Sunday, 01 April 2007
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Written by
K L Poore
I don’t really know him but I’m pretty sure John Mellencamp is, as my old man used to say, “a stand-up, kiss-my-ass kind of guy,” and his latest release, Freedom’s Road, is a stand-up, kiss-my-ass kind of album. And that’s cool.
My friends think I’m crazy because I like JM, but I don’t really know why they don’t like him. Maybe it’s the Cougar thing, or a revolt against the production on “Jack and Diane.” Maybe it’s the plain language of his artistic voice. Or maybe he’s just not cool enough. All I know is when I say something like “Hey, the new Mellencamp’s really good,” I’m greeted with eye rolling and a smug nod.
First off: he’s not cool. But I don’t think he’s worried about it. Second, there’s nothing wrong with striving to be your generation’s Woody Guthrie. Any populist ...
