#383
Album: Rumours
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Year: 1977
Length: 38:55
Genre: Pop Rock / Soft Rock
“I know I got nothin’ on you
I know there’s nothin’ to do
When times go bad
And you can’t get enough
Won’t you lay me down in the tall grass
And let me do my stuff”Second Hand News
My journey with Fleetwood Mac has been a fun one. What started off as a band I was relatively dismissive of, exponentially became a band I found myself loving quite a bit. The first time I heard Rumours, I remember thinking “this is it?”. After hearing so many people praise it as one of the best albums to exist and as one of the greatest listening experiences… it’s safe to say I had found myself vastly disappointed (with a few exceptions here and there). However, that was over ten years ago when I was just starting my musical journey and my sense of musical appreciation hadn’t developed yet. At the time I was only interested in listening to Post-Punk, New Wave Music like Devo, Talking Heads, B-52’s, Pere Ubu and all, so of course Fleetwood Mac seemed kinda meh in comparison. However, with each new listen, I found myself enjoying Rumours more and more. As my appreciation for music in general grew, so did my appreciation and enjoyment of Rumours. No longer was it an album I found “boring” anymore but an album I could enjoy from start to end and this sentiment keeps growing with each listen.
Something that always fascinates me about this album is how much the band members hated each other when making it. There was so much tension and drama happening between them all, especially with each couple now breaking up, having affairs with each other and just causing so much drama, that it’s an absolutely shock they not only managed to record an album but an all-time great album. Usually bands fall apart when shit starts to go sour, but Fleetwood Mac somehow became better when they hated each other. It’s astonishing to think that band members were playing on songs that were specifically calling them out or singing lyrics that were a take down of themselves, and played and sung with as much professionalism and passion as if it were any other song. I have no idea how they did it. From my experience, every time I had to work on something with someone I hated, it never worked out and always turned to piss.
I admire their professionalism for being able to set aside their differences when it came to recording and also fuel all that hatred into their music, which definitely gives an extra layer to the music. You can feel the sarcasm, the disdain, the pure heartbreak and malice seeping through the dark underbelly of this whole alum and I don’t think it would work if that wasn’t there at all. I guess that’s what they did right, focused their feelings in a productive way rather than towards each other. I can say, from experience, when you don’t like the people you’re working with, that creative project just barely grows legs. It’s constant fighting or avoidance to the point that you just can’t have anything develop. I wonder if I were to go back in time and use those feelings to fuel my creativity rather than have me stop dead in my tracks, what I might have been able to produce. Sure, I would have to sit with the fact that I created a product that is filled with hate, but at least it would have been something, and something honest no doubt. If Fleetwood Mac could produce their greatest piece of work purely from spite for each other, than who knows what we could all do if we used our hate in more positive ways… not that I’m suggesting we all get filled with hate and go out and create art… let’s try to keep it positive, eh?
Two songs on this album also give me nostalgic feelings unrelated to the album itself in any way. I have spent many long hours playing Go Your Own Way on Guitar Hero and have come very close to getting 100 percent on it! It’s such a fun song to play and I know one day I will achieve that perfect score! The other comes from a more random place but one that reminds me of a very short period of my life that was enjoyable. A friend of mine from over ten years ago and I found ourselves randomly singing Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow in this very joyous and excited way (completely misunderstanding what the song was actually about). We didn’t even know any of the lyrics, we just kept singing that one specific part over and over and would find ourselves skipping arm and arm as we sang the song. It became this sort of weird anthem for this part of my life that is merely a blip, but a blip I look back on fondly in its own way. We sort of repurposed the song into this anthem of positivity. We took hate and turned it into love. Even though we did it without realising it, there’s something kind of nice about that, especially coming from me who has grown into a massive cynic and pessimist. Maybe there’s something to be learned from 16 year old me, even if 16 year old me had zero awareness of what he was doing. They do say ignorance is bliss… maybe there’s a lesson to be learned there… but that would require stripping myself of all my knowledge and wisdom I’ve gained over the years and that just seems like a terrible idea.
Is it true that to know less means to be happier? Would we all be better off if we just knew nothing and did everything in blissful ignorance? I don’t know and am probably overthinking it. But Fleetwood Mac knew a lot and gained success from it… so there.
Right?
Who knows.
Fuck it.
Favourite Song: Go Your Own Way
-Bosco
Bosco's Modern Life 