Witness One Woman's Margarita-Fueled Discovery of the Meaning of Fleetwood Mac's Rumors —and Maybe Life Itself

Moises Mendez II
·3 min read
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Fleetwood Mac at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California Credit - Sam Levi/WireImage

One woman’s recent journey through Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 opus Rumors led to a truly wholesome moment online.

Raven Baxter, a molecular biologist who goes by @ravenscimaven on X (formerly Twitter), shared on Tuesday night that she heard one of the hit songs from Rumors, “Go Your Own Way,” and was shocked to learn about the drama behind it and the whole album.

Rumors, which was an instant hit upon its release, came as multiple interpersonal relationships between Fleetwood Mac’s band members went sour: Stevie Nicks’ relationship with Lindsey Buckingham had ended; the group’s namesake drummer, Mick Fleetwood had learned his wife had cheated on him; and the late Christine McVie and John McVie divorced in 1976 after eight years of marriage, and still worked together on the album. All of this turmoil was channeled into what is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, sitting at No. 7 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list.

Baxter’s post went viral, and she continued to add to the thread as she listened to more of the album. “Wait is this WHOLE album two people in the band breaking up and fighting?!?!” she wrote.

Her posts about experiencing the great album for the first time endeared her to others, who delighted in her joy of discovery, and responded saying that they wished they could relive learning about the drama of Fleetwood Mac for the first time. The band trended on X on Wednesday, as users chimed in with suggestions for other Fleetwood Mac songs to listen to.

“If you love "Go Your Own Way" you have you to listen to "The Chain" *especially* after a couple of margaritas lol,” one person wrote. “that whole album is a trip. two couples breaking up and singing their feelings at each other,” another person wrote.

Write to Moises Mendez II at moises.mendez@time.com.