Stevie Nicks and Haim Sing "Rhiannon"

Legend Stevie Nicks has just emerged from whatever celestial, owl-populated plane she inhabits to sing the Fleetwood Mac song "Rhiannon" in duet with hipster trio Haim. I have incredibly conflicted feelings about this, not in the least because as a fairly rabid fan, "Rhiannon" is easily in my top 5 favorite Fleetwood Mac songs. I know the pairing of Stevie Nicks with Haim, in some self-proclaimed genius record executive's office, sounded like the best idea anyone had ever had in the history of music. I know there was probably a lot of man-on-man butt-slapping; I know scotch was poured and dollars were counted. But there's something a little off about this to me.

It's one of those "old and cool but maybe no longer relevant" performers pairs up with "young and hip but not yet widely known" acts to the benefit of both. Except that Stevie Nicks is an undisputed icon who has melted faces off with her talent (and is about to embark on a sold out national tour with the Mac), and Haim can kind of sing but are mostly just another image-based band that no one is going to remember in a couple of years. Yeah, I know. Way harsh, Tai. But I mean, come on.

Even in this recording, it's obvious that Haim are just background noise to Stevie's deity; quite literally, all the Haim girls seem do on the track is join in once or twice to harmonize with her. They serve as little more than backup singers, which begs the question, why didn't Stevie just do this on her own? I would listen to a current recording of Stevie doing "Rhiannon" without a hashtag relevant hipster band and be utterly thrilled, as I'm sure most fans would be.

Apparently Stevie "invited" the girls to hang out with her at her home in LA, where the NY Times documented the whole affair, "catching" an "impromptu" recording of "Rhiannon" in the process. *Insert obvious side-eye* According to the NYT, Stevie also deemed the girls her "moon sisters", which is a very Stevie thing to do, and makes me feel a little bit bad about my poor sportsmanship over the entire affair. Listen to the collaboration below, and be awed that at 66 years old, Stevie Nicks can still blow your brains out of your ears with her intensity.

Images: Fleetwood Mac Fans/Youtube