The last time I broached the topic of politics in this space was back in CREEM�s April �86 issue, when I put in my two cents� worth of dissenting opinion on the subject of �Sun City.� As I write this month�s column, however, my television set—the same one that I watch all the videos on— is showing broadcasts from the Congressional hearings into the Iran-Contra connection secret arms deals conducted by members of the U.S. National Security Council in direct violation of laws passed by our own government. Perhaps the scariest thing about this whole mess is how calmly most people are taking it. It�s as if we�ve seen so much deception and corruption in our country�s political leadership since the 1960�s that we�ve become desensitized to it. There is curiously little moral or humanitarian outrage being voiced from most quarters about ransoms paid to terrorists or illegal warfare being conducted against foreign governments. Rather, the talk centers around a bizarre kind of Watergatestyled excitement that mainly involves trying to guess whose neck (if anybody�s) from the current administration is going to wind up on the chopping block.

How appropriate, then, that Genesis� new video, �Land Of Confusion,� should show up right at this moment. It is, without a doubt, the most impressive political music video I�ve yet seen, and it is so jarring when viewed within the context of the rest of the never-never land atmosphere of MTV (where, after all, there is no reality but video reality, and the VJ�s are all talking to you on pre-recorded tape) that I fully expect it to get yanked before long. Except that Genesis is a monumentally successful band, and that the song, a good one, could very well become a hit. Which makes it doubly impressive.