I have long listened to and enjoyed Phil Collins, with and without Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. I have even a fondness for some of the stuff he did with Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel. Most of Genesis' discography has substantial merit and Phil Collins solo material is kind of hit and miss, especially his follow ups to 1993's BOTH SIDES, which is one of my favorite albums period. Genesis' INVISIBLE TOUCH (1986) is sort of my lifetime soundtrack. When I was having a difficult time transitioning/adjusting from a carefree toddler to a reasoned young boy, I found solace in listening to that album and now I listen to it and it has a strange combination of freshness and familiarity. There's a few songs in Genesis' discography that I heard for the first time after delving into their back catalogue with the aid of the internet that I seriously could swear I'd heard before, and I could almost visualize having heard them before, although the visuals were not clear enough to make out a clear enough memory to describe to anybody.
I was a little interested in reading Genesis' biography CHAPTER AND VERSE which was published about a decade ago and is already out of print. I never was convinced enough to take the plunge. I feel like I know all I care to know about Genesis as a creative force and a group of individuals. I don't think Phil Collins dominated Genesis like some people accuse him of doing. However, from what I can gather, I think between the chemistry he, Tony and Mike shared with one another, and the diversity in approach that Mike & Tony seemed to have and that of Phil, I think Genesis' demise was largely due to Phil Collins' departure. I don't blame him. He's not even really capable of the quality of singing he was 20 years ago, and his drumming is medically not recommended. Most of all, his last full length studio album of new material was extremely lacking in quality. I think his absence from the music industry is for the best. If his heart is not in it, why bother?
Anyway...
I don't consider myself a fan of Phil Collins or Genesis. However, I feel like I have some kind of personal connection to Phil Collins. I know I don't, and I feel funny saying that, but it's true and I think that's the only reason I keep mousing over this product URL @ Amazon.com
I don't have $20. When I do have $20, that's just about all I have, and it seems absurd to spend that much money on a book. I don't even remember the last book I finished. I might have finished Elliot Perlman's SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY if picking it up and reading it didn't remind me of how much I *don't* read The Bible. My mom bought a one year Bible for my birthday this past November (20th), and I'm still having trouble getting into the routine. I'm still 4 days behind.
I find myself saddened when I think of all these movies that have a "message" or a "meaning", and then I realize how much God is neglected any kind of honorable mention in any of it. GROUNDHOG DAY is a very warm hearted and often hilarious romantic comedy with very heavy themes, but the joy of the Lord is not acknowledged at all. It gives off this phony ideal that all you need is to open your heart to another human being to be a worthwhile presence in this world. Granted, being a smug snot is not the way to be, but if you put all your faith and trust in one person (or a group of people), then you fall flat in your destination. You're either resigning yourself to the hostile nature of man and the anger and violence it fosters or you're extremely misguided/uninformed and don't need to be advising others how to behave. It makes more sense to think that GROUNDHOG DAY was written as more of a darker dark comedy before Harold Ramis got ahold of it and re-tooled it.
Anyway; I guess I'm now about to ramble so I can find a way to tie this up in a pretty little bow. I don't know what to say to end this blog post other than I don't know how to end this blog post and this is the end of this blog post. END TRANSMISSION
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