"You Can't Fix This"

[Dodfather]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

While I'm curious as to what this dancing with the devil is referring to and how they never invited the devil to the party, I feel so far to much focus is on the meaning and not how much the song kicks ass.

I always assumed that Dancing with the Devil referred to Heroin. While Stevie has always been open about using Cocaine, I've heard her say several times that heroin was a step too far.

[Sleepless-Child]

Originally Posted by sparky

Hmm.

I am assuming that Grohl wrote this music. If so, she needs to work with him more. I really like this snaky vibe. This is some of the best backing music she has had in ages. I like it better than much of IYD.

THIS! I can't believe how beautiful and strong this backing music is, way better than IYD because it has this early 80's vibe. After reading Elle's comment i thought i'd be disappointed, well it's really the opposite. I only want to hear things like that from now on.

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

If I recall, Glen Jr had been in rehab at some point in his life. Perhaps he'd had a problem with heroin? And while that isn't what ultimately killed him, Stevie may have still made the connection between his tragic death and "dancing with the devil" (using heroin).

Originally Posted by WildHearted

It's also possible that heroin caused his death and it just wasn't released to the public. The autopsy hadn't been performed yet when they were saying prescription drugs + booze, according to the article I found.

Don't want to speculate too much, of course. Just interested in the meaning behind the song. It's a very sad story all around.

It could also mean since Glen Jr. had been in rehab (more than once I think), that just going to that party was a dance with the devil for him, not disassociating with your old "friends" or allowing yourself to be in situations where your recovery is tested before you are ready.

[RavenOfRhiannon]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

Thanks for posting, Josh!! Wow, this is even more powerful than I expected. Stevie sounded fantastic -- although she was drowned out by the music in some places.
Cannot wait to hear the studio version!

Seconded.

Also, I get no Fleetwood Mac vibe from this, and after listening to it a couple of times, I get the feeling that this song would have never seen the light of day without Dave Grohl. Makes me think she should do 'Space Needle' with the Sound City Players.

[On Ice]

Stevie is one of those artists that an arrangement can make or break a song's vibe. She seems to always do best with a less is more sound, in the vein of Storms than she does in songs with so much going on such as much of Rock a Little. This song sounds fantastic and the arrangement is exactly what makes Stevie appealing. (to me anyways).

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by RavenOfRhiannon

Seconded.

Also, I get no Fleetwood Mac vibe from this, and after listening to it a couple of times, I get the feeling that this song would have never seen the light of day without Dave Grohl. Makes me think she should do 'Space Needle' with the Sound City Players.

Really?

It sounds to me like Dave & Co were intentionally channeling Fleetwood Mac when they did the arrangement - all of the meandering parts, the floating keys, everything. It certainly doesn't sound like a typical Foo Fighters song.

[vivfox]

I loved this from the second I heard the music start(2 days ago). It is hard for me to hear the vocal but that will change once we get the released version. This is the best sounding rock and roll song I've heard from her in decades. It feels so good to finally have a song I can play over and over and over and not want to put it away. I'm guessing Dave Grohl wrote the music. It sure doesn't sound like anything she could have created.

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by vivfox

I loved this from the second I heard the music start(2 days ago). It is hard for me to hear the vocal but that will change once we get the released version. This is the best sounding rock and roll song I've heard from her in decades. It feels so good to finally have a song I can play over and over and over and not want to put it away. I'm guessing Dave Grohl wrote the music. It sure doesn't sound like anything she could have created.

I like the sparsity of the arrangement - more space has always suited Stevie's music best, and yet since the mid-80s her songs have gotten increasingly tight and cluttered. This song sounds great to me. I think the lyrics, as someone else put it above, are a little 'clunky' and could have benefited from some refinement to make them flow a little more naturally. But it's still a pretty killer song.

Dave's credited as a co-writer, but it's a typical Stevie chord progression. I think she easily could have created the backbone of it. Stevie wouldn't have written any of the instrumental parts anyway - she rarely does unless it's a piano riff that happens to stay around like Sara, Moonlight, etc. If she didn't come up with the basics, they did a damn good job of replicating her style.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

Really?

It sounds to me like Dave & Co were intentionally channeling Fleetwood Mac when they did the arrangement - all of the meandering parts, the floating keys, everything. It certainly doesn't sound like a typical Foo Fighters song.

All I hear are the Bella Donna & Wild Heart albums in this song... snippets of Stop Dragging My Heart around, a shade of Outside The Rain, a little I Will Run To You, and even some Sable On Blond. I will admit there's a bit of Straight Back type Mac sound in there somewhere, though. There's a definite early 80s vibe going on in the song... it hearkens back to the time when Stevie didn't hide behind sonic clutter, and there was "air" in her music. I totally dig it.

After hearing the song a few times now, I definitely think "dancing with the devil" is most likely a reference to heroin. It's definitely about hard core drug use/addiction, and getting sucked into that downward spiral. It really is a crying shame this song won't make either a Stevie solo or Fleetwood Mac album. I do know that the Foo Fighters are on hiatus for a while... maybe Mr Grohl should produce Stevie's next solo work!

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

All I hear are the Bella Donna & Wild Heart albums in this song... snippets of Stop Dragging My Heart around, a shade of Outside The Rain, a little I Will Run To You, and even some Sable On Blond. I will admit there's a bit of Straight Back type Mac sound in there somewhere, though. There's a definite early 80s vibe going on in the song... it hearkens back to the time when Stevie didn't hide behind sonic clutter, and there was "air" in her music. I totally dig it.

After hearing the song a few times now, I definitely think "dancing with the devil" is most likely a reference to heroin. It's definitely about hard core drug use/addiction, and getting sucked into that downward spiral. It really is a crying shame this song won't make either a Stevie solo or Fleetwood Mac album. I do know that the Foo Fighters are on hiatus for a while... maybe Mr Grohl should produce Stevie's next solo work!

Oh, yeah, most definitely. I guess I just kind of lump all of Stevie's good early 80s stuff together, whether it's FM or her solo work . It's definitely got shades of the Petty influence and the Bella Donna sound. But I get a lot of Straight Back / Gold Dust Woman vibes from this in general. The keys specifically remind me of Christine's playing on Rhiannon/Crystal. And I feel like the drummer had a very Mick-esque beat going.

I would be ecstatic if she used THIS Dave for her next solo album. He seems to hold her in really high regard and judging from this song and their interpretation of GDW, he "gets" her music.

[sparky]

I have to agree that the arrangement gives a lot of space in this song. That is what any great Stevie song needs. The problem for me is that she doesn't fill it with much.
The melody just lies there and doesn't do anything. That is a blue balls chorus.

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by APerfectLie

I heard the studio version of this twice today and I'm pretty sure the part you can't make out goes, "friends just break like glass" but I'd have to listen to it again because in the live version it sounds like she says, "friends SHOULDN'T break like THAT/GLASS" so we shall see.

Ah, I found another video where you can read her lips a little better and now I think she might be saying "Friendships break like glass"?

But it could be either of the things you said, also. It's hard to make out, the music drowns her out at that point.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

Dave's credited as a co-writer, but it's a typical Stevie chord progression. I think she easily could have created the backbone of it.

Yeah, I'd venture to say that the main instrumental melody is definitely Stevie's. I hear parts that sound very much like the 'TISL' outtake version of "Thrown Down."

[The Catdancer]

Originally Posted by equeen102289

Seems like a pretty straightforward song to me.
She's talking about heroin. "Dancing with the devil" is using heroin. Stevie's always said that heroin was the one drug that was always off-limits. . . That's sort of what Stevie is saying in her intro and in the song ("never allowed the devil to come to the party").

The brutality of the subject is very evident in the complete construction of the song, especially Stevie's vocal--I can appreciate the song for that reason. . . I just can't say I particularly like it. Not a fan of Stevie's lower register these days.

I thought using heroin was called *Chasing the dragon*. This is from Wiki:

"Chasing the dragon" (a slang phrase of Cantonese origin from Hong Kong, Traditional Chinese: 追龍, Simplified Chinese: 追龙, Cantonese Jyutping: zeoi1 lung4, pinyin: zhuī lóng) refers to inhaling the vapor from heated morphine, heroin, oxycodone or opium that has been placed on a piece of foil. The 'chasing' occurs as the user gingerly keeps the liquid moving in order to keep it from coalescing into a single, unmanageable mass.[1] Another more metaphorical use of the term "chasing the dragon" refers to the elusive pursuit of the ultimate high in the usage of some particular drug.

[Sleepless-Child]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

Ah, I found another video where you can read her lips a little better and now I think she might be saying "Friendships break like glass"?

But it could be either of the things you said, also. It's hard to make out, the music drowns her out at that point.

At 1:38 i hear 'Stop dragging my heart around'.