Ana Kinsella on phantom celebrities, the fictional bands supposedly incredible enough to sell out stadiums.
Everything looks better through the sepia gauze of memory, even things that weren’t real to begin with. In the Amazon Prime adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestseller Daisy Jones and the Six, Riley Keough is Daisy Jones, a flame-haired frontwoman in the middle of a love-hate relationship with Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin), the co-leader of their band (which bears more than a passing resemblance to Fleetwood Mac). Daisy and Billy are convenient analogues for Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham. There are long, shiny dresses and afghan rugs on the studio floor. There is a bungalow at the Chateau Marmont, a Laurel Canyon cottage, and lots and lots of cocaine. There are love affairs and almost-love affairs and catastrophic breakups.
There are songs, too, which we see being shepherded into existence by Daisy and Billy, and while the on-screen chemistry and screaming arguments fit the bill, it’s clear the music can’t compare to Rumours, the 1977 Fleetwood Mac album recorded under similar conditions. But for those of us who stick with the mock-docudrama for ten episodes, there is the promise of a fateful last concert at Chicago’s Soldier Field. You too can pretend to be a fan, to sing along with the lyrics you’ve picked up over the course of the season, no different from all the teenage extras who fill the final episode’s background.
What is the appeal of the fictional band on television when the real thing exists? Why do I settle for Daisy Jones and the Six when I have Rumours on vinyl?
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