Everyone will suffer the fire we've made

Reader-submitted item: A journalist told me it's not his fault if there are mistakes in his stories as long as it's because people didn't call him back.

Uh...

Geez.

I'm not even sure where to start with that. I had to pull Tusk out just to calm myself down. I embedded a video in this post so it'll be available if I start to hyperventilate.

Journalism is an HONOURABLE profession. It requires work and dedication and constant vigilance. "They didn't call me back" is not any of those things. This is not something you say out loud. It's something you think inside your head after you get fired.

Here's the problem with that excuse: It devalues your entire news organization. People who know anything at all about the issue will know you've made stupid mistakes, and they'll assume that you are just as sloppy with your other stories, too. Now, that's the very last thing you want. Your credibility is more important than any individual news story. (Remember Mary Mapes?) Depending on the situation, there can be ripple effects across your newsroom or even your news organization. Yep, you've just made all of your co-workers look like morons. They'll thank you the next time they need to call the person who has all of the answers.

If you can't get the information you need, you can't go to air. It's as simple as that. Let's not pretend this isn't the standard. We ALL know it's the standard.

Journalists have an obligation to the public, not to a deadline. I have always hated it when half-researched stories are rushed to air or to print. It makes you look stupid. Really, really stupid. And you only make it worse when you blame someone else for your mistakes. If you can't do a story unless someone calls you back, you can't do the story until he or she calls you back.

When you destroy your own credibility with shoddy research, nobody will want to talk to you. Imagine how hard it'll be to get people to call you back when that happens. And then it's going to be hard to get a new job. And you're definitely going to need a new job.

Seriously, be selfish and hold the story until you can verify it. Isn't your credibility worth that much?

You've got your ball; you've got your chain

Reader-submitted question: I don't understand why you like Stevie Nicks.

Well, I don't like YOUR taste in music, either.

I've always liked gutsy older female singers. I love Cher and Annie Lennox and Madonna. I am not a huge fan of too-cool or too-cute younger singers in tight tops. I don't care if you kissed a girl and liked it; I prefer the Philosopher King's version of that song: I Kissed A Squirrel. (Sorry, Katy Perry, but interspecies relationships are MUCH more interesting than wanna-be lesbians, at least when you don't provide any context.)

I don't write about my secret hopes and fears: I'm not nearly strong enough to put those things out there for you to read. Yes, this would probably be a better blog if I put more of myself into it; still, I can only hint at those things. I'll probably never tell you that I'm wild-eyed in my misery or that no one looked as I walked by. I admire writers who are tough enough to say that.

If you don't like Stevie but still like Fleetwood Mac, you're probably a Lindsey Buckingham fan, and who could blame you?



If you ever visit me at work, there is a better-than-average chance that this song will be playing on my iPod.

When I renamed my blog I immediately attracted a group of readers who are hard-core Fleetwood Mac fans, although this wasn't my original intention. They don't usually show themselves in the comments section -- they keep their visions to themselves -- but I know they're here and I'm glad they've decided to stay.

Thanks for your question.

"Prepare to pee your pants."

A couple of readers have contacted me to make sure I didn't miss today's Fleetwood Mac news. Who's up for a concert in March? Anyone?

FLEETWOOD MAC 'UNLEASHED' TOUR DATES 2009 (so far)

Sunday, March 1st Pittsburgh, PAMellon Arena
Tuesday, March 3rdSt. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Thursday, March 5th Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
Sunday, March 8th Detroit, MI Palace of Auburn Hills
Tuesday, March 10th Washington, DCVerizon Center
Wednesday, March 11th Boston, MATD Banknorth Arena
Friday, March 13thUniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
Saturday, March 14th Uncasville, CTMohegan Sun Arena
Monday, March 16thRochester, NY Blue Cross Arena
Tuesday, March 17th Albany, NYTimes Union Center
Thursday, March 19th New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Saturday, March 21st East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center
Tuesday, March 24th Ottawa, ONScotiabank Place
Wednesday, March 25th Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Thursday, March 26th Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

More information is available at Heroes Are Hard To Find. Yes, Rumours is being re-released. Suddenly the financial crisis and political shenanigans look a lot less important, don't they?

I bet that even if you don't like Fleetwood Mac (freaks and weirdos, the lot of you), you'll like this video of Lindsey Buckingham correcting Stevie Nicks's grammar:

I hope your heart's not broken; don't forget me

Reader-submitted question: Do you identify with Stevie Nicks?

Yes, in some ways.

When I renamed my blog last summer, I did it with a lot more care than I took when selecting the URL the summer before. (I promise that I fully intend to move off Blogger soon.) I didn't just pick a name at random; I chose one that I felt fully described what I do here. The name works on many levels.

I've had this blog for more than two years, but I really don't write about myself very often. Even so, I sometimes feel like I'm giving away too much. This is one of those situations.

More from Michael

My mom has a movie that is a concert!

The story of a movie is called the plot. And this plot is about a girl who likes to be fancy, a boy who likes to play the guitar, and an old guy who plays the drums and looks like my poppy. And there is another guy who plays the drums but is not the best drummer in the world.

My grampy used to be in a band and play the guitar like the boy in the movie. But this boy can play his guitar just by hitting it! And I thought he was gonna smash his guitar but he didn't.

I am going to talk to my music teacher so I can learn how to play an instrument and be in a band like the one in the movie. I think that would be good. My favourite guy is the drummer. I like to watch him play the drums. And I think he is the best drummer in the world even though the main movie is about the girl.

My mom says you have to practise for an hour every day to be in a band. That is a lot. But I think I would like it.

I think the girl is young. Not like the old guy who plays the drums. And I think the guy who plays guitar is old, too. The girl is young and she plays the tambourine. She likes to dress up in capes and dance around and it looks like she has wings.

Love, Michael

Heh.

I think this sums up about half of my blog.

Welcome, Fleetwood Mac fans

I read Heroes Are Hard To Find, too, and I appreciate the link.

This blog is not entirely about Fleetwood Mac, but I do write about them from time to time. Those posts are available here. You are more than welcome to stick around. The link for my RSS feed is over on the right.

Yes, I had the Stevie Nicks song in mind when I picked out the name for this website.

UPDATED: I also read Lindsey Buckingham (the website, not the man). Thanks for the link.

I think I might wander underground

A number of readers contacted me about Lindsey Buckingham's appearance on Q the other day. If you missed it, you can still listen to the podcast. The show starts off with a discussion of John Lennon's legacy: if that bores you, you can skip to about the one-third point in the show.

I wouldn't normally link to anything Jian Ghomeshi is involved with, but I'll make an exception because it's Lindsey. I know my readers want me to put aside that sort of partisan politics and work with people on all sides. It's all about Lindsey's album sales, right?

Live from Japan

From Lindsey Buckingham's open shirt to Stevie Nicks's sulky, off-tempo tambourine banging, this has never seemed more appropriate.

Hey, do you know my friend Mack the Hack? You don't? Yes, you do.

In the stillness of remembering what you had and what you lost

Reader-submitted complaint: I hate Stevie Nicks. Like, I can't stand her voice.

Really?

Even young Stevie?

Her voice has changed over the last 35 years. This clip is from 1977. If you listen to Rumours, this is the Stevie you'll hear.

It's almost as if she damaged her nose and/or throat with some sort of caustic chemical in the late '70s or early '80s. I'm sure there's a lesson in there somewhere.

Though you don't believe that it's true, I never meant any harm to you

Reader-submitted question: Were you supporting Hillary Clinton for president?

Why? Because of this?


Unfortunately, this is not the sort of thing that would make me support a politician. I am pretty forgiving when it comes to cocaine abuse, megalomania and experimental double albums, but this is a real freak show.

I generally look for some indication that the person has good judgment. As much as I like Christine McVie's music, this is not a song that should inspire confidence in a national leader. Perhaps this is because I listened to the words. You would think that the Clintons would have put in a similar amount of effort before choosing this song to represent their campaign. Or even just skimmed the lyrics. (I know, this is crazy talk.)

I used to think that Republican delegates were bad dancers, but watching these Democrats lurch around trying to clap on beat makes me proud to be a Canadian.

Oh, COME ON

CBS investigates:

• Is Stevie Nicks a witch?
• She is so awesome. How does she write such wonderful songs?
• What's up with her hairstyles? She's changed her hair since the 1970s!
  

How low can TV journalism go? We might have an answer!

I'm not aware that there is ANY news hook here at all, and I say that as a fan. She's not touring. She hasn't released a new album. She wasn't even the one who announced that the band will be touring in 2009. There is absolutely no news value in this sort of interview.

I could ignore this if there was some indication that the interview is intended as a human-interest-type profile. In fact, you could make a case that true journalism isn't just about what happened yesterday; it's about putting all of the pieces together to reflect something that's even more real than the news. I really like profiles. They give a reporter the opportunity to ask probing questions that show a person as he or she really is.

News flash: Witches are not real. If a famous person is actually delusional enough to believe that he or she can control evil spirits, that might be worth some inquiry. Questions about hairstyles are the sort of fawning garbage I expect from ET Canada, not from CBS News. The reporter is positively giddy at being in the same room with Ms. Nicks, who, to her credit, is answering the questions very seriously. This is all so odd that I wonder if a publicist set it up and insisted on ground rules: no questions about Ms. Nicks herself.

I also feel compelled to tell the producer of this item that Don't Stop is not a Stevie Nicks song. Nice try, though.

I'm so afraid of the way I feel

I need to take a break. See you in a few days.

Breaking news

Reader-submitted: OMG!!!

Wow. This is very exciting, and it has already been an unusual day for me: I have both a Failed Mommies dinner AND a Supreme Court swearing-in.

Clearly, I will be travelling in 2009. Who wants to go with me?

You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you

Reader-submitted complaint: When you posted about this video, you didn't explain what the song's about. The words freak me out. Is she stalking him?

Sort of.

It's hard to know what any songwriter really means, but I can make an educated guess at what Stevie Nicks intended. It appears to be yet another snarky, nasty breakup song. She is telling someone (hmmm, now WHO could that be?) that when he left her, he lost something he'll never get back. He has moved on, or at least he seems to have moved on, but she doesn't want to hear about it. Instead, she is determined to make him remember her forever: she put a spell on him so he will always hear her voice and think about her.

Yes, there was clearly a lot of hurt on both sides. This is a different version than the one I posted last time, but they both affect a lot of people because she appears to be shouting at him. You usually don't see people singing directly to their exes about their anger, but that's what you see here. (If you don't feel like watching the whole video, start watching around the four-minute mark.) It's a great song and it's performed well. I think it captures the relationship between Stevie and Lindsey, and that's one of the things that keeps the Fleetwood Mac fetishists going.

Sorry it took me so long to respond to this one: I meant to do it weeks ago and got distracted.

Interesting complaint. Am I converting some of you to fetishism?

A public-service announcement

...and a big sigh.

Yes, that woman is Stevie Nicks. Lindsey Buckingham is the man to her left, or to the right of the screen. The MAN. Stop looking for a woman.

This archival video shows Lindsey, who does not get nearly enough respect as a guitarist or a songwriter. I think this is because Stevie was so successful in overshadowing the rest of Fleetwood Mac during the early 1980s. She's no more talented than they are (in fact, I'd argue that she's LESS talented than Christine McVie or Lindsey, because she doesn't play a musical instrument), but she was very very good at self-promotion.

Boy, that sounds snarky, but I don't mean it quite in that way. The last thing I need is for Stevie fetishists to spam me with reader-submitted complaints about my lack of respect for their hero. I think she's great; I just think she gets an unfair amount of attention, given the relative talents of the other band members.

Remember: Stevie = WOMAN. Lindsey = MAN.

Damn your love. Damn your lies.

Reader-submitted complaint: There's not enough videos of Lindsey Buckingham on this site. He is sooooo sexy!

Not ENOUGH videos of Lindsey Buckingham???

Some of my readers are nodding solemnly. Others are wondering who the heck Lindsey Buckingham is. Meanwhile, my dad is wondering how he could have failed so spectacularly.

It has been a long day

Actually, it's been a long couple of months. I am too tired to please anyone but the fetishists tonight. See you tomorrow.

Don't break the spell

Something about this song is oddly comforting, but I can't figure out why. Something about the bass and keyboards is more familiar than it really ought to be.

I feel like I must have heard it when I was a little girl, but that doesn't make sense. My dad was in a band 25 years ago, so I heard a lot of music at the time, but this wouldn't have been one of the ones they played. Or am I wrong, Dad?

UPDATED: My dad has disavowed participation in anything that resulted in my blog being named after a Stevie Nicks song. He has suggested that I heard it on the radio during the early '80s when Rumours was in heavy rotation. That's certainly possible. At the risk of committing 1970s blasphemy, I will say that the video above feels familiar like the one below:

When everything's going bad