Stevie's Letter To The Troops...
 

is over on www.nicksfix.com on the frontpage...Brian J.

http://www.nicksfix.com/letter_to_troops_mar18_2003.htm

"I wish for all of us that our belief in peace will win out - I wish for you the ability to rise above"

Go Stevie!

I'm glad she is staying consistent in her support of the soldiers.

She is using good judgement and trying to send the most positive message possible under the circumstances, and I think that is great!

I'm sure she's sincere, and I'm equally sure her wishes will be appreciated and felt by those who need it most.

-Sharon

Stevie is just so classy. In this crazy media frenzy, she is able to navigate the waters with expertise.

Stevie, you are the best!! :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod:

This is one of the reasons why I am so inspired by this woman. She is very classy.. showing her support for the troops without getting too into her own political views.

:) Michelle

Her stationary is so cute! Yes, she is a classy lady!

Lee :)

I think it's great that Stevie cares so much. That's really the way we all should feel for the sake of our servicemen. Hopefully Natalie Maines takes note of this and how gracefully Stevie has used her fame to react to this this awful situation. Stevie's right though, she really is like the rock-n-roll mom, and the younger generation of stars could really stand to learn a little from her I think. I even grow tired of seeing Sheryl Crow parade around in her "no war" t-shirt. Freedom of speech is important, but it's also more important in times like these to make our troops feel like they are risking their lives for something wrothwhile with support from us back at home, and I think Stevie's letter does a great job of that.

Because you know... it's not like Natalie lives in a democracy or anything.:rolleyes:

I personally don't support this war, the president, or what the troops are being led to do, but I do support the folks that are actually going there, funny how none of George Bush's kids are in the military though, isn't it?

Evan

Not sure I follow what you mean here :confused: :confused: :confused:

What does the government type of the country in which Natalie lives have to do with her taking an example in Stevie?

Stevie's Letter
 

Well that may give us some idea as to what the song is about, at least from Stevie's perspective.

Peacekeeper, a soldier or a police officer....makes sense to me.

Whether you're for or aginst the war in Iraq I think at this time it's critical that we give our full support to the men and women who are about to carry out this mission...something I thought Stevie did eloquently in her letter to our troops.


Joe

I'm sorry, I shoulda worded that differently, I just mean that I take issue with the fact that Natalie is getting in hot water for having saying bad things about George W, which she is completely entitled to, you know, democracy, freedom of speech, that whole thing. What Stevie wrote is great, but I also don't think there's anything wrong with Natalie's comments either.

What class Stevie has.



~Angela~:wavey:

I thought what Natalie Maines said was right on target. Good for her...

Stevie has always been a classy lady. Her words come straight from emotion and caring, rather than political, cynical bull****.

Actually, it bugged me that Stevie used the term "peacekeeper" in that context. I don't have anything against supporting the troops (although I think that's a cop-out position to take; who doesn't want the troops to be safe?). But I don't want to see the song appropriated and used as a patriotic, 'go troops' anthem, even though that would undoubtedly help its chart performance.

After all, this is Lindsey's song. If anyone is going to give an interpretation of its meaning, he should be the one. So far, he's chosen (wisely, IMO) to keep it ambiguous. I think Stevie should respect that.

That's an odd way of describing it. She said she is ashamed that the president is from Texas. What "target" is that on? Anyway, the point of my earlier post is that Stevie responded with a classy and seemingly well-informed letter to our servicemen. Natalie responded with a juvenile remark in front of a foreign audience. I never implied that Natalie should stifle herself, but I believe she can learn a lesson from Stevie on how to better use her celebrity.

As far as Stevie using te term "peacekeeper" in her letter, I think you are way off target for thinking Stevie stole that from Lindsey, or that she is somehow giving an interp on the song, blinker12.

Stevie has used that word in her own lyrics before as well.

Maybe Lindsey "stole" it from her, if anything. She isn't disrespecting him. I'm not trying to start a pissing match, but stop being accusitory!

-Sharon

The whole thing with Natalie is that,yes,she should exercise her right to free speech,but it would also not kill her to THINK before she speaks.The woman has no tact,obviously.The most important thing about having an opinion is that you want it to come across correctly,and seeing as she apologized,that is obviously not how she wanted it to sound.She has a great voice,so maybe she should just stick to singing,cause i think she shoots her mouth off too much..she made some remark about Toby Keith last year and some of his lyrics about kicking the terrorists @ss...like she is some great songwriter...HA!...DC doesn't write half their hits...(Landslide is proof of that)..so like Toby said,she should shut her blowhole:D

p.s. I AM a DC fan...i am not one of those idiots who stops listening to their music cause of what they say...i just wish the girl would think before she speaks a little more often...

LOL! You got me so worked up I can't spell!

accusatory, I meant to say!

But I still mean it. Let's not have this dissolve into yet another S vs. L argument.

-Sharon

I don't understand what's so horrible about saying that you're ashamed of you're political leaders when you are. I think it's a very patriotic sentiment because it shows that she's emotionally connected to what happens to her country, that she really cares. I didn't get the impression that Natalie had planned ahead of time to say what she said (judging by her quick apology), it feels to me that, perhaps as a mother, she has a real concern about what's happening, and I admire that.

There's nothing wrong with doing that if you're going to express your opinion in an infromed way at an appropriate time in front of an approriate audience. Something that a lot of people forget is that freedom of speach does not mean you have the freedom to say whatever idiotic thing that pops into your head at any given time WITHOUT BEING JUDGED FOR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. Under the first ammendment, people must still be held accountable for what they say. Otherwise you'd never be able to sue for slander or lible, etc... Basically, what Natalie said was just really stupid. And I really don't care about it half as much as you'd think I would from my responses to this thread. And likewise, it's even more stupid that people get so upset about her dumb comment so as to throw away DC cds and stop listening to their music (but that's a completely different topic).

Patriotic is supporting our troops,not shooting your mouth off about the man who sent them to war.I am sorry..I am not trying to start an argument about this..I am AGAINST this war as much as anyone..it makes me sick..but for all the protesting...it has already started..so i think the only right thing to do at this point is show a united front for our soldiers..that is the least we can do for them..after all,if it wasn't for people like them,we'd never have the privelige of shooting our mouths off...

I completely agree. People can have all the opinions they want, but if the act like a jerk in expressing them, it just turns people off (me included). We do have freedom of speech, but that does not mean that people should not be held accountable for what they say. There are legal provisions that do protect people from libel and slander and there are criminal repercusions for people yelling out certain things that would incite a riot ("Fire" in a crowded movie theatre for example). People can have all the opinions that they want, but be responsible with how you express them.

Sulamith, my goal wasn't to start another Stevie v. Lindsey fight. I do think that given the timing of the letter _ right as "Peacekeeper" is released as a single _ that she is definitely referring to that song, and not one of her own (actually, I believe the exact phrase she used was "keeper of the peace," in "Fall From Grace," which is a bit different).

I don't think Stevie is trying to disrespect Lindsey as a person. But I do think she's ignoring his expressed wish for the song's meaning to remain ambiguous.

I just don't want people to start thinking, "oh, the song must be about the troops, because Stevie said so." I agree with Lindsey that the song is more effective when its meaning is left open-ended.

Fine, fine, blinker12 I can see your point about Lindsey not wanting to be too strongly aligned with either side.

But OTOH, I do think Stevie wants this single to be successful, and it may just be her way of calling attention to it.

Stevie is just doing what she has always done as far her own feelings about soldiers and conflicts. She's just sending positve vibes and really, I do think the term "peacekeeper" is just part of her own verbage. She did give an interview where she specifically called herself "the little peacekeeper", and that was long before anyone ever even knew a song with that title even existed.

She's just being Stevie.

-Sharon

i was just going to post this... i too have heard that interview and "the little peacekeeper" comment came into my mind also.... i am sure that i have heard it several more times from her... cause when i first heard about a lindsey song called peacekeeper i went "oh? did stevie inspire something from him?" you are right sulamith- i too think it's just part of her own verbage and she's not appropriating anything from lindsey.

Thanks, Jessica!
I was starting to think I was the only one who felt that way, and I knew I wasn't imagining it!

I also wondered, like you, just where Linds got the inspiration from in the first place.

-Sharon

I had forgotten about the interview where she called herself "the peacekeeper."
But I still think she was probably referring to Lindsey's song in her letter. And even if she weren't, people reading the letter will probably *think* so. After all, not everyone is as well-read as we are when it comes to Stevie interviews. ;) More people know about the new single.
I'm just saying she should have been more careful about using that word in that context _ she should have thought about how it would be applied to Lindsey's song (even if she didn't specifically mean it that way).
And, as I said earlier, I agree that it would help FM sell records and get airplay if the song *were* used as a pro-troops anthem. But according to interviews we've heard so far, that wasn't Lindsey's intent. As an aside: I'll admit, I'd be personally disappointed to see Fleetwood Mac's music used as propaganda. (Not that my opinion matters to them, I'm just disclosing! :) ) Remember "Don't Stop" being used for Clinton's campaign? I never liked the song much, but to see it used to sell a political candidate (even one I voted for) really killed it for me once and for all.
Who knows; this is all conjecture. I'll admit, radio programmers don't seem to be taking Stevie's statement and running with it _ at least not yet _ so maybe I'm overreacting. What does everyone else think?

I wish all of you would just chill out and drop the political chatter. Fleetwood Mac has been many things through the years -- but one thing it has never been is political.

Blinker12, you've contridicted your earlier statement by then saying it's all conjecture. And you're right!

I highly doubt that Stevie is so calculated as to reference "Peacekeeper" in order to increase sales. How ridiculous! And the idea that it even would accomplish that is over-estimated.

Stevie often references songs-- hers and Fleetwood Mac -- all the time. For her to use the word "peacekeeper" or the title of the song doesn't imply anything. She took it out of the context of the song!!! She didn't appropriate it for some political purpose.

Over sensitivity and political correctness has gone haywire in this country. Be offended if you must. Read into things what you will. But remember, in your words, it's all conjecture.

I wish no one on this board ever broached the subject of war. I listen to music and come here to get away from all that! eeh

My sentiments exactly, PenguinHead. I couldn't have said it better myself!!!
Bill

You know what, blinker12, that's exactly what is happening with the station here in San Diego that is playing the song the most. I flipped to the station yesterday afternoon to hear about the last minute of the song playing. Just as it ended, the DJ came on and said, "There's the new song by Fleetwood Mac that, in Stevie Nicks' words, goes out to the troops. If you want to see the beautiful letter she wrote about it, come to our website and see the link to her letter..."

It must be said that San Diego is a conservative military town though, so if anyplace would be especially likely to adopt this interpretation, it would be here.

The radio stations here are doing that too..not mentioning Stevie's letter..but referencing the song with the war. The thing is,regardless of what Lindsey says about the song,or how Stevie comments,people are going to interpret the song as they see fit..that is part of the whole process..a writer releases a song,and people take from it what they want.I personally don't think that is a bad thing.

I can't wait to see how the song is perceived long term. Its identification with the war, whether that is fair or not, does endanger its longevity.

It's a great song, no matter what. I'm most surely going to listen to it for years to come.

Well, I wouldn't say I was contradicting myself, PenguinHead _ just tempering my original statement by admitting it was conjecture. But, as it turns out, radio stations *are* in fact using Stevie's letter to interpret "Peacekeeper" as a pro-troops song. Two Ledgies have already reported that. So the conjecture has now proven right.

You're right, she didn't specifically say the song "Peacekeeper" is meant to be a pro-troops song. We don't know what her actual stance on the war is.
However, my point from the beginning has been that by using the term in her letter *at this particular point in time*, she's sending a message to people that the song is about the troops. And unless the song really is about the troops (and, according to Lindsey, it's not), I don't think she should have used it in that way.

When a band releases a song called "Peacekeeper" during wartime, of course it's going to inspire political discussion. No way around that! Besides, I think all this discussion is interesting. I'm not trying to attack any member of the band or become polemical for no reason. I still love Fleetwood Mac with all my heart. I'm just reacting to what they're doing and saying, like any fan.

There are people on the Ledge who need and will need the Ledge as a refuge, respite and oasis from the "reality" that is taking place in our streets, in our military, in our tv's and in our political conscience.

And I do believe that FM has skirted around political discourse in the past and continues that tradition with "peacekeeper" so a political discussion should be part of the board as well. So try to pop over to ChitChat and voice your opinion on the great political threads going on over there. :wavey:

The new album and tour is a blessing for us the long-term devoted fans and I would hate to have political discord (even my own strong opinions) ruin the enjoyment of this fun exciting FM time for any fan...

I posted this over in Stevie's section, too.
 

I just about fell off my chair about 15 minutes ago. The DJ from the Atlantic City radio station that I listen to at work just mentioned Stevie's letter to the troops after she played GYOW. She said a little of what it said & said that you could read it all on nicksfix.com. Now this is the same station that I've been begging to play Peacekeeper. Geez, why can't they play it???

Lee :)