Courage from Stevie?
 

Does your admiration for (or obsession with) Stevie Nicks inspire you to bravery in any part of your life? Anything from putting on that wig, to believing in your talents, or just treating yourself like a star, or maybe her foibles inspire you to change in some way. Or perhpas there is something wilder and better I haven't thought of? Twirling in public?
I sort of use Stevie and her music as a way to ge courage for my music. I don't imitate her (although I certainly like boots and shawls) vocally, or really in any other way, except that I admire her commitment onstage. So, watching a video of her, before I have to perform, gives me courage. I have been playing the Buckingham Nicks LP before vocal warmups since high school Not because it has any inherent value for a warmup, but just because it puts me in the mood. Today, for example, I have a show, and I am nervous, and in addition to warmups, and tapes of the songs we are performing, I am watching a little video of Fleetwood Mac.

I thought you were going to say something about Stevie's old tour manager!

I wouldn't say that I derive much courage from Stevie in general, but I think in specific circumstances I use Stevie's jive-ass spirit to help prop me up. When my band plays somewhere, I'm always a little nervous beforehand, so I just start thinking of Stevie doing "Rhiannon" at the US Festival or somewhere & that somehow puts me in a more relaxed, "rock 'n' roll" frame of mind. It's sort of like suspension of disbelief, where her old image helps me believe I'm part of one of those old festivals like Woodstock that she has always said she loved. So in that sense yes I guess she sort of gives me courage. But then so does the Xanax.

In a strange way, no.
And funny, you'd expect it of me. I'd expect it of me. I adore Stevie and her music -- I listen to it constantly, I love her lyrics and I love her honesty in them. They deal with very rough issues and how to survive them, and I've had a couple of rough things to deal with myself -- in spite of my youth :rolleyes: I've had some tough times and long, long, dark nights.

But for some reason I've never really turned to Stevie's music at those times. You'd think I would, but I don't and I don't think I ever have. It just doesn't do it for me.
I'm more likely to go down the Tears for Fears / Roland Orzabal / Duran Duran (!) route for some reason.

I wonder why. :shrug:

This is what I am talking about, but you articulated it much better than I.
I use advil. I am a lightweight.

I certainly do. In fact, I often say as a mantra "even when you feel like your life is fading . . . . " It seems to help me!

The courage to post drunken sing along vocals that are probably best kept to myself.
Oh, and when exercising, "Well, I can do it! Well I can make it, one more time!!"

I think, when faced with a long dark night, I have turned to Billie Holiday, or Bonnie Raitt ("Love Has No Pride"), or perhaps Lisa Gerrard, Jane Siberry, or Tori Amos. Strand mentioned one Stevie song that is helpful to me in a despairing moment, but I guess I don't really lean on Stevie's music when I am down. Perhaps inspiration, or bravado would have been better words to use for this thread.

hmmmmmm good question.
not really tho.
I think i've always been an individual, i like doing my own things, and certainly have opinions that are not the norm and dress in a way that is not the latest fashion {who does that any way?}


but in terms of music. if i feel blah or a bit depressed there are a few songs that really rev me up :lol: Bella Donna is really good atm lol i've had a lot of ****ty stuff happen in my life, i don't compare my experiences with Stevie though, they're nothing the same, nor do i think hmmm what would Stevie do lol But 'Doing the Best I Can' is my theme song, has been for this year anyway. and yes, it's not the greatest masterpiece Stevie has produced but i don't like the idea of appealing to others, i'm lazy but i am.....can be very smart when I apply myself. i don't really care what too many people think of me or what i do with my life, but i care that it will take forever to get to some place i reallly want to be and i wont be happy with it {i've already been at Uni for 5 years and i've still got another 3 to go :shocked:}

but i really like that Stevie is a mystery unto herself :lol: who doesn't want to live in Wonderland :p :p

Err... no wonder you have trouble bouncing back to the light! Listening to Miss Life's a Bitch And It's Got Me By The Balls is not good for you when you're in the dumps!

Being a short chubby Mexican girl I never really tried the Stevie imitation thing.

Oddly though - there is a time when I thought of Stevie and used what I know of her experiences to stop me from doing something.

Picture it - Las Cruces, NM 2001ish. I was hanging out with a sketchy group of people, I'd just moved back to town and was trying to find a niche, if you will. Once of the girls (who actually I've known most of my life as our families were friends) was a big time drinker/druggie. She had already been to jail about 7 times, mostly for beating the **** out of her girlfriends and drunk driving offenses.

Still - she was cool as hell when sober. So anyway, I'd always wanted to try shrooms.

So one night she and the other two girls in the group convince me to come over and shroom with them.

I show up and ask her if she was able to obtain these shrooms and she nodded and pulled a baggie full of white powder out of her pocket.

Now...I'm not expert, but this seems suspect. So I say, "that doesn't look shroom-like" She replies, "I wasn't able to get shrooms, so I got Coke instead, is that cool?" I say it isn't because there's no way in hell I was going to do Coke!

Then curiosity and peer pressure kicked in. I (sicko obsessive that I was) was like "ooh the chance to know what it feels like to do Coke like Stevie..." But I also know that I have an obsessive and addictive personality.

So then I thought of Stevie's "hole in the nose" and the fact that it's a hard drug to kick, it's expensive etc....and I refused. I refused - and left and actually the druggie chick ended up beating the **** out of the girls there - so one called the cops and it turned out the other two had warrants out on them - so they got arrested, and I was at home, listening to Stevie Nicks and thanking my lucky stars that I didn't do the Cocaine :D

I find it cathartic. Sad music, when I am sad makes me feel like I am less alone. Of course I did wear mostly black for about 8 years, so you are on to something. If I really want to cheer up, I can always listen to Finian's Rainbow (Broadway cast with Ella Logan)

This is a super cool story! They don't sound like they would have been a fun/safe group to hang with on shrooms either.

Well that's true - I was even apprehensive about that though :o The driving factor in me hanging out with these people was a slight crush I had on one of them...that faded rather quickly.

Billie H. is cool

I also like Mable Mercer and, of course, Edith Piaf!

I have all four of the big Holiday sets on CD: Columbia, Commodore, Decca & Verve.

I'm trying to find the title of the Piaf recording used about fifteen years ago in the promotional ads for Ethan Allen furniture. Maybe you can help, strand.