I was so disappointed about the ATTWT album and especially the single Follow You, Follow Me, that I decided not to join my friends to visit the tour so I missed the wonderful mirrors show and the great renditions of many pre-ATTWT songs, I am sure that if the awful crappy and poppy sounding Follow You, Follow Me would not have been on the album, I would have said 'yes' to my friends because for me that damned single epitomizes the more poppy sound by The Phil Collins Trio  !

Edited by erik neuteboom - August 29 2007 at 18:12

laplace wrote: ^lol it wasn't hard to guess what the nature of your post would be, when I noticed the title. Is this the official "Peter" shtick? ;P edit: oops, new page. referring to Mr. Rideout's usual crusade against strong feeling ;P

No, I like strong feelings -- they're a sign of life and real consciousness. I'd just like to see more POSITIVE ones voiced here more often. There's already more than enough hate in the world. Nice melodic songs about love don't deserve hate -- evil and inhumanity do.


A typical overreaction on my part, to the typical gloomy cynicism of youth? Almost certainly -- I always was a sensitive soul. (I  get teary-eyed at the most awkward things. Poems. Lyrics. A beautiful violin solo. A simple, noble act of humanity or charity.)

Maybe my "biorhythms" are just down.... I know I feel more than a bit tired and stressed today, especially at this busy time of the school year.

Sorry if it doesn't apply.

Life is short -- death awaits us all. It's hard to live, sometimes. Hugs, compassion, smiles and a nice melody to whistle on the walk toward the graveyard....

Look, a flower between the headstones...

A flower?


Edited by Peter - August 29 2007 at 18:49

febus wrote: I don't know what could be worst than WHO DUNNIT

Just an observation -- please correct me if i'm wrong -- but it seems, from many of the venomous posts here and elsewhere,  as if a lot of today's "prog" fans have real problems with pretty melodies, simpler song structures, lyrics that deal with that four-letter word LOVE, and/or sensitivity, sentimentality and beauty, in general.

Why are the softest (or funniest) songs always the ones that get the most scorn heaped upon them here? I mean, Harlequin, for goodness sake? What's wrong with that one? I've always loved it.

"Most hated?" Childhood must have been very miserable for an awful lot of you -- never hugged, were you? Mom and Dad hated each other?

And Gabriel putting on the different voices of the characters in the songs, as in Epping Forest (or so MUCH of their early material, like Harold the Barrel, lots of the Lamb, etc)? I always really loved those parts, as part of the complexity and depth of prog, and Genesis' unique character & stage show. You didn't just get a song from one point of view, you got a story with multiple characters and sections being presented -- even acted out --in front of you. There was often a generous helping of humour in such parts as well, to counter-balance the prevailing pretension and seriousness of so much of the rest. (Yes it's only knock and know-all, but I like it!) That was so much more than most bands were doing! I still really love to sing along with "they called me the reverend, when I entered the church unstained" or "you are a robbing hood!" If you hate that aspect of early Genesis and Gabriel, then a "rock opera" like the Who's Tommy must be TOTAL crap.....

It seems like "prog" (or at least its fans) is getting less varied and imaginative, more straight-forward, and above all more unsmilingly MACHO these days. Most seem to have no problem with singers who "growl" like demons, endless songs about murder, self-loathing, suicide, death and hatred, frowning publicity shots where today's prog idols look as if they'd just as soon kill you (and there's a place for that too, i guess)... but a LOVE song? That's utter filth  -- something you'd scrape off the bottom of your shoe, right?

I pity your girlfriends and your children....

Lighten up, for Pete's sake, and stop taking music so goddamn seriously.

Love is a real and positive thing.  It's a source of inspiration for artists, and a source of courage and strength for all who find it (you have to seek it, to find it) -- it's not a sign of weakness or delusion. Smiling feels good. Try it -- I'll pay for the stiches if your face cracks.

Sigh. To quote the Tubes: "I know you can't believe it but YOU'RE NO FUN."


Spread the hate. Crap on everything. Find the inevitable flaws in everyone and everything, and focus on them. Tear it all down -- never build it up.

Sorry, but I needed to vent -- these kinds of threads seem more and more common, and bring me down. Most of you probably just need love, and to get away from your computers for awhile. We all need love and understanding. Hugs and smiles are very good.

Rant over. My sincerest apologies.

Okay, this old song from the 60s is a bit sappy, and 'twee," I suppose, but I think it nonetheless makes a darn good point that is perhaps even more apt now, than it was back then:

One Tin Soldier

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.

Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.




Edited by Peter - August 29 2007 at 19:06

Asking this question without "illegal Alien" as a choice is like asking "best Tull album" without TAAB as a choice...

I've always disliked Follow you, Follow me, it's just a bit twee IMO. Sure Genesis have worse songs than that from the 80's but by simply not listening to them I've managed to almost forget what those songs sound like but Follow you, Follow me just wont get out my head.

Melomaniac wrote: Keppa4v wrote: I haven't heard much of the pop Genesis, but from the albums I've heard (including some of the mentioned songs) the most annoying song is Battle of Epping Forest hands down. When Gabriel stops being a singer and becomes an actor, I just can't take his voice.    Hate that song too.  With a passion.

I haven't heard much of the pop Genesis, but from the albums I've heard (including some of the mentioned songs) the most annoying song is Battle of Epping Forest hands down. When Gabriel stops being a singer and becomes an actor, I just can't take his voice. 

"More fool me" is the reason for SEBTP not being the besto prog record ever.

Whilst some are much better than others and some are not prog at all I can't say that I actually hate any Genesis tracks.