Tusk

A prismatic look at one of the most unusual albums ever released by a major rock band, with fresh input from Lindsey Buckingham.

A prismatic look at one of the most unusual albums ever released by a major rock band, with fresh input from Lindsey Buckingham.

After Rumours became the best-selling single album of all-time, Fleetwood Mac asked Warner Brothers Records to buy them a studio (the label refused, costing both Warner Brothers and the band significant cash in the long run) and then handed the reins to their guitarist and resident perfectionist Lindsey Buckingham. "You know," Buckingham said, "we had this ridiculous success with Rumours. We were poised to do another album, and I guess because the axiom 'If it works, run it into the ground' was prevalent then, we were probably poised to do Rumours II. I don't know how you do that, but somehow my light bulb that went off was, 'Let's just not do that. Let's very pointedly not do that.' "

Here, Rob Trucks talks to Lindsey Buckingham, as well as members of Animal Collective, Camper Van Beethoven, the New Pornographers, Wolf Parade, and the USC Trojan marching band in order to chart both the story and the impact of an album born of personal obsession and a stubborn unwillingness to compromise.

Acknowledgments
Intro: The Warning Shot

Chapter One

What We Talk About When We Talk About Tusk Jonathan Segel of Camper Van Beethoven

Chapter Three

What We Talk About When We Talk About Tusk Walter Egan

Chapter Five

What We Talk About When We Talk About Tusk Kaki King

Chapter Seven

What We Talk About When We Talk About Tusk A. C. Newman of the New Pornographers

Chapter Nine

What We Talk About When We Talk About Tusk Gretchen Heffler of the USC Spirit of Troy marching band

Chapter Eleven

What We Talk About When We Talk About Tusk Dan Boeckner and Hadji Bakara of Wolf Parade

Chapter Thirteen

What We Talk About When We Talk About Tusk Dave Portner, a/k/a Avey Tare, of Animal Collective

Chapter Fifteen

What We Talk About When We Talk About Tusk Michael G of Tusk, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band

Chapter Seventeen