http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/51942/232432 In the new issue of Rolling Stone, on stands in the digital archives this Friday, Phil Collins says he believes that he may have lived past lives — and that he's contemplated suicide. The reclusive singer — who hasn't released an album of new material in nearly ten years — took writer Erik Hedegaard into his surprisingly modest home in Switzerland and explained that most of his time is now spent working on his gigantic collection of artifacts from the Alamo and raising his two young sons from his last marriage. Decades of criticism have taken their toll, and Collins says he has little desire to create more music beyond his new disc of Motown covers, Going Back. "I sometimes think I'm going to write this Phil Collins character out of the story," the singer says. "Phil Collins will just disappear or be murdered in some hotel bedroom, and people will say, 'What happened to Phil?' And the answer will be, 'He got murdered, but, yeah, anyway, let's carry on.' That kind of thing." Other highlights from the article: • Collins has noticed glowing, semitransparent light orbs in a series of photos he took at the Alamo. "It's paranormal energy," he explains, nothing that a psychic recently told him he fought at the fort in a previous lifetime. "I don't want to sound like a weirdo. I'm not Shirley MacLaine, but I'm prepared to believe. You've seen the pictures. You can't deny them, so therefore it's possible that I was there in another life." • A neck injury has left him unable to hold drum sticks, sign his signature or even (at times) wipe himself in the bathroom. "I was going to stop drumming anyway," he says. "I had stopped. I don't miss it." • Collins admits that he's had suicidal thoughts in recent years. "I wouldn't blow my head off," he says. "I'd overdose or do something that didn't hurt. But I wouldn't do that to the children. A comedian who committed suicide in the Sixties left a note saying, 'Too many things went wrong too often.' I often think about that."
I hope his family talks him into getting a psychological examination. I think he's enormously talented, and always seems like a decent guy in interviews.
He also was recently in the news saying how much of an arrogant ass he was all those years with Genesis and with the success he had. Too bad he couldn't have figured out early on that he should have been more appreciative of his success and not such a jerk about it all. But, that's what he was. Now, his life isn't looking so good. He seems to be sinking and wasting away. He's probably asking himself what it was all for. He should have focused more on the relationships with his bandmates and the appreciation of music. I'm sure he worked hard for his success but he could have done it with more class and style. His former bandmates probably don't even talk to him any more. It's hard to feel sorry for the guy...but I kinda do. Whatever this injury is seems to have taken a toll on him. Who goes from making music to not even wanting to pick up the drum sticks? He hates those drums. It's sad.
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Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Christy, take off your robe. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. Sabrina, remove your dress. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Sabrina, why don't you, uh, dance a little. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your *******. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. Sabrina, don't just stare at it, eat it. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite.
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