Yesterday I made a quick trip to the supermarket and lo and behold, Phil Collins' "One More Night" was playing over the PA. I laughed to myself because I think this song has been Muzak ever since it was released in 1985.
As I browsed the produce and shelves I realized there's good reason for its staying power as musical grocery store wallpaper. Grocery stores are melancholy places, at least in my estimation. (The Clash and Allen Ginsburg agree with me.) The bright lighting and array of consumer products feel like a false promise of contentment. All the aisles of food weirdly remind me of my mortality and the impermanence of existence. So many uprooted plants and so much dead flesh. The low emotional ache of that Phil Collins song was just perfect.
Phil Collins was an unlikely pop star, a short stocky balding guy who had been a drummer for a prog rock band. His voice is warm and distinctive, but hardly overpowering. But that warmth of his voice and of his persona are key. He was not an otherworldly figure like Prince, Madonna. or Michael Jackson. He was a divorced dad who liked Hawaiian shirts and corny jokes.
He was also able to channel the daily ache of modern life, that low level ennui in the background of our souls. I think smart phones and social media are so addictive because they drown out that tinnitus of the soul so effectively. Back in the 80s and 90s we were stuck without this aid in all of those idle moments -like grocery store shopping- when our minds might decide to replay our regrets on repeat. Phil Collins' music was made for those moments in ways that other pop songs weren't.
Here's his top five most aching songs, perfect for contemplating existence at the grocery store, being stuck in traffic, or easing the dread of a dental appointment.
One More Night
I already mentioned this one, which is just straight up melancholy. "I can't wait forever" feels like an existential cry of despair.
Against All Odds
"Against All Odds" was described by the dear departed Yacht Rock podcast as prime "Divorce-core." He's putting it all out on the line here. "Take a look at me now/ It's just an empty space" is middle-aged depression at its most real.
Take Me Home
This might be Collins' most affecting of all of his songs. If you've ever been exiled or had to travel far from home you will immediately understand this song. There's a poignancy to "Please take me home" as opposed to "I want to go home." It's that feeling that you have no control over your situation. Evidently it was sung from the point of view of someone in a mental institution. Heavy stuff for a guy in a Hawaiian shirt and fedora.
Misunderstanding
I know this is cheating, because it's a Genesis song. However, I think Collins was using it to set the template for his sad sack solo hits. It's about someone who gets stood up for a date and then ghosted. (Yes, that happened before cell phones, too.) But perhaps the misunderstanding is rooted in the fact that we are all windowless monads, inherently unknowable to each other.
In the Air Tonight
This song has had the most staying power of all of Collins' work, mostly due to the drum break, which is one of the great all time surprises in pop song history. Let's not forget the lyrical content, so full of heartache, betrayal, and angst. It's like something out of a Joy Division song, but the edges sanded off that it can play while being put on hold with the insurance company.
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