If only Cher had a stamp collection, or Tina Turner was into electric trains. One pop star who's apparently serious about staying retired is Phil Collins, the former Genesis frontman and 'Sussudio' word-coiner who has become a leading collector of artifacts related to the Battle of the Alamo. He claims to have hundreds of cannonballs and documents from the epic skirmish.

"I've stopped being Phil Collins the singer. This has become what I do," Collins said during a recent visit to Texas, where he spoke to a group called the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association. He hasn't given up recording all together: Collins voiced the introduction to a 13-minute "diorama light and sound show" at the historic Alamo site.

Vampire Weekend have more buzz than they can shake a stick at. After name-checking one of their influences -- Peter Gabriel -- in their tune 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,' the former Genesis frontman has revealed possible plans to cover the song.

"I actually do like that song a lot and they've asked me to sing a version of it now, which I may well do," Gabriel told BBC6 earlier this month. The 'Sledgehammer' singer met the members of Vampire Weekend recently after he was introduced by someone from the band's label, XL.

But Gabriel said that if he moves forward with his own rendition, he may need to alter the lyric, "But this feels unnatural/Peter Gabriel, too."

"I haven't quite worked that out whether I should be doing that or substituting it with a name that might be appropriate to me. I think playing with yourself makes you go blind after a while," he joked.

• Phil Collins announced his musical retirement, saying he has no plans to record another album or tour. Collins just wrapped his reunion tour with Genesis.

• Ben Folds is eyeing a September release for his new album.

• People in Planes will kick off a North American tour on May 1 in Seattle, just ahead of their June 24-due new album, 'Beyond the Horizon.'

• Korn guitarist Rob Patterson and Carmen Electra are engaged. The couple have been dating for less than one year.

On This Date in 1976: Phil Collins steps from behind the drum kit to become the lead singer of Genesis, replacing Peter Gabriel.

On This Date in 1996: Phil Collins announces that he will be leaving Genesis.

The Almanac Advises for March 28: "Fifty percent of workers stays at one employer for approximately 22 years, according to some studies of job tenure. However, the overall number of employees who maintain one job for 10 years or more has dropped significantly in the past 25 years."

Aside from the obvious themes of saving the planet at today's Live Earth mega-concert, a musical theme emerged: bands reunited. It's as if the message was, "If these bands can get their acts back together, the least fans can do is get it together for the earth."

The trend started off at the first show in the Live Earth series as Aussie band Crowded House took the stage in Sydney. After a somehow-appropriate mid-song electrical outage, frontman Neil Finn joked that the "P.A. was still working." Later, in London, a closely-shorn Phil Collins and Genesis got the crowd on its feet with a powerful performance of 'Turn It on Again.'

Still to come, fans in New Jersey will be treated to performances from the original lineup of the Police and a semi-reformed Smashing Pumpkins.

Ozzy Osbourne was just honored alongside Genesis, ZZ Top and Heart at the VH1 Classic Rock Honors in Las Vegas, where, as he tells Spinner in his own inimitable style, "It's like a billion f***ing degrees." But while receiving lifetime honors in the music industry is usually the equivalent of getting a gold watch, Osbourne is not going anywhere. On the contrary: He is poised to release 'Black Rain,' his first album in six years. And not only is the record, which is vintage Ozzy, hearkening back to his classic first two solo albums, 'Blizzard of Ozz' and 'Diary of a Madman,' it's his first since the TV show that turned hard rock's Dark Lord into America's favorite dad. Far more important, it is also his first recorded while he's been clean and sober. Osbourne spoke to Spinner about the new album, how watching the History Channel has shaped his songs and the legacy that Ozzfest will leave behind.

What was different about making the new album?

I had a Pro Tools studio built in my guest house at our house in Beverly Hills. It was always my desire to own my own studio. When you have your own studio you can start, stop, start, stop and it's still the same studio. And if it takes a week to get one thing, fine. If it takes two hours, fine. Saying that, I also had to tackle it clean and sober. And I used to think, "I've lost my edge. I don't know how the f*** I'm going to come up with anything clean." I found a friend who's got over 20 years sober and he says, "Don't be afraid to ask. If you don't know what to do, ask someone."

Was there a turning point with this record where you realized you could do it clean and sober?

People often say to me, "Which is your favorite song? Which is your favorite album?" When they mention an album's name, I don't think of the album as such. I remember what kind of mental state I was in; whether I was happy, miserable, pissed off at the guy I was working with. Most of them have a stamp in my head, but some of them I was too f**ked up to realize. There was a time when drugs and alcohol were OK, but then I got out of control. And I wouldn't get a buzz. I'd just go nearly f***ing flatline before I'd stop. So I've now realized that making records is brave. The thing that most people have, believe it or not, who like to rely on drugs and alcohol is fear. I don't play an instrument so I have to go, like, "I thought of this riff last night." It's very humiliating.