Mackin’ on Valentine’s | A Valentine’s Day tale
By Carmen Juarez
So I’ve recently entered into a non-long-distance relationship – meaning I’m planning on moving to the other side of the world to be with someone I met at Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago last American Summer while on a post-graduation whirl around the world.
Saint Valentine’s Day is nearly here, and I’ve been thinking of what to send this boy. Do I write him a sappy letter? Compile a mix-ta… whoah. How about instead of including that song on a mix-tape, I record my own cover of the song? Perfect. Send him a church-band cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’.
Somewhere between Chicago and my next stop, New Orleans, yet-to-be non-long-distance-love told me he had gotten “that Fleetwood Mac cover” stuck in his head. “‘I wanna be with you everywhere’ is the chorus,” he told me, “you know, the one we were discussing… I forget who else played it at the festival.” We had witnessed both electro/dance/pop/rockers Hot Chip and Vampire Weekend cover ‘Everywhere’ over the Pitchfork weekend.
Somewhere between telling me about this earworm and my landing in New Orleans, the boy decides to dump his then girlfriend and invite me back to Indianapolis. I road-tripped there from the south, past Graceland, up to the midwest. Three days later we were officially in love.
I guess that makes ‘Everywhere’ our song. And considering the distances I’ve spanned to get to him, it seems as though I’ve taken these lyrics quite literally.
Everywhere is Fleetwood Mac in their 80s prime. It’s Christine McVie’s bass-heavy pop masterpiece about falling in love and being reluctant to admit to the fact. You know that I’m proud and I can’t get the words out. And anyone who’s ever loved can relate to the chorus – I want to be with you everywhere.
Meaningful and/or appropriate lyrics? Check.
Shared experience song? Check.
Cover of a song you associate with covers? Check.
That bass? Check.
So how am I going to make it mine?
I’ve decided the best way is to invite some friends who happen to play the music for Sunday church services at a Chinese Methodist Church in Eight Mile Plains to be my backing band. I guess it will make Valentine’s Day a little more Saintly. All they needed to know was that I was planning an over-the-top romantic gesture and they were in.
There’s a major technical issue, though: I haven’t got a thing on McVie – in fact, I can’t fucking sing at all. We’re recording this Saturday. Valentine’s Day is Thursday. Let’s hope non-long-distance love still wants me to join him in New York City by 1 July.
