Genesis - Invisible Touch
*1/2 (out of four)
There's a real smarmy quality to the "Invisible Touch" video - not only are the three members of Genesis mugging to the camera, they're also mugging with cameras. Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and The Other Guy are given handheld cameras with which to film each other, and the results are intended to be high comedy. And lemme tell you - I'm high right now, and this ain't comedy.
Phil spends the video's intro sticking the camera in the face of Mike (minus his Mechanics) and instructing him to "pout for me, pout baby." Mike, meanwhile, is in fact pouting, but that's because he's thinking of his dead dad again. Christ, Mike - your dad got run over by that cement truck, like, 25 years ago. And you even got a number-one hit out of it. Time to move on.
The entire "Invisible Touch" video takes place on a vast soundstage where, obstensibly, Genesis is rehearsing for their upcoming world tour. Band members lip synch on skeleton risers while stagehands play ping pong behind them - instead of serious rehearsal, though, Phil only pretends he's playing the synth drums for like ten seconds then spends the entire rest of the video singing into the drumsticks and performing his own unique, strained brand of physical comedy.
There's a little Phil flasher pantomiming, a little Phil air-traffic controller pantomiming, a little Phil chase-the-cameraman-around pantomiming and a lot of charmless, ham-fisted Phil idiocy. Mike (no Mechanics, remember - and no living dad, either) can't decide whether to play guitar or drums, while The Other Guy has three amazing synthesizers to choose from, and only two hands to play them on. I guess that's the '80s rock band guy's true idea of hell - so many Casios, not nearly enough hands.
There's a real smarmy quality to the "Invisible Touch" video - not only are the three members of Genesis mugging to the camera, they're also mugging with cameras. Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and The Other Guy are given handheld cameras with which to film each other, and the results are intended to be high comedy. And lemme tell you - I'm high right now, and this ain't comedy.
Phil spends the video's intro sticking the camera in the face of Mike (minus his Mechanics) and instructing him to "pout for me, pout baby." Mike, meanwhile, is in fact pouting, but that's because he's thinking of his dead dad again. Christ, Mike - your dad got run over by that cement truck, like, 25 years ago. And you even got a number-one hit out of it. Time to move on.
The entire "Invisible Touch" video takes place on a vast soundstage where, obstensibly, Genesis is rehearsing for their upcoming world tour. Band members lip synch on skeleton risers while stagehands play ping pong behind them - instead of serious rehearsal, though, Phil only pretends he's playing the synth drums for like ten seconds then spends the entire rest of the video singing into the drumsticks and performing his own unique, strained brand of physical comedy.
There's a little Phil flasher pantomiming, a little Phil air-traffic controller pantomiming, a little Phil chase-the-cameraman-around pantomiming and a lot of charmless, ham-fisted Phil idiocy. Mike (no Mechanics, remember - and no living dad, either) can't decide whether to play guitar or drums, while The Other Guy has three amazing synthesizers to choose from, and only two hands to play them on. I guess that's the '80s rock band guy's true idea of hell - so many Casios, not nearly enough hands.
posted by daytime at 5:43 AM
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