John Mellencamp Community

John is sure a peculiar guy....listening to the interviews he says he doesn't like to collaborate...yet he's done several duets in the past.  He says he's had the same band for ### years....which is not entirely true.  Reading an interview he says the songs he writes really don't have anything to do with HIS life...yet, the themes are often the same...a lot about the devil, a lot about cheatin'....a lot about not gettin' along...a lot taken from things that HAVE happened in his life..

anyone feel the same?

"-somedays I still don't know what to do-"
Mary in Michigan

yes mtoch123 i feel the same. youre not alone. and there are others i know, however the majority of them can be silent. me? i do say something. but no youre not wrong. what you posted is not your imagination.
the one thing that really set me off was when on one of the interviews of GB he was asked what he believed in and he said he believed in the universe and that people were ignorant. and i believe john owes an apology for making such an assinine statement about people. that was a real low blow, if it wasnt for his fans he wouldnt be where he is at today.
and the truth is john doesnt write songs or paint about people. its all about him. yes you are correct it is stuff that HAS happened to him the past, still happening to him today, and will continue to happen if he keeps going in the direction that he is headed.
and dont be surprised if the moderaters berate your post and try to turn it into something  else  i know they tried to do that with me.
no mtoch123 you hit every nail on the head. and i thank you for having the courage to post how you felt and what you see.

I love that he has a black eye right now by a punch from his son. They don't call him the little bastard for nothing. He's just like Bob Dylan when you interview him he just wants to contradict everything you say. But in all honestly it's this crazy rebellious/unstable side of him that also fuels his creativity.

Just gotta let John be John no matter how destructive it is.

john can be destructive all he wants as long as he keeps it to himself. however his behavior is not acceptable, and thats the bad part about it. people want to give into him or go along with "johns program" and that only feeds his ego and pride even more. if john wants to go down he has no business dragging people with him unless people choose to go down with him no matter the cost. he still needs to apologize for his remark about his belief people are ignorant. only a fool would make such a statement. and also too if its this crazy rebellious/unstable side of him that also fuels his creativity theres too much anger. and john is an anger addict. and john is only as sick as secret whatever that may be.
and i was raised on bob dylan and like him very much. also i read rolling stones article about tom petty playing in LA and had some problems, interesting article and also how tom petty is solving the issue. and all i can say is i have never seen john do anything like what the writer wrote, and all i can say is to john "follow that you bitch".

The last post creeps me out. :-[

johns destructive behavior as you called it wildnight creeps me out. and if all else fails no one likes what i have to say then ban me. but i will say this much it was very much uncalled for him to say his belief was that people are ignorant. that was not right. john is getting darker and darker and that is what is creepy.

Alas- The post or the poster? Dogmatic and fixation comes to mind.
Banning appears to be impossible, short of unlawful activity.

mtoch123 i forgot to tell you not only moderators, but other people will take something that is said and try to turn into something else.

Mary, I totally agree with you.

I wasn't saying John's words are good or bad....I'm just starting to think he has a lot of issues!  I didn't want to say it, but, yeah, he seems to be "on the dark side"...but I don't think he really wants to be....I've heard he's had anxiety issues...and I feel when he is doing these interviews he is nervous and doesn't know what he is saying half the time.  That's my take.  I think the "dark side" worked well for this project. 

To me it started with Life, Death, Love and Freedom. So much about suffering and dying.  And that worked great for me at the time because my Dad was suffering and died from cancer.  And I found that CD really inspirational because it took me through a life and helped me to face the and deal with the bad stuff.  So I was glad to see John dealing with growing older - even though he says his words 'aren't about him.'

But when he talks I just shake my head and move on...because it's his art in the end that inspires me and makes me think. 

I guess that's why I use the signature I use....I truly believe we are all wondering and searching continuously...and half the time we don't know why the hell we do stuff!!
(That should open up a wide discussion!!)

"-somedays I still don't know what to do-"
Mary in Michigan

Yes, another very dark album from back in 2008 followed by NBTT. Aching to see some kick ass rock n' roll with a lighter tone on this next one.

Mr. Mellencamp has said on numerous occasions going years back, he contradicts himself . This is nothing surprising or new. It's always been part of his character. He does calaborate(Farm aid anyone),and he does have lots of friends. He likes to admit to neither

I get what your saying mtotch123, about sometimes feeling he contradicts himself, but maybe in a way it’s not so contradicting at all. Artists – be it singer/songwriters, actors or painters – will of course use their own experiences in life in their work. But that does not mean their work necessarily is in a way a (true) mirror of their experiences or their life. They use their experiences to fuel their creativity.

And really, most songs/movies/paintings all revolve around the same themes: love, death, joy, sorrow, things like that.

As for John saying he does not like to collaborate but then does. I don’t find that strange. I think we all have (to) do things we don’t like or are not really good at or are even afraid off. There is no room for growth or new experiences in life if you shy away from that. 

I’ve listened to most of the interviews for Ghost Brothers that were posted here. And to me in those interviews John Mellencamp comes across as someone who likes to speak his mind, is passionate about his projects and other topics he speaks about and at the same time he does not take himself too seriously and likes to joke around.

I found this interesting observation from T Bone Burnett in Paste.com’s most recent issue:

“Burnett, who produced Mellencamp’s Life, Death, Love and Freedom and No Better Than This, recognizes the restless creativity that drives Mellencamp, as well as the trap of being an icon. Working outside expectations is a good thing.
 
“He’s the lightest and happiest in the entire time I’ve known him. He was a much darker character. … But once you get trapped in your own persona, it’s a world you can’t really escape. When [John] was in his late teens, he was a killer R&B singer, just as good as Jagger.
 
“And as Roy [Orbison, whose A Black & White Night Live Burnett spearheaded] taught me back then, [fame] is its own being. He told me driving around one day, ‘I just have to drag this legend around with me. There’s nothing else I can do.’ And he did.””http://www.paste.com/#issues/week-95/articles/t-bone-burnett-slow-storytelling

Much thanks for sharing this interview link with the genius TB. Good find and good information.

There's too much negativity towards John in this discussion, it's ironic since John's been very positive as well as extremely humorous in the recent GB related interviews, i thought he was hilarious on David Lettermen.

The fact that John wasn't trying to hide the black eye ''he could've worn sunglasses'' or lie about it to the public speaks volumes about the man, who else would have the balls to go on network TV with a black eye and admit that it was the result of an argument with his son.

John's still the same badass he always was, and i for one love him for it.

I think John does have a great sense of humor....like the question to David..."in nine years how old are you gonna be...?" when Dave kept questioning John about the bout with his son.  I just get confused when he says things that don't make sense...

I hope this isn't being taken as a negative discussion...I think it's a great discussion about John's apparent personality traits.  I don't think anyone of us really "know" him...we just like to think we do and we like to speculate on what we think...

"-somedays I still don't know what to do-"
Mary Totch

"Try not to be judgemental, so others will not judge you."

mary you were not imagining anything in your first post. and no you are not confused. you are hearing exactly what you are hearing. in your first post you hit every nail on the head. i am still in full agreement with you and i see another poster feels the same way shielafarmer. so with that in mind at least you know your not the only one who feels that way.

I think JM is not a good communicator.  Because of this, he is often misunderstood.  For the most part, he lets his songs do his talking where he doesn't have to worry about being misunderstood.  This is why he doesn't say much on stage.