‘Illume’ – Talk amongst yourselves!

[greendaze5]

Great track, - very ‘Stevie’. My fave off SYW, and one of my favs in regards to her songs with FM in general.

Musically and lyrically, it effectively conveys an air of mystery and menace (like ‘Sisters of the Moon’). Good bass line, and opening guitar strumming and then the incoming bongos. Nice dramatic splash of guitar right between ‘Like it dances’ and ‘I am a cliff dweller…’ . I love how Stevie enunciates ‘Duuummmme’.

Besides the terrible tragedy it was written about, personally, ‘Illume’ to me is about being in a bad situation, and having to be introspective and drawing strength from yourself to get out of it and to keep surviving.

Incidentally, I was at Stevie’s Sept. 10, 2001 show in Toronto. Had she opted to stay the night and rest instead of flying to New York City that very night (for her Sept. 12 show I believe), she would have been stuck in Canada for God knows how long because of the closing of the borders the next day as we all know.

Back to the song itself - I just love the imagery of it - having a candle by the window and looking out into the night towards the ocean. I just love the open water. Five years ago, when I was on the beach in Santa Barbara at night (and then later at Virginia Beach) looking back at the city, I played ‘Illume’ in my head thinking about the lines: ‘I like the coastal cities, I like the lights, I like the way the city blends into the ocean at night. It’s like living on a working river, the coast line is glittering, like a diamond snake in the black sky.’ Gawd, it was so beautiful. Definitely, ‘a moment’.

I also made it point to stop by Point Dume, even for just few minutes, when I was driving from Santa Barbara to Santa Monica. Oh Stevie, the things I do in loving your music.

Also, when I was in California, I went to look for ‘Illume’ brand candles, can’t seem to find them out east. Did find some, but kinda expensive so I passed. Now I need to look for some ‘Nag Champa’. I think it’s pretty commonly available in shops selling stuff from India, or even in ‘head-shops’.

By the way, having the ‘I like the coastal cities…’ stanza in ‘Destiny Rules’ just doesn’t work for me. It’s so out of context to the rest of the song.

Roland

[Remy]

Originally Posted by greendaze5

Now I need to look for some ‘Nag Champa’.

Your post made me look up whatever connection there might be between nag champa and stevie (i guess i didnt listen to illume very attentively..). I didnt know it was mentioned in the lyrics. I've found these incense sticks not long ago after being unsatisfied with numerous other, and stayed loyal, the scent is amazing.

off topic! sorry.

[Jondalar]

Great production, but the song invetibly failed because of the lyrics—I am a cliff dweller from the old school! LOL It was like 2 or 3 songs meshed together. And I thought the 9/11 add was in bad taste.

[Kena]

Greendaze5- I enjoyed your post . Illume is not one of my favorite songs but the connection you felt with it is something I can totally relate to in other songs. And adding to the mention of Nag Champa, the gas station near my house sells them, the good ones from India.Kind of interesting considering I live in south Alabama where we are limited on cool stuff. A nice Indian family runs the station and it always smells wonderful in there. Maybe Stevie stopped by the Hop-In and got a couple boxes like I often do... well thanks again for the post.

[StreetAngel95]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Great production, but the song invetibly failed because of the lyrics—I am a cliff dweller from the old school! LOL It was like 2 or 3 songs meshed together. And I thought the 9/11 add was in bad taste.

i must say i agree.....musically, i love this song......but i can't seem to find exactly how it relates to 9/11...maybe i'm not thinking abstractedly enough, but either way i still love the song!

[AgeOldDesire]

Original Illume lyrics:


Illume
Says the candle that I burn
A reflection in the window
All the way to point Dune
A cliff dweller from the old school-

I like the coastal cities
I like the lights
I like the way the ocean blends
Into the city at night
Like living on a working river
The coastline is glittering-
Like a diamond snake-
In a black sky

And I am alone with my thoughts
And how we could make it-
And what we have all been through
And all of the trauma-
With the smell of Nag Champa
Like a kiss- like a stranger-
What we have seen on this journey
Are what legends are made of-

I will not take you for granted
My friend, my dear one, my love-
I wouldn’t trade you for jade…
Or for diamonds~
I need you to be there~
Please~
Remember when I am haunted
That I was just scared-
And when I remember
That day in my life-
I will remember that you-
Were there-

Stevie Nicks
Oct. 11th, 2001

[Jondalar]

She should of called the song, Meditation, then she might of gotten away with it.

[David]

I don't connect with it lyrically, but I love the music. It's very sexy.

[Jondalar]

Yeah, the production is awesome.

[Nikolaj]

I'm glad some of you like it, I really wanted to. For me, it misses. Meandering melody and the lyrics don't do much for me, though I did like the 2 same exact lines she used in both this song and in 'Destiny Rules'- I seem to recall a segment in the documentary where she's asking (Mick, I think) if 'Illume' needs something more- I think her instinct was correct, the track does need something more. To me, it has the feel of one of her demos, and not one of her better demos. I also don't like her vocal on it, too flat. Sorry.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by Nikolaj

I'm glad some of you like it, I really wanted to. For me, it misses. Meandering melody and the lyrics don't do much for me, though I did like the 2 same exact lines she used in both this song and in 'Destiny Rules'- I seem to recall a segment in the documentary where she's asking (Mick, I think) if 'Illume' needs something more- I think her instinct was correct, the track does need something more. To me, it has the feel of one of her demos, and not one of her better demos. I also don't like her vocal on it, too flat. Sorry.

I only like the production. I noticed the same exact lines, too. I think when Stevie feels a song has great production, she just does what she pleases. She doesn't care about actual words. Look what she did to Thrown Down. She turned it into gibberesh. Lindsey produced the hell out of that song.

[Nikolaj]

Oh no! I think I'm disagreeing, again, with Jon, and I don't mean to! But, my opinion is that she just really liked those two lines so much that she wrote that she used them in both songs. 'I like the cities, I like the lights, I like these lines so much, I'll use them twice!' (on one cd!) I don't think it's a reflection of her not caring about her lyrics, I think she most definitely does care. The production of 'Illume' has a good enough sound, but to my ear, its the same throughout, no beginning, middle and end to it and it just makes the song a bit tedious, to me- Oh and Jons other comment--- I think her lyrics in 'Thrown Down' are among the best of her later material, so I have to disagree about that, too! I think I'll just agree that he and I hear things differently, and maybe not comment, further. With the 'Cry Wolf' mention, that's 3 things I felt the need to reply to in less than 10 minutes!

[Ghost_Tracker]

Originally Posted by greendaze5

Great track, - very ‘Stevie’. My fave off SYW, and one of my favs in regards to her songs with FM in general. . . . .

By the way, having the ‘I like the coastal cities…’ stanza in ‘Destiny Rules’ just doesn’t work for me. It’s so out of context to the rest of the song.

Roland

I love Illume. I love how "mystical" it is, and how it gets me thinking in a spiritual way. It *almost* inspires a feeling of . . .
deja VU!

[michelej1]

I like the apology in the words, "Just remember when I am haunted, that I was just scared."

Michele

[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.