50 most-downloaded FM songs on Itunes

[Jyqm]

You have to remember too that when Lindsey and Stevie first joined FM, Chris was the "big sister" and had the lion share of songs on the first two albums and more of hers were released as singles. She had a jump start on the other two.

Or she had more songs that the band thought would make good hit singles.

If you're claiming that the only reason Christine has more hits than Stevie is because more of her songs were released as singles in the 70s, what's your excuse for the 80s? Both "Hold Me" and "Little Lies" charted much higher and remained on the charts longer than either "Gypsy" or "Seven Wonders." (That's in America.)

I think what is harder to grasp is that some FM fans think that those of us who love Stevie can't appreciate the other members of the band or even the other incarnations of the band. But that is furthest from the truth.

It's an understandable conclusion to draw when folks spout off things like, "Stevie's the most popular member of Fleetwood Mac and always has been!" Which, as demonstrated, isn't necessarily true, depending on how you're defining "popular."

[jwd]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

If you're claiming that the only reason Christine has more hits than Stevie is because more of her songs were released as singles in the 70s, what's your excuse for the 80s? Both "Hold Me" and "Little Lies" charted much higher and remained on the charts longer than either "Gypsy" or "Seven Wonders." (That's in America.)

I was making reference to number of hits, and that's two apiece there.

Originally Posted by Jyqm

It's an understandable conclusion to draw when folks spout off things like, "Stevie's the most popular member of Fleetwood Mac and always has been!" Which, as demonstrated, isn't necessarily true, depending on how you're defining "popular."

I was just stating, not spouting, the truth. Stevie is liked by more people than any other member of the band. That's my definition of popular. Whether it's her songs, her voice, her stage presence, or her style, more people are enamored with her. If you don't believe me, take a poll on this board to see who each Ledgie likes the most. It would be Stevie.

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by jwd

I was making reference to number of hits, and that's two apiece there.

Shall we throw in "Everywhere" then? Maybe "Love In Store," as well.

I was just stating, not spouting, the truth. Stevie is liked by more people than any other member of the band. That's my definition of popular. Whether it's her songs, her voice, her stage presence, or her style, more people are enamored with her. If you don't believe me, take a poll on this board to see who each Ledgie likes the most. It would be Stevie.

Yes, a poll of Ledgies surely will be the most accurate way to measure such things, especially when it comes to the "always has been" and "always will be" portions of your claim.

[David]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

The way I see it, the list as shown is pretty even. Three songs could be counted more than one way (The Chain, World Turning, and Crystal). Stevie had 14 songs, while Chirs, Lindsey, and pre-1975 Mac all had 11 songs. It's nowhere near as unbalanced as, say, the 1988 "Greatest Hits" package, where Lindsey had all of three hits compared to Christine's seven (or half of all the hits).

All this authorship brouhaha over the three writers from that time, as if they were all objects of a varyingly sized cult developing around them. Oh wait ... hehheheh ... they were/are.

I think in general it isn't a song's author that makes a Fleetwood Mac song (or probably anyone else's song) a hit: it's the song's lead singer plus the song's groove & hook (which are products of the whole band & the production team). When radio listeners responded to "For the Love of Money" in the mid 1970s by buying the 45 & calling radio stations to request airplay, they weren't responding to the person or persons who wrote the song. They were responding to a great pop track that sounded cool & was fun to sing to & that seemed powerful to them.

Madonna didn't have two decade's worth of huge hit singles because of Patrick Leonard or whoever actually wrote the song. Her singles were hits because of the work of many people involved in making cool grooves & hot hooks out of them, Madonna herself among them.

"Dreams," "Hold Me," "Gypsy," "Little Lies," "Go Your Own Way" ... these weren't big hits because of who wrote them. They were big hits because of what they sounded like on the radio, & that was all of Fleetwood Mac plus production team that pumped them full of cool. So to argue about this writer gets so many hits on a list or that writer gets fewer or more or whatever is off the mark to me. It really doesn't explain the punch in the hit.

The mistake fans make is to assume that anyone in the world who likes what they like is as far gone about the author or creator as they are -- that fallacy occurs in all the arts among all the audiences. You can't look at fifteen (or whatever) "hits" written by Christine McVie & recorded by Fleetwood Mac & assume that the majority of people who made those recordings hits by buying them are all gaga over Christine McVie or over Fleetwood Mac. They just loved the hook & maybe some other stuff about the song at that time. But fans have these weird sort of blinders on -- they're blind to the forces in the general audience that make those responses generate hits. We assume, just because we love the pretty words to "Storms" or "Crystal" & love the idea that these are personal aspects of Stevie's evolving self, that the public is responding to that very thing when they want to download it on iTunes. But that's just not a consistently logical jump to make.

I remember hearing a girl at UCSB humming "Gypsy" in 1982. So I stopped her & said, "Oh, so you're a Stevie Nicks fan?" First she was confused: "Who?" Then she said, "I just like the song."

[jwd]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Shall we throw in "Everywhere" then? Maybe "Love In Store," as well.

Throw in whatever you'd like to. If you think that Chris is more "popular" than Stevie, then more power to you.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by jwd

I was just stating, not spouting, the truth. Stevie is liked by more people than any other member of the band. That's my definition of popular. Whether it's her songs, her voice, her stage presence, or her style, more people are enamored with her. If you don't believe me, take a poll on this board to see who each Ledgie likes the most. It would be Stevie.

Speak for yourself. CLEARLY, the LISTENING public preferred Chris' songs, over ole what's her name's. As for the cult of personality, Stevie probably does have the edge. But, judging from the fanbase, I'm not sure that's a compliment. (see how I inserted the smiley here, just to add fuel to the fire?). (there, I did it again!)

[AliceLover]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Shall we throw in "Everywhere" then? Maybe "Love In Store," as well.



Yes, a poll of Ledgies surely will be the most accurate way to measure such things, especially when it comes to the "always has been" and "always will be" portions of your claim.

Kind of OT but didn't Save Me and Skies the Limit do fairly well on the charts?

[ryan8472]

Originally Posted by AliceLover

Kind of OT but didn't Save Me and Skies the Limit do fairly well on the charts?

Perhaps. But that doesn't mean anyone wants to listen to them now.

[jwd]

Originally Posted by HomerMcVie

the LISTENING public preferred Chris' songs, over ole what's her name's.

To get back to the topic at hand, who has more songs in the top 10 Itunes?! Adds more fuel to the fire.

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by jwd

Throw in whatever you'd like to. If you think that Chris is more "popular" than Stevie, then more power to you.

That's quite the rebuttal.

[AliceLover]

Originally Posted by jwd

To get back to the topic at hand, who has more songs in the top 10 Itunes?! Adds more fuel to the fire.

I was viewing the Stevie list last night. Silent Night was #1. I was surprised to see Kind of Woman, Rooms on Fire, WLT, Rock a Little, I Sing for the Things, Ooh My Love, and Beauty and the Beast so high on the list.

[Brwn_eyes0511]

Originally Posted by jwd

Crunch the numbers any way you want to. Stevie's always been the most popular member of FM, always will be.

Damn...I already had a hangover...now I think I might actually vomit!

[Brwn_eyes0511]

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

you know what I appreciate is the fact that Lindsey is idolized by many for his awesome guitar play, Christine for her piano plucking and sweet voice and Stevie for her lyrics, vocal style and performance - it's just nice to see them all appreciated for what seems to be the basis of their love for music.

Awww...now that is sweet and I feel much better!

[AliceLover]

Originally Posted by ryan8472

Perhaps. But that doesn't mean anyone wants to listen to them now.

Those are two of her best you rat bastard!

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by David

All this authorship brouhaha over the three writers from that time, as if they were all objects of a varyingly sized cult developing around them. Oh wait ... hehheheh ... they were/are.

I think in general it isn't a song's author that makes a Fleetwood Mac song (or probably anyone else's song) a hit: it's the song's lead singer plus the song's groove & hook (which are products of the whole band & the production team). When radio listeners responded to "For the Love of Money" in the mid 1970s by buying the 45 & calling radio stations to request airplay, they weren't responding to the person or persons who wrote the song. They were responding to a great pop track that sounded cool & was fun to sing to & that seemed powerful to them.

Madonna didn't have two decade's worth of huge hit singles because of Patrick Leonard or whoever actually wrote the song. Her singles were hits because of the work of many people involved in making cool grooves & hot hooks out of them, Madonna herself among them.

"Dreams," "Hold Me," "Gypsy," "Little Lies," "Go Your Own Way" ... these weren't big hits because of who wrote them. They were big hits because of what they sounded like on the radio, & that was all of Fleetwood Mac plus production team that pumped them full of cool. So to argue about this writer gets so many hits on a list or that writer gets fewer or more or whatever is off the mark to me. It really doesn't explain the punch in the hit.

The mistake fans make is to assume that anyone in the world who likes what they like is as far gone about the author or creator as they are -- that fallacy occurs in all the arts among all the audiences. You can't look at fifteen (or whatever) "hits" written by Christine McVie & recorded by Fleetwood Mac & assume that the majority of people who made those recordings hits by buying them are all gaga over Christine McVie or over Fleetwood Mac. They just loved the hook & maybe some other stuff about the song at that time. But fans have these weird sort of blinders on -- they're blind to the forces in the general audience that make those responses generate hits. We assume, just because we love the pretty words to "Storms" or "Crystal" & love the idea that these are personal aspects of Stevie's evolving self, that the public is responding to that very thing when they want to download it on iTunes. But that's just not a consistently logical jump to make.

I remember hearing a girl at UCSB humming "Gypsy" in 1982. So I stopped her & said, "Oh, so you're a Stevie Nicks fan?" First she was confused: "Who?" Then she said, "I just like the song."

Very well said, Sir Oberman, as always. Although, as a rule, the "Most people just like the song" theory doesn't apply 100% of the time. The cult of personality around people like Stevie and Madonna does extend somewhat beyond the folks who consider themselves big fans, and that personality does account for some measure of those people's commercial success.

(And when talking about who had more hits and why in the context of Fleetwood Mac, I don't think the focus is ever really on "because this person wrote it" as much as it is on "because this person sang it;" the two - writer and singer - just happen to be the same most of the time where Fleetwood Mac is concerned.)