On a recent repeat of a 30 Rock episode was this fantastic exchange:
Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan): "I'm gonna make you a mix tape. You like Phil Collins?" Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin): "I have two ears and a heart, don't I?"
There is a Phil Collins resurgence afoot. Bands like the Postal Service have covered “Against All Odds” for years, and Stereogum declared that it is okay to like Phil Collins. This week’s This American Life on Breakups had a great piece by Starlee Kine, featuring her obsession with Collins and an interview with the man himself. Phil comes off well, even when quoting his own song. She describes her interest in Collins’ music becoming “less and less ironic until one day we were actual fans”.
It is time he gets his due. And not in a nostalgic I-love-the-80s way, or a Chuck-Klosterman-liking-Billy-Joel anti-hip judo move. But for songs like “In the Air Tonight”, “Sussidio”, or “Don’t Lose My Number”. And that isn’t counting the hits he had with Genesis. Peter Gabriel is thought to be the real talent from that group, and yet, can he sing and play drums at the same time?