Not That Funny

Last updated
"Not That Funny"
Not That Funny cover.jpg
Single by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Tusk
B-side "Save Me a Place" (UK)
"Think About Me" (EU)
Released7 March 1980 (UK) [1]
Recorded1979
Genre
Length3:11
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Lindsey Buckingham
Producer(s) Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat
Fleetwood Mac singles chronology
"Sara"
(1980)		"Not That Funny"
(1980)		"Think About Me"
(1980)

"Not That Funny" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1980. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was written as a response to the punk movement in the late 1970s. [3] The song shares some lyrics with "I Know I'm Not Wrong", another Buckingham penned song that appeared on the Tusk album. [4]

Contents

Background

"Not That Funny" was derived from an unused Buckingham song titled "Needles and Pins", originally recorded in June 1978. "Needles and Pins" later split into two different songs, "Not That Funny" and "I Know I'm Not Wrong", both of which share the "don't blame me" lyrics found in the chorus and the "here comes the nighttime" lyrics found in the bridge. [5]

Buckingham performed his vocal part on the ground in a push-up position to achieve the desired vocal take. He also insisted on recording the vocals in a replica of his own personal bathroom, which was installed in Studio D of the LA Village Recorder. To satisfy Buckingham's request, Ken Caillat, who served as the album's co-producer and engineer, taped a microphone to the bathroom's tile floor. [6]

Some of the electric guitars were detuned and recorded at high speed before being slowed down to 30 ips. [5] Buckingham multitracked the electric guitar parts on a Stratocaster and treated the instrument with a variable speed oscillator (VSO) to achieve a phasing effect. [7] The electric guitars were also sent through a tape recorder and mixing console to achieve a lower pitched, compressed, and thicker sound. The inverse occurred for the acoustic guitars, which were recorded at a slower speed but sped up with the VSO so that the instrument would resemble a harpsichord or music box. Buckingham played the acoustic guitars sparingly on the verses but used them more extensively during the bridge and chorus with an eighth and sixteenth note feel. [5]

For the drums, Buckingham layered several tracks of kick and snare drums and overdubbed tom drum fills leading to the vamp. The vocals were tripled, some of which were sung by Christine McVie. Fleetwood Mac engineer Hernán Rojas commented that Buckingham often asked McVie to help out with vocals on his songs due to their vocal blend. Buckingham also played the cello setting on a Chamberlin M1 keyboard to provide additional textures to the rhythm track. [5]

Release and live performances

While released as a single in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, "Not That Funny" was not released elsewhere. Instead, the track's B-Side, "Think About Me", was issued as the third single in North America. Like the singles from Fleetwood Mac's 1975 self-titled release, both singles were slightly remixed for radio. While "Think About Me" reached the top 30 in both the US and Canada, "Not That Funny" failed to chart at all. Despite the lack of initial success, the song became a live staple at Fleetwood Mac concerts. Played live, the song took on an entirely new arrangement – stretched out to almost nine minutes frequently, showcasing Buckingham's guitar playing, John McVie's bass playing and featuring a solo spot featuring Mick Fleetwood's drumming. "Not That Funny" has been performed on the Tusk Tour, Mirage tour, The Dance tour, and the Live 2013 tour. [8] [9]

For the Tusk tour, the band wanted their keyboard tech, Jeff Sova, to play synthesizers on the song to recreate some of the additional sounds heard on the record. However, this idea was dropped as it was interfering with his stage work. Instead, the only keyboard used on the song was a Yamaha console piano, played by Christine McVie. [10]

Critical reception

"Not That Funny" has generally received positive reception. Stephen Holden, a reviewer for Rolling Stone , compared the production of the track to a beautifully recorded basement tape. [11] Another reviewer from Rolling Stone pointed similarities in the guitar work between "Not That Funny" and a Go Insane track, "Loving Cup". [12] Raoul Hernandez of The Austin Chronicle said that "Not That Funny" perfectly demonstrates Buckingham's ability to craft pop/rock songs, and that it reveals the "staleness" of Rumours . [13] In his review of Tusk for NME , Nick Kent described "Not That Funny" as "a Cajun-style bruising thump-up with a fade-out all too redolent of more White Album idiocies." [14] In Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll, the authors characterised "Not That Funny" as an "anti-pop song that is little more than Buckingham yelling 'Well, it's not that funny, is it?', over and over until his vocal cords fray and shred and finally give way. [15]

Retrospectively, Marcello Carlin of Uncut described it as a "disturbing" song "on which Buckingham’s near-psychotic guitar and vocal screams approach Pere Ubu territory." [16] In his piece for Melody Maker 's Unknown Pleasures guide, Simon Reynolds drew comparison to Faust's "It's a Bit of Pain" (1973), and praised Buckingham's "hornet-in-your-earhole fuzz solo". [17] David Bennun of The Quietus wrote that "Not That Funny" resembles the music of Devo. [18] Annie Zaleski of The Guardian has commented that while some of Fleetwood Mac's songwriting peers of the 1960s and 1970s "incorporated dance influences and synthesisers" to varying levels of success, the group's "new wave nod", "Not That Funny", was a "transformative" example. [19]

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Tusk</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Tusk is the twelfth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released as a double album on 12 October 1979 in the United States and on 19 October 1979 in the United Kingdom by Warner Bros. Records. It is considered more experimental than their previous albums, partly as a consequence of Lindsey Buckingham's sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of post-punk. The production costs were initially estimated to be about $1 million but many years later were revealed to be about $1.4 million, making it the most expensive rock album recorded to that date.

"Second Hand News" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham. The song was first performed by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the opening track of their 1977 album Rumours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Make Loving Fun</span> 1977 single by Fleetwood Mac

"You Make Loving Fun" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and sung by Christine McVie. It was released as the fourth and final single from the band's 1977 album Rumours. "You Make Loving Fun" peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became the album's fourth top-ten hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tusk (song)</span> 1979 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Tusk" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP of the same name. The song peaked at number eight in the United States for three weeks, reached number six in the United Kingdom, number five in Canada, and number three in Australia. Lindsey Buckingham wrote the song and is the lead singer on the track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhiannon (song)</span> 1976 song by Fleetwood Mac

"Rhiannon" (released as a single under the title "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)") is a song written by Stevie Nicks and originally recorded by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on their eponymous album in 1975; it was issued as a single the following year. The song's U.S. chart peak was in June 1976, when it hit no. 11. The song peaked at no. 46 in the UK singles chart for three weeks after re-release in February 1978.

<i>Live</i> (Fleetwood Mac album) 1980 live album by Fleetwood Mac

Live is a double live album released by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on 5 December 1980. It was the first live album from the then-current line-up of the band, and the next would be The Dance from 1997. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in November 1981. A deluxe edition of the album was released on 9 April 2021.

"The Ledge" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. It is the second song from the multi-platinum Tusk album and was composed by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. The band rehearsed “The Ledge” several times for the Tusk Tour, although it was ultimately not included in the set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of the Moon</span> 1980 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Sisters of the Moon" is a song by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. It was written and sung by band-member Stevie Nicks and was released in the US as the fourth single from the 1979 album Tusk. The song peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100, although it was not released in the UK. The single version of "Sisters of the Moon" is included on the compilation The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac and both the 2004 and 2015 remasters of 'Tusk'.

"I'm So Afraid" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham for the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac for their tenth album, Fleetwood Mac. The song was intended for a second Buckingham Nicks album, but the album never came to fruition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Think About Me</span> 1980 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Think About Me" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in the US in March 1980. The song was composed by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie. "Think About Me" was slightly remixed for single release.

"I Know I'm Not Wrong" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk. It was recorded as the final song of side three of the LP on 19 September 1979, written by Lindsey Buckingham, whose sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of punk rock and new wave were the leading creative force on it and other Tusk tracks. The song was worked on for the duration of the Tusk album and took around a year to complete.

"Oh Daddy" is a song written by Christine McVie that was first performed by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the tenth song off their 1977 album Rumours.

"The Dealer" is a 2014 song by the American singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks. It was the first single from her solo album, 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault. The song was a minor hit in Belgium, where it peaked at No. 72 on the Wallonia Tip chart.

"That’s All For Everyone" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of his nine songs that appeared on the Tusk album. The song was also included on Fleetwood Mac's 1992 box set, 25 Years – The Chain.

"Brown Eyes" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk. It was one of six songs from the album composed and sung by Christine McVie. The song includes uncredited playing from founding member Peter Green.

"Feel About You" is a song by Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie from their 2017 self-titled album. The song was one of the three co-writes on the album along with "Red Sun" and "Too Far Gone" and also features all Rumours era members of Fleetwood Mac with the exception of Stevie Nicks. Prior to the album's release, the song was released as a single on April 27, 2017.

"Over & Over" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. It is the opening song from the multi-platinum Tusk album and was composed by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie. The song was played on the Tusk Tour and also appeared on the Live album in 1980.

"What Makes You Think You're the One" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of his nine songs that appeared on the Tusk album. The song was also included on the US 2002 and UK 2009 editions of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac.

"Storms" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by vocalist Stevie Nicks, it was one of her five songs that appeared on the Tusk album. The song was also included on the US 2002 and UK 2009 editions of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac as the final track on disc one. An alternate mix with more stripped back production was included on the 2015 deluxe edition of Tusk. Nicks said that the song was about her affair with bandmate Mick Fleetwood, which she believed contributed to the dissolution of his marriage with Jenny Boyd.

"That's Enough For Me" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk, on which it is the shortest track. It was one of nine songs from the album composed and sung by Lindsey Buckingham, who also supplied all of the instrumentation. The song was released a B-side to "Sara" in December 1979.

References

  1. ↑ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 30.
  2. ↑ Holtje, Steve (1998). "Fleetwood Mac". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 434.
  3. ↑ Harr, Douglous (13 January 2016). "Fleetwood Mac – 'Fleetwood Mac', 'Rumours' + 'Tusk' (1975 -1979): Reissues". Something Else!. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher; et al. (2 May 2022). "Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Caillat, Ken; Rojas, Hernan (2019). Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac's Most Anticipated Album. Guilford, Connecticut: Backbeat Books. pp. 178–179, 183–184. ISBN   978-1-4930-5983-6.
  6. ↑ Reed, Ryan (2019-10-11). "Fleetwood Mac's 'Tusk': 10 Things You Didn't Know". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  7. ↑ Irvin, Jim (2016). Tusk (2015 Remastered Deluxe Edition) (Liner Notes). Fleetwood Mac. Los Angeles: Warner Bros. Records Inc. p. 15. Publisher Warner Bros #2HS-3350.
  8. ↑ Jonze, Tim (15 December 2016). "Fleetwood Mac: Mirage box set review – high-calibre songs that outshine the imitators". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Mountain, Lexie (10 April 2013). "Armed with hits, Fleetwood Mac plays with crowd's emotions at Verizon Center". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Doerschuk, Bob. "From the Archive: Christine McVie - KeyboardMag". www.keyboardmag.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Holden, Stephen (13 December 1979). "Fleetwood Mac Tusk Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  12. ↑ Connelly, Christopher (August 30, 1984). "Lindsey Buckingham's Tuneful Triumph". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  13. ↑ Hernandez, Raoul. "Live Shots – Music – Fleetwood Mac". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  14. ↑ Kent, Nick (20 October 1979). "Fleetwood Mac: Tusk (Warner Brothers)". New Musical Express. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Ward, Ed; Stokes, Geoffrey; Tucker, Ken (1986). Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll. New York: Rolling Stone Press. p. 578. ISBN   0-671-63068-7.
  16. ↑ Carlin, Marcello (1 April 2004). "Cocaine Heights". Uncut. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  17. ↑ Simon Reynolds (1995), FLEETWOOD MAC, Tusk from Unknown Pleasures: Great Lost Albums Rediscovered booklet, free with Melody Maker, 1995 [director's cut version]
  18. ↑ Bennun, David (13 February 2017). "How Fleetwood Mac Invented Goth, By David Bennun". The Quietus. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  19. ↑ Zaleski, Annie (27 September 2022). "Joni Mitchell's 80s: how the Canadian songwriter became a fearless, futurist auteur". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.