Which Member of Fleetwood Mac Would You Like To Have Been?
 

A recent conversation with DavidMN gave me the idea for this question:

Which member of Fleetwood Mac would you like to have been?

In my case, I can't really decide, but here is my reasoning:

Peter would be great because I would be so talented & I would be idolized by musicians & music fans & critics, but the drawback is that I would take some bad LSD which would trigger my incipient schizo-affective disorder & other personality disorders & much of my life would be spent in a great deal of mental, physical & emotional anguish.

John would be great because I would be universally beloved by the Mac world & I would be considered ultra-cool but the drawback would be that my booze would get to me & trigger serious health concerns.

Lindsey would be great because I would have that fire of exploration & creativity & I would be ranked among the vanguard (at least for a time) by the rock press, but the drawback would be health concerns related to the early-onset heart disease in my immediate family, & the series of losses pertaining to that. Also, I don't want hair that resembles Art Garfunkel.

Billy would be great because I would have a cool family of music makers & I would have a long-term career filled with ups & downs but mostly pretty steady, but the drawback is that I would be living in Tennessee.

So I will have to say Rick because I would have a showoffy instrumental talent (always a dream of mine) & I would get to go on Stevie's single good solo tour since the mid '80s & I would be stable & kind & be satisfied personally & professionally (touring with Bonnie Raitt & others) & would probably have a pretty good stable income & be relatively neurosis-free.

My initial thought was Peter Green...but I wouldn't want to have had his demons...but, I definitely would want his guitar virtuosity.

Actually, it would be either Bob Welch or Rick Vito.

I would be Mick because I totally admire his perserverance in keeping Fleetwood Mac alive through all the bull****. The sincerity of his passion for the band is something I can relate to 100%. And just in overall terms we should all have that kind of passion and dedication in what we do.:nod: Yeah he's ****ed up here and there, but who hasnt?

I'm going to give the most obvious answer in the world and say Stevie.
Need I say why?
Sincere, emotional, sometimes beautiful, sometimes corny, songrwriting
Great, great clothes an style overall
Cute, beautiful and attractive in a not very conventional way.

And most important of all: Stevie wrote the line "never have I been a blue calm sea, I 've always been a storm".
I could explain that, but I would go extremely off-topic.

That's an interesting question.
They've all been through such rough times I can't really say I'd have liked to be any of them! :sorry:

But if I had to choose, then yeah, I'll be boring and say Stevie -- for the talent, the sincerity, the voice, the beauty... and the clothes.
And hanging out with Buckingham may have something tiny to do with it too. ;)

DAVE WALKER!!!

Actually, no, I think I'd be Bob Weston. Nice guy, nice leisure suits, awesome-but-not-show-offy guitar talent. So I screw up the band's big shot at finally being successful in the US and end up lounging about in obscurity while they hire a couple of new kids who actually do make the band incredibly popular because they're screwing each other and not Mick's wife. I can live with that.

(David, do you really expect most people to take your logical approach? I'll be shocked if there's anybody who choose Stevie after actually listing off some of the downsides.)

Well I don't know ....

I wonder the same thing: do these folks picking Stevie realize that they would have to open wide for the likes of Paul Fishkin, Jimmy Iovine, Waddy Wachtel, Joe Walsh, Les Dudek, etc. etc.?

You know, my initial reaction was Stevie, but I dunno...Chris seems so much more stable and together. Chris could command her own instrument, was a seasoned musician and songwriter, and had a cool, level-headed composure about her that seemed to garner much more respect among the other members of the group. Sure she was a bit of a doormat in relationships (Dennis Wilson) and wrote sappy love songs, but all in all I think I could be friends with her more easily than Stevie. Chris also seems to have a funny, easygoing way about her that's probably more in line with my own personality, whereas Stevie was waaaay more high maintenence and very much of a drama queen (hard to handle). I love Stevie though, and I love to watch (and hear) her go through her drama, I just wouldn't want to LIVE that drama I don't think.

You can stand behind your keyboard and roll your eyes at her!

Her list of conquests boggles the mind :shocked: Well you can say one thing for Stevie, beauty was definitely in the eye of the beholder--no superficiality there! Lindsey was an anomaly.

I'm a laidback librarian living a quiet life in a small Pennsylvania town, and I enjoy that. But if I were to choose to live the life of celebrity, I would choose someone whose life was very different from my own. Stevie's seen the pinnacle of success both as a member of one of the biggest supergroups ever and as a solo artist, she's lived in fabulous homes and stayed in the ritziest hotels, she's had affairs with some of the most handsome & talented men in rock music, and she is adored by hundreds of thousands of people. Sure, she's also had drug addictions as well as health and weight problems, and she's dallied with a few unsavory men, but there's no denying she's lived one of the single most interesting lives of anyone in Fleetwood Mac.

So if I'm going to trade lives with someone, I'm choosing someone who has LIVED!

How do you figure this? :laugh:

Don Henley was very handsome, Lindsey was very handsome, J.D. Souther was handsome... she's also been romantically linked with Walter Egan & John Stewart, both of whom were handsome guys. :shrug:

No to the first, yes to the second and :shocked: to the third.

But I'm starting to see a pattern here JohnnyStew, if you're talking about their appearance in the 70's then you must have a thing for bearded guys with a lot of hair!

Enjoy your bowel gangrene.

:confused:

Well, if I'm going to be a rock star I don't want to play it completely safe. I'd like to experience some of the excitement and drama that goes with the title but still have some sanity left to have a decent life.

So I'd have to be Lindsey.

I would then be : a superb musician, a great, gifted songwriter, a fantastic studio geek (in a good way), the creator of ootc, a good looking man, decent sportsman, very rich and famous without it being too instrusive.
I'd have tried the drugs and partying to be able to say I did it but still come through to have a family life and gorgeous kids. Plus I'd have Stevie's undying love.

Being female i would have liked to have chosen Stevie : for her ability to write soul wrenching songs, her unique style, her fabulous wardrobe, and loyal army of fans but I wouldn't have been able to stomach sleeping with any of her men (except Lindsey) and the whole drugs thing was too much.

Very well summed up.
The last bit espesh. ;)

I agree.. I thought in Stevie at first but then, I choose Christine

even though I'm a guy, I don't know why Lindsey is not an option

Stevie. duh.

My first instinct would be to say John. To have been on the breakout albums of Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Stevie Nicks and not be at all phased by it is nothing but cool. He's been a major player in the history of rock. He really hasn't gotten the credit that I think he's due, but I also don't think he really cares that much, which is but one of the reasons I love the guy! The issues with alcohol would be tough, though.

Which, is why I think I'd rather be Rick Vito. He might not be the superstar, but he's a very respected guitarist in the guitar community (a VERY picky crowd), he's had the big gigs, and he's been on hit records (I wonder how he feels about that "Like A Rock" riff that Chevy beat into the ground?). To get to play the big gigs, but still go to McDonald's with the wife and kids without being hunted down by autograph seekers and paparazzi is really the best of both worlds. To have done as much as he's done and received the respect he's gotten over the years and still be a nice, normal, humble, down-to-earth guy speaks volumes.

(Note: While I realize Clapton was already a popular musician with the Yardbirds, it wasn't until he was with Mayall that he became a guitar god.)

Chili PM-ed me and said he really wanted to be Lindsey Buckingham, but not to tell anyone because he loves Lindsey and he secretly feels that Lindsey's "Here Comes the Sun" IS superior to Harrison's. He also said that the Stevie/Lindsey lineup of the band is the "only" Fleetwood Mac he listens too.......*dead silence*.......... and I concur! hahahahaha

well, of course, the hopeless romantic in me says stevie. for all the reasons everyone can guess.

but, man. that woman endured a lot of misery and a lot of heartache! would i want to have been coked out of my head for the better part of a decade? then addicted to klonopin? no thanks. would i have wanted to endure the break ups she did? and end up alone and childless? (trust me - that prospect is scary)

yes, i would have loved to be able to write some of the songs she did..

but, i would also have loved to be able to play guitar like lindsey... though i wouldn't want his life either.

bottom line? i wouldn't have wanted to BE any of them. i would have loved to live the life that stevie and lindsey lived in the 60s and 70s. i woul dhave loved the be a struggling musician who was finally heard. but i think i'll stick with being me.

Stevie Nicks.

Because she seems to get the lion's share of credit and fame even if she doesn't deserve it.

Saucer of milk to Table 5!

:laugh: :laugh:
and a drink to the nice Italian gentleman in the corner....from me.

Ah, finally my training would pay off.
I don't care what Stevie went through, her life is still way better than mine, and all the other Mac members as far as I can tell. She's also more attractive. Coincidence? No. So there were some addictions - I'd say the fun far, far outweighed the bad. I mean she got to sing with Tom Petty, and bunches of other cool people. And she got to sleep with many of them, as well.
I think it's funny that some people chose some members because they had "stable" lives or could travel around unrecognized. Hello, my real life is already like that - the fun of being rich and famous and attractive and talented is being rich and famous and attractive and talented. Also, imagine your job was singing all the time? I sing all the time for free in front of no one, if I got paid for it I'd be the happiest person in the world.
Plus, if I was Stevie I would've practiced the guitar and/or piano.

http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/wu...smiley-004.gif

Eww...honestly, I don't think I'd actually want to BE any of them. I mean, as obsessed as I am with their music, they've all had some major f*ck-ups in their lives which I wouldn't want to experience. Personally, I'd just like to be me and join the band.

Sigh...in my dreams

You know, this doesn't sound bad. Minimal talent, and a voice like a sheep bleating(or is that a goat?:laugh: ), and yet receive the bulk of attention from the fans. Where do I sign up? I'm all about getting something for nothing!:blob1: :blob1: :blob1:
(alright you Chiffonheads, I'm only partially serious here, so put your guns down!)

That's cheating, you don't get to actually change anything about their lives. If you were Stevie, you'd play the guitar and piano like a five year old taking his first lesson. This is the price you pay.

:shocked: um, ok. I'm gonna take this with a grain of salt and move on since I somewhat get your wit. however, that's rather harsh and unnecessary.
since you put in your little disclaimer, you aren't the weakest link...this time.

I would have been Stevie, and kicked Lindsey in the crotch with my Platform Boots of Death™ until he crumpled to the floor like a sobbing man-baby. :rolleyes:

Oh, I don't know. Bob Weston seems like a laid back, good-looking, talented guitarist...


Anyone want to be Bob Brunning:laugh:

That would be like somebody wanting to be Pete Best. No thanks.

That's also a little harsh. :eek:

But it still made me roll on the floor laughing for about ten minutes. :laugh:

A) You're not the boss of this thread
B) That's still better than I play both of those things now, so fine. :p

Well, since I'm a female, I'll have to go with Stevie. She is beautiful, talented, sweet, and strong. She is the front person of the group which is extremely fun, because you get a lot of attention. She has a very successful, solo career. The only downside I see to Stevie is the fact that she really hasn't had a lasting, romantic relationship with anyone, and of course, the battling addiction part wouldn't be fun either. :angel:

Personally, I doubt anything would be more incandescently pleasurable than to be riding as high as a kite across the stages of the world on the Wild Heart Tour, beloved of millions & living virtually any fantasy one wanted--thanks to one's cocaine supply, one's commercial success, one's allure & one's command of a rock & roll empire.

Of course, one could argue at that point that she wasn't "battling" addiction--she was just careening through it like a bat outta hell. :thumbsup:

Still--up until the late '80s when her skin began to slough off--I'd take that experience any time! :thumbsup: What could have been bad about it? Imagine the joy & the excitement; every day was literally a thrill.

Okay, then I choose to be Stevie, too. Only instead of joining Fleetwood Mac, I would be abducted by aliens in 1974 and taken to their home planet billions of light years away, where they would give me super powers (including, but not limited to: X-ray vision, lasers that shoot out of my hands and burn stuff to a crisp, and the ability to eat like ten baloney sandwiches in one sitting without feeling sick). Then I would come back to earth and fight crime all over the world, but eventually governments would stop supporting my unique brand of vigilante justice, and I would become an outcast and be tempted to use my powers for evil, although I probably wouldn't. Then I would learn all about science and build a time machine, and I would go back in time and marry Napoleon and convince him not to try and invade Russia. And I would spend every day at Versailles sitting in gardens and drinking French coffee and writing my memoir, It's GOOD to be Stevie Nicks! After I published it, I would travel back to the future and collect my huuuuuuuuuuuuuge check for all the copies of my book that had sold in the past 200 years. And I would use that check to buy everyone in the world a Coke, and everyone would be my friend, and we'd have a big dance party at my house. The end.

Great thread, David!

You are such a punkass :cool: :p