OK, I’m Scared

“Menacing”: it’s an unusual feeling to capture in the form of a song, but there is one classic ‘80s rock song from British musician Phil Collins that does it better than any. So I chose to review “In The Air Tonight” to unlock the secrets for how it moves us so effectively.

OK, let’s address the obvious first, shall we? The drums. The DRUMS. That opening rift (together with one fade-away distorted strum of a guitar) that seems to go on forever before that subtle, simple organ track comes in: honestly, when I hear these opening measures, it feels like footsteps behind me in the dark, and I want to look over my shoulder to see who’s following. (Chills.)

Well, it only makes sense that the drum track is so moving: after all, Phil Collins was the outstanding drummer for his band Genesis.

But really, it takes a gifted musician to make electronic drum sounds so effective at conveying emotion. The percussion pattern is unchanging, pretty much throughout the whole piece, until the final section (more on that later). Normally, drummers like to throw in an occasional fill or other pattern break that keeps the beat from being monotonous, but in this song, it’s the relentless monotony that makes it spooky.

What else is working in this song? It’s easy to overlook the production attention paid to the vocal tracks here, but I think they are key to the mood of this song. There is quite a lot of reverb, and even some echo, on Phil’s vocal tracks, and that gives this dark, moody song a feeling of hollowness. The simple, repetitive chord progression and weighty melody work nicely with the rest of the elements, too.

The lyrics are pretty brilliant, given the odd subject matter of the song. Phil appears to be addressing an adversary in blunt, threatening terms with plenty of repetition thrown in. It’s sort of like verbally wielding a knife!

And beyond the percussion, the rest of the arrangement is awesome. Besides the drums, there is that melancholy organ with a lot of rubbery, contorted synth sounds thrown in for good measure. And finally, when that last verse comes to a close, there is a veritable explosion of vicious drum hits every teenage headbanger-air-drummer has mimed for decades. It’s like the shower scene in “Psycho” in a song!

Yes, “In The Air Tonight” is an odd, menacing song, and yet about as iconic a tune as you’ll ever hear.

(I swear there’s someone following me!! 😳)