the mid-term elections made me think a lot. living in germany, I am way too far away to judge on anything happening in the US, but I would like to ask you what´s happening in your/ with your country at the moment?
the world knows America as an ever optimistic, forward thinking country that not only feels as the leader but also as the motor of the world.
what we now hear is a lot frustration, even hatred towards each other. when you voted for Obama as president in 2008, the whole world hoped this enthusiasm would start a new era.
only 2 years later, it´s all wrong? something else must be wrong, not the president of whom you should be proud I think, compared to other leaders in the world.
John´s music always has adressed political things. I would really be interested in how his US fans think about this current situation.

I don´t understand the critisism about his so-called new style. what is so new about him playing roots-orientated songs? influences of folk, country, blues can be found on any album. early rock albums like Uh-huh were heavily influenced by the Rolling Stones, who themselves were influenced by blues. he has always written honest, true felt songs, this never changed and probably will never change. the feeling and melodies in his songs cannot be changed, the "Mellencamp factor" is always there, may it be a country, blues or rock song.
i envy everybody who was there and wish he brings his NEW songs to europe as well!

any date, any time in any city...just wish he would bring his music and band to europe. if this news is true, it means as much to me as the first show for anyone who had the chance to be in bloomington!

best songs on an overall great album for me are "The West End" and "No Better Than This".

2 months after the official release of the album, I today received my vinyl version of the album. as i always buy first vinyl, then cd, i had to wait 2 months for the album. thanks to this website i could listen to it whenever i wanted. my local record dealer still waits for the import, i finally ordered it on amazon. it cost double than the cd version. but its worth the waiting and every cent.
the album sounds great, the package is wonderful. the cover looks really great on the lp format, the whole thing is special.
unfortunately it came out to be a double album, the first john mellencamp double album. 13 songs on 4 sides. 4 songs on side a, each 3 on side 2-4.
all of the record, starting from the cover, the paper, the design, to the music, the way it was recorded in even mono..it´s all supposed to be antique, back to the roots of real music made by real musicians.
why is it so hard for fans who love this music to hear it in a real, antique, analog way, like we used to do? i know it´s a business thing, not an artist´s decision. progress here probably ain´t that good either.

This is fantastic! by the time i first heard this song, it straight went into my top10 JM songs. seems to me like a 2010 logical consequence song of "Pink Houses".
his voice in this performance sounds even rawer than on the record, didnt think this would have been possible. a great, powerful performance!
thanks a lot for this link!

these postcards photos really look great! fantastic job done by Mr. Sandler. hopefully at the end of the tour (incl. the european leg that MUST follow the third US leg) he will publish them in some way, it´s worth definitely.

JM´s Question...what kind of world do we live in?

i agree, Paper In Fire...the first song of the album that brought the violin/accordion sound. but not just the violin, the song is full of energy, great!

softball???

very interesting article, it´s from june...good to read that larry crane is still around.
john is thinking about playing with his old band again? i am sceptical about this, i prefer going forward rather than looking back.
but the idea of a rock´n´roll album is attractive anyway. i like "rodeo clown" a lot, this stones-stylish song. every time i listen to it, i think of a whole album like this. but new songs, not the old tired ones, no comeback thing please!
but Miriam Sturm needs to be part of any old/new band!

got fantastic seats...here at home in my living room, waiting for John to come to europe!

hi to everyone from germany. I listen to Mellencamp´s music since Scarecrow and was a member of minutes to memories fanclub in the 90s, but somehow this got boring which is why i did not join the cherry club bomb net. the new website is different and great, feels more connected to the music and the artist.
hope John will come to europe once again...

what is Larry Crane doing now? does anyone know about him?

this interview is great, thanks for this! kenny aronoff´s story about jack&diane is funny to read, though it surely was not funny for him back then.
fantastic born in the usa cover by john, better than the original and even perhaps better than springsteen´s alternate versions.