Phil Collins - Another Day in Paradise
** (out of four)
This 1990 pop ballad about destitute street-dwellers made Phil Collins a shitload of money. Like Bill Hicks says, it's irony on its basest level, but I fuckin' like it. Yes, "Another Day in Paradise" is a oddly perky #1 hit about homelessness, co-sung by David Crosby, who knows a thing or two about scraping together quarters and dimes to buy plastic bottles of Aristocrat Rum.
The funniest thing is - and no one believes this - I went to a baseball game about six or seven years ago and, while I was walking to the entrance turnstyles, passed the outdoor gated area where all the rich folks were drinking beer and eating their fill of brisket and burgers. And outside the gate, three or four homeless people were slouched together, hats and hands out for whatever money passersby could spare. As accompaniment to the whole thing, the Muzack speaker-rocks spread around the entire area were playing "Another Day in Paradise." More base-level irony.
Phil spends the duration of this sepia-toned video singing in profile from one side of the screen to the other, brow furrowed with concern and hands wrought with sympathy. Intercut are still photos of immigrant children crammed onto boats, a starving black man with a "Don't Worry, Be Happy" stocking cap*, a bone-skinny man sleeping on a street grate, and my personal favorite, a billboard reading "Don't Give to Beggars - They Cause Traffic Problems."
This is a world where newspapers are used for blankets, cardboard for pillows, and for the first time in his life, Phil Collins is the most attractive person on the scene.
That's the video - silhouette Phil, still photos of the homeless, opening and closing shots of the planet Earth and, just when you think it couldn't get cheesier, close-ups of fingers pounding synthesizer keys and strumming an acoustic guitar. Cheese aside, this was some heavy-handed shit for the VH1 crowd at the time, especially considering it was released in the days of Wilson Phillips and Paula Abdul.
* = Yes, Bobby McFerrin, you are responsible for the homeless epidemic! Think of all the out-of-work musicians you could have fed while you were selfishly recording your a capella music tracks to save a couple production bucks.
This 1990 pop ballad about destitute street-dwellers made Phil Collins a shitload of money. Like Bill Hicks says, it's irony on its basest level, but I fuckin' like it. Yes, "Another Day in Paradise" is a oddly perky #1 hit about homelessness, co-sung by David Crosby, who knows a thing or two about scraping together quarters and dimes to buy plastic bottles of Aristocrat Rum.
The funniest thing is - and no one believes this - I went to a baseball game about six or seven years ago and, while I was walking to the entrance turnstyles, passed the outdoor gated area where all the rich folks were drinking beer and eating their fill of brisket and burgers. And outside the gate, three or four homeless people were slouched together, hats and hands out for whatever money passersby could spare. As accompaniment to the whole thing, the Muzack speaker-rocks spread around the entire area were playing "Another Day in Paradise." More base-level irony.
Phil spends the duration of this sepia-toned video singing in profile from one side of the screen to the other, brow furrowed with concern and hands wrought with sympathy. Intercut are still photos of immigrant children crammed onto boats, a starving black man with a "Don't Worry, Be Happy" stocking cap*, a bone-skinny man sleeping on a street grate, and my personal favorite, a billboard reading "Don't Give to Beggars - They Cause Traffic Problems."
This is a world where newspapers are used for blankets, cardboard for pillows, and for the first time in his life, Phil Collins is the most attractive person on the scene.
That's the video - silhouette Phil, still photos of the homeless, opening and closing shots of the planet Earth and, just when you think it couldn't get cheesier, close-ups of fingers pounding synthesizer keys and strumming an acoustic guitar. Cheese aside, this was some heavy-handed shit for the VH1 crowd at the time, especially considering it was released in the days of Wilson Phillips and Paula Abdul.
* = Yes, Bobby McFerrin, you are responsible for the homeless epidemic! Think of all the out-of-work musicians you could have fed while you were selfishly recording your a capella music tracks to save a couple production bucks.
posted by daytime at 9:06 PM
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