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 ...

  I hated Jorel Quimby. You remember him, he was the guy whose folks had money so he always had cool clothes. He was just clever enough to say something funny at exactly the right moment and leave teachers laughing and pissed off at the same time. And girls used to call out his name when he’d saunter by, headed for his shop class or drama. “HI JORRRELLLLL.” Yeah, I hated him … but later, secretly, in my bedroom, I’d turn my stereo up so loud it would blot out the world (and the TV in the living room) and wish that I was all those things. And with better hair. I wanted to be him. I know that eventually we all grow out of our bedroom phase (except my friend Jerry Dee, who’s probably still laying there reading comics and listening to Yes) and become what we will, but still, in odd ...