Top 5 favorite Mellencamp songs

[Plainview1981]

Dude has loads of good songs so it might be tough for some to decide. For me it would be:

1.Rain on the Scarecrow

2.Jackie Brown

3.Paper in Fire

4.Pink Houses

5.Peaceful World

So many to choose from, but right now I go with these.

[FrankWhite]

Really?

[Plainview1981]

Really?

Not a fan I take it...

[Plainview1981]

I will say that I hate that Chevy truck song. I hope to NEVER hear it again.

[DrReality]

Forget the name of the song but it is about an old man riding on a bus talking to a younger dude. They share some whiskey and he dies. What's the name? Also like Small Town. Kind of an anthem and I grew up in a small town. "Taught to fear Jesus in s small town."

[uga2006]

Dude has loads of good songs so it might be tough for some to decide. For me it would be:

1.Rain on the Scarecrow

2.Jackie Brown

3.Paper in Fire

4.Pink Houses

5.Peaceful World

So many to choose from, but right now I go with these.

Wow? Mellencamp really??? This explains alot.

[Plainview1981]

Wow? Mellencamp really??? This explains alot.

Not ghetto enough for you? Not enough talking about pimp's and ho's? Or are you a Nirvana fan? The guys that helped usher in the self pity image that rock has had for 20 years? Or do you just listen to guitar wanking?

Edited March 22, 2009 by Hotlanta1981

[Plainview1981]

I don't know what it's supposed to explain. I like alot of stuff:

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Herbie Hancock

Carlos Santana

Marvin Gaye

Guns n Roses

Jackson Browne

Bruce Springsteen

James Brown

Jill Scott

Jonny Lang

B.B King

Living Colour

Prince

Anthony Hamilton

Alice Cooper

Angie Stone

The Black Crowes

Joe Bonamassa

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

I like all kinds of different people. Sorry, if there is no rap. But I prefer music and singing and not talking over sampled music all the time.

Edited March 22, 2009 by Hotlanta1981

[uga2006]

Nirvana>>>Mellencamp and it's not even close.

[Plainview1981]

Nirvana>>>Mellencamp and it's not even close.

I don't think so. Nirvana was a terrible band with a self-loathing leadman. They helped put the final nail in the coffin for rock music and now it hasn't come close to recovering. The influence from the self loathing loser Kurt Cobain can still be found in rock now. Now rock music is filled of loser bands playing pity party music for white outcast high school losers.

So no, it's not even close... But you got to switch it to Nirvana<<<<Mellencamp

Thank you Nirvana. :clap:

f*** Nirvana.

Edited March 22, 2009 by Hotlanta1981

[TroyMcClure]

I don't think so. Nirvana was a terrible band with a self-loathing leadman. They helped put the final nail in the coffin for rock music and now it hasn't come close to recovering. The influence from the self loathing loser Kurt Cobain can still be found in rock now. Now rock music is filled of loser bands playing pity party music for white outcast high school losers.

So no, it's not even close... But you got to switch it to Nirvana<<<<Mellencamp

Thank you Nirvana. :clap:

f*** Nirvana.

You just don't have the ear for it, but that's ok. Nirvana was a great band. For a variety of reasons. But foremost, Kurt was a gifted song builder with an ear for hook as well as fury. Dave Grohl was an absolute beast with the skins and he has proven to be quite a gifted leader of a band himself. And honestly, there music was less pretentious than Mellencamp.

Having said that, and not with the time or desire to fully get into this subject, Mellencamp is really good. He had a great run and I'm down with just about all of the Farm-Aid type of guys. He's a great American, the truck commercials notwithstanding.

[Plainview1981]

You just don't have the ear for it, but that's ok. Nirvana was a great band. For a variety of reasons. But foremost, Kurt was a gifted song builder with an ear for hook as well as fury. Dave Grohl was an absolute beast with the skins and he has proven to be quite a gifted leader of a band himself. And honestly, there music was less pretentious than Mellencamp.

Having said that, and not with the time or desire to fully get into this subject, Mellencamp is really good. He had a great run and I'm down with just about all of the Farm-Aid type of guys. He's a great American, the truck commercials notwithstanding.

I don't want to sit here and trash bands I don't like... But if somebody is going to call me out and I'm going to respond. Nirvana's influence on the genre has been very bad IMO. I can live with a band not being for me, but I feel they helped lead rock into a bad direction. Granted, it was on a downward spiral before they arrived onto the scene, but they sure helped bury it further IMO. Moreover, Smells Like Teen Spirit is one of the most lame songs ever.

Edited March 23, 2009 by Hotlanta1981

[Eddielives]

I never understood how Nirvana is given this god-like status for rock music. They were okay but not that great in my opinion. What bugs me more than anything though is how some guitar/rock magazines would have Kurt down as one of the greatest guitar players of all time in some surveys or however the hell they compile these occasional rankings for solos or guitarists. Mellencamp...meh...okay for his time but pretty bland musically for my taste.

[AHF]

I never understood how Nirvana is given this god-like status for rock music. They were okay but not that great in my opinion. What bugs me more than anything though is how some guitar/rock magazines would have Kurt down as one of the greatest guitar players of all time in some surveys or however the hell they compile these occasional rankings for solos or guitarists.

I like Nirvana but totally agree on this. If they would have continued on, there was a definite possibility they could have petered out (in the mainstream of music) like Pearl Jam. They did several good albums but only achieved god-like status because of Cobain's suicide, IMO. Of course, killing yourself or dying young frequently leads to elevated status because people are remembered in their prime and it is kind of assumed they would have continued at that level of productivity over a long career when most careers are arcs of creativity/productivity rather than a steady stream.

And Cobain was not at all a standout guitarist. He was a charismatic singer with an interesting voice but a very pedestrian guitarist.

I also like Mellancamp but not enough that I dig into his stuff beyond the "hit" songs. I don't know why anyone wouldn't like songs like the Authority Song, Paper in Fire, Jack & Diane, Small Town, etc. unless they are just sick of hearing them so many times.

[buckeye242424]

I never understood how Nirvana is given this god-like status for rock music. They were okay but not that great in my opinion. What bugs me more than anything though is how some guitar/rock magazines would have Kurt down as one of the greatest guitar players of all time in some surveys or however the hell they compile these occasional rankings for solos or guitarists. Mellencamp...meh...okay for his time but pretty bland musically for my taste.

Nirvana is credited with the pioneering of "grunge" music. Deserved credit or not, I dunno. They came along in the early 90's and transitioned people from the typical "hair bands" of the 80's into a new form of music. Although bands like Pearl Jam and STP existed before Nirvana, they blew up MTV when videos were still played and thus, mainstreamed into pop culture. Couple that with Kurt Cobain's drug addiction, the "Jim Morrison" syndrome, and he was immediately viewed as some kind of icon and musical genius because it was music people weren't used to hearing. I like Nirvana's music, but the true genius, and still is, was Dave Grohl. The drummer for Nirvana, Grohl went on to Foo Fighters which have produced a number of terrific albums where Grohl sings and plays guitar. Dude can do it all musically...

[uga2006]

I don't want to sit here and trash bands I don't like... But if somebody is going to call me out and I'm going to respond. Nirvana's influence on the genre has been very bad IMO. I can live with a band not being for me, but I feel they helped lead rock into a bad direction. Granted, it was on a downward spiral before they arrived onto the scene, but they sure helped bury it further IMO. Moreover, Smells Like Teen Spirit is one of the most lame songs ever.

Your really gonna lay the blame on Nirvana for Teenage angst and aggression? I take it you've never listened to Slipknot,Silverchair, Chilli Peppers(Maybe the best band of all-time, they've been around for 3 decades and still top the charts),etc. I take it you also blame Marilyn Manson for those kids that shot up the school in CO about 10 years back.

To quote the great Rehab "Blowin up a K-Mart and blame it all on Mozart".

[macdaddy]

No one mentioned Cherry Bomb. Plus isn't that chevy truck song Bob Seger.

Edited March 23, 2009 by macdaddy

[NJHAWK]

Rain on the Scarecrow is an awesome song. My favorite Mellencamp song. However Jack and Diane is a solid song to. The chorus " Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone" has got to be one of the best lines I ever heard. Im not really a JCM fan though but I like those two songs.

Edited March 23, 2009 by NJHAWK

[buckeye242424]

Your really gonna lay the blame on Nirvana for Teenage angst and aggression? I take it you've never listened to Slipknot,Silverchair, Chilli Peppers(Maybe the best band of all-time, they've been around for 3 decades and still top the charts),etc. I take it you also blame Marilyn Manson for those kids that shot up the school in CO about 10 years back.

To quote the great Rehab "Blowin up a K-Mart and blame it all on Mozart".

You could throw Korn, Deftones, Limp Biscuit, Nine Inch Nails, and Insane Clown Posse into that category if music is being blamed for the way teens behave. Marilyn Manson has said publicly that his lyrics and performances are just "show" and it sells. Manson is just a smart individual...he knows what is going to sell. I was guilty of it.

Bands have been playing towards the teen audience way before, and to a greater extent than Nirvana, years ago. Beastie Boys, Van Halen, and Def Leopard in the 80's, Sabbath and Pink Floyd dating back furthur than that.

[NJHAWK]

Nirvana had some catchy tunes. However once a popular rock star dies they are glorified and their music ascends higher than it should in most cases. I guess it would be easier to just say Nirvana wasnt really all that. One perfect example of this is the Doors. They were very average and their lyrics in most songs could have been written by an 10 year old with moderate english/poetry skills. However because of the mind altering drugs taken then and the fact that their singer was popular and died young they and in particular he is glorified. He was nothing close to the great poet image he is given.

Edited March 23, 2009 by NJHAWK