Phil Collins recently decided to quit making music, and apologized for how annoying and over played his solo stuff is. http://www.avclub.com/articles/phil-collins-quits-music-apologizes-for-his-succes,52740/ Spoiler Collins lament that years of “Easy Lover” and “Against All Odds” on the jukebox have “made people ‘want to strangle’ him,” adding, "It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me. I'm sorry that it was all so successful. I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that.” Focus: What celebrities would you like to hear apologize for their contributions to pop-culture? Alt-Focus: How awesome was Genesis?
Genesis was extremely awesome right up until they wanted like $200 for cheap seats on their last tour. I never got into the really progressive stuff like Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and shit like that, so I confess to being an "Invisible Touch" sort of wanker. Land of Confusion is an awesome song and the live version was better.
Let's get this one out of the way right away. Justin Beiber. To be honest though, I never really got all the Beiber hatred. I'm by no stretch of imagination a fan of his music, but I do think it's pretty incredible that the dude made a career off some youtube videos. Yes, I know, lots of people have made careers off youtube videos but I think he is the first legitimate youtube celebrity who made the transition to massive pop star. That is the sort of thing that ends up going into history books. Kind of sad that such shitty music is the first thing to get huge off youtube, but pop music has been doing this for years, so really, what do you expect.
I'm kind of astonished that I haven't ever managed to hear any of his songs. But man, the kid really needs to shut up when he's waxing political:
I've always been a huge Genesis fan. My favorite Collins moment was the 1985 Oscars. "Against All Odds" was nominated for best song but Collins was not yet the superstar he would become. Nonetheless I was thrilled at the thought of seeing the lead singer of Genesis performing at the Academy awards. Instead the Academy retained the services of leggy broadway actress Ann Reinking. She did this quasi interpretive dance as she sang the song. Best of all, Collins was in the audience and the cutaway shots to his mortified face as he reacted to what was happening on stage was priceless. After that I can forgive him anything.
In general, I don't believe any celebrities should apologize for their "contributions" to pop culture; after all, it's the fans who consumed the material that made it popular. There will always be third-rate, poorly written, melodramatic and predictable chick lit love stories, sometimes even about teen vampires. The blame for the success of Twilight falls on its brain-dead fans, not some dopey, semi-literate Mormon housewife. However, if I had to pick someone...it would be two very talented gentlemen by the names of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. And not for making anything bad, but rather, contributions that were themselves good, but let to awful consequences. They made two really good, even great films called "Jaws" and "Star Wars" in 1976 and 1977, respectively, that were enormously popular, (adjusted for inflation, #2 and #7 all-time) completely changed the fundamental economics of the movie theater, and were the first big-time blockbusters as we know them today. They were wonderfully entertaining films that were targeted for the 8-20 year old crowd, not sophisticated, mature "art" that had dominated the 70s with Scorsese, Coppola, Lumet, etc. There's nothing wrong with pure entertainment fluff, (I love it, too) but of course, what followed during the next 3 plus decades was not nearly as good as "Jaws" and "Star Wars" were, and there became an over-saturation of CGI-heavy, big budget blockbusters, while studios refused to make more serious pictures completely. Granted, if those didn't tap this market, someone else would have eventually...but it would have given us a few extra years of high-level films.
That's like blaming Edward R. Murrow for Nancy Grace. Alt. Focus: My wife and I went to see Genesis back in 86-87 at Madison Square Garden when Collins' was topping the charts with his solo efforts. We were sitting in front of a row of girls in their early teens who screamed at the top of their lungs every time Collins opened his mouth (think Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show). I'm talking the kind of screaming that literally makes your ears hurt. They kept expecting "You Can't Hurry Love" and thought Genesis was just the name of Collins' backup band. If they weren't screaming, they were bitching about "all these new songs--when is he going to sing his good stuff?" Worst concert experience I ever had. I was only 24, but felt like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino--"Get outta my concert."
Or maybe asking a 16 year old about his position on abortion is just fucking retarded. The interviewer should apologize for the hack technique, but we shouldn't be asking dumb kids to apologize for being typical dumb kids just because they're also the popular kids. On the other hand, James Cameron needs to apologize for ruining the film industry. Now everyone wants everything to be in 3D because of fucking Avatar. God fucking damnit.
Charlie Sheen. For whatever reason, his coke fueled antics have made him very popular lately. I really don't get it, this guy is a horrible train wreck. So now we (society) have to waste time discussing his behavior and subjecting it to semi glorification because he hasn't had massive cardiac arrest yet and "knows how to party?" The guy got fired, had his kids taken away, and his ex filed a restraining order. Whatever happened to good old public shaming?
Nicholas Sparks. Don't get me wrong, his books are good for what they are. There's a reason why he's gotten 6 film adaptations, and churns out bestseller after bestseller. But he's entirely deluded about the nature of his skill. I can't say it any better than he did, so take it away Nick (all emphasis mine):
Does anyone think that Milly is going to come back here and apologize? I mean, he shouldn't have to cause he's fucking Milly, but the question has been asked.
What the hell would he have to apologize for? For making everybody's year? Him coming back to this board would be all my Christmases happening at the exact same time.
Incorrect, sir. The only good thing Michael Bay has ever, or will ever produce is this Alt focus It's odd. I'm a pretty big prog fan, but I haven't listened to much of the Peter Gabriel era Genesis except for a few tunes. How people can hate the more pop friendly Genesis tunes like Abacab or Invisible Touch confuses me. The working theory I have is that these people have neither hearts nor souls.
Milly needs to apologize for not revealing his awesomeness sooner. I for one would've also loved to view his website much longer than he allowed. I can't believe that he shied away from the intense pressure of the spotlight so soon. He needs to apologize for not giving us enough because damn it, I want more Milly!
I'm going to wait another 5 years before I jump on the Beiber hate train. In 2001, how many of us would have believed that Justin Timberlake would become one of the most well-respected musicians on the planet? Sure, Beiber's music sucks. But I don't think we can thoroughly say he's a shitty musician until he actually starts, you know, making music (as opposed to just repeating what other people write down on paper).
James Frey. He half-assedly apologized for conning a bunch of vulnerable fuckups and then retracted his apology. Now he's exploiting aspiring fiction writers, who must be the last people he could find more desperate than hardcore alcoholics. He's either phenomenally deluded or a cynical sociopath. Either way, he needs to whistle and walk. The thing is, true assholes NEVER apologize. And I never blamed Phil Collins for the '80s. He seems like a nice guy, and he was always a decent songwriter under all those fucking synths.
Dear Gary Busey, I'm only 22 years old, so I don't even know what your famous for. But every time you come on my TV I get the chills, because you are one creepy son of a bitch. Your big eyes and teeth, and weird hair that looks like it was dried in a wind tunnel, makes you look like a alien/Hills Have Eyes hill-billy hybrid. I still think you were born on Three Mile Island to this day no matter what anyone tells me. I also wonder if I give you magic shrooms will you become more crazy, or will you do the opposite and become normal since your already crazy? From, -Haterade P.S. Sour OG is bomb.