Lindsey Buckingham "Under the Skin"

On episode 16 of Past Prime, Steve and Matty comb through the
voluminous hair, pick at the long fingernails and revisit the
rumors of an elusive stadium Rock star who spent his adulthood
feeling miscast and misunderstood. Steve is a lifelong Fleetwood
Mac fan, enamored equally of Stevie and Lindsey, but perhaps more
"Buck-curious." So curious, in fact, that he'd traveled down the
wormhole of Buckingham-Nicks erotic fan fiction. Matty is more of
a neophyte, familiar with the canonical Mac releases but
generally unaware of and confused by Buckingham's solo career.
Together, they return to "Under the Skin," Buckingham's fourth
solo album, released in 2006. 


As he approached sixty, Buckingham was a relative newlywed, a new
(old) dad and still at odds with his former girlfriend and
bandmate. Circumstances led to him making a very hushed, insular
solo album, full of diary confessions and his trademark finger
picking. He plays nearly every instrument, quietly harmonizes
with himself, and manages to sound a good deal like Iron &
Wine or Jose Gonzalez. If he were thirty and Swedish, "Under the
Skin" would likely have been hailed by Pitchfork. In middle age,
however, his ennui, though delivered quietly, sounds loud, clear
and decidedly less "hip." During the conversation, our hosts
cover everything from Art Garfunkel to "What About Bob?" Both of
which, it turns out, have something to do with "Under the Skin."


To read more about Lindsey Buckingham's "Under the Skin," check
out the full essay at Past Prime.