Girls' Names

This (courtesy of LanguageLog) is cool: maps of the most popular names for girls since 1960, on a year-by-year, state-by-state basis. I note that "Jennifer" (and I have a niece by that name) ruled the roost nationwide from 1970 to 1984, leading in every state for six of those years, and suddenly dropped off the map - it hasn't won a state since!

Apparently "Isabella" and "Sophia" are the hot names the last few years....

Sunday Music: Fleetwood Mac

Note: The Five Stairsteps' First Family of Soul is alphabetically next, but I have nothing to say about it, so I'm skipping.

Album Title: Fleetwood Mac

Why I Bought It: Fleetwood Mac burst on the scene about the time I went to college, and I bought this LP and Rumours. (I never did buy Tusk, though.) After the CD revolution, I upgraded both albums.

What I Like (Creepy): "I'm So Afraid". One of the rare male-lead FM songs; Lindsey Buckingham (whose first name is my middle) does a fine job depicting an amorphous fear.

What I Like (Obscure): "Crystal". "...drove me like a magnet to the sea." What does that even mean? But as a depiction of irresistible attraction, the song works very well. (Another male-lead song.)

What I Don't Like (Gold Digging): "Sugar Daddy". Basically, she's telling her lover he doesn't spend enough on her. A weird and head-shaking song.

Overall: There's a lot of comfortable stuff here ("Monday Morning", "Warm Ways", "Say You Love Me") and an oddity or two ("Landslide"); I like most of it. "Rhiannon" drew the most attention, way back when, but it strikes me as unnecessarily mythed-up, and I've never liked Stevie Nicks' voice per se very much - although when the song is right for her, she does well. Not a favorite album, but a mostly pleasant one.