View Full Version : An Analysis of the Songs and Image of Stevie Nicks
Richard B
11-21-2005, 07:18 PM
Found this rather lengthy essay about Stevie Nicks. Enjoy the read:
An Analysis of the Songs and Image of Stevie Nicks (http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol2/Iss1/essays/thompson.htm)
Written by
Marceline Thompson
University of Memphis
&
Carol L. Thompson
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
danax6
11-21-2005, 07:40 PM
Thanks, that was an interesting read. (If you can forgive the spelling mistakes!)
I never really thought about the shift with Rock a Little. Going from a strong woman to a vulnerable one, thus losing touch with a lot of people. Hm, I need to think about that some more.
David
11-21-2005, 08:23 PM
So has this been published in a legitimate peer-reviewed journal?
LOL!!! :lol: :lol:
At some point, we probably are going to pick up an issue of Metatext or something & read about the crucial clusters of cultural representation which grad students can "locate" in Stevie Nicks songs, using queer theory, decolonialization effectivities, transformative politics & Jell-O brand vanilla pudding.
danax6
11-21-2005, 08:26 PM
So has this been published in a legitimate peer-reviewed journal?
I sincerely doubt it. :laugh:
David
11-21-2005, 09:03 PM
I sincerely doubt it. :laugh:I love your banner, Vanessa, with that pic of Stevie doing "Rhiannon" at the US Festival in 1982!!
GypsySorcerer
11-21-2005, 09:05 PM
So has this been published in a legitimate peer-reviewed journal?
LOL!!! :lol: :lol:
At some point, we probably are going to pick up an issue of Metatext or something & read about the crucial clusters of cultural representation which grad students can "locate" in Stevie Nicks songs, using queer theory, decolonialization effectivities, transformative politics & Jell-O brand vanilla pudding.
I've read this piece before.
The AJC is a peer-reviewed journal, published only online, though it is not a tier one or tier two journal. It is published by the American Communication Association.
For the best the communication discipline has to offer, I'd check out Communication Monographs. ;)
Ghost_Tracker
11-22-2005, 02:46 AM
Found this rather lengthy essay about Stevie Nicks. Enjoy the read:
An Analysis of the Songs and Image of Stevie Nicks (http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol2/Iss1/essays/thompson.htm)
Written by
Marceline Thompson
University of Memphis
&
Carol L. Thompson
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Just wait, folks.
Just wait. . . . :nod: :cool:
Kelly
11-22-2005, 08:34 AM
What are we waiting for? :shrug:
dissention
11-22-2005, 11:37 AM
What are we waiting for? :shrug:
The rapture.
blinker12
11-22-2005, 12:35 PM
Interesting! The piece makes some good points about how Stevie started as vulnerable yet tough, only to become simply vulnerable in the period 1985-1994. We all know some of the reasons for that vulnerability (weight gain, cocaine rehab, Klonopin addiction and rehab).
The piece seems to follow Stevie only through 1998, and I got to thinking about her persona since then. In her writing, she seems to have reclaimed much of the earthiness and fortitude that endeared her to fans in the first place. Just look at newer songs like "Destiny Rules," "Love Changes," "Thrown Down" and "Fall from Grace," in which she seems resigned to the challenges of love but also strong enough to weather them. Even "Silver Girl," despite its references to girly girls and generally soft lyrics, hints at a kind of mysterious resilience: "Sometimes she was just an actress/But you'll never really know/Shadows move across her face/You cannot see her soul."
I agree with the author that this return to a stronger voice has a lot to do with her newfound credibility.
Sorry, reading that article got me into academic mode! :eek: ;)
Richard B
11-22-2005, 01:24 PM
The rapture.
OT: Did you see that film 'The Rapture" starring Mimi Rogers? Super weird, but kinda good.
dissention
11-22-2005, 01:27 PM
OT: Did you see that film 'The Rapture" starring Mimi Rogers? Super weird, but kinda good.
Yes! Great movie. The last half hour or so is amongst the most bizarre things I've ever seen in a movie. Mimi Rogers was really great in that one, even if Duchovny looked like he was straining to read the teleprompter most of the time.
Richard B
11-22-2005, 01:36 PM
Yes! Great movie. The last half hour or so is amongst the most bizarre things I've ever seen in a movie. Mimi Rogers was really great in that one, even if Duchovny looked like he was straining to read the teleprompter most of the time.
I couldn't believe what was happening in the last half hour. I was riveted. Yes, that's right riveted and digusted at the same time. It's finally available on DVD too.
David
11-22-2005, 01:48 PM
Interesting! The piece makes some good points about how Stevie started as vulnerable yet tough, only to become simply vulnerable in the period 1985-1994. We all know some of the reasons for that vulnerability (weight gain, cocaine rehab, Klonopin addiction and rehab).
The piece seems to follow Stevie only through 1998, and I got to thinking about her persona since then. In her writing, she seems to have reclaimed much of the earthiness and fortitude that endeared her to fans in the first place. Just look at newer songs like "Destiny Rules," "Love Changes," "Thrown Down" and "Fall from Grace," in which she seems resigned to the challenges of love but also strong enough to weather them. Even "Silver Girl," despite its references to girly girls and generally soft lyrics, hints at a kind of mysterious resilience: "Sometimes she was just an actress/But you'll never really know/Shadows move across her face/You cannot see her soul."
I agree with the author that this return to a stronger voice has a lot to do with her newfound credibility.If I wrote an essay for my English class drawing all these conjectural & in some cases wacky parallels between Stevie's personal & emotional issues & her songs, I'd probably get an F. The teacher would accuse me of confusing the voice or the perspective in the song with the song's writer.
blinker12
11-22-2005, 01:56 PM
Even if you believe Stevie commonly writes from the perspective of someone other than herself (which I personally don't buy) -- don't you think it legitimate to make a connection between a writer's state of mind and her output?
David
11-22-2005, 01:59 PM
Even if you believe Stevie commonly writes from the perspective of someone other than herself (which I personally don't buy) -- don't you think it legitimate to make a connection between a writer's state of mind and her output?I do, & blinker, by the way, I wasn't implying that your post was bad -- I was talking only about this essay by the two women. It just occurred to me, as I looked back at my own post, that it could be interpreted as having referred to your post.
blinker12
11-22-2005, 04:07 PM
Oh, OK... sorry to get defensive on you David. :o :)
The Tower
11-22-2005, 04:35 PM
Interesting! The piece makes some good points about how Stevie started as vulnerable yet tough, only to become simply vulnerable in the period 1985-1994. We all know some of the reasons for that vulnerability (weight gain, cocaine rehab, Klonopin addiction and rehab).
The piece seems to follow Stevie only through 1998, and I got to thinking about her persona since then. In her writing, she seems to have reclaimed much of the earthiness and fortitude that endeared her to fans in the first place. Just look at newer songs like "Destiny Rules," "Love Changes," "Thrown Down" and "Fall from Grace," in which she seems resigned to the challenges of love but also strong enough to weather them. Even "Silver Girl," despite its references to girly girls and generally soft lyrics, hints at a kind of mysterious resilience: "Sometimes she was just an actress/But you'll never really know/Shadows move across her face/You cannot see her soul."
I thought that whole concept was pretty off. I tend to see Stevie as much more vulnerable on the first three BN era FM albums. I think she discovered her strength with Bella Donna and then moved on from there. The introspective waif on "Dreams", "Storms" and "Beautiful Child" has got nothing on the hard as nails beyotch from "Edge of 17", "Nothing Ever Changes" and "Kind of Woman". Rock A Little, TOSOTM and Street Angel all had their moments of what the writer referred to as "complex meld of vulnerability and hard core strength". "Long Way to Go" and "Love Is Like a River" are hardly soft, weak, feminine piffle.
I agree with the author that this return to a stronger voice has a lot to do with her newfound credibility.
I don't think Stevie ever returned to a stronger voice, unless you're talking about her semi-recovery from her shattered Rock A Little voice. Her TOSOTM voice is way better than TISL or what she's got going now.
strandinthewind
11-22-2005, 04:47 PM
. . . I don't think Stevie ever returned to a stronger voice, unless you're talking about her semi-recovery from her shattered Rock A Little voice. Her TOSOTM voice is way better than TISL or what she's got going now.
I disagree in the sense that the SA tour voice was powerful and sublime and she nailed (though not with the same voice) many nights on the Enchanted and Dance tours. After that though, her voice took a beating. I will say though that when she wants it to shine these days, she lets it a la Circle Dance, B&B, and Rock and Roll.
amber
11-22-2005, 04:47 PM
I couldn't believe what was happening in the last half hour. I was riveted. Yes, that's right riveted and digusted at the same time. It's finally available on DVD too.
Yay! I should get that. I've seen it a bunch of times, it's one of my favorite movies ever. I saw it when I was 18, it had come out the year before, I think. I loved it right away.
And I'm suprised, thinking about it, that the ending of the movie was so consistent with the whole. I could easily see having trouble resolving that movie in an effective way - it could be inconsistent and look really cheesy.
But it turned out really well, especially considering it's fairly low budget.
A small masterpiece.:)
(Diss knows, every time someone mentions The Rapture, I have to talk about it.:p :wavey: )
Ah, it's when I first saw James LeGros...
David
11-22-2005, 04:49 PM
I disagree in the sense that the SA tour voice was powerful and sublime and she nailed (though not with the same voice) many nights on the Enchanted and Dance tours. After that though, her voice took a beating. I will say though that when she wants it to shine these days, she lets it a la Circle Dance, B&B, and Rock and Roll.You guys are talking about her singing voice but I think the article was using "voice" in the context of "narrative voice" or "authorial voice" or at least "creative voice."
strandinthewind
11-22-2005, 04:54 PM
You guys are talking about her singing voice but I think the article was using "voice" in the context of "narrative voice" or "authorial voice" or at least "creative voice."
ahhhhhhhhh - in that case, the storyteller who spoke in hushed whispers has not been seen since Tusk, though BD, WH, and Mirage were great. I think she tried to recapture that personage with TOSOTM - it has that vibe to me - but it was not the Stevie Regina Gloriana of Tusk.
dissention
11-22-2005, 04:54 PM
I will say though that when she wants it to shine these days, she lets it a la...Rock and Roll.
That analysis was not referring to her singing voice, but I just had to quote this and :laugh: . It was competent, but her voice is so weak that she couldn't do it justice. There was no power to her renditions of it. Not bad, but not great.
strandinthewind
11-22-2005, 04:56 PM
That analysis was not referring to her singing voice, but I just had to quote this and :laugh: . It was competent, but her voice is so weak that she couldn't do it justice. There was no power to her renditions of it. Not bad, but not great.
I was standing ten feet from her with my hands on the stage in Vegas and I could hear her R&R and B&B without the aid of the mic. :shrug: So, I would go further than competent.
dissention
11-22-2005, 04:59 PM
I was standing ten feet from her with my hands on the stage in Vegas and I could hear her R&R and B&B without the aid of the mic. :shrug: So, I would go further than competent.
From all the boots I've heard, I certainly wouldn't.
The Tower
11-22-2005, 05:04 PM
You guys are talking about her singing voice but I think the article was using "voice" in the context of "narrative voice" or "authorial voice" or at least "creative voice."
Well, if that's the case- then she lost that in the early 80's and never gained it back....
strandinthewind
11-22-2005, 05:05 PM
Well, if that's the case- then she lost that in the early 80's and never gained it back....
Amen sister woman!!!!!
Though there have been glimpses of it like the songs Twisted and TISL - but she hadn't the voice to pull those off like that IMO.
Richard B
11-22-2005, 05:59 PM
From all the boots I've heard, I certainly wouldn't.
Don't rely on boots to form a opinion on sounding good. They all pretty much suck...even some "alleged" soundboards.
Boots that were recorded up close tend to be the worst with way too much amp of a particular area of the stage.
Ghost_Tracker
12-03-2005, 02:09 AM
Even if you believe Stevie commonly writes from the perspective of someone other than herself (which I personally don't buy) -- don't you think it legitimate to make a connection between a writer's state of mind and her output?
Maybe SHE does - but her ENGLISH teacher doesn't . . . . :rolleyes:
(What can I tellya - I've had "issues" with English Teachers. :lol: )
So has this been published in a legitimate peer-reviewed journal?
LOL!!! :lol: :lol:
At some point, we probably are going to pick up an issue of Metatext or something & read about the crucial clusters of cultural representation which grad students can "locate" in Stevie Nicks songs, using queer theory, decolonialization effectivities, transformative politics & Jell-O brand vanilla pudding.
Hey, my freshman year in college, I took a sociology seminar about "manufacturing authenticity" in popular music and wrote an eight-page paper about the calculation which went into the launching of Stevie's solo career. It could happen...
cliffdweller
12-05-2005, 10:39 AM
I love how she cited the lyric "I know you really wanna be your own girl" from SDMHA as part of Stevie's catalogue of feminist manifestos when we all know that TOM PETTY wrote it. She decided to leave that little tidbit out of her heavily researched :rolleyes: piece though.
I don't know how much I buy her Burkeian associations, but the author of this article does have one thing right: Stevie Nicks has a mythos unmatched and unparalleled in the world of women in rock and roll. People dig it. End of story.
DavidMn
12-05-2005, 02:12 PM
OT: Did you see that film 'The Rapture" starring Mimi Rogers? Super weird, but kinda good.Mimi Rogers was Tom Cruise's first wife, right?
golden braid
12-05-2005, 05:05 PM
Mimi Rogers was Tom Cruise's first wife, right?
Yes she was.
SpyNote
12-05-2005, 09:37 PM
Found this rather lengthy essay about Stevie Nicks. Enjoy the read:
An Analysis of the Songs and Image of Stevie Nicks (http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol2/Iss1/essays/thompson.htm)
Written by
Marceline Thompson
University of Memphis
&
Carol L. Thompson
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Yes, it's interesting what you'll find on the web. I found this essay link while browsing public library databases. There's a lot of weird ass stuff devoted to Stevie. One of the stranger sites is one crassly comparing her to Britney Spears (http://www.unclemelon.com/britneyspears.html) :lol:
List of Stevie sites (http://www.stevie-nicks.info/stevie/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=16&Itemid=37)
Ghost_Tracker
12-07-2005, 08:05 PM
Yes, it's interesting what you'll find on the web. I found this essay link while browsing public library databases. There's a lot of weird ass stuff devoted to Stevie. One of the stranger sites is one crassly comparing her to Britney Spears (http://www.unclemelon.com/britneyspears.html) :lol:
Oh my freaking . . .
I don't know whether 'ta laugh hysterically or run & hide so I think maybe
I'll do both. :shocked: :rolleyes:
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