Lets Talk About Space Needle

[APerfectLie]

I think when Stevie says "Ooh the tar people are back again, sad, but very true" I think she is referencing to the heroin addicts she saw at rehab. Some probably left right after she got there and were back before she left. And the fact that they relapsed is "sad, but very true." And I think in this song she is really afraid of relapsing on coke after she leaves betty ford. I think she is looking back and seeing the terrible effects coke had on her life, and how she said she vowed to never "come from a place of fear". I think the last thing she wanted was to be a drug addict but somehow it happened and it took a toll on her life, and now she is reflecting on that, not only seeing what it did to her life, but what it did to others who were close to her and also addicted to coke (beautiful faces, not so beautiful anymore). She is realizing that she needs to be done with coke for forever, and that she is not going to be like those tar people who come back again.

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by goldustsongbird

I had read somewhere that someone slipped Stevie heroin at a party and she said she was really mad because it was the one drug she had vowed to stay away from. I'm trying to find the article.

Ah, ty, Blue Letter Archives.

But back to Nicks. She sits on a huge sofa and is almost swallowed up by it. She doesn't look anything like her publicity photos; she's smaller, fatter and older. She sips iced tea and tells me she's no great fan of LSD. Or heroin.

"A guy once slipped it to me, I was so angry that I threw him out of the house and never saw him again." ...

"I wasn't 29 until I first tried coke. Let me tell you something about heroin and Fleetwood Mac. We never dabbled with it. We didn't wanna commit suicide."

I believe she was referring to LSD. She even reiterates in the quotes that she never did heroin, or even 'dabbled' with it. Also, there are a couple of recent interviews from the past year or so where she talks about dropping LSD a couple of times - once I recall was when she was listening to Joni Mitchell's new release at the time, Court and Spark when they were living with Keith Olsen.

Originally Posted by BombaySapphire3

I always thought it was partially about Kurt Kobain ..the '"tar people" and the Space Needle is in Seattle.

Oh, that's a great connection, considering her friendship with Courtney Love. I don't know what the time frame is on the song though. Could definitely make sense though.

[HejiraNYC]

I think this is a case where Stevie combined some of her most heartfelt lyrics with some of her most bland melodies , somewhat in the vein of Illume. The verses are okay... but the chorus is kind of disappointing. Unlike many of her other songs, she is not writing in the third person here- this is Stevie basically saying, "... well, this is me talking to YOOOUUU..." But I think it is somewhat genius the way that she was able to equate the Space Needle, that iconic piece of the Seattle skyline, with the "black needle" used to inject heroin. The Space Needle stands there proudly, almost defiantly, as the ironic symbol of Seattle's music scene. Sure, this could be about Kurt Cobain. But I suspect it was really about Courtney Love. And she is basically telling her, "look- I've been there too, and you seriously need to get the f*** off of this sh** before it's too late."

[goldustsongbird]

Originally Posted by trackaghost

I'm cracking up. So funny.

I think the song is definitely about heroin, just because Stevie didn't do it herself doesn't mean she didn't witness others doing it and going by what she said here she knew how bad it could be.

I know - smaller, fatter.

Originally Posted by CADreaming

I believe she was referring to LSD. She even reiterates in the quotes that she never did heroin, or even 'dabbled' with it. Also, there are a couple of recent interviews from the past year or so where she talks about dropping LSD a couple of times - once I recall was when she was listening to Joni Mitchell's new release at the time, Court and Spark when they were living with Keith Olsen.

That was my point : Or do you mean she was slipped LSD, not heroin?

[belladonnadream]

This song is definetly about heroin...I don't think she ever did it herself..but may have written about those she knew in the music scene...as other's mentioned. I sure hope she never did..cause she said she didn't. But the song references herself a lot...."I remember the cold winter...I remember feeling hot all the time" sounds like a physical description plain and simple about the way a drug affected her. I think we like to make excuses for Stevie and read farther into the lyrics than what's there sometimes because she has always seemed so mysterious. "The sun behind the black needle...but it doesn't shine "and so on ....."the shadow is still there"...... "I am very thin"....this song is very deep and whatever it is... it has truly affected her. Maybe it all seemed beautiful and glamourous then...and now it has left its mark....and she can see it all in the faces of everyone else now that the drug is back....its haunting her....I agree that maybe she is using Space Needle as a symbol for all hard drugs..heroin seemed big again in the 90's......
Does anyone know when she wrote this?????? It does sound like it was recorded around TISL or SYW....it has an Illume flavor to it.
I have a really surprisingly scary photo of Stevie from the 70's that I found about a month ago where she is shockingly skinny....this is the only pic of Stevie where I thought she looked anorexic...or maybe this was how drugs were affecting her.

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by goldustsongbird

I know - smaller, fatter.



That was my point : Or do you mean she was slipped LSD, not heroin?

Yeah, she was quoted as specifically saying she was slipped LSD - not heroin.

[starshine]

I like this song ......I like everyones thoughts on it.....I like it that its long too. Sometimes its nice to have a longer song.....Its funny how I sometimes like the songs that aren't on the released versions much better.....sad but so true.......

[goldustsongbird]

Originally Posted by belladonnadream

I have a really surprisingly scary photo of Stevie from the 70's that I found about a month ago where she is shockingly skinny....this is the only pic of Stevie where I thought she looked anorexic...or maybe this was how drugs were affecting her.

What bothers me about this picture isn't her figure, but that ugly-azz dress!

Originally Posted by CADreaming

Yeah, she was quoted as specifically saying she was slipped LSD - not heroin.

My reading skills are normally good, I promise.

[David]

Originally Posted by belladonnadream

I have a really surprisingly scary photo of Stevie from the 70's that I found about a month ago where she is shockingly skinny....this is the only pic of Stevie where I thought she looked anorexic...or maybe this was how drugs were affecting her.

She looks great to me! I thought she looked great that whole year, too. That photo was May 1978 from a Todd Rundgren concert.

[SummerlongBoots]

Okay, I know this is a really old bump up to a thread but, I love Space Needle and I'm hoping it makes it to the new CD.

Anyway, I agree with the drug addiction connection, and I have some other thoughts on the lyrics as well. But first I want to add this strange "connection" to the mix.

*In 1994 filming began in CA for the documentary Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street. A short-lived band titled Space Needle had a song in the doc called Never Lonely Alone.

They also had a song titled "Dreams."

The only lyrics in the song Dreams are -

In time you will see
Bad dreams no longer come true

Repeat x12

There is no credit given to the female vocal.

Have a listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajyiUJfTHRc

Now, if you think about Stevie's explanation of "For What It's Worth" - and I know their are speculations about who she wrote that for - but now I'm even more curious as to who else was in rehab with her?

[Jondalar]

Space Needle - Starshine
This album seems like it may end up very rainbow bright.

[wheart]

I will have to give SN another listen. It's been years since I've heard it. I was never crazy about it. The lyrics always sounded clunky to me but the music wasn't half bad.

[mitzo]

If this is ever released I hope it is with FM. It really needs to be buoyed up by some rich production, it is far too flat as a demo.

[sorcerer999]

I like this demo a lot. The lyrics are some of her best. Unfortunately, I tend to get bored with it halfway through. It's a very LOOOOOOOONNNG song. If it does make it onto a future record, be it solo or Mac, I hope that she can cut it down to four or four and a half minutes. Lose a chorus or two, and some of the plodding instrumentation.

[PenguinHead]

Space Needle is one of the darkest songs she has ever written. It's her "Hotel California" song, only more ominous. It would be great if the arrangement was more tightened up so it wasn't as pondering. A new approach in recording it could really bring it to life. There are some really interesting verses. She certainly succeeded in her intent to create a particular mood.

I've spent some time around and in the actual Space Needle. Equating it with heroin never crossed my mind. However, its really astounding how that drug has made a big come back -- to a new generation who never experienced the devastation it causes. It's big problem in the Pacific Northwest.