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Speaking of Fleetwood MacI’ve always felt their sound was sort of inimitable. And I’ve always suspected the core of that unique quality comes from the bass lines. But maybe not. Not having a good vocabulary (or ear) for describing the technical savoir faire of John McVie’s bass playing, I figured I’d give a few examples for you folks that have actual musical ability and knowledge to test that theory. Here are three *indie rock* songs that sound an awful lot like Fleetwood Mac songs, saving the most obvious The first song (and probably the best of the three) is the fantastic lead single from Midlake’s Trials of Van Occupanther. Note: the rest of the record is nowhere near this good. Clearly the keyboards and ridiculous layers of vocal harmony are part of it. But it seems like the simultaneously propulsive and languid bass-line is what’s screaming FleeeeeetwoooooD!!!111 You know? Now try Land of Talk’s new video for “It’s Okay”. Sure, that opening slide guitar could be Lindsay Buckingham. But it could also be Bonnie Raitt. Instead, I focus on the bass alternating through between the two chords and the verse a la “Dreams” or “Rhiannon” Or “You Make Loving Fun”. Both the above songs seem to pull a lot from those classic FM hits. But the kicker is this track off Yo La Tengo’s new-ish Popular Songs. Does that opening hook remind you of anything? Maybe more than anything else, what I’m hearing is McVie’s tendency to stay at home during the changes. To own the one or two notes he’s got hold down, to hang on a single chord during the descending melody runs, and that’s what drives the song. Yo La Tengo’s James McNew’s always done the same thing for Yo La Tengo. It’s a trademark for both players and it’s a trick I fall for every time. Still, “All Your Secrets” is the only time I’ve heard YLT just blatantly copy the opening hook and verse structure from another song. And it’s hard for me to listen to it, because, why not just listen to the Fleetwood Mac song? I suppose it’s possible, even likely, the song is an homage. Stevie Nicks, when asked about the obscurity of her lyrics, reportedly said that a woman should "never tell all your secrets, that you should never tell everybody all about you. I never have." 4 comments to Speaking of Fleetwood Mac |
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Love this post. LOVE it! YLT appear to be content paying homage these days. And McVie? Exactly. What would Gypsy be without his anchor of a bass line? Nothing, I tell you.
The first and last videos sound like Fleetwood Mac (or at least Buckingham/Nicks era Fleetwood Mac) mostly because of the chord progressions. The Midlake song lifts its bit from “You Make Loving Fun.” And the bass line in the Yo La Tengo song is obviously just stolen from “Gypsy,” but what else are you going to do there, straight quarter notes?
The second video doesn’t really sound like Fleetwood Mac to me. Though, I grant you that the singer’s voice has a vague resemblance to Nicks.
Agree the second tune doesn’t have an obvious FM analog like the other two, but when it comes out of the first chorus, it really sounds like a Fleetwood Mac song to me. Not a particular track, just their M.O.
Of course, part of it is her voice and the surreal, dreamy haze of the song. Which gets upended by the straight-up Death Cab/Rilo Kiley ending. I could have done without that.
I hear them in all these songs, maybe a little because you pointed it out for me, but I imagine that had I listened to these songs on my own I may have picked it up as well. And admittedly it is much more obvious in the YLT track. Funny, as much as I tend to hate indie rock, I actually kinda of enjoyed these songs.
Having said that, the vocals on the first song sound tired and lazy in a bad way, which is something that would get him fired in FM. And overall, none of these bands hold a candle to FM when it comes down to it, and sorry, but I include YLT in that critique. I guess you could chalk that up to the “duh” category.