Á bientôt

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@grok @1791joe @chadfelixg @jonathanccadams Where does the Buddha fit in the historical religious figures you’ve discussed, Jesus and Mohammed?

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@volatilitysmile I agree...

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@BudLightSadness The Hemlock society had suggested helium, I never understood why the state couldn’t just replace O2 with helium and then people fade away in a closed room with a big exhaust fan

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@Oilfield_Rando Her husband

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@wrathofgnon I love this more every time I see a New Yorker cartoon: @iowahawkblog https://t.co/MvA7FRMsM1

[David Burge @iowahawkblog]

@jamestaranto Once again proving Burge's Law: every New Yorker cartoon can be improved by recaptioning "I think I'm going to kill myself"

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@Oilfield_Rando I’ll vote for him because I remember her Covid press conferences about how we should trust her and quarantine

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

Fun song that I knew nothing about, curious if you agree with AI: Short answer:
Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 music video for “Tusk” is basically a controlled act of chaos — a deliberate visual metaphor for the band’s internal tension, the aggressive energy of the song, and the surreal decision to perform with the USC Trojan Marching Band inside an empty football stadium.

Below is the full story behind it, including why it looks so strange, why the band chose a marching band, and what was happening inside Fleetwood Mac at the time.

---

The story behind Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” (1979)

1. The video is part performance, part psychological portrait

The “Tusk” video was filmed at Dodger Stadium and shows:

• Fleetwood Mac performing the song on the field
• The USC Trojan Marching Band surrounding them
• Mick Fleetwood acting wild, pounding drums, running around
• The band members looking tense, detached, or sardonic
• A strange mix of seriousness, absurdity, and spectacle

This wasn’t accidental. The video was designed to visualize the emotional volatility inside Fleetwood Mac after Rumours — a period marked by breakups, resentment, and creative pressure.

“Tusk” is intentionally unpolished, aggressive, and weird compared to their earlier hits. The video mirrors that.

---

2. Why the marching band?

This is the part most people don’t know the backstory for.

Lindsey Buckingham wanted to “destroy” the expectations created by Rumours

After Rumours became one of the biggest albums in history, Buckingham refused to make another polished, radio-friendly record. He wanted something:

• raw
• experimental
• confrontational
• anti‑pop

He said the marching band was a way to break Fleetwood Mac out of their own myth and inject something loud, chaotic, and unglamorous.

The USC band recorded live for the album

The band wasn’t just in the video — they actually performed on the studio recording of “Tusk.”
Warner Bros spent $1 million on the production, making it one of the most expensive rock videos of its era.

---

3. The stadium setting symbolizes isolation and spectacle

Filming in an empty stadium wasn’t just aesthetic. It reflected:

• the band’s sense of being on display
• the emptiness behind fame
• the surreal pressure of following up Rumours
• the feeling of performing for a world that’s watching but not present

Fleetwood Mac is tiny in the middle of a massive arena, surrounded by hundreds of uniformed musicians — a visual metaphor for being overwhelmed by expectations.

---

4. Mick Fleetwood’s manic energy is intentional

Mick’s wild drumming, exaggerated movements, and almost unhinged expressions were part of the concept. He was embodying the tribal, percussive, chaotic energy Buckingham wanted.

“Tusk” is built on a primal drum groove, and the video amplifies that.

---

5. The video is also a commentary on the band’s relationships

By 1979:

• Lindsey & Stevie were broken up
• Christine & John McVie were broken up
• Mick & Stevie had a brief affair
• Everyone was exhausted from fame

The video’s strange emotional tone — detached, tense, theatrical — reflects the band’s real interpersonal state.

Stevie Nicks later said the Tusk era felt like “a fever dream.”

---

6. The final meaning

The “Tusk” video is:

• a rebellion against Fleetwood Mac’s own success
• a visual representation of chaos, spectacle, and pressure
• a surreal performance meant to feel uncomfortable
• a portrait of a band trying to reinvent itself while falling apart

It’s intentionally weird, aggressive, and uncommercial — because that’s exactly what Lindsey Buckingham wanted the song to be.

---

If you want, I can break down:

• symbolism in specific shots
• why Buckingham’s production style changed so radically
• how “Tusk” fits into Fleetwood Mac’s internal drama

Just tell me what angle you want to explore.

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@Benedicta_Bee Good luck with your choices, hope you come back when you’re ready

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@sunnyright @BarbarianCap American Eater Wins

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

Interesting theory, but the reality is that Indians knew that if they didn’t have a contact to get an H1B visa, they could get an academic one, so they told their friends and thousands of Indians would overwhelm the application pool even if they had fake credentials because the universities were in on it to juice enrollment.

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@NateSilver538 I remember as a kid how many houses in my town had yellow ribbons and how often that song played on the radio. For the amount of terrorists they have funded since 1979, I’m willing to wait. Also, the fact that I increased China’s oil costs more is legitimate

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@zerohedge @volatilitysmile : bro, why'd I have to read about you in Zerohedge??

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@RobProvince TDS, it is the only explanation

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

I’ve traveled extensively around China using Microsoft Translate and it has a version that works by setting the phone down on the table and splitting the screen to have one portion display text for me in English and the mirrored half of the screen is translated for someone across from me

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@Benedicta_Bee And rather than historical accuracy, it was a propaganda poem to encourage the Crusades so lots of bad Saracens get the sword

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@Benedicta_Bee I agree, generally. But it was a
Medieval poem performed by bards so an audiobook is the original format 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@RobProvince Including the reporter who ‘mistakenly’ claimed it was the prosecution and not the defense who maligned the only sane juror

[Á bientôt @raisonnement]

@EffMktHype His thesis is “Hierarchy for moments to solve quadratic optimization problems over probability measures. “ I had to ask grok for any answer I could hope to understand…