My Two-Cents: Stevie (K)nicks
Stevie Nicks and the Knicks – what do these seemingly unrelated things have in common? More than one would deem at first glance.
Stevie Nicks, the lead singer of Fleetwood Mac, is the fucking queen. And God save the queen! In my mind, Stevie Nicks (and Fleetwood Mac) walked so Fergie (and the Black Eyed Peas) could run. I’ll discuss Black Eyed Peas Supremacy at a later date. Right now Imma Bee rehashing what makes Stevie so great. One of her most infamous moments is her performance of “Silver Springs”, where she not only wrote a song about her ex (Lindsey Buckingham) but she made him sing backup. A well-executed Fuck You moment by Nicks. Here, she exhibited a key trait that I’m going to extrapolate on in another example: adaptability. Stevie and Lindsey joined the band together years before while dating, but Stevie’s performance shows her ability to not only adapt to adversity but shove it right back in said adversities' faces. Stevie might be crowned the queen of Fuck Yous and adaptability for this.
Next up is the Knicks, specifically Jeremy Lin. Before the 2011-12 NBA season, no one had heard of him. Then he unexpectedly led a winning turnaround for the New York Knicks during a brief cultural phenomenon coined “Linsanity.” He pulled a Stevie Knicks – and sang his version of “Silver Springs” loud and broad for all of Madison Square Garden to hear. This was good for them because they’re probably still recovering from when Reggie Miller used to fucking torch them on their home turf. Undrafted Lin showed an extreme case of adaptability in the face of adversity (a franchise notoriously known for underachievement despite their market size and resources from the 2000s-present). However, after this, Lin fell off the face of the earth and never quite lived up to his unprecedented rise to stardom.
Now, what do both (K)nicks have in common? They both adapted, persevered, and had well-delivered Fuck You moments in their career. Where do they differ and shift into their own respective echelons? Stevie continued to smash billboards, whereas Lin got smashed down to the G-league. What led Nicks to release more bangers (like “Leather and Lace” besides Eagles lead Don Henley) and Linsanity to come to an abrupt end? Since I don’t know any of these two personally, I can’t account for what actually led to two extremely different trajectories. But I can guess. My presumption is Stevie was never done. She was never content. She was always ready to step up to bat and increase her average. We could all learn from (hypothetical) Stevie. She never stops gawking at her past self — never stops learning from her mistakes and wondering how she can top “Silver Springs.” Then Rumors. Then Tango in the Night. After reflecting on the (K)nicks, I hope I never stop gawking at my past self. Because this would mean I’ve given up on the pursuit of adaptability — which is something Stevie never does. If you stop gawking at your past self, Linsanity will end. Your adaptability will curb and your self growth will stunt. If Stevie stopped cringing at her past self, she would never have duet with Don Henley.
