View Full Version : Lindsey as a solo artist
Hello everyone.:wavey:
I didn't really know where to post my question, so I 'm starting this new thread..
I am sorry if this has been explained a million times before:o
I was listening to Tusk the other day and I was thinking that Lindsey is indeed an inspired and innovative artist, as well as influential IMO.
However, there are a lot of people who know Fleetwood Mac, (I 'm not talking about the real fans, just the ones who enjoy some of their songs) who don't even know his name. When you talk about the Rolling Stones, or Pink Floyd or Roxy Music, most of the people (or everyone) know who Mick Jagger, Roger Waters or Bryan Ferry are, even of they're not fans.
I 'm asking because I 'm not sure if it is indeed so. Is it perhaps different in the States, but I 'm thinking that if you mention "Lindsey Buckingham" to a european, they will hardly know who you're talikng about, let alone link the name to FM. And I find this really strange, since IMO (and according to a lot of best-selling -artists lists etc) FM are one of the most famous bands ever existed.
Is it because his solo career was not as successful as Stevie's? (But then again neither was Roger Waters').
Again, I 'm really not sure if it's truly the case, so I 'm asking to get some US perspective on the subject:shrug:
I would argue casual fans of a lot of bands wouldn't know much about the members specifically. I mean, sure, everyone knows John Lennon, Mick Jagger etc. But for someone who "likes" FM and owns a copy of Rumours (everyone over the age of 35 owns a copy of Rumours) probably isn't going to be familiar with the specific band members. I think it's probably hard for people like us that are so deep into the music to realize there are people who just sing along to GYOW on the radio while driving their kids to soccer practice, refer to Dreams as "Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining", and reverse genders for Stevie and Lindsey.
Yes, Stevie is probably the most recognizable member of the band, probably because of her solo career. But, again, some people just don't know.
Lindsey is definitely the most underated classic rock guitarist.
On a side note, I was playing my iPod at work and Trouble came on. I was helping a lady at the cash register, and I could hear her humming along, very softly. I almost asked her if she was a Lindsey fan, but didn't for fear of a "Who's she?" response.
Forshorn
04-30-2006, 01:25 PM
I'd say they know him - "the guitarist in Fleetwood Mac" - but don't necessarily know the name. FM are much, much bigger stateside than over there; here most people wouldn't know Bryan Ferry or Jarvis Cocker.
But everyone had a copy of Rumours (I guess the Brit members won the argument about spelling the name). So they had seen Lindsey's big fro. And knew about the breakup.
madformac
04-30-2006, 01:58 PM
I'd argue the point that people know who the members of Pink Floyd are though.. I think it's the opposite. They can walk around generally without being recognised and considering the success and album sales they are reasonably unknown as individuals, maybe with the exception of Gilmour.
Lindsey is a bit unknown to the general public outside of Mac and as I've mentioned on countless occasions its one of the causes of his neuroses IMO. I don't think it helps when people think hes the female singer of the band too "Oh Lindsey, yeah the chick" :shocked: :lol:
I agree with all of the previous comments that most people have no idea who Lindsey is outside the context of "the guitarist and male vocalist for Fleetwood Mac. And I think a lot of that does have to do with his solo career, or lack of one. To say that Lindsey maintains a low public profile would be the understatement of the year. Aside from two or three songs contributed to soundtracks and an almost totally obscure and unpublicized television special/DVD, the man has released no music of his own (that is, outside the confines and label of Fleetwood Mac) in nearly fifteen years. So of course nobody knows who he is. How could they?
johndoe
04-30-2006, 02:13 PM
I actually saw an ad for Soundstage in Guitar World, but it was like 1/8th of the third to last page, right next to an ad for a guitar store in the midwest. Theres not much demand for him outside the confines of the Fleetwood Mac world, so theres not going to be much advertising.
Wouldn't it be awesome if when/if he ever released a solo album, we like, geurilla advertised it? Posters on lamp posts and stuff? Its like an LB street team!
gypsysoul
04-30-2006, 03:47 PM
I actually saw a book once (I forget the name) about the greatest rock albums in which under Rumours it mentioned the classic songs from the album:
You make loving fun by the golden throated Christine Mcvie
Stevie nick's angry vocals and searing guitar solo on GYOW
And Buckinghams hypnotic Dreams.
I agree I don't think the average music fan would know much about Lyndsey at all other than thinking he was Stevie!
He needs a couple of big hit singles attached to huge films to make an impression and that commercial success might lead more people to his other solo work.
chiliD
05-01-2006, 10:12 AM
...Lyndsey at all other than thinking he was Stevie!
His supposedly loyal fans can't even spell his name correctly?? And, we expect him to be a household name?
gypsysoul
05-01-2006, 10:17 AM
Point taken, CHILID. I always do this and I know it's wrong. Must be a mental block or something!:]
Sahara
05-01-2006, 10:24 AM
I agree with all of the previous comments that most people have no idea who Lindsey is outside the context of "the guitarist and male vocalist for Fleetwood Mac. And I think a lot of that does have to do with his solo career, or lack of one. To say that Lindsey maintains a low public profile would be the understatement of the year. Aside from two or three songs contributed to soundtracks and an almost totally obscure and unpublicized television special/DVD, the man has released no music of his own (that is, outside the confines and label of Fleetwood Mac) in nearly fifteen years. So of course nobody knows who he is. How could they?
That is a very fair point.
And guerilla advertising sounds like the best craic ever! We must come up with a strategy people!
[That is, if we're not all over the hill by the time the album comes out :p ]
As for the "Who's she?" response ... : shudder : I know exactly how you feel. Even I'm guilty - when I first heard SYW [my first FM album], I went around for several weeks telling everyone about the incredible voice this Lindsey Buckingham girl had. Woops. :shocked:
Thank you all for your comments..:)
I'd say they know him - "the guitarist in Fleetwood Mac" - but don't necessarily know the name. FM are much, much bigger stateside than over there; here most people wouldn't know Bryan Ferry or Jarvis Cocker.
It's funny that you mention that- believe it or not, my friends actually do know Jarvis Cocker and do not know Lindsey, but then again Pulp were very much in fashion in the mid-90's here (I don't know about other european countries though).
And I 'm not sure that an unsuccesful solo career (or lack thereof) is the reason that Lindsey is not that well known- I guess I would have to agree with Lala that he is a very underated musician overall. IMO almost every single Lindsey song on TUSK could have been a classic, such as GYOW.
Chester
05-01-2006, 01:20 PM
IMO almost every single Lindsey song on TUSK could have been a classic, such as GYOW.
Maybe with a completely different producer and a less insane voice singing it! Because he's a good songwriter, all of his songs are good, but his midset of making his songs unique is what pulls them so far away from the mainstream sound that it makes it very hard for casual listeners to tell that they're good.
Maybe with a completely different producer and a less insane voice singing it! Because he's a good songwriter, all of his songs are good, but his midset of making his songs unique is what pulls them so far away from the mainstream sound that it makes it very hard for casual listeners to tell that they're good.
And yet "Tusk," arguably the "craziest" song on the album, was a Top 10 single.
Johnny Stew
05-01-2006, 02:50 PM
And yet "Tusk," arguably the "craziest" song on the album, was a Top 10 single.I wonder, though, if it would have been quite as big of a hit if it had been the third or fourth single from the album.
The first single usually gets the bigger push from the label and radio.
"Tusk" could have been propelled to the Top 10 by the fact that it was the "brand new single from Fleetwood Mac's upcoming album."
I wonder, though, if it would have been quite as big of a hit if it had been the third or fourth single from the album.
The first single usually gets the bigger push from the label and radio.
"Tusk" could have been propelled to the Top 10 by the fact that it was the "brand new single from Fleetwood Mac's upcoming album."
The label and the radio can push all they want, but if people don't like something, they aren't gonna buy it. There have been plenty of "brand new single's from [popular band's] upcoming album" that haven't done well.
"Tusk" hit #8 and was on the charts for 15 weeks. That wasn't just because of good promotion.
David
05-01-2006, 03:27 PM
I wonder, though, if it would have been quite as big of a hit if it had been the third or fourth single from the album.
The first single usually gets the bigger push from the label and radio.
"Tusk" could have been propelled to the Top 10 by the fact that it was the "brand new single from Fleetwood Mac's upcoming album."
It was the novelty of the song that made it a hit. The marching band, the USC connection, the jungle chant thing, all that....
it was a hit for the same reason that a marching band plays a romp at a ball game & gets everybody on his feet & singing.
Johnny Stew
05-01-2006, 03:43 PM
It was the novelty of the song that made it a hit. The marching band, the USC connection, the jungle chant thing, all that....
it was a hit for the same reason that a marching band plays a romp at a ball game & gets everybody on his feet & singing."Tusk" is the only Fleetwood Mac song my father likes, and that's solely because of the marching band. :laugh:
IMO, Tusk belongs to my category of "songs that are unique and no other song written before or after is similar". A friend of mine and I used to actually have a list of all those songs. We would include all songs that might be or might not be typical of a certain artist but do not resemble any other song. Usually they are songs that no matter how many times I listen to them, I cannot for the life of me figure where the inspiration came from. And by that I don't mean "what the song is about" etc.
Then again, I am not a musician myself, so maybe I 'm getting it all wrong.
(Edge of seventeen is another one on my list..Or, as far as other artists go, "Innuendo" by Queen, or Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter")
IMO, Tusk belongs to my category of "songs that are unique and no other song written before or after is similar". A friend of mine and I used to actually have a list of all those songs. We would include all songs that might be or might not be typical of a certain artist but do not resemble any other song. Usually they are songs that no matter how many times I listen to them, I cannot for the life of me figure where the inspiration came from. And by that I don't mean "what the song is about" etc.
Then again, I am not a musician myself, so maybe I 'm getting it all wrong.
(Edge of seventeen is another one on my list..
Well, we know where the musical "inspiration" for "Edge of Seventeen" came from...
chiliD
05-01-2006, 04:39 PM
...or Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter")
Just a re-write of "Under My Thumb". :thumbsup:
Its funny that you mention that people don't know Lindsey by name because just the other day at work Big Love came on the radio and I kind of started singing to myself. One of my co-workers casually said "Isn't this a Lindsey Buckingham song?" I just about shat myself. I didn't care that she kinda got it wrong (but oh-so right), but the fact that someone outside the FM bubble knew his name!!! ***Le sigh***
Its funny that you mention that people don't know Lindsey by name because just the other day at work Big Love came on the radio and I kind of started singing to myself. One of my co-workers casually said "Isn't this a Lindsey Buckingham song?" I just about shat myself. I didn't care that she kinda got it wrong (but oh-so right), but the fact that someone outside the FM bubble knew his name!!! ***Le sigh***
Think she referred to it as an LB track b/c of the Elizabethtown soundtrack?
Just a re-write of "Under My Thumb". :thumbsup:
Really? I had never thought so..Oh, I 'm so disappointed:confused:
Well, we know where the musical "inspiration" for "Edge of Seventeen" came from...
No, I don't know that either :confused: Please, elaborate if you have time :)
(On another note, I have read Stevie's explanation concerning the inspiration for the lyrics, but here on the Ledge I 've read that a lot of people "question" that it was really about what Stevie says. I don't get that either).
Its funny that you mention that people don't know Lindsey by name because just the other day at work Big Love came on the radio and I kind of started singing to myself. One of my co-workers casually said "Isn't this a Lindsey Buckingham song?"
That would not happen in a million years where I come from!!:lol:
That's what I was talking about in my original post. When we were watching "Elizabethtown" and Big Love came on, I said to my friend "that's FM" and she said 'Oh, I like that song a lot, but I didn't know who it was". Let alone know about Lindsey..
No, I don't know that either :confused: Please, elaborate if you have time :)
The main riff of "Edge Of Seventeen" was pretty much lifted from a song by The Police.
amber
05-02-2006, 02:50 AM
The main riff of "Edge Of Seventeen" was pretty much lifted from a song by The Police.
And then didn't Waddy get mad at Stevie for that? :laugh:
amber
05-02-2006, 02:59 AM
IMO, Tusk belongs to my category of "songs that are unique and no other song written before or after is similar". A friend of mine and I used to actually have a list of all those songs. We would include all songs that might be or might not be typical of a certain artist but do not resemble any other song. Usually they are songs that no matter how many times I listen to them, I cannot for the life of me figure where the inspiration came from. And by that I don't mean "what the song is about" etc.
Then again, I am not a musician myself, so maybe I 'm getting it all wrong.
(Edge of seventeen is another one on my list..Or, as far as other artists go, "Innuendo" by Queen, or Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter")
That's a great idea, I'd like to see that list. Would Down Under be on it?
I agree about TUSK. And I think it would be one of the more unusual songs on the unusual song list.
I would never, ever meet anyone who knew who L-buck was except for that worker guy in Rasputin music store who told me TUSK was his favorite album of all as I was selling my copy of it to him. I usually don't expect cool music store guy to have FM be his favorite anything. It was a lovely moment. But I think part of that is my age group.
But on the other hand like others have said, it would be hard to meet the average person who didn't recognize immediately a fair portion of his handywork. (The Songs).
I mainly want to see that list.
We should have a thread with the theme of that list.
The main riff of "Edge Of Seventeen" was pretty much lifted from a song by The Police.
Really? Which one? I didn't know that either..:o
However, doesn't it sound pretty original? I had always thought so..
Thanx Amber! Yes, Down Under actually was on our list!
Perhaps we could have a thread on Chit Chat
amber
05-02-2006, 03:40 AM
Really? Which one? I didn't know that either..:o
However, doesn't it sound pretty original? I had always thought so..
Thanx Amber! Yes, Down Under actually was on our list!
Perhaps we could have a thread on Chit Chat
Yeah, go start one! :woohoo:
If I was a dork (which I'm not, swear) I would also think it would be a fun contest to guess what was on your list....:p
Yeah, go start one! :woohoo:
If I was a dork (which I'm not, swear) I would also think it would be a fun contest to guess what was on your list....:p
Hmm the contest would actually be fun :lol:
I 'm starting it now, I hope you will join me :)
David
05-02-2006, 10:37 AM
No, I don't know that either :confused: Please, elaborate if you have time :) yes, the guitar riff & the 16th notes on the cymbals are supposed to have been stolen from "Here Comes the Night" but the chords in Edge are Stevie's own.
On another note, I have read Stevie's explanation concerning the inspiration for the lyrics, but here on the Ledge I 've read that a lot of people "question" that it was really about what Stevie says. I don't get that either.Stevie doesn't know what any of her songs are about because when she compiles them (out of old journal entries) it's just a mishmash of nonlinear impressions & emotions. So fans ask her years later what this song or that song is about, & she has no idea. The only song she knows about is "The Highwayman"--see her response to Jim Ladd in 1981 on the radio.
She is (& was) the worst possible guest for a show like "Storytellers" although she is able to "tell a story" about a song like "Stand Back." But the thing about "Storytellers" is not that you want to hear just some little story peripherally related to the song, you want to hear the meaning behind the song (i.e., the lyrics). The only thing Stevie remembers is this sort of stuff: you can sing "Stand Back" to the chords of "Little Red Corvette."
Think she referred to it as an LB track b/c of the Elizabethtown soundtrack?
Nope, she just shockingly knew Linds by name.:eek:
...and to think, she's been under my nose this whole time!
BTFLCHLD
05-02-2006, 11:11 PM
But the thing about "Storytellers" is not that you want to hear just some little story peripherally related to the song, you want to hear the meaning behind the song (i.e., the lyrics).
at the same time (sorry spingsteen fans)
bruce wouldnt shut the F up on his
man can that guy drone on and on
if i recall it was interesting although endless IMO
wondergirl9847
05-03-2006, 12:03 AM
That puppy in your sig is SO CUTE!
Johnny Stew
05-03-2006, 12:35 AM
She is (& was) the worst possible guest for a show like "Storytellers" although she is able to "tell a story" about a song like "Stand Back." But the thing about "Storytellers" is not that you want to hear just some little story peripherally related to the song, you want to hear the meaning behind the song (i.e., the lyrics). The only thing Stevie remembers is this sort of stuff: you can sing "Stand Back" to the chords of "Little Red Corvette."I actually felt that was an intentional decision, so that fans can still bring their own interpretations to the songs without her putting it all into black & white.
Truth be told, it always dims my enjoyment of a song when I have in my mind exactly what I think it means, and then find out it's about the songwriter's dog or something. I'd rather not know and have that little bit of mystery. :shrug:
Truth be told, it always dims my enjoyment of a song when I have in my mind exactly what I think it means, and then find out it's about the songwriter's dog or something. I'd rather not know and have that little bit of mystery. :shrug:
Hmm, kind of like a painting?
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Truth be told, it always dims my enjoyment of a song when I have in my mind exactly what I think it means, and then find out it's about the songwriter's dog or something. I'd rather not know and have that little bit of mystery. :shrug:
ITA! And I am not so interested on finding out what the song is exactly about. I believe that most writers do and do not know what their songs are about.They write some words inspired by something and then they throw in some other words, which may be or may not be relevant to the rest. But the general idea is there. But anyhow, I prefer to make my own interpretation, whether it is poetry or songwriting or whatever.
The reason I asked about Edge of Seventeen earlier on, is that some imply that it is not about what Stevie says it is and I was just curious. As to the particular song, I have no interpetation of my own whatsoever.
at the same time (sorry spingsteen fans)
bruce wouldnt shut the F up on his
man can that guy drone on and on
if i recall it was interesting although endless IMO
It was very poorly edited, at least for broadcast. Lord knows why they aired so much talking and so little of the actual songs.
Best Storyteller, if there could be any doubt: Tom Waits. Now there's a man who knows how to tell a good story.
I used to think the same about Nick Cave (that he would be a good storyteller) but in interviews I find him surprisingly cocky or delibarately silly.
Tom Waits is a much more serious and devoted artist IMO, even though I am not his biggest fan.
Truth be told, it always dims my enjoyment of a song when I have in my mind exactly what I think it means, and then find out it's about the songwriter's dog or something. I'd rather not know and have that little bit of mystery. :shrug:
True. I remember looking up Long May You Run by Neil Young on http://www.songfacts.com/ (sweet site btw) after it had touched me, only to find out he wrote it about he hearse.
So, I guess it's nice that FM lyrics aren't really clear, because then they are able to apply to whatever I may be going through. At the same time, I'm fascinated by the drama in this band, and I wanna know!!!!
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