‘Illume’ – Talk amongst yourselves!

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by APerfectLie

When SYW first came out, I could never really see the connection to 9/11 in that song, but after about a year it hit me.

I am alone now
With my thoughts
Of how we could make it
Of how we could get out
What we've been through
All of the trauma
The smell of Nag Champra
Shadow of a stranger

What I saw on this journey
Is what legends are made of
I cannot pretend
That the heartache falls away
It's just like a river
Oooh, it's never-ending
No, I cannot pretend
That the heartache falls away

To me that just screams 9/11. And if I remember correctly, didn't Stevie's band stay in Toronto and she went to NYC early because she didn't want to stay? And she got in at like 2 in the morning on Sept 11? I just see Stevie sitting in her room with a candle and nag champa burning and thinking about how we are going to make it and get out and all the trauma that happened because of this "shadow of a stranger." I love this song, both lyrically and soundwise.

How does the first part of song—I am a cliff dweller from the old school, the lyrics you didn't mention, go with the second part of the song

[APerfectLie]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

How does the first part of song—I am a cliff dweller from the old school, the lyrics you didn't mention, go with the second part of the song

The reason I didn't mention those is because they don't scream 9/11 without reading further into them. She is talking about New York and referring to herself as a "cliff dweller from the old school" is another way of her saying she's the "lady from the mountains" from the "old school" meaning she has dwelled on a cliff before and this feeling in New York is different, but very much the same as it has always been. At least thats what I believe Stevie was trying to say in her elusive ways. She once said this:

"The ocean is dramatic – when you live on a mountain by the sea, the ocean is so loud that it seems like it’s own person – like a spirit. It is very different from living on the sand – Where the ocean just goes straight out away from you – and it sounds more like constant percussion. When you are high above the ocean, you hear the whole ocean come from past Manhattan Beach right by you – and all the way to point Dune – and then it is silent- for a few seconds, and then – it sounds like the Shanghai Express is passing right under you – So, I will always find a cliff to dwell on, somewhere in this world – It almost seems like, sitting here, watching the cars go up the coast – that I never left~ Nothing has changed~ and yet, everything has changed."

[louielouie2000]

If I'm really honest with myself, and totally objective... I'd say Illume is Stevie's best modern recording. Why? It's the only song of hers in the past 15 years I can see that truly broke some new ground... at least for her. The song is downright avant garde... yet still textbook Stevie/Mac. That's a hard balance to strike, and I think it was achieved here. The whole song is sort of a classic Mac sound... in a deconstructed sort of way (to use a cooking term). John's bass is totally brought into the forefront with Stevie's vocal, percussion and guitar is relegated to the background. It all lends sort of a tribal primative sound... which is appropriate, seeing she's kinda going back to the basics of humanity with her words.

The goes even for the lyrics... they're sort of deconstructed too... and interesting pieces of info landed in very interesting places. I personally love that non-linear nature... it's evocative of the way the human mind actually thinks. She's starting out singing about her candle dancing in the window with the sea in the background... and the smell of nag champa seems to transport her back in time when she was burning nag champa to cover up the smell of the Twin Towers burning. I think it's absolutely fantastic imagery. Then the song transitions into the lessons she's learned from 9/11... that she "got" why she was there. She needed to stop taking people and certain things for granted, and she needed to realize where true value in life lay.

I truly think it's a fantastic song in all regards... every bit as artistically successful as Gold Dust Woman and Sisters Of The Moon.

[Livia]

LOVE this song - for all the reasons already mentioned.

My neighborhood convenience store sells Nag Champa incense - World Market (formerly Cost Plus) also carries it. I think they have Illume candles there as well, or try Whole Foods.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

She's starting out singing about her candle dancing in the window with the sea in the background... and the smell of nag champa seems to transport her back in time when she was burning nag champa to cover up the smell of the Twin Towers burning. I think it's absolutely fantastic imagery.

She was close in her view of the twin towers but far enough away not to smell the burning wreckage. She burns nag champa to cover up the smell of the marijuana smoke. She has asthma and both the smoke from the incense and the weed are bad for her health. When I used to smoke pot, nag champa was the ONLY type of incense that could mask the smell.

[Ghost_Tracker]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

How does the first part of song—I am a cliff dweller from the old school, the lyrics you didn't mention, go with the second part of the song

As mentioned above, it's a reference to how she literally lived near a cliff in California, the whole "lady from the mountains" thing, etc. - but I think there may be more to it. She's saying that (as everyone knows) she did a lot of living on the edge back when Fleetwood Mac first really hit it big with the White Album and Rumours - dangerous living with all the coke, fast-paced parties, etc. But that was "old school" stuff - let's face it, ultimately, she was "just having fun." But to her, this is now a new, TRULY dangerous world; and she felt that she didn't know how to get her feet down and stand up straight - she felt that she (and the entire world) had literally come to "the edge of a cliff" in this suddenly-changed world - and although she (clearly) has a certain amount of innate courage, this was "a whole new ball game." Don't forget, Stevie (and others) felt that this was literally the beginning of World War Three. (And I sometimes wonder if, when the historians look back, it might be remembered as such - don't forget World War One took a LONG time to actually break out; people "in the know" saw it coming right up fifth avenue as of 1870 or so.) So Stevie maybe felt that though she was used to "living dangerously," this was a whole different thing, an unfamiliar world - and she felt scared. And I think she was trying to convey a feeling of, "I know you're scared - Jesus, *I'M* scared!!!"

On Edit: After thinking about it a little more, I'd like to add this: I think maybe it's also a reference to living in California - thousands of miles away from New York - where she felt safe - but there was this feeling of this being an attack on her home, just the same - it didn't matter WHERE she lived, she was an American citizen who happened to be from California who was in New York when the attacks happened. It's as if she's saying, "I HAPPEN to live in California, but..."

[LukeA]

Originally Posted by Livia

My neighborhood convenience store sells Nag Champa incense - World Market (formerly Cost Plus) also carries it. I think they have Illume candles there as well, or try Whole Foods.

Yeah.. its pretty much everywhere.

When I lived in Chicago, the El train station by my house always had Nag Champa burning in the station house on weeknights- always hit me right as I stepped off the train. A nice, soothing way to begin my evenings.

[petep9000]

I think it's a very effective and dramatic song. She builds a lot of sympathy for the weird story she tells. I enjoy how it pulses and thumps, there is something very desperate and sinister about it; similar to 'I Call You Missing' or 'Joan of Arc'. It was a good use of her modern vocals, I don't think it would have had the same punch with her 1977, 1982 or 1986 vocals.
I especially like the last chorus of "I'm alone now...", the one right before the "what I saw on this journey...", she sounds so pleading and almost pathetic.

There was some video footage, I think in the SYW CD itself (maybe it was a deluxe edition) where we see Stevie sitting cross-legged on a sofa while Lindsey plays acoustic guitar and she is bleating out the lyrics "how we could make it, how we could get out..." and I remember thinking that had the makings of a good song. And it was.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by vivfox

She was close in her view of the twin towers but far enough away not to smell the burning wreckage. She burns nag champa to cover up the smell of the marijuana smoke. She has asthma and both the smoke from the incense and the weed are bad for her health. When I used to smoke pot, nag champa was the ONLY type of incense that could mask the smell.

I remember specifically reading that she had to put wet blankets over her windows to keep the smoke out... and she had to burn the candles and such to counteract the smell. I know she was staying at the Waldorf in Midtown... and that the Trade towers were a good 70 blocks south... but I've seen plenty of footage from 9/11 where most all of Manhattan was shrouded in smoke. I think the wind changed later in the day though... and most of the smoke started going out into the harbor.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by Ghost_Tracker

As mentioned above, it's a reference to how she literally lived near a cliff in California, the whole "lady from the mountains" thing, etc. - but I think there may be more to it. She's saying that (as everyone knows) she did a lot of living on the edge back when Fleetwood Mac first really hit it big with the White Album and Rumours - dangerous living with all the coke, fast-paced parties, etc. But that was "old school" stuff - let's face it, ultimately, she was "just having fun." But to her, this is now a new, TRULY dangerous world; and she felt that she didn't know how to get her feet down and stand up straight - she felt that she (and the entire world) had literally come to "the edge of a cliff" in this suddenly-changed world - and although she (clearly) has a certain amount of innate courage, this was "a whole new ball game." Don't forget, Stevie (and others) felt that this was literally the beginning of World War Three. (And I sometimes wonder if, when the historians look back, it might be remembered as such - don't forget World War One took a LONG time to actually break out; people "in the know" saw it coming right up fifth avenue as of 1870 or so.) So Stevie maybe felt that though she was used to "living dangerously," this was a whole different thing, an unfamiliar world - and she felt scared. And I think she was trying to convey a feeling of, "I know you're scared - Jesus, *I'M* scared!!!"

On Edit: After thinking about it a little more, I'd like to add this: I think maybe it's also a reference to living in California - thousands of miles away from New York - where she felt safe - but there was this feeling of this being an attack on her home, just the same - it didn't matter WHERE she lived, she was an American citizen who happened to be from California who was in New York when the attacks happened. It's as if she's saying, "I HAPPEN to live in California, but..."

You got all of that out of that song?

[gypsy4life]

I love this song, and I can read the 9/11 messages pretty clearly. I love the way Stevie makes a lyric cryptic enough to relate to many situations. This song can fit things in my own life, just as much as the 9/11 tragedy. I love this aspect of Stevie's writing.

[wheart]

It's one of my fav tracks on SYW. I do like what Lindsey did with it, which I cannot say for most of her songs on the record. My problem, once again, is her vocal. It's missing something. Illume is an intense song about an intense, devestating sitituation. I'm sorry, but I don't hear much passion at all in Stevie's voice. And those "la la la la's" at the end are just way too bland. Come on, that song needs some serious wailing or layered vocals or screaming or something at the end. It needs a climax. I understand and actually like the understated but I think it goes just a bit too far at times. It hardly matches the intensity of the subject matter. But overall, I do like it for the most part!

[Jondalar]

The song from SYW that I really think was perfect from Stevie was Smile At You. I don't care if people like the piano versions or not. The way Lindsey produced that song made Stevie sound great. Her lyrics also made sense. It was a perfect track.

[Remy]

Originally Posted by LukeA

When I lived in Chicago, the El train station by my house always had Nag Champa burning in the station house on weeknights- always hit me right as I stepped off the train. A nice, soothing way to begin my evenings.

it apparently has some spiritual, mood-altering properties... according to what i read. seems true. everytime the scent fills the room, i feel somewhat cheered up... and warmer..?

[Christopher]

In my humble opinion, Illume is one of SYW finest tracks. All 4 of them shine on this...John has one of the funkiest and infectious bass lines in recent FM memory (EFO is a close second), Mick gets to pull all out all his percussion toys, Linsdey fills up the space with some mesmerizing guitar licks and layers, and finally Stevie delivers an impassioned vocal esp. the final chorus when she wails the lines (gave me goose bumps in a way she hasn't since she last wailed like a banshee in the mid-8o's). My only complaint are those la la la la's at the end...she should have kept that vocal intensity into the fade.....but if you listen carefully she starts moaning right at the fade....that should have been louder!

Along with the song TISL, I agree with someone else who said this is Stevie's best 21st century modern recording.