Dr. Raven Baxter was 30 years old when she heard Fleetwood Mac for the first time. She says she barely slept for 48 hours afterward.
The microbiologist, science communicator and podcaster went viral for live tweeting her reactions to Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album “Rumours.”
It all began when Baxter took a seat at a bar hotel in Nebraska.
“I was trying to get some work done after I finished the day, and there’s music playing in the background,” she tells TODAY.com. “I’m on my second margarita. I’m typing away at my computer, and I’m hearing this (guy) singing his a– off. I’m like, ‘There’s something going on. I gotta like at least look up the song and see who is this person?”
Baxter says this was the first time she actively heard Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way,” a hit led by the band’s lead guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham.
To have a better listen, Baxter says she gathered her setup at the bar and went back up to her hotel room.
“I unpacked everything, and I was like, ‘OK, we’re doing this,” she explains.
Baxter got started by watching a 1977 live performance of the song. She was so blown away by Buckingham and his performance that she took to X to share her newfound musical treasure.
“Two margaritas deep, I heard a song playing called you can go your own way, and I was like, wow, they are really singing their a–ses off,” she posted at the time. “Looked it up it’s two band members breaking up I am in TEARS! YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY watched the live performance. he can’t even look at her.”
As Baxter continued her deep dive into one of rock music’s most celebrated albums, her post took off. It has since been viewed nearly 14.3 million times.
But she says she was so focused on her new discovery and sharing her thoughts that she didn’t even think to check out her social media notifications.
“I had no idea. Absolutely no idea that that was going viral because I tweet stuff all the time. (For me) it’s just a brain dump,” she explains, adding that in her excitement, she decided to avoid taking her ADHD medication, which often helps put her to sleep right away.
“I wanted to stay up and listen to the Fleetwood Mac,” she says.
For hours, Baxter probed the depths and complexities that fans have come to understand as being unique to Fleetwood Mac.
The British-American rock band has received two Grammy wins and multiple nominations and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Until that point, Baxter had no clue about the band — or the inspiration behind “Rumours,” detailing the breakup of band members Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
“I found out that (Buckingham and Stevie Nicks) were a couple, and they were breaking up,” she explains. “The more I learned, the messier it became. Everybody in the band was heartbroken at some point.”
“You don’t even have to read the lyrics (of their music),” she adds. Even if you had the sound off, you could tell by their body language— how they’re playing their instruments — that they’ve been through some stuff. It was really inspiring just to know that, though it wasn’t under the best terms, their passion for music or your passion for something can kind of override any type of adversities that might be going on for you personally.”
Baxter, who has built a following online for her science rap music, says she was particularly inspired by Nicks.
“I can relate to her. I want to get T-shirts with her face on them. I think she’s really cool. I don’t know much about her yet, but I like the representation,” she says. “She seems like she works really hard. And her talent is amazing. She’s an amazing singer, a wonderful composer, and confident in herself!”
“I can relate to her. I want to get T-shirts with her face on them.”
Raven Baxter on Stevie Nicks
This, Baxter says, is especially inspiring considering the ups and downs Nicks weathered as a member of a world-famous band.
“We make mistakes, right? A lot of us get into relationships, and we may not even fully understand who we are as people (at the time),” Baxter says, adding that she herself experienced a recent heartbreak.
“What I’m hearing from the people who have (listened to) their music for decades is that it really gave other people the license to be vulnerable as well and kind of push through. For me personally, it is just nice to kind of stand in solidarity with other women who have had rough relationships but still want to push on and have that focus, have that drive.”
Baxter is now slowly making her way through the comments of her viral post and has been surprised by how well her experience was received.
“I was very grateful that people didn’t laugh at me for not knowing this ridiculously successful band,” she explains. “I’m someone who loves community. That’s one of my core values, and I love being embraced by the older generations. I loved listening to their stories. I love that they were able to, like guide me to consuming this wealth of information.”
“I was very grateful that people didn’t laugh at me for not knowing this ridiculously successful band.”
Thanks to online suggestions, Baxter has already consumed some of the top Fleetwood classics.
“They’re like, ‘Well, you gotta watch the “Silver Springs” 1997 (performance). I watched it, and it changed my life,” she says.
A year ago, TikTok remembered the performance, thanks to the Prime Video series “Daisy Jones & the Six, partially based on Fleetwood Mac.
Nicks and Buckingham performed it with Fleetwood Mac for the band’s live album “The Dance” in 1997. Nicks, in the performance, seems to sing directly at Buckingham: “I’ll follow you down ‘til the sound of my voice will haunt you / You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you.”
“It’s been extremely wholesome and fulfilling. I have noticed that some people said that it made their day. Someone I just saw wrote that they’ve been depressed for the past few months and that me sharing and narrating my experience helps them with their depression.”
Baxter now counts herself as a huge fan of the band’s songs “The Chain, “Go Your Own Way,” and “Little Lies” and is excited about potentially crossing paths with her fellow Nicks fans on the singer’s current tour.
“I have like this far-fetched vision of being able to meet her and just tell her what a cool woman she is and how inspiring she has been to me in the short time that I’ve been aware of her music and, of course, for decades for many other people.”