# Genesis - Illegal Alien. WTF?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genesis-illegal-alien-wtf/625616>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 19, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genesis-illegal-alien-wtf/625616 "2012-06-19T05:24:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genesis-illegal-alien-wtf/625616/21 "2012-06-20T18:06:19Z")

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> [@fiddlesticks](#):
>
> Was Illegal Alien a Top 40 Hit? I remember That’s All being HUGE and Home By the Sea on the classic rock station (back in the day when classic rock stations actually added songs to their playlists), but not Illegal Alien.

Not quite. It peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genesis-illegal-alien-wtf/625616/22 "2012-06-20T18:14:17Z")

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[It’s no fun being an Episcopalian](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=202914)

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**Author:** ![Eugenio\_Dominguez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eada6e/32.png) [@Eugenio\_Dominguez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugenio_Dominguez)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genesis-illegal-alien-wtf/625616/23 "2013-01-14T17:02:54Z")

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> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#):
>
> The reality of Mexico is of course is brutal mass beheadings and desperate poverty

Sigh…this statement is about as inane and wrong as the image of Mexicans seen in the video…

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**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genesis-illegal-alien-wtf/625616/24 "2013-01-14T18:02:28Z")

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I was a huge Genesis fan in my youth, and had a similar reaction to “Who Dunnit” from Abacab and “Illegal Alien” from Genesis; WTF!

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genesis-illegal-alien-wtf/625616/25 "2013-01-15T20:46:02Z")

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I like a lot of Genesis songs, but “Illegal Alien” emphatically isn’t one of them. Omitting it from my iPod was a no-brainer. I don’t blame anyone who thinks it’s racist.

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**Author:** ![Richard\_E.Nixon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@Richard\_E.Nixon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_E.Nixon)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genesis-illegal-alien-wtf/625616/26 "2013-01-16T09:41:11Z")

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It was Genesis trying to be funny. Sort of like Harold The Barrel from Nursery Cryme. It wasn’t meant to be racist. But in these days of massive P.C. people will get offended by anything.

The playing on the song is actually very tight and it has some complex sections. That being said, it’s my least favorite song on the album and one of the few Genesis songs that I’m not crazy about. (Although I like it more than Misunderstanding.)

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