In its early days, Genisis contained the two musicians Peter Gabriel as the lead singer, and Phil Collins as the drummer. They had much to do with the pioneering of theatrical pop and rock, especially Gabriel. If you know the Shock the Monkey videol, you probably can imagine the early days of Genesis. And by early, I mean, if you were born in the 70s it'd be early. Genesis is one of those uncredited bands that ushed in a new era of artistic asthetic in rock. Early songs were nothing like some unsuspecting 40 fans might think. In the 70s, Peter Gabriel left the band.
Later, over a span of time Peter Gabriel won a grammy, a cannes film festival soundtrack award, ran his company Real World, participated in the millenium dome in England (he crafted the music for the opening of it .. ) His live shows are also extremely cool. (The two movies, by the way, are Birdie and Passion of the Christ.)
When Peter left the band, Phil proved to be a good enough singer and continued being one of the top pop drummers of the 80s and early ninties. Peter's departure had much less effect on the next two releases than many folks thought. Genesis remained a good band, for fans and critics alike.
Now, here's where it gets interesting. Phil has written a number of songs dealing with the plight of the lone individual in a large, uncaring world. Another Day in Paridise, which is well know, as well as I Don't Care Anymore, and That's All. A lot of Genesis tunes are downers, but still maintain enough pop sensibility that I'll be listening to them in dentist offices for decades to come. And yes, I have seen the inside of a dentist office.
But what about good old Peter? Peter wrote Bilko, an anti-aparthied anthem. The details are avaiable for the googling. Peter wrote Shaking the Tree, a supportive 'you go girls' call to the women of the planet. "Excellent Birds" describes your basic group of people waiting for the right moment to usurp power despite being invisible at the moment. And what to make of a song entitled, "We Do What We're Told," where by said line is sung by a chorus of voices? For a song on an album thats a deliberate one time cash-in, this really a last laugh. Fuck you, authority, he seems to say. We do what we're told, but we still run the show.
Peter has released umpteen albums, yet back in the day, put his money into fouding and running Real World, a multi-media slash label that featured some of the coolest 'interactive' content I'd seen online back then. Nevermind that Real World produced and distributed full length albums from ethnic artists knowing they wouldn't be huge sellers. Where Paul Simon incorperated African Music and promoted it, Real World produced albums that were purely ethnic.
So, tonight I was listening to, "Don't Give Up", a moving duet between Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, and it struck me the way Peter can say the most depressing things in the most absolutely positive ways. So what about Phil? Gensis wrote a song called, "I Don't Care Anymore." At their core, both songs tell the story of a protagonist who has decided that they are powerless and have given up. Two singers played in one of the most important bands of the 60s and 70s happen to create two songs so similiar, and yet, so fundamentally different. It tickles my brain. Collins suggests we shouldn't care what anyone thinks of our actions (and I would agree if I were responsible for some of the later Genesis tunes) while Gabriel points out that it doesn't matter one fucking iota what we think of ourselves. We should do what we think we should do, and be supported by those around us. We shouldn't be our own individual judges?
There's probably a good answer for that, but I'll save it for another time.
Posted by garret at April 28, 2005 02:22 AM