We are going way off track on this one, but it must be done. As you may remember, we typically review our favorite songs from The Aughts (2000-2010) in this series. However, due to a certain recent viral video, we’re breaking our own rules.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve seen the now famous TikTok by America’s new best friend, user @420doggface208:
This video is all of the vibes, as the kids say these days. It went hugely viral, enough for Mick Fleetwood to actually respond via TikTok:
So, as you may have now gathered, in this edition of “The Aughts Hot or Not,” we are traveling back to 1977 to review Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”
Music Video
Well, this is going to be short and sweet. The music video for “Dreams” is severely lacking in any special effects, CGI, or general substance….and that’s OK!
The production of music videos wasn’t as big of a business back in the 1970’s as it was in The Aughts. What we get here is Stevie, Mick, and the crew in their element, simply performing the song on a stage for presumably an adoring crowd. While everyone gets their moments to shine, the video mostly focuses on lead singer Steve Nicks, who belts out the painful lyrics as only she can.
Best Lyric
“Now here you go again, you say you want your freedom
Well, who am I to keep you down?
It’s only right that you should play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness“
We’re jumping right in here with the best lyrics; the very first verse of the song. While writing the album “Rumours” (in which “Dreams” was featured), each member of the band was going through some incredible hardship.
According to Rolling Stone: “Stevie Nicks had just split with her longtime lover and musical partner, Lindsey Buckingham, while Christine was in the midst of divorcing her husband, bassist John McVie. Meanwhile, Mick Fleetwood’s extra-band marriage was on the rocks, leading to an affair with Nicks before the year was out. This inner turmoil surfaced in brutally honest lyrics, transforming the album into a tantalizing he-said-she-said romantic confessional.”
You can feel all of the calamity and misery surrounding the band come through in the song, and this first verse really paints that picture. Not a surprise that our guy 420doggface208 made his viral TikTok using the best part of the song.
Worst Lyric
“Women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know“
Bo-riiiiing. Fleetwood Mac is widely appreciated as one of the greatest bands of the 70’s. Their list of hits is quite long: “Go Your Own Way,” “Rhiannon,” “Landslide,” etc. All of these songs have incredible lyrics. I think we as Fleetwood Mac fans came to expect consistently top notch lyrics. Which, of course, is both unreasonable and unfair. However, when Stevie blurted out the two above lines, I was quite disappointed at the blandness.
Rating
This song was surprisingly the only hit for Fleetwood Mac to reach number one on the US Billboard charts. I think it’s a really solid mix of lyrics, message, and performance. Stevie Nicks’ voice alone probably gives any Fleetwood Mac song a one to two point boost, I think it’s just one of the greatest we’ve ever been privileged to hear. With all of this considered:
Rating: 8 Carson Daly’s
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