# 2,820
Genesis āLand Of Confusionā (1986)
The Eighties was Phil Collinsā decade having hit singles both going solo and with Genesis. Perhaps there was not a minute which pop radio didnāt play either. Also on the horizon was the statesā Cold War with Russia, lasting approximately 50 years from the end of World War II to the beginning Nineties. It was a huge thing in American pop-culture to reference Russians as Soviets or Communists in movies, music, games, and books as they told the tale of competing forces vying for world dominance. My grammaās residence in Bay Parkway told another story as her Brooklyn neighborhood had a significant native Russian population in which everyone got along, no friction.
Itās 2019. With both countries dismantling anti-nuclear weapon treaties, accusations of hacking, and socio-political turmoil on either side, has anything really changed at all? Neither has the context of Genesisā āLand Of Confusionā, written during the tail-end of the Cold War and when political disenfranchisement was becoming more visible and stronger, and Collins hasnāt singled out one or two specific nations for the singleās contentious subject matter, owing to itsā timelessness. Wars end, but as he reminds us, they begin all over again (ā...I can hear the marching feet / they're moving into the streetā). Every point-of-view imaginable argues against the other, distracted with no time or solutions in sight to solve them. With so much going on, head of nations are questioned if theyāre even competent in solving todayās major problems as much as they create them. But never fear, Collins says that solutions and actionās are on the way: not from our trusted powers in charge, but from us. Yes, āLand Of Confusionā does have that head-forward urgency both sonically and lyrically, showing a lot is at stake. Genesisā version has moved on (unless one mentions Disturbedās ā09 cover), but the statesā and Russiaās political tension towards each other hasnāt. In fact, itās returned after a short haitus and isnāt going anywhere any time soon.
āDo The Neuroticā and āFeeding The Fireā are your non-album B-sides. Artwork for the āLand Of Confusionā mimics The Beatlesā 1963 ...With The Beatles sleeve with puppets of Genesis made by Peter Fluck and Roger Law, whom also made puppets for the UK political satire show Spitting Image (1984-1996). Collins saw himself being parodied and enjoyed it so much that Genesis enlisted Fluck and Law to created this singleās politically-edged video.
