock at all and I can't get into the music. It's probably one of my least favorite Stevie songs.

[[email protected]]

Oh wow, the "up there...somewhere" line is my fav in the song, her voice is so frail and fragile but strong, too...I ADORE this song, it ROCKS A LOT :) LOL!
Barbara


I'm sure we will get many different opinions on this tune.

Initially, I couldn't stand this song. I usually skipped it. I didn't like the music at all, I thought it was weird & halting & didn't flow well. After the title tracks of Bella Donna & Wild Heart, it was a real disappointment to me when I first heard it. I assumed it should be a great, powerful, epic song like those two were for me & it just wasn't. I hated all the "hit it"s.

Now, a few years after I first listened, it's grown on me. Still not a big favorite, but I don't skip it & I actually really like singing along to it. Now I think the lyrics are great, with the exception of this drivel:

"He knows his daughter, says
Where does she live?
He says, Oh, up there somewhere"

I really don't like that line, it doesn't seem to fit, IMO.

Her vocal - not powerful at all, but so raspy & sexy. Hawt.

[1934mission]

I feel the emotion in her frail voice. I like the smokey rasp. Her voice works better here than on Sister Honey or Imperial Hotel.

[David]

Now, a few years after I first listened, it's grown on me. Still not a big favorite, but I don't skip it & I actually really like singing along to it. Now I think the lyrics are great, with the exception of this drivel:

"He knows his daughter, says
Where does she live?
He says, Oh, up there somewhere"

I really don't like that line, it doesn't seem to fit, IMO.That's my favorite line in the whole song. It fits beautifully. It adds to the mystique. It's very Hollywood Hillsy.

[TheBlueLamp]

Quite possibly her best song ever. I love the raspy detached voice. At times it seems like she has no idea of what she's doing...kinda like Lily in the song I guess.

Everything about this song is great...The pain, her phrasing, the rasp...

Rock A Little (Go Ahead Lily) is definitely one of her best.

[sarafield]

I really like this one. Don't throw tomatoes, but sometimes I get a teeny bit tired of belting-it-out Stevie and the softness is refreshing. As for the lyrics, "I've gone far beyond" trying to figure those out!

[GateandGarden]

I've never understood the title. It doesn't really rock at all. :shrug: Basically, I never could get into it. A lot of the production on RAL is too much for me.

[AliceLover]

Dislike. Never could really get into this one for some reason. I don't like her voice on it. But I do like her voice on I sing for the Things.

[LiquidBlue5000]

it took me awhile to really appreciate this song, but i do now... it is a bit of an oddball song compared to the rest of the album, but it's unique in so many ways.. still not my favorite, but i do enjoy it...

[The Tower]

Meaningless dreck. I don't know what she was thinking- but, then again, this is from the RAL era so it doesn't surprise me.

No cohesion- the lyrics are so scattered, it's one non-sequitur to another. Add to it her battered, tobacco-shattered croak of a voice and you've got the recipe for disaster.

The music is OKAY. However, only truly great music could have compensated for all the other weaknesses. In any case, this is certainly not a title track by any stretch.

[Hawkeye]

I really cant stand this whole album, but for some reason I really love this song at times. I have to be in the mood but when I am its the best song on the album. I love the intro, that wild guitar thing. And her voice on this song was never like this before or after. Its so unique. This song also makes me think of crazy Stevie and Jimmy Iovine leaving her.

[face of glass]

I shouldn't probably love this song, since I sometimes find her utmost intimacy a bit pushy (example: "When I See You Again"), but here it works in a completely appropriate musical setting. Probably my favourite of all of her album title tracks. :nod:

[Highwayman]

I love the sad vulnerability in her voice, like she is resigned to her destiny. This isn't a sexy rasp at all; it's sad, reflective, defeated, introspective. Very moody. This is one of my top 10 favorites.

[ontheEdgeof17]

I used to hate all of Rock A Little, back in the day. The only songs I listened to were the singles. I shelved it for a good two years. So, one day I was really really really bored and decided to listen to all of Stevie's CD back to back. I wasn't looking forward to RAL or this song. But ya know how it goes....the stars were in the right orbit and all that jazz and it became my second favorite album.


I love the song for it being a different sound. It's just like she stood at a mic and just sang a song with no prompt to a different verse or chorus. It's totally random and raw. That's what I like about this song. And it kinda blows you away when you first listen to it....cuz it is in a weird spot on the album....right after ICW....You are excepting something along those lines and you get a slow, but rocking song that sticks out like a sore thumb.

[amber]

At first I didn't love it, it was too slow and meandering. Now I love it a lot. It's moody, it's strange, it's unpredictable. Of course I love it. :laugh: I like RAL voice a lot anyway, Stevie and her voice have seemingly never been in so much pain...And you can really hear her weariness and ennui in this song.
Plus, I love the "hit it". Seriously, the music, the lyrics, and her voice are extremely unusual to my ears on this song, and in a good way.

[Serrart]

I like it, it's a song that flaws on contradictory and deep emotions, for me.

Romy

[PenguinHead]

I'm sure we will get many different opinions on this tune.

Initially, I couldn't stand this song. I usually skipped it. I didn't like the music at all, I thought it was weird & halting & didn't flow well. After the title tracks of Bella Donna & Wild Heart, it was a real disappointment to me when I first heard it. I assumed it should be a great, powerful, epic song like those two were for me & it just wasn't. I hated all the "hit it"s.

Now, a few years after I first listened, it's grown on me. Still not a big favorite, but I don't skip it & I actually really like singing along to it. Now I think the lyrics are great, with the exception of this drivel:

"He knows his daughter, says
Where does she live?
He says, Oh, up there somewhere"

I really don't like that line, it doesn't seem to fit, IMO.
Her vocal - not powerful at all, but so raspy & sexy. Hawt.


I lke both versions, but prefer the alternate version. I really like the imagery that the "drivel" evokes. And it's so pure Stevie being vague and obtuse.
With the proper punctuation it makes more sense.

"He knows," his daughter says
Where does she live?
He says "Oh, up there somewhere..."

The way I see it, Stevie is affirming that she is in touch with her father...her perception that she remains close and connected to significant people in her life, despite living the fast life and dedicating herself to her career. Yet, the perception from her father is very different. He only has a vague notion of where she lives!

The song seems (to me) all about the strain and sacrifice that goes into working and living hard in the rock and roll world.

I like the line " Pale pink satin worn out in a week."

[xxxmx]

i started to play it before i voted just to be fair and all. i made it to "ra-haaa-gezzzz" and had to put something else on. pronto.

i would listen to Docklands or Silver Girl on loop before i would ever even think about listening to RAL again. evah.

[amber]

i started to play it before i voted just to be fair and all. i made it to "ra-haaa-gezzzz" and had to put something else on. pronto.

i would listen to Docklands or Silver Girl on loop before i would ever even think about listening to RAL again. evah.
You make me sick, Mariel. Silver Girl. God.















:lol:

[WildInTheWind]

I didn't like it at first, but it has grown on me alot. I think it's very sexy. If I made a "Songs to have Sex to" CD (which I've always wanted to do) ....this would definatly be on it. :nod: It may be one of my favorite songs on RAL.

[xxxmx]

You make me sick, Mariel. Silver Girl. God.
pretty serious, eh? i think i would even take a scratched Street Angel disc that kept skipping and only played "forgottenchimpanzeeforgottenchimpanzeeforgottenchimpanzee" forevah... how's that? have i illustrated my point clearly enough?

[amber]

pretty serious, eh? i think i would even take a scratched Street Angel disc that kept skipping and only played "forgottenchimpanzeeforgottenchimpanzeeforgottenchimpanzee" forevah... how's that? have i illustrated my point clearly enough?
That's strange. How many times have you listened to RAL? I didn't like it the first 10-15 times, either....uh....there has to be some explanation.... :laugh:

[Dreammms]

I think this song is really good. I LOVE the extended version which they should have put on the album.

I also wanted to add that a Stevie fan on the AOL message board had a daughter named Lily who passed away. I sent her the extended version and she really liked it.

Now when I listen to this song it has new meaning.

[Kelly]

I've never understood the title. It doesn't really rock at all. :shrug: Basically, I never could get into it. A lot of the production on RAL is too much for me.

I interpret the title to mean "get out there and rock a little or sing". There is a bit of a story Stevie has told about this song. I cannot remember all the details right now but it was something like Stevie was sick or tired and was laying back in her dressing room. She was feeling disillusioned with her life and career and basically not wanting to go onstage and do her show that night. Her Dad told her to get the Hell up and go Rock a Little. Hit the stage running and perform! I was always sort of bothered by this story for some reason. I am not sure why.....

I love her vocals on the song but it is not one of my faves. The sultry rasp is one of my most favorite Stevie voices so I adore that about the song. It sounds so bedroom voice-ish.

[dissention]

Paula! Start using some GOOD songs for these threads!


I love her vocals on the song but it is not one of my faves. The sultry rasp is one of my most favorite Stevie voices so I adore that about the song. It sounds so bedroom voice-ish.

Sultry isn't what I'd call that vocal, I'd call it whiney and cloying. Just like the song itself. One of her worst songs, I'm with Mariel on this one. I'll even listen to "That Made Me Stronger" before I listen to this drivel. This is coked-out Stevie at her worst and most obnoxious. Sounds to me that she forgot how to sing and "wrote" the lyrics by cutting and pasting lines from her journals at random. All of that "he says" and "she says" ****, oy.

She's home now
She says I've gone far beyond that song
She says rock and roll ballerina
Where else would she go?
He knows his daughter, says
Where does she live?
He says, Oh, up there somewhere

This bitch of a song kinda makes "Muskrat Love" sound like a landmark in music history.

[skcin]

Paula! Start using some GOOD songs for these threads!


Why would I do that - it's way more fun to read your disparaging comments. :cool:


Actually, we just completed the entire BD album & a few people requested RAL. So here we are - I'm not going in sequence cuz I'm a rebel.

[amber]

Paula! Start using some GOOD songs for these threads!



Sultry isn't what I'd call that vocal, I'd call it whiney and cloying. Just like the song itself. One of her worst songs, I'm with Mariel on this one. I'll even listen to "That Made Me Stronger" before I listen to this drivel. This is coked-out Stevie at her worst and most obnoxious. Sounds to me that she forgot how to sing and "wrote" the lyrics by cutting and pasting lines from her journals at random. All of that "he says" and "she says" ****, oy.

She's home now
She says I've gone far beyond that song
She says rock and roll ballerina
Where else would she go?
He knows his daughter, says
Where does she live?
He says, Oh, up there somewhere

This bitch of a song kinda makes "Muskrat Love" sound like a landmark in music history.

You know, that is kind of true, I remember I really thought that when the song came out (in addition to not liking the slow meanderingness).

I think my face turned red from embarrassment and I rolled my eyes when I first heard the line "rock and roll ballerina where else will she go".

But I think I listened to it too many times, and it hypnotized me, and forced me to like it. :confused:
Perhaps that song is cursed - but I really like it right now.
Damn you Stevie, you've won again! But I'll never like Desert Angel, do you hear me?! Never!

[sarafield]

Sounds to me that she forgot how to sing and "wrote" the lyrics by cutting and pasting lines from her journals at random. All of that "he says" and "she says" ****, oy.

Goodness, what about

No explanations and I tell you no
You say nothing
That is how songs are written

- yes, that must be how they're written!

I still like the song though.

[strandinthewind]

We kinda rock a little all our life we rock ~ I did ~ I rocked in my cradle for sure and ah, then in mid-life you sort of rock on your feet and then you move onwards to a rocking chair at some point, probably, so that's kind of what Rock a Little means. It means to rock and roll all your life.
~Stevie Nicks, MTV clip, 1985

[Rock A Little] was also written before Bella Donna came out...and I've had most of the song ~ in fact, I mean really the entire [singing ] Sometimes it rages that was about the ocean you know ~ that ~ like shook my house and scared me to death every night ~ 'cause I thought it was an earthquake. [Singing] Rock a little/ Even when it's calm the house still shook a little/ Just like the sea I rock a little/ Some say it was just like me ~ Rock a little. That mean's cool out. Relax. Okay. Just rock a little all the time and you won't die.
~Stevie Nicks, Jim Ladd Interview, 1986 it has a wav file of this :cool:


I'm Lily. ...I've been Lily for a long time, actually because in my writing ~ in my book and everything ~ I, when I write about me and my friend Robin who everybody knows that I lost to leukemia I wrote about her and I as Lily and Julia ~ Julia and Lillian Hellman ~ so that movie [Julia] ~ you know with Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave ~ so Robin looked incredibly like Vanessa Redgrave and I ~ I was very Jane Fonda you know. And our relationship was very much like this like you know ~ come on across the river but don't forget to tell me that you're really afraid so in case you fall in I'll be expecting it. Don't lie to me and say 'Alright ~ I'll do it because you think I'm brave.'
~Stevie Nicks, Mary Turner "Off the Record" Interview, 1986

The Other Side of the Mirror came from…well first it was going to be Mirror Mirror, that was going to the name of Rock A Little. And then, because the song Mirror Mirror didn't end up going on the record because I didn't like the way it turned out, I changed it to Rock A Little because Rock A Little became the lead song.
~Stevie Nicks, Atlantic Records video interview, 1986


Rock a little means perseverance ~ Rock a little means rock a little all the time. If you rock out, you may not rock any more.
~Stevie Nicks, Mary Turner "Off the Record" Interview, 1986

from www.inherownwords.com

[bookie29]

Paula! Start using some GOOD songs for these threads!



Sultry isn't what I'd call that vocal, I'd call it whiney and cloying. Just like the song itself. One of her worst songs, I'm with Mariel on this one. I'll even listen to "That Made Me Stronger" before I listen to this drivel. This is coked-out Stevie at her worst and most obnoxious. Sounds to me that she forgot how to sing and "wrote" the lyrics by cutting and pasting lines from her journals at random. All of that "he says" and "she says" ****, oy.

She's home now
She says I've gone far beyond that song
She says rock and roll ballerina
Where else would she go?
He knows his daughter, says
Where does she live?
He says, Oh, up there somewhere

This bitch of a song kinda makes "Muskrat Love" sound like a landmark in music history.

I never realized how much "he said", "she said" was in this song. I thought that Mirror Mirror took the prize with those. I must have been blocking it out all of these years.

That being said, I do like this song. The version I like best is of the Rock a Little remixes I downloaded. I love the extra vamping at the end.

Sean

[amber]

We kinda rock a little all our life we rock ~ I did ~ I rocked in my cradle for sure and ah, then in mid-life you sort of rock on your feet and then you move onwards to a rocking chair at some point, probably, so that's kind of what Rock a Little means. It means to rock and roll all your life.
~Stevie Nicks, MTV clip, 1985

[Rock A Little] was also written before Bella Donna came out...and I've had most of the song ~ in fact, I mean really the entire [singing ] Sometimes it rages that was about the ocean you know ~ that ~ like shook my house and scared me to death every night ~ 'cause I thought it was an earthquake. [Singing] Rock a little/ Even when it's calm the house still shook a little/ Just like the sea I rock a little/ Some say it was just like me ~ Rock a little. That mean's cool out. Relax. Okay. Just rock a little all the time and you won't die.
~Stevie Nicks, Jim Ladd Interview, 1986 it has a wav file of this :cool:


I'm Lily. ...I've been Lily for a long time, actually because in my writing ~ in my book and everything ~ I, when I write about me and my friend Robin who everybody knows that I lost to leukemia I wrote about her and I as Lily and Julia ~ Julia and Lillian Hellman ~ so that movie [Julia] ~ you know with Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave ~ so Robin looked incredibly like Vanessa Redgrave and I ~ I was very Jane Fonda you know. And our relationship was very much like this like you know ~ come on across the river but don't forget to tell me that you're really afraid so in case you fall in I'll be expecting it. Don't lie to me and say 'Alright ~ I'll do it because you think I'm brave.'
~Stevie Nicks, Mary Turner "Off the Record" Interview, 1986

The Other Side of the Mirror came from…well first it was going to be Mirror Mirror, that was going to the name of Rock A Little. And then, because the song Mirror Mirror didn't end up going on the record because I didn't like the way it turned out, I changed it to Rock A Little because Rock A Little became the lead song.
~Stevie Nicks, Atlantic Records video interview, 1986


Rock a little means perseverance ~ Rock a little means rock a little all the time. If you rock out, you may not rock any more.
~Stevie Nicks, Mary Turner "Off the Record" Interview, 1986

from www.inherownwords.com
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Oh, man! She sure foamed at the mouth then. "I'll just say whatever I'm thinking right at this moment". :shocked:
Me loves it.

[The Tower]

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Oh, man! She sure foamed at the mouth then. "I'll just say whatever I'm thinking right at this moment". :shocked:
Me loves it.
If you were as hopped up on coke as she was in those days, you'd talk like that, too.

[amber]

If you were as hopped up on coke as she was in those days, you'd talk like that, too.
Yeah, I know. That's why it was hilarious, she's so obviously....

[dissention]

If you were as hopped up on coke as she was in those days, you'd talk like that, too.

Ever hear her Jim Ladd interviews from '86? :laugh:

Even when she was hopped up on coke, she wasn't as open and playful as she was in '94 when she was promoting SA. That Mark and Brian Show appearance is a classic.

[darklinensuit]

I love this song.

- Jake