u/DateNo1186

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Okay, I know I’m probably about to get murdered here, but what’s the deal with Stevie Nicks?
A peer of mine absolutely hates Stevie’s voice. I don’t hate it. I think it’s fine. She has written some absolutely good songs. “Dreams,” “Rhiannon,” “Landslide,” “Gypsy,” etc. but they are made so much better by the rest of the band.
But here’s what I don’t understand.
You have Christine McVie. You have Lindsey Buckingham**.** You have John McVie**.** You have Mick Fleetwood.
That’s already a fucking band.
Christine is an incredible songwriter and vocalist and has those ridiculously good keyboard parts. Lindsey is Lindsey—guitar, vocals, arrangements, production, weird noises, whatever the hell else he’s doing. John and Mick are one of the great rhythm sections in rock. They’re locked in, understated, and somehow make everything sound enormous without constantly screaming “LOOK AT ME, I’M THE BASS PLAYER/DRUMMER.”
So I’m sitting here thinking:
John + Mick + Lindsey + Christine.
That’s a killer four-piece.
Why the fuck do we need Stevie? She’s redundant (aside from songwriting fuel for Buckingham)

And I mean that as a genuine question.
Obviously, the answer can’t simply be “because she’s a good singer,” because I don’t personally hear Stevie as being on the same technical level as Christine or Lindsey. Her voice is incredibly recognizable, but recognizable is not the same as technically superior.
And when Stevie sings on someone else’s Fleetwood Mac song, I’m not always sitting there thinking, “Oh yeah, this song really needed Stevie.”
Her background vocals are good. But you’ve already got Christine and Lindsey doing harmonies. What exactly is Stevie adding to their songs?
Is it basically the contrast?
Because I can kind of see that argument. Christine’s voice is warm and soulful and has attitude. Lindsey’s strong and edgy. Stevie sounds like she’s wandering through the fog at 3 AM after receiving a prophecy from a witch.
Which brings me to another question:
Why the hell don’t people cover more Christine McVie songs?
Seriously.
“Songbird” is beautiful, obviously, but there are so many Christine songs that seem like they should be standard-cover material. “You Make Loving Fun,” “Say You Love Me,” “Don’t Stop,” “Over My Head,” “Hold Me,” “Everywhere,” “Little Lies”…
These are fucking songs.
I’m genuinely trying to understand what I’m missing about her within Fleetwood Mac beyond “she wrote some songs and has a really distinctive voice.”
Because when I look at the personnel, I keep coming back to:
Mick. John. Lindsey. Christine**.** And of course there was Kirwin, Welch, Weston, Walker, and Green and 90 other people who were decent singers. Soulful in their own way.
So…
Why the fuck do we need Stevie**?**

Here’s the Sit Rep:

My wife and I own our house (title is entirely in my name). Back in January, we let a friend move in because he was on his ass and needed a place to rebuild. We made a strict 30-day roommate agreement: do dishes, help with chores, get a driver's license, get a job, and save up money to get his own place. To his credit, he checked those boxes and moved out.

Fast forward a bit, and he’s back on his ass again. He and his boyfriend need to save up for a security deposit, so my wife lets him slide back into our house. The baseline arrangement was supposed to be temporary: he does some dishes, helps around the place, and saves his cash. He has paid exactly $0 toward the actual mortgage, utilities, or household operations since the beginning.
Then, on June 5th, I got unexpectedly fired from my corporate banking job.
Suddenly, our household income is cut in half. We are staring down a massive monthly deficit, waiting on a sluggish state unemployment bureaucratic backlog, and looking at a checking account that is sitting at exactly $3. To clear our immediate credit card balances for food, I had to eat a massive slice of humble pie and take a financial bailout/lecture from my parents today.
After leaving my parents' house, I looked at the spreadsheet and decided to stop playing games. I am the homeowner. This is my castle, not a free hostel.
I fired off a direct group text to my wife and the roommate stating the cold, hard facts: my parents cleared our credit card debt, liquid cash is at zero, and I need the roommate to pony up $500 by next week to cover his share of July housing expenses, utilities, and groceries so we can keep the kitchen funded and the house operational.
He replied with a defensive pivot about how he's "trying to save" and has to be out by the first anyway (though he has no place lined up).

My view? I don't care about his savings account anymore when my own house is trying to survive a sinking ship scenario. I’ve spent months giving my space away for free, and now that the current voltage of my life is at max pressure, it’s time for an adult occupant to pay his share.
My wife knows the cash situation is critical, but I’m leaving the next move in her court to see if she bails out the difference or holds the line with me.
So, Reddit, give it to me straight. Am I the asshole for demanding a sudden $500 entry fee from a guy who has been couch-crashing and doing dishes for free, just because my own financial security blew up? Also, what do I do if he cannot pay the $500?