Fleetwood Mac. Seriously don’t know where to start with the gratitude I have towards this band. This band pretty much summed up what defines a legendary music act which cultivated society to become more musically uplifted and use music as a vehicle to express personal pain and struggles. My dad talked about this band over and over again for years, but it was only a few months ago when lead singer Stevie Nicks released a new song called Secret Love which made my ears tickle of joy and wanted to explore her discography with the band. The instant reaction I got listening to their tunes was “Kristoffer, you’re a fucking fool for proclaiming you’re a supreme music lover and your dad just schooled you a lesson in real music 101”. I mean, many of their songs from the Rumors album such as Dreams and Don’t Stop I knew melodically and could sing along to, but I had no clue on who sang them. I’m upset at myself now.
Musically what I think made Fleetwood Mac got recorded into music history books was that they had a relatable simplicity to them in terms of lyrics and song melodies. They weren’t shy in being generic and featured in the pop-rock category, but instead they managed to be on the top of the pack and had songs that reached the masses not just for pure entertainment, but also as personal anthems. They were part of this music era along with Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Queen where everyone listened to the same music and had a sense of unity. Today, music universally is divided into countless genres, but with Fleetwood Mac they belonged to every household. That doesn’t surprise me why Rumors went on to sell 40 million albums worldwide. Fleetwood Mac also gave moments for people to belt out their tunes in the car going to work, sitting on the subway or just being at home in front of the mirror. Empowerment is the key to this band’s music.
Choosing a personal favorite tune of the band would be a multiple dilemma since they all speak to me religiously, but if I had to then it would be Go Your Own Way. This song has such conviction and attitude in a cutesy way that sometimes you don’t need to tell people to fuck-off and sound gritty. Sometime you want to let-go of someone in a positive way that begs him or her in wanting you back, which then more self-worth is radiated for your soul. As for the musical side of the song, it’s just a simple pop-rock number and sometime simple is enough. Over-produced and innovative records are sometime artificially long lasting and they don’t stand the test of time with their impact because it fits only a short period of time and then becomes a fad record.
I’m really happy that Fleetwood Mac’s legacy is starting to be hyped again thanks to my favorite TV series Glee. Glee has done a whole episode based on their music catalogue, which I think is vital as an educational lesson for the new generation to understand that good music always starts with good lyrics and good melodies. We can’t let mainstream music nowadays become an epidemic by infamously hallucinate the youth in thinking that in order to become a pop star you need to whore it up.
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