Saturday, January 31, 2009

Songs of My Misspent Youth: I Don't Care Anymore

My my own admission, I'm a moody bastard. Much of the '80s, for instance, was taken up with me being angsty and wishing I had more black clothing. On the one hand it was wonderful when I finally got a black jacket exactly like my grandfather's, but then I was into the Phil Collins music, and he's all No Jacket Required, and that's not at all why I pulled out the Phil Collins this week. No.

Phil Collins turned 58 yesterday. He was the age I am now when I really started paying attention to his music. This freaks me out on many levels, but mostly the level called, "Holy crap 1984 was 25 years ago," which keeps occuring no matter what music is playing.

Like the Vangelis from a few weeks back, I've been known to play a few Genesis songs on my synth but it's those drums, man...those drums. Now, I could have gone with the obvious In The Air Tonight, which is great and all, or I could have gone silly and channeled American Psycho with Sussudio, but because I'm writing this in advance very late at night, I thought I'd go with one that saved my life.

I realize I seem to say a lot of stuff saved my life, but when a kid has no interest in drinking, drugs, religion, food, jail time, other people, sports, or going for really long walks, they turn to the only thing left: Music. That and Monty Python, but I digress. Once in 1993 I was in a particularly low mood when the Phil Collins song I Don't Care Anymore came on, and it turned a great many things around. I had a good friend who was a drummer, and he loved to play anything by Phil Collins, and when I hear this, I hear him telling me not to waste my time devising ways to do anything but live.



...Too heavy?

Okay, here's Behind The Lines from the No Jacket Tour, and I won't go into how this song also got me through stuff, because it's a peppy cheery song and it's the weekend and the sun is shining and angsty kids today have their own songs to get them through things so they don't need mine. There are few Phil Collins songs that I don't attach to some event in my life, so we could be here all day if I don't stop now. Happy birthday Phil Collins, and thanks from the bottom of a moody little girl's heart.




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