Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" Is Top 5 On iTunes Charts Right Now

Idolator - 2020 is a strange, old year. And it’s only getting weirder. Jostling for the number one spot on iTunes is a 39-year-old hit by Phil Collins. Yes, after decades of dad jokes, the Genesis legend is cool again thanks to a reaction video. Two teens recorded themselves listening to “In The Air Tonight” and posted it on YouTube. Their enraptured response went viral and Phil’s ’80s classic is now being discovered by a whole new generation of music fans. And they must like what they hear, because the song is now number four on iTunes.

I’m very much here for this. “In The Air Tonight” is still a remarkably unsettling pop song with groundbreaking production and one of the best drum solos of all time. While the reaction video is the catalyst for Phil’s unexpected chart success, “In The Air Tonight” has been enjoying a revival for years. Lorde covered the song for BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge and the video has amassed more than 200 million views on YouTube — not back for a fuzzy clip released in 1981. Check out the reaction video and revisit the track below.

Coley blogged this yesterday and I had no idea who these fuckin kids were. 

Still don't have a clue but holy shit is that some clout.

Talk about being tastemakers. They just took a song from 40 years ago and introduced it to an entire new generation. And by doing so, parked a new yacht in Phil Collins' marina for him within 24 hours.

This song just keeps catching second winds.

The Hangover scene brought it back to life and made it pop again in summer 2009. 

But nothing will ever compare to it's original debut in Miami Vice. (NOT the trainwreck movie, the tv show).

(big sidebar here, sorry) Watch this shit. 

I was too young for this show but my uncle talked about it to me growing up like it was the greatest thing ever. So a few years ago I bought the box set on ebay and plowed through it. And make no mistake about it, Miami Vice was fuckin transcendent. 

For one, it was the first television show to be broadcast in stereo. That meant all the ballers back in the 80s with their giant stereo speakers could pump the shit out of the crystal clear multi channel audio. And it was worth it because you also had the best artists at the time debuting hit fuckin songs on the show. 

Think about that.

The show was so popular that the marketing was built in. You also had megastar musicians and celebs making cameo's on the regular. I could go on and on about how awesome this show but I'll go more into it in another blog some day. But just know that when you talk about things that fuck, Miami Vice fucked. Deep.

Congrats to Phil Collins for even more continued success.