"I Don't Care Anymore" is a song written, performed, and produced by the English drummer
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
(with co-production by
Hugh Padgham
Hugh Charles Padgham (born 15 February 1955) is an English record producer and audio engineer. He has won four Grammy Awards, for Producer of the Year and Album of the Year for 1985, Record of the Year for 1990, and Engineer of the Year for 199 ...
). It was the second US single from Collins' second solo studio album, ''
Hello, I Must Be Going!'' (1982). It became a moderate US hit, peaking at number 39 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It did not see a UK release; however, it was released as the third single in various other countries such as Germany and Australia.
This song is considered 'dark' in tone, and is comparable to Collins' earlier hit single "
In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, ''Face Value (album), Face Value'', in January 1981. It was selected as the s ...
", as both contain powerful
drum kit
A drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set, or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one p ...
along with simplistic
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s and guitar riffs, coupled with angry lyrics directed at Collins' failed first marriage. The drums also illustrate the
gated reverb
Gated reverb or gated ambience is an audio processing technique that combines strong reverb and a noise gate that cuts the tail of the reverb. The effect is typically applied to recordings of drums (or live sound reinforcement of drums in a PA ...
recording technique that defined Collins' sound throughout the 1980s. During "I Don't Care Anymore", the drum track switches several times between "standard" studio sound and a gated reverb overlay.
''
Cashbox'' noted that with the song's "sparse synthesizer and guitar arrangements" the drumming provides most of the emotional expression. ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' said that "Collins combines
R&B inclinations with his
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
for a moody, brooding cry of rebellion."
The song earned Collins his first
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination for
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award presented to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre. Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Ro ...
in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, which was won by
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
for "
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produced by Quincy Jones, and co-produced by Jackson. Jones encouraged Jackson to ...
".
Music video
In addition to
Chester Thompson
Chester Thompson (born December 11, 1948) is an American drummer best known for his tenures with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Weather Report, Santana (band), Santana, Genesis (band), Genesis and Phil Collins. Thompson has performed ...
, touring band members
Daryl Stuermer
Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, singer, and record producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and ...
(
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
),
Peter Robinson (keyboards), and
Mo Foster
Michael Ralph "Mo" Foster (22 December 1944 – 3 July 2023) was an English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker. Through a career spanning over half a century, Foster toured, recorded, and p ...
(bass) also appear. Aside from Stuermer, the rest of the band does not appear on the actual recording and are instead miming Collins's parts.
The video is staged entirely in a dark room, with spotlights appearing over each band member as they begin to play. Foster is clearly visible in Robinson's spotlight for about a minute before he begins to play, hands in pockets, shuffling his feet occasionally, and looking more like a loiterer than a band member. When he begins to play (at the beginning of the first chorus), he plays the song's synthesised bassline on
Moog Taurus
The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music. It was originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less pop ...
bass pedals. Instead of playing them with his feet as intended by the manufacturer, he strikes them somewhat dramatically with the sides of his closed fists. He plays considerably more notes than what is actually heard, and frequently manipulates the Taurus's filter controls with one hand while striking with the other.
Live concert footage from the same year shows that Foster did, in fact, play the Taurus with his hands (whereas future touring bassist
Leland Sklar
Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. He rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coalesced into a group in its own right, The Section, which supported so many of Asylu ...
played the Taurus with his feet while simultaneously playing
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
). He did not strike the pedals with his fist, however, instead simply depressing each pedal with the flat of his hand. He did frequently manipulate the Taurus's filters to great effect, but the bassline he performed was the simplified version heard on the recording rather than the overzealous part he mimed in the video.
Track listing
7":
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
7-89877 (US)
# "I Don't Care Anymore"
# "The West Side"
7":
WEA
The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of th ...
25.9938-7 (Holland)
# "I Don't Care Anymore"
# "
Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away"
12": WEA 25-9935 (Holland)
# "I Don't Care Anymore"
# "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away"
# "And So to F" (Live) (6:34)
Charts
Personnel
*
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
– vocals, keyboards,
bass pedals
Bass pedals are an Electronic instrument, electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a Pedal clavier, pedalboard and analog synthesi ...
, drums,
tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
*
Daryl Stuermer
Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, singer, and record producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and ...
– guitars
Hellyeah version
American heavy metal supergroup
Hellyeah
Hellyeah, stylized as HELLYEAH, was an American heavy metal supergroup formed in Dallas, Texas, in 2006. The band's last lineup consisted of lead vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Christian Brady and Tom Maxwell, bassist Kyle Sanders, and drum ...
released a cover version of ''I Don't Care Anymore'' as a single on July 27, 2016 off their fifth studio album ''
Undeniable''. The cover features a lost performance by
Dimebag Darrell
Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), known professionally as Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal music, heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founde ...
which was unearthed by his older brother, Hellyeah drummer
Vinnie Paul
Vincent Paul Abbott (March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018) was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, ...
. According to Paul,
Damageplan
Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Halfor ...
's cover of the song never saw the light of day and it took him three weeks to find the recordings. The lost recordings would eventually be converted with
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
with the help of producer
Kevin Churko.
Chad Gray
Chad Gray (born October 16, 1971) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal bands Mudvayne and Hellyeah.
Career Mudvayne
Gray quit his factory job that paid $40,000 a year to move to Peoria, Illinois and formed Mud ...
called recording the vocal sessions a very emotional moment while mentioning that having the band track Dimebag Darrell's riffs was one of the most magical moments in Gray's career.
A music video for the rendition was released to
Eleven Seven's
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel a day after the single was released with the video being directed by William "Wombat Fire" Felch.
In an interview with ''Billboard'', Chad Gray stated that he hopes that
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
loves the band's cover of the track.
Charts
Other cover versions
*
From Zero
''From Zero'' is the eighth studio album by American Rock music, rock band Linkin Park. It was released on November 15, 2024, through Warner Records and Machine Shop Records, Machine Shop, and is Linkin Park's first studio album since ''One Mor ...
covered the song on their second and final studio album ''
My So-Called Life
''My So-Called Life'' is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It aired on ABC from August 25, 1994 to January 26, 1995. Set at the fictional Liberty High Sch ...
'' (2003).
*
Tweaker covered the song on their third studio album ''
Call the Time Eternity'' (2012).
*
Saint Asonia
Saint Asonia (stylized as SΔINT ΔSONIΔ) is a Canadian-American rock supergroup consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Gontier, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Cale Gontier, and drummer Cody Watkins. ...
covered the song in 2016 as a non-album single.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Don't Care Anymore
Phil Collins songs
Hellyeah songs
1983 singles
Songs written by Phil Collins
Virgin Records singles
Atlantic Records singles
Eleven Seven Label Group singles
Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham
Song recordings produced by Phil Collins