Like or Dislike: Docklands

[skcin]

God help us.

OK. So.

Here's my deal with Docklands. If you take out the first verse, it's really a good song. But that friggin' laundromat line...ugh! Unforgivable. The fact that she didn't write this almost makes it worse - like, she CHOSE this song, despite the lyrics. Crappy line, definitely cringeworthy. Written by T. Horn & B. Cook - who are these jokers, anyway? To and fro? Who the hell says to & fro?

Here are the lyrics that I do enjoy:

"I miss you...more than I thought I could
I need you...more than you know
I was there...when they took you away from me
I'll be there...when they let you go"

I don't think these are the best lines, but I love her vocal delivery of:

"Everybody's pushing...trying to make it happen
I...beg of you...(I) I beg of you...(l) I beg of you..."

and

"Keep your defenses...but don't shut the loving out
You got to learn to carry that weight"


Music - cool beginning, nothing special other than that. I guess the "hold on...hold on..." part is pretty good too.

[Bandon]

When I hear a song of this caliber, I think...why not "Julia" instead?

[David]

Originally Posted by skcin

If you take out the first verse, it's really a good song. But that friggin' laundromat line...ugh! Unforgivable

This is something I'll never understand. Why is mentioning a laundromat in a song such a no-no?

All this hysteria over the laundromat in "Docklands" (not just you, Paula) reminds me of a couple of seminal moments in art history: Wordsworth's Preface in ... whenever it was ... 1798 or so ... when he deliberately expanded the accepted topics of English poetry to include what was previously considered low or vulgar; & the assent of the "Kitchen Sink" dramatists in England in the 1950s, who brought the realism of the lower middle classes into the theaters.

Why is it so awful for Stevie Nicks to sing a song about characters who are probably working class?

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by David

This is something I'll never understand. Why is mentioning a laundromat in a song such a no-no?

Why is it so awful for Stevie Nicks to sing a song about characters who are probably working class?

I think we're all just so used to her gothic romance novel-style lyrics about stormy seascapes, castles inhabited by ghostly apparitions, and love affairs with men in dark linen suits, that a song where she's taking on the persona of a working-class character from East London who must engage in mundane tasks such as washing clothes at the laundromat, seems to stick out like a sore thumb.

But your love for this song and your comments about it over the years, have helped me look at it from a different angle, and I've actually grown considerably more fond of it than I used to be.

[AliceLover]

4 stars. Great live on Street Angel tour.

[Neal]

I've owned SA for 10 yrs and have only listened to this song all the way through twice. Absolutely horrific...

[LiquidBlue5000]

The worst Stevie Nicks song ever.. period, dot, end of story..

[TheBlueLamp]

I like the sound of it. Not so much into the lyrics of this one. I'm one of the 'laundromat' dislikers.

[face of glass]

I've always really liked this one, I find it one of the most memorable songs on the album and the lyrics have never bothered me one bit.

[ontheEdgeof17]

5 stars.

It's a SA song...of course I love it.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by David

Why is it so awful for Stevie Nicks to sing a song about characters who are probably working class?

That's not it at all. That lyric just sounds odd to me, for some reason. Like, why not the grocery store? Or the dry cleaners? Or the gas station? I like my Stevie a bit more dreamy & not so literal, I suppose.

[johnny4406]

I like it! and I like Jane too!

[StevieNicksEO17]

Not one of my favorites of all time, but it's one of my favorites on Street Angel. I wont skip it if it randomly plays on iTunes.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by LiquidBlue5000

The worst Stevie Nicks song ever.. period, dot, end of story..

I wouldn't go that far, but it's pretty bad. It's very weak; the production is extremely muddy, the lyrics are inane (it isn't "laundromat" that bugs me, it's all of the lyrics), and the whole lousy affair comes across as nothing but an attempt to fill album space because she was so creatively bankrupt.

[David]

Originally Posted by dissention

I wouldn't go that far, but it's pretty bad. It's very weak; the production is extremely muddy

Well, I'll grant you that. The production is way below par, even for a Stevie solo album. There's a big boner in it right smack dab in the opening bass riff. I just picture Stevie & her pal Thom being totally oblivious to that or skipping over it, being unsure as to how to fix it.