You Can't Fix This - Full Song

[vivfox]

I keep playing this song a lot and am happy about it. It has been YEARS since I have listened to one of her songs repeatedly.

[On Ice]

It reminds me of a time (in my early teens) when I wished Stevie's albums Rocked A Little bit harder, kind of more like Pat Benatar's "Crimes Of Passion" or "Precious Time". Actually, I've come to find this is a Stevie Nicks I wanna get to know more of. Going back in for another listen and cranking it way UP!!!

Christopher, I couldn't agree more! I used to like to pretend that Stevie was a harder rocker than she actually was, just to get my friends to see how friggin cool she was. And in turn, how cool I was. LOL> 35 and a bit years ago. This song picks up where IYD left off, Stevie is ready to show the world she's not done yet, and good on her at 65 yrs of age, that's no small feat. For all its quirks, You Can't Fix This is fine just the way it is and I love, love, love it!

[BellaSoprano71]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Compare this to any TISL/SYW song, and is it just me, or is her voice waaaay less nasal lately? Heck, even compared to IYD this is a marked improvement. Great song. Makes me want more from Stevie.

I was thinking the same thing from the Letterman version!!! I so much more love her voice now compared to TISL/SYW. Maybe she has her mojo back!!! She know' she is loved.....I LOVE this song...

[Macfanforever]

I have to pass this tune to my buddy.He said there's no meat { heavier rock and roll}on IYD CD.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

The lyrics are a bit clunky -- that was one of my first impressions upon first hearing the song. The words meander about, without any cohesiveness, and yes, the "dance with the devil" line is overdone. Unfortunately it reveals Stevie's limitations as a writer. Any time she delves into deep subject matters and attempts to turn them into songs, things get a little dicey. Take for instance, Desert Angel, Jane...and for some, Soldiers Angel.

I think she will never again write a song that achieves the universal appeal of Landslide. And even that song has some slight lyrical clunk to it.

She has said before she can't write like she did in the 70's. I just don't understand how she doesn't notice when something is just wrong with her song.

[Hawkeye]

I love it obviously, having loved it the second I heard the first live performance. I will say I like all the live versions a little bit better. Just a little. I do like the way she screams and the devil pours ANOTHER glass in this version, and I can't decide if I like background vocals on the chorus or not.


But that's all splitting hairs. This song is like a mix of Stevie's 2 best songs of the 2000s, TISL and fall from grace. It' rocks like fall from grace even with a similar finale but with the Erie stevieness of TISL.

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

She has said before she can't write like she did in the 70's. I just don't understand how she doesn't notice when something is just wrong with her song.

To be fair, it can be hard to be objective about something that you've written when it holds a deep personal meaning to you.

But even more than that - I think the reason we end up with issues like there are in YCFT is that really, Stevie has never followed the typical songwriting "rules" and a lot of times it has worked to her advantage (Sara, Edge, Bella Donna, etc, etc)... so she got used to doing things her own way and not paying attention to the conventional methods of writing. She doesn't think they matter. She doesn't want to follow the rules because then she wouldn't be writing the way "she writes."

But at times like these it actually hinders the song, and it would be more beneficial for her to stay a little more inside the lines (lyrically) for the sake of the music... but I think she would be offended if anyone tried to tell her that (and most people wouldn't dare to tell someone their song needed fixing unless they specifically asked for criticism/opinions/help, and I'm not sure Stevie would ever ask anyone for any of those things) and I think she might have a hard time distinguishing when it works and when it doesn't, because she's attached to her writings...

That's not to say I think that YCFT is a bad song. I personally love it despite the flaws. I just think it could have been a really, without a doubt, undeniably top notch piece of work if just a few of the lyrical blunders had been addressed. It really would have been such an easy fix...

[britt0308]

Well said WildHearted!

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

To be fair, it can be hard to be objective about something that you've written when it holds a deep personal meaning to you.

But even more than that - I think the reason we end up with issues like there are in YCFT is that really, Stevie has never followed the typical songwriting "rules" and a lot of times it has worked to her advantage (Sara, Edge, Bella Donna, etc, etc)... so she got used to doing things her own way and not paying attention to the conventional methods of writing. She doesn't think they matter. She doesn't want to follow the rules because then she wouldn't be writing the way "she writes."

But at times like these it actually hinders the song, and it would be more beneficial for her to stay a little more inside the lines (lyrically) for the sake of the music... but I think she would be offended if anyone tried to tell her that (and most people wouldn't dare to tell someone their song needed fixing unless they specifically asked for criticism/opinions/help, and I'm not sure Stevie would ever ask anyone for any of those things) and I think she might have a hard time distinguishing when it works and when it doesn't, because she's attached to her writings...

That's not to say I think that YCFT is a bad song. I personally love it despite the flaws. I just think it could have been a really, without a doubt, undeniably top notch piece of work if just a few of the lyrical blunders had been addressed. It really would have been such an easy fix...

Her talent will always be in question becuase of stuff like this. Any one can write a bunch of words and give it too a great producer to turn it into gold. I can do that. Some of her albums should of never been released. If its her stuff, she should have the talent to know.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Her talent will always be in question becuase of stuff like this. Any one can write a bunch of words and give it too a great producer to turn it into gold. I can do that. Some of her albums should of never been released. If its her stuff, she should have the talent to know.

OK Jondalar, exactly where do you stand!? Love it or hate it?
Sure, it's easy to argue any artist has had an album, or two, that maybe should have never been released - but remember, hindsight is 20/20! Nothing is perfect. NOTHING. Not everyone is gonna like or love everything, that's a given.

On a scale of 1-10 where does it land?
I'd give it a solid 7. which is WAY more than I'd give any of Lindsey's "This is 40" soundtrack contributions! Just to compare tossed - off soundtrack contributions.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by Christopher

OK Jondalar, exactly where do you stand!? Love it or hate it?
Sure, it's easy to argue any artist has had an album, or two, that maybe should have never been released - but remember, hindsight is 20/20! Nothing is perfect. NOTHING. Not everyone is gonna like or love everything, that's a given.

On a scale of 1-10 where does it land?
I'd give it a solid 7. which is WAY more than I'd give any of Lindsey's "This is 40" soundtrack contributions! Just to compare tossed - off soundtrack contributions.

I adore the music. The music gets a 10, the song gets a 5, the harmonies get a 8. I guess a 7 too.

[redbird]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

She has said before she can't write like she did in the 70's.

Well to stay "on theme" Bob Dylan said pretty much the same about his songs from the 60's. I can't think of a lot of people who can sustain brilliance over 30, 40 years. The frustrating part about the Mac members for me is how sporadic their output is given how long they've been around.

I don't think YCFT is brilliant but I do think it's fun and has some good things going for it. It's okay for me if it's not as good as her previous heights, but I understand it being on others' minds, I've been that way about some artists sometimes.

[blemelin]

I've listened to the live versions on YouTube about 500 times. And I've watched the Stevie new-recording portion from the SC doc (I bought it on iTunes and downloaded it). This is the first time I've heard the full studio version. I love the background vocals. The whole thing--the energy, the rock elements mixed with the softer production elements, the unexpected harmonies (I mean, Stevie and Dave Grohl sounding so good?)--reminds me of the early days when Stevie and Lindsey first joined FM. The only thing missing is a searing Lindsey Buckingham guitar solo. I mean, really, think of it: that's the one thing that could have pushed this over the top. And I know LB doesn't really do "searing guitar solos" anymore, but I can't help it. I want to hear LB in there ripping this song a new one.

[sparky]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

To be fair, it can be hard to be objective about something that you've written when it holds a deep personal meaning to you.

But even more than that - I think the reason we end up with issues like there are in YCFT is that really, Stevie has never followed the typical songwriting "rules" and a lot of times it has worked to her advantage (Sara, Edge, Bella Donna, etc, etc)... so she got used to doing things her own way and not paying attention to the conventional methods of writing. She doesn't think they matter. She doesn't want to follow the rules because then she wouldn't be writing the way "she writes."

Agreed and agreed. I think that the problem is that she doesn't step outside of herself and criticize. It is almost too personal. It is great that she bucks the rules. That used to often work in her favor, but it doesn't much anymore lyrically - see this song and Italian Summer to note a few prominent examples.

But at times like these it actually hinders the song, and it would be more beneficial for her to stay a little more inside the lines (lyrically) for the sake of the music... but I think she would be offended if anyone tried to tell her that (and most people wouldn't dare to tell someone their song needed fixing unless they specifically asked for criticism/opinions/help, and I'm not sure Stevie would ever ask anyone for any of those things) and I think she might have a hard time distinguishing when it works and when it doesn't, because she's attached to her writings...

I submit she is exactly that, and to a fault. Of course I am not privy to her process, but the impression I get is that she looks at her "poems" as if they are carved into stone the second she lays pen to paper. As if there is some kind of inherent magic contained in a first draft. It doesn't seem to me that she ever edits much at all, and never reworks words anymore. Some fans in the past have argued that it would be calculating for her to refer to a thesaurus or god forbid a rhyming dictionary, but I think she would benefit from both. The bulk of good writing is REwriting. I think SN takes herself far too seriously at this point to rewrite or alter her words at all.

That's not to say I think that YCFT is a bad song. I personally love it despite the flaws. I just think it could have been a really, without a doubt, undeniably top notch piece of work if just a few of the lyrical blunders had been addressed. It really would have been such an easy fix...

I agree completely.

The live version did not catch me right away. In fact, the lyrical clunks and bad syntax jumped out at me like rabid dogs on first listen. In spite of that, certain parts of it stuck in my head like so much glue. So much so that one night I listened to it about 7 times in a row.

The studio version has some hinky transitions - mostly the introduction of the girls in the outro part. They appear out nowhere. But I totally get what Grohl was doing. It is in essence a 70's homage. He utterly captured that vibe, and did excellent work containing the sections of the song. I can stand outside the material and completely understand the few bad reviews I have read of the song. Mostly they rip on the lyrical shortcomings. And on a level I concur. A few word substitutions would have done wonders and taken it to another level.

On the other hand, as a Stevie diehard, I put on my Stevie blinders and can totally get lost in it. This vocal performance, and the intuitive production are able to pull me along.
The vocal captures some incandescent whisper singing and even some WH era type wailing - that strange ad lib foolery she used to pull out at the drop of a hat in the old days. The counter intuitive chorus is great. As is the build in those repeats at the end - the slight melodic variations build beautifully to that crushing last "burn you down."

I forgive her the clunks as a long time fan. I get her. But I also understand that from a more casual listener's view some of the words seem lazy and unsophisticated. Especially coming from someone with her pedigree. As an ancient fan, I love it. As a listener who can call criticism outside of my personal passions, I can clearly see where it falls short.
It is great for us hopelessly enchanted people. Others can just say "meh, why does she say the word devil so damned many times?" And I can't argue with them.

[bombaysaffires]

it's sort of ironic that most all of her best, iconic songs are from the Mac era and benefitted from some form of editing from Lindsey. Even the stuff on Bella Donna was predominantly (not necessarily exclusively) a lot of older material that had been saved up ("nowhere to go with only 3 songs on a Mac album every few years") and previously worked by Lindsey in some capacity. Even some of the material on TISL was stuff he'd worked on at some point (Candlebright, Planets of the Universe among them).

Truth is, Stevie needs a strong editor, like all good writers. Lindsey was very good at it but B-R-U-T-A-L in the way he went about it a lot of the time. No wonder she's turned off by dealing with that again. Jimmy Iovine was also very good, IMHO, but again due to a personal falling out between them and too many drugs that ended.

I think she's too legendary and iconic now for any of these younger producers (and really, who's out there to produce her who is her age or older-- ok, besides Lindsey. I think Dave S. is a bit younger, but maybe close. And Iovine isn't producing anymore. Maybe Petty??) will dare tell her she's wrong.

And her voice just isn't what it used to be at ALL. It's still unique, and can have its moments, but listening to the outtakes on the recent Rumours package reminded me of HOW EFFING AMAZING her voice was in the day. Mind-blowingly amazing when it was a good day.