What does Sup Forums think of John Mellencamp?

What does Sup Forums think of John Mellencamp?

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I really like him. My mom used to have the cassette of this album, and we listened to it in the car all the time when I was little, along with Crazy Nights by KISS. Great production and mixing on most of his 80's stuff.

American Fool [Riva, 1982]

The breakthrough fluke of the year has it all over his predecessors in REO Speedwagon--Bob Seger, Cougar's current role model, has been dreaming of riffs with this much melodic crunch ever since Night Moves, and when I don't think about whys and wherefores they satisfy my mainstream cravings. But the guy is a phony on the face of it, and not in a fun way--anybody with the gall to tell teen America that once you pass sixteen "the thrill of living is gone" has been slogging toward stardom for so long he never noticed what happened to Shaun Cassidy. B

Uh-Huh [Riva, 1983]

The changed billing indicates John's eagerness to talk straight after years of filtering himself through an inconclusive image, and I wish every AOR hero put his triple platinum to such honest use. Only thing is, the depth of John's populist intentions far outstrips the depth of his populist perceptions--he was just as interesting telling little white lies. B

Scarecrow [Riva, 1985]

Having long wondered what gave this longtime Bowie stablemate the right to speak for the average guy, I've decided it's his talent, which is pretty damn average. That's okay, because the success ratio here, a nice average fifty-fifty or so, just goes to show you what sincerity, hard work, and modest ambitions can do. Mellencamp has half outgrown the fatalism that always underlined the predictability of his Stonesish bandmates, who've gotten tougher with age, an encouraging sign in rich musicians. I wish I knew (I wish he knew) exactly what "Justice and Independence '85" is trying to say. But I'll take "You've Got to Stand for Something" at face value. B+

his new album with carlene carter is alright.
my favorite album of his is still no better than this.
great sound on that one.

youtube.com/watch?v=zdOn0eZG9hA

Yeah except like Billy Corgan he insists on playing mostly recent material live and pissing off the yucklucks who come there only to hear the singles from American Fool.

I'll give him credit where it's due, he came up with one of the most famous rock riffs in history.

Dude sounds like he's pushing a turd out really fucking hard.

little pink houses gives me deep feels

All those "roots rock" guys in the 70s-80s like Springsteen, Seger, etc sounded like that.

human wheels is his best album imho

Was this cover plagiarized from Sonic Youth?

really? Which one?

>like everyone on the fucking planet doesn't know the Hurts So Good riff

hmmm...I know the song..er.. "riff" - but one of the "most famous" ? no.

That Jack and Diane song has no drums which is pretty cool

Rockists tend to dismiss anything that gets radio play so they don't mention that one in the same company as, like, the Back In Black riff.

>dismiss anything that gets radio play

>Back In Black riff.

As if BinB isnt on the radio all the fucking time...

Sorry- JCM has his moments but classic "riffs" isnt one of them

He's a bit too midwestern for my tastes, but he does have some terrific songs that overcome that.
The guitar heavy parts and the bridge does, but I see your point.
Mellencamp wasn't that bad

Rock radio, not AM/Top 40.

Back in the day, long before 90% of Sup Forums (including you) were alive, AM and FM music stations were distinct entities. AM played the soft, poppy stuff that didn't offend your mother while FM played the heavier rock tracks and other stuff that wasn't safe enough for AM. :^)

Not Tom Petty.

Oh yeah for some reason I thought there were no drums at all, now I'm not impressed

I think You Shook Me All Night Long was AC/DC's one AM hit.

Reminder that if you don't enjoy the classics of John Cougar/Tom Petty you are an actual loser

Yes. The other singles from BIB got massive rotation on rock radio back in the day but AM/Top 40 only played YSMANL.

wtf are you on about? JCM has always been an FM AOR staple...your high on crack and really have no substance to back up the claim that he came up with one of the "most famous rock riffs in history"

>JCM has always been an FM AOR staple

And I never claimed otherwise.

Here, lemme illustrate. The leftmost column refers to AM radio play. The column second from left shows FM/rock radio play. "Hurts So Good" got huge rotation on both AM and FM.

then what the fuck are you claiming?? please make a coherent argument.

AC/DC didn't get a lot of AM play which was normal of heavy rock bands. "You Shook Me All Night Long" went to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 which is as high as they ever got.

You said John Mellencamp was always an FM staple. That is correct and I never disputed that. I was saying that because Hurts So Good was a huge Top 40/AM hit, almost everyone and their mother has heard that riff.

Not even on rock radio.

just because a song was heard by a lot of people doesnt mean its "one of the most famous rock riffs" in history. There are a lot more famous rock songs heard by more people than HSG.

A famous riff is indeed famous for being an excellent, memorable riff ie; BiB or Brown Sugar or Paranoid or Whole Lotta Love or Smoke on the Water etc...so many more...

when one thinks of famous rock riffs- John Cougar-M does not come to mind.

Radio stations didn't want to deal with metal; too scary. Only some college/underground radio played that stuff.

by this (your) metric- every song that was more popular than HSG is a more famous riff.

/thread